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About Heroes |
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Heroes is an American science fiction television drama series created by Tim
Kring, which premiered on NBC on September 25, 2006. The series tells the
stories of ordinary individuals from around the world who mysteriously develop
superhuman abilities, and their roles in preventing disasters, usually foreseen
in images produced by precognitive painters. The series emulates the aesthetic
style and storytelling of American comic books, using short, multi-episode story
arcs that build upon a larger, more encompassing arc. The series is produced by
Universal Media Studios in association with Tailwind Productions, and it is
filmed primarily in Los Angeles, California. The executive producers are Allan
Arkush, Dennis Hammer, Greg Beeman and Tim Kring.
The critically acclaimed first season's run of 23 episodes garnered an average
of 14.3 million viewers in the United States, receiving the highest rating for
any NBC drama premiere in five years. The second season of Heroes attracted an
average of 13.1 million viewers in the U.S., and marked NBC's sole series among
the top 20 ranked programs in total viewership for the 2007-2008 season. A total
of 24 episodes were ordered for the second season, but only eleven episodes were
broadcast, due to the 100-day strike by the Writers Guild of America. The
dispute led to the initial postponement and eventual cancellation of a six
episode spin-off titled Heroes: Origins. Heroes returned with its third season
on September 22, 2008.
A digital-internet extension of the series, Heroes 360 Experience, later
rebranded as Heroes Evolutions, was created to explore the Heroes universe and
provides insight into the show's mythology. Other official Heroes media include
magazines, action figures, tie-in and interactive websites, a mobile game, a
novel, clothing and other merchandise. NBC Universal announced on April 2, 2008,
that NBC Digital Entertainment would release a series of online content for the
summer and fall of 2008, including more original web content, wireless iTV
interactivity, graphic novels available for mobile viewing and webisodes.
Heroes has garnered a number of awards and nominations. The series was nominated
in eight categories at the 2007 Primetime Emmy awards, including Outstanding
Drama Series, and was also nominated for Best Television Series-Drama at the
2007 Golden Globes. The series won a People's Choice Award in 2007 in the
category of Best New Drama, and was named Program of the Year in 2007 by the
Television Critics Association and Best International Program at the 2008 BAFTA
Awards.
NBC will produce a fourth season of Heroes, as Heroes is one of NBC's best
performers in the 18-49 demographic, as well as having strong international
appeal and viewership. The network plans a reduced order of 18-20 episodes
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Awaken Your Inner Superhero
Personal Power
Destination
Future Foreseeing
Spiritual Protection
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Season One |
Isaac's painting of Manhattan's destruction in "Genesis"
- the following episode, set five weeks in the future,
depicts the same explosion, and the painting forms the
basis of the primary story arc of the first season.
Season one featured 23 episodes, which aired on Mondays
at 9:00 pm in the United States, beginning on September
23, 2006. Season one consisted of Volume One, known as
Genesis. The series went on hiatus twice; first from
December 4, 2006 to January 22, 2007, and again from
March 5 to April 23, 2007, with the season finale airing
on May 21, 2007. The volume begins as a seemingly
ordinary group of people gradually become aware that
they have special abilities. Events illustrate their
reactions to these powers, and how the discovery affects
their personal and professional lives. At the same time,
several ordinary individuals are investigating the
origins and extent of these abilities. Mohinder Suresh,
a geneticist, continues his late father's research into
the biological source of the change, while Noah Bennet
represents a secret organization known only as "The
Company". While coping with these new abilities, each of
the characters is drawn, willingly or unwillingly, into
the Company's conspiracy to control superpowered people
and into a race to stop an explosion from destroying New
York City. |
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Season Two |
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Season two featured 11 out of a planned 24 episodes
which aired on Mondays at 9:00 pm in the United States
beginning on September 24, 2007. Only 11 out of the
planned 24 episodes were made because of the WGA
writers' strike. Season two consisted of the second
volume in the series, titled Generations. Season two
ended with its finale on December 3, 2007. Volume two
begins four months after the events of Kirby Plaza. The
main plot arc of Generations deals with the Company and
its research on the Shanti virus. This research is
explored through the Company's founders, whose
identities are revealed, as well as through the effects
of various strains of the virus. The "heroes" ultimately
come together in an attempt to stop the release of a
deadly strain of the virus and avert a global pandemic.
