It was exactly like this. source
And right in the middle of all those good times was NBC’s Heroes. I was watching a lot of NBC back then (duh, The Office). I remember Heroes as a good show that got a lot of buzz but went awry quickly. It introduced us to Hayden Pantierre and Zachary Quinto and the cute Milo guy that we haven’t seen since. I didn’t watch past season two, but I remember the buzz. I remember the marketing schemes. I remember the fandom.
Heroes only stuck around for four seasons, but kept popping up in origin prequels and varied online content. It hasn’t totally gone away, even if “Save the Cheerleader, Save the World” seems like something from a decade ago (because it is).
And now, NBC and Heroes showrunner, Tim Kring, are bringing back the “evos” and Primatech for a 13-episode mini-series, Heroes Reborn. And even though I haven’t kept up with the lore around these characters I AM HERE FOR IT.
Why? Two reasons.
Keep It Simple, Stupid
Taking a cue from out-of-the-box hits like American Horror Story, NBC is hailing Heroes Reborn as a reboot, yes, but not a new series. It’s a mini-series. If they learned anything from Heroes’ original run, it was that the world had a ton of potential, but maybe lengthy arcs with the same heroes did not. The numbers for the first season of Heroes were HUGE, and they steadily dropped as we watched almost all of the same characters drift through convoluted stories.
Hence, the regenerating cheerleader’s fate. This new trailer lets us know, in no uncertain terms, that we won’t be seeing the return of Claire Bennet in Reborn.
And while former heroes will play a part (Hiro, Mohinder and Matt Parkman to name a few we know are in Reborn), they aren’t the central focus. We are being introduced to a whole new world of heroes, in a world that knows there are heroes.
I love the mini-series format. The pressure is OFF. If it tanks, no harm no foul. If it’s awesome, bring it back with a new spin, with only your best characters and a brand new arc next year. It’s fairly genius. Well, as long as they bring back the OTHER reason I’m tuning in this Thursday.
Zachary Levi …. TURNTUP!!!
Real talk time: I am 98% here for Zachary Levi. Dude is hilarious, charismatic, talented and worth watching. Chuck was entertaining almost solely on the performance and watchability of Zach. Oh, you loved Tangled? That was all down to Flynn Ryder and don’t you f***ing act like you give a rat’s ass about Paschal.
Zach is playing Luke, an apparently hard-nosed hunter of heroes … who is introduced in the series by killing a room full of underground and terrified “evos.” WHAT HAPPENED TO YOU, CHUCK? I love this change of pace for the easy-going actor. I can’t wait to see what he does with a tortured bully.
And, Zachary, if I may call you that. All this really has nothing to do with that really great conversation we had at SDCC, and that wink you threw at me and how much you remind me of John Krasinski. Not at all. Hi. I love you.
But seriously, if you haven’t watched Zach at SDCC, do so. Here.
Don’t let me down
But we cannot ignore the huge elephant in the room. There’s a huge potential for laughability or just plain failure here.
First of all, Heroes is not remembered for being ground-breaking television. It won some awards, but most of its stars went on to marginal fame or abject obscurity (Milo, where are you?). But I don’t want it to be another flash in the pan. Give me a few more seasons of well-developed arcs that star Zachary Levi (and the African vampire from Breaking Dawn 2 beacuse #EGBTT).
Also, are we inundated too much with this comic-book fare right now to find it worth our time without the big name tie-ins? The premise itself is so much like X-Men that it’s hard to distinguish the differences. And the diversity of the new heroes seems very akin to Sense 8, which just cannot be topped in terms of cross-culture inclusivity. Is the “science is after us; science will save us” trope over done in stories like X-Men, Sense 8 and Orphan Black? Do we have room for this?
My hope: hell yes we do. It’s 13 episodes of action, superheroes, gritty drama, nostaligia and Zachary Levi’s face. Hey, NBC:
Will you be watching Heroes Reborn this Thursday? Who was your favorite character from the original series? What do you think of mini-series like American Horror Story and how they change how we think about TV?
