In spite of the fact I'd been a fan of the original 2006 show, I had absolutely no plans to watch NBC’s 13-episode "event miniseries" Heroes Reborn. But then, it's kind of hard being me and not having a warm spot for a series which not only brought entirely serious superheroes to prime-time network television, but made reading superhero comic books a key plot point in its characters' attempt to save the world. And if that wasn't enough, one of the Heroes was one of us; before Big Hero 6 gave us Hiro Hamada, Heroes had Hiro Nakamura. Played by Masayori Oka, he was a sweet, goofy fantasy fan who provided the series with its seminal image; upon teleporting to New York Hiro's reaction was an explosion of joy and his signature exclamation of "Yatta" (short for "yarimashita," literally "I/We did it!")!
I couldn't tell you when exactly I stopped watching it but saw no reason to watch the new version, especially when there were so many other new comic book-related TV shows I wasn't watching already (Arrow, iZombie, The Flash, The Walking Dead and to be honest, even though it premieres next week I’m still on the fence concerning Supergirl). But curiosity got the better of me and I watched the first episode of Heroes Reborn, which is when I remembered why I had stopped watching Heroes in the first place.
Primarily, it was because of the pace. The show spent its first season gathering its cast together for the final episode only to disperse them immediately afterwards. And since prime-time network television rarely risks altering a successful formula (though I suspect that in those distant pre-Avengers movie days the notion of a superhero group probably seemed too "comic booky" was probably also a factor), they did the same thing, every season.
You'd think having only 13 episodes the producers would get the producers to step up the pace a skosh but no, characters get introduced and are shifted around at seeming random until they (presumably) get to be where they'll need to be for the finale. That being said, I continue to watch because I know that if I'm patient enough they'll eventually unleash Hiro so he could finally become the hero he always knew he was born to be.
We were told going in Heroes Reborn was going to be "dark" (further evidence of my obliviousness, until ten minutes ago I was completely unaware there was a "Web Exclusive Prequel" series running subtitled Dark Matters). But I can’t think of another broadcast TV drama (airing at 8pm yet) where week after week there are scenes of racially motivated mass murder. It seems odd that there hasn't been any backlash that I know of (not that I’m saying that there should be), especially given the recent spate of school shootings. I wonder, is it because viewers understand that the in the context of a fantasy setting the scenes are a metaphor, mirroring real world situations? Or, is it just that not enough people are watching Heroes Reborn?
The opinions expressed in this column are solely those of the writer, and do not necessarily reflect the views of the editorial staff of ICv2.com.