Season 2 was originally going to consist of three
volumes; however, because of the writer's strike, the
season was redesigned to only encompass one volume
called Generations. Originally Volume 3 was going to be
called Exodus, and Volume 4 was going to be called
Villains. As a result of the writers' strike, Volume 3
was changed to Villains and moved into season three. The
Exodus story arc, which was originally designed to be a
story arc reflecting the effects of the release of
strain 138 of the Shanti virus, was canceled. Scenes
from the volume two finale "Powerless", were reshot to
reflect the cancellation of the Exodus volume, and to
tie-up all the loose plot storylines of Generations. |
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Season Three |
Season three featured 25 episodes, which aired on
Mondays at 9:00 pm in the United States, beginning on
September 22, 2008. The premiere of the third volume,
Villains, was preceded by a one-hour broadcast of the
red carpet premiere, with clips from the past seasons
and previews of the upcoming season, along with
interviews with the series cast and crew.
Volume Three began with the assassination attempt on
Nathan Petrelli, and the consequences it has in the
future. In addition, several villains escape from the
confines of Level 5, and the Company attempts to
recapture them. Arthur Petrelli heals from systemic
nerve damage with the help of Adam Monroe's healing
abilities and eventually gains a few of the villains
(Flint Gordon Jr., Knox, and Daphne Millbrook) while
later luring in Mohinder Suresh, Nathan, Tracy Strauss,
Elle Bishop, and Sylar. Their objective is to create a
formula to give people abilities but after many failures
they soon realize they need to find the "catalyst",
which is contained within a person. Claire and Hiro go
back in time with Hiro being given the catalyst by his
mother. This is short-lived when Arthur intervenes and
takes the catalyst, leaving Hiro powerless. Afterwards,
Peter Petrelli, The Haitian face off Arthur at
Pinehearst where they fight for control of the formula.
In the end, Arthur is shot dead by Peter's bullet
through Sylar's telekinesis ability, saying he is the
killer, not Peter. Peter injects himself with the
formula in order to save Nathan, who was on his father's
side. Ando is given the ability to enhance other
people's abilities (which helped him grab Hiro from the
past with the help of Daphne's super-speed ability);
Claire, Noah Bennet, and Angela Petrelli fight off Sylar
at Primatech, in which Meredith's ability goes awry,
burning the building to the ground with Sylar presumably
dead.
Villains was originally designed to be included within
the second season; however, because of the writers'
strike, the volume was carried over into season three.
The lead-in to Villains showed Sylar regaining his lost
powers, shown as the final scene of the Generations
finale. Tim Kring said that the new volume would bring a
cadre of villains to the show, hence the title. At the
San Diego Comic-Con 2008 Kring screened the first part
of the season opening episode of the Villains arc,
entitled "The Second Coming", which was shown in its
entirety at Comic-Con and received a positive response
from fans. Despite the success of the first two seasons,
Villains received steadily declining ratings and less
positive reviews.
Fugitives begins with Nathan Petrelli telling the
president about the existence of individuals who possess
superhuman abilities. The president authorizes Nathan to
capture such individuals, and the majority of the main
characters are rounded up, with the exception of Sylar,
who escapes Nathan's agents while attempting to locate
his biological father. The Heroes receive help from
mysterious ally called Rebel, later revealed by Tracy
Strauss to be Micah Sanders. Tracy helps Micah escape by
using cryokinesis to freeze the agents chasing her, in
addition to an entire parking garage floor; government
agent Danko would later shoot her in frozen form.
On a mission for Rebel, Hiro and Ando rescue Matt
Parkman's baby, who jumpstarts Hiro's Time Manipulation
ability. After Danko discovers Nathan Petrelli's
ability, Nathan flies away in time to save Claire as the
two hide in Mexico. Danko would in turn team up with
Sylar who eventually obtains his shape-shifting ability.
After hiding out, Nathan, Claire, Peter and H.R.G. help
Angela uncover her past, she reveals the dark secrets
that have haunted her for years. Mohinder learns of his
father’s involvement in a long forgotten government
operation. Sylar starts to have an identity-crisis with
his new ability, Danko questions Sylar for not being
Agent Taub and tries to incapacitate him but Sylar
reveals that he moved his "off switch" while framing
Danko. Hiro and Ando rescue Mohinder from Building 26
but Hiro starts to have nose bleeds which lead him to
stop using his abilities. Hiro's condition would grow
worse when he stops time to save H.R.G. from Danko.
