Heroes

Created by Tim Kring, 'Heroes' didn't grab me at first, but, by halfway through the first series it had. The hype has been a little overdone, and it's certainly too early to start calling it the best television series ever made, but it has that certain different quality that makes it unique.

- Paul Rance/booksmusicfilmstv.com.

Main characters
Claire Bennet (Hayden Panettiere), Mr. Bennet's pretty adopted daughter, and Nathan Petrelli's biological daughter, and a high school cheerleader who just can't be killed it seems.
Noah Bennet (Jack Coleman), has a mysterious secret or two, which becomes clear as series one progresses. He works for an organization that investigates people with superhuman abilities.
Isaac Mendez (Santiago Cabrera), a New York artist who can see the future, which he then paints. He uses his '9th Wonders!' comic book as a tool for displaying his prophetic powers.
Hiro Nakamura (Masi Oka), Likeable Tokyo programmer who is nervous about his role as a hero, but teleports all over the place on his mission to save the world from evil, with Japanese companion Ando Masahashi (James Kyson Lee).
Matt Parkman (Greg Grunberg), an LA police officer who no criminal would like to come across - as he can read people's thoughts.
Nathan Petrelli (Adrian Pasdar), a New York Congressional candidate who can literally fly to the top...
Peter Petrelli (Milo Ventimiglia), an empath who can absorb the power of others.
Niki Sanders (Ali Larter), glamorous former internet stripper, who is tough and super strong - if a little schizoid.
Mohinder Suresh (Sendhil Ramamurthy), Indian genetics professor, who comes to New York to investigate his father's murder, and gets more than he bargained for.
Sylar (Zachary Quinto), a dangerous monster. A highly intelligent serial killer who kills superhuman people to assimilate their abilities.

- Paul Rance/booksmusicfilmstv.com.

Amazon.co.uk Review of the Season One DVD

It’s hard to remember a science fiction series that has hit so big so quickly. Yet by the end of the first series of Heroes, it feels--for all the right reasons--that the show’s been around for longer than it has, such is the huge amount of success it’s enjoyed.

The setup is simple, yet undeniably intriguing. It essentially tells the stories of a series of people who discover they have legitimate, differing superhero powers. On top of that, these people then gradually appreciate that these powers are needed for reasons that soon become apparent, and the story of Heroes builds up from there.

Heavily influenced by comics both in its structure and story, Heroes sustains interest through a number of story arcs of different magnitudes, skilfully weaving them throughout the 23 episodes that make up the season. It’s contained enough to keep you interested, yet offers enough threads to make several more seasons a very appealing prospect.

Heroes, though, really gels because the basics are right. It’s plotted intelligently, written and directed with real nerve and talent, and has a cast who you can’t help but get emotionally involved with. It’s also, for the overwhelming majority of its episodes, utterly compelling television. Ironically, its few miss-steps of any note come right at the back end, by which time you really would forgive it pretty much anything.

Heroes is rightly being heralded as a sci-fi classic in the making. Yet even if subsequent seasons don’t fully do justice to those words--and at the time of writing, season two is still some way from debuting--this boxset will serve as a glowing testament to just how good television can be when it’s just done right. Quite brilliant. --Jon Foster

Synopsis
Combining comic book style and geeky in-jokes, HEROES is a stellar series that draws comparisons to fan favourites such as LOST and THE X-FILES. But thanks to its well-drawn characters and intricate plot, this drama reels in more than just superhero fans. HEROES revolves around the premise of seemingly ordinary people developing fantastic powers. There's Claire (Hayden Panettiere, ICE PRINCESS), a Texas cheerleader who can't be killed. Matt (Greg Grunberg, ALIAS) is a cop in Los Angeles who can read minds. New Yorker Peter (Milo Ventimiglia, GILMORE GIRLS) has the power to adopt other heroes' abilities, while his politician brother (Adrian Pasdar, JUDGING AMY) has a special power of his own. Though the show boasts many other characters, its secret weapon is Hiro (Masi Oka), a Japanese office worker who is delighted to discover he can move through space and time. But heroes wouldn't be heroes if there weren't villains and a coming apocalypse to fight. Features the complete first series.