Towards the end of Fugitives, Sylar poses as Nathan in
an attempt to get close to the President. Nathan and
Peter face off against Sylar who releases Claire. In the
struggle, Peter secretly gets hold of Sylar's shape
shifting-ability while Sylar uses telekinesis to slash
Nathan's throat, ultimately killing him. Sylar then
tries to get hold of the President. While inside the
limo, the President smiles and injects Sylar with a
tranquilizer, revealing himself to actually be Peter.
Angela and Matt Parkman find Nathan's dead body and
along with H.R.G. ask Matt to alter Sylar's mind to
believe he is Nathan, with Sylar's acquired ability of
clairsentience enabling him to fully embody Nathan's
personality and gain his memories.
Volume Four ends with Claire, Noah, Angela, Peter,
"Nathan", Mohinder, Matt, Ando, and a recovered Hiro all
gathered around the burning corpse of Sylar, which Noah
retrieved from cold storage at Building 26. The group
then proceeds their separate ways, and Nathan confirms
the President has indeed shut down Building 26, and the
funds transferred so that Angela and Noah can start up
their own company.
Tim Molloy from TV Guide has reported that Heroes would
return to its roots with Fugitives in an effort to
attract new viewers and regain those who gave up on the
show due to too many characters and plotlines. Tim Kring
had said in a statement: "This volume starts us pretty
much from scratch. There is almost nothing that the
audience needs to know from the previous volume in order
to follow the storyline." Molloy hopes the reboot will
save the show from the declining ratings. Angela
Bromstead, president of primetime entertainment at NBC,
said the series was "very secure", but had not renewed
it like The Office, 30 Rock, and The Biggest Loser.
Bromstead had expressed her concern about whether the
producers had strayed too far from its original focus:
"ordinary people with extraordinary abilities," saying
"They may have taken on too much in terms of characters
and multiple storylines."
Emmy Award-winning Damages actor Željko Ivanek appeared
in 11 episodes of Volume 4 as a character called Emile
Danko, initially known only as "The Hunter". |
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Season Four |
NBC had plans to renew Heroes for a fourth season, as
Heroes is one of NBC's best performers in the 18-49
demographic, and has strong international appeal. On May
4, 2009, NBC comfirmed that Heroes has been renewed for
a fourth season, with an order of 18-20 episodes.
As seen in the prelude in the finale of the fourth
volume, Redemption begins six weeks after Fugitives. The
prelude features Tracy, played by Ali Larter, who now
has the ability to take a liquid form and is hunting
down and killing former agents of "Building 26".
Meanwhile, Sylar (who has been compelled to believe he
is Nathan by Matt Parkman) is feeling increasingly
distant. The prelude concludes with Nathan/Sylar being
mesmerized by a clock in his office which is running one
minute and a half fast. After seeing Nathan/Sylar
correcting the clock, Angela appears worried over the
hybrid creation. |
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Webseries |
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On July 14, 2008 (in between seasons 2 and 3), the first
Heroes webseries, Going Postal, was released. The
trilogy of online-only videos introduces Echo DeMille, a
seemingly ordinary mailman with an extraordinary
ability. The three-part series is written and directed
by the same creative team behind the main series. On
November 10, 2008 (During Season 3), the second Heroes
webseries, Destiny, was released. This is the first of
many more webisodes sponsored by Sprint. This series is
a tetralogy. Destiny introduces Santiago, chosen by the
fans. Santiago wonders if his newfound abilities are
either a miracle or something else. On the streets of
Lima, Peru, he discovers his powers. On December 15,
2008, the third Heroes webseries, The Recruit, was
released. The Recruit introduces Rachel Mills, a marine
who survives the explosion at Pinehearst. This follows
the finale of Volume Three. On December 22, 2008, the
fourth Heroes webseries, Hard Knox, was released. Hard
Knox flashes back to 18 months ago, to a time when Matt
Parkman knew the villain Knox before his abilities began
to manifest. It was originally part of the episode
"Villains", but was cut due to time constraints. In
April, Nowhere Man picks up where the third season
leaves off, and focuses on the life of Eric Doyle. |
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