Experience the suspense, mystery, and electrifying twists as this astonishing series follows seemingly unconnected, ordinary people around the globe who discover they have extraordinary powers. As they come to terms with their unique abilities, their risky decisions will affect the futures of everyone around them and the world.

Mohinder Suresh (Sendhil Ramamurthy), a genetics professor from Chennai, picks up his late father's research and makes an astonishing discovery - a seemingly random group of people around the world are developing astonishing super powers. From a drug-addicted artist (Santiago Cabrera), who paints the future and an ambitious politician (Adrian Pasdar) who can fly, to a New York cop who hears other people's thoughts (Greg Grunberg) and a Japanese computer programmer (Masi Oka) who can distort the space time continuum, these new Heroes seem to have a shared destiny.

CRITIQUE

Where have we seen this type of story before?  Perhaps in comics/movies like X-Men and shows like The 4400, but don’t tell creator Tim Kring. It’s not clear when or if he ever considered or thought about these when coming up with the concept of Heroes, but the concept of ordinary people discovering superhero abilities isn’t wholly original (at least these days).

However, when such a concept is adapted to a network show with epic proportions (New York City Armageddon), nods to comic books (style and narrative), and an ensemble of interesting characters (superheroes essentially) with special abilities that are all connected somehow, the possibilities of an exciting and visually cool show are numerous.

Heroes became a breakout hit when it premiered in the fall 2006 season, mostly in the younger demographic ratings, which networks apparently love to listen to. Another NBC show premiered that same season, called Kidnapped (DVD review here), but ratings weren’t satisfying for the network, which canceled it a few episodes in. Both shows are entertaining in their respective ways, but only one made it all the way to the finale. Of course, Heroes had the advantage of a built-in audience (comic books, superheroes, science fiction), appeal and more marketing opportunities. But back to the show.

Speaking of appeal, Heroes has plenty of it. The story set up in the pilot, that a huge explosion will destroy New York, is instantly exciting and near epic. It also sets up the season long arc that the cast of characters will somehow and at some time band together to stop the explosion and prevent possible Armageddon. The show is all about arcs, mythology and interconnected storylines, all appealing factors. Personally, these traits (but not limited to) are exactly what I’m looking for in a TV show, and Heroes is immensely satisfying.

Furthermore, the characters’ special abilities, such as freezing time, hearing people’s thoughts, the ability to fly, and to heal any wounds, are downright cool. These are cleverly incorporated into the narrative and character traits, and expertly pulled off visually. The paths of some characters take interesting turns and a lot of new information is revealed in neat, surprising twists as the season progresses.

The characters of policeman Matt Parkman, Texas cheerleader Claire Bennet, caregiver Peter Petrelli and programmer Hiro Nakamura are among the most interesting, while Claire’s father, known as HRG (Jack Coleman), and absolute bad guy Sylar (Zachary Quinto) are excellent competition, or opposites. Also, watching the evolution of Mayor hopeful Nathan Petrelli (Adrian Pasdar) over the season is rewarding. All of the actors in the show give strong and believable performances, adding to the ensemble dynamic.

On the other hand, the character arc I didn’t find interesting, at least in the first half, is that of internet entrepreneur Nikki (Ali Larter), her son Micah (Noah Gray-Cabey), and convict husband DL Hawkins (Leonard Roberts), but their storyline pays off in the last several episodes. Drug-addicted painter Isaac Mendez (Santiago Cabrera) is a pivotal part of the narrative puzzle, but something more could’ve been done. And of course, there are several guest characters, such as the Haitian, the Invisible Man, the infamous Mr. Linderman, Hiro’s father, and Nathan and Peter’s mother.

The first season of Heroes is dubbed “Genesis” or Volume One, and overall it’s very solid despite a few missteps. Each episode effectively ends with small cliffhangers and begins as a continuation of the previous one, and therefore unfolds much like a comic book or novel. As such, the show references or gives nods to comic books, such as Isaac’s paintings, but more importantly in its exhilarating and stunning cinematography. Big kudos also goes out to the excellent visual effects, a haunting and memorable score, great stunts, and other coolness.

A lot of the stories play out interestingly, while several make for some exceptional episodes, including The Fix, Company Man, Five Years Gone, and Landslide. Unfortunately, so much story and excitement was building towards the season finale that what a lot of fans thought would be a great battle turned out to be rather timid. As season finales go, it wrapped up the main story but also left threads unresolved. With a lot of story and mythology left to unravel, it will be great to see where the show goes in its second season. With a great set of characters, an involving and interesting story, and awesome special effects, Heroes is indeed a breakout hit.

THE VIDEO

The first season of Heroes is Universal’s first-ever TV on Blu-ray title, and it’s being released simultaneously with season 2. The show is presented here in near stunning 1080p high definition widescreen (1.78:1) using the VC-1 encode on five BD-50 discs.

Colors are vibrant and clean, and generally pop off the screen just enough. Video quality exhibits fine detail and sharpness, while definition is very strong most of the time. Compressions artifacts are not an issue, but there are instances of digital noise throughout many scenes, as well as skin blemishes here and there.

Contrast looks great, while dark tones and black levels are accurate. Night time scenes suffer in quality, but all exterior scenes, especially those taking place on a sunny day, look incredibly detailed. Arguably the worst aspect of the source material is the amount of grain present throughout the episodes, but it's not a big distraction.

Overall, these episodes look better than the broadcast HD video as there is no evidence of pixelation here.

THE AUDIO

Universal presents Heroes in a thunderous English DTS-HD 5.1 Surround Sound. The front speakers receive the majority of the sound action, yet the overall presentation is very solid as the surrounds are also active, dialogue is reproduced extremely well across the front, music and sound effects are superior, and bass action is strong.

Optional subtitles are available for English SDH, Spanish and French.

THE EXTRAS

For comparison purposes, the Blu-ray edition loses a few (inconsequential) features present on the HD DVD edition, specifically the U-Control feature Helix Revealed, a Genetic Abilities Test, and the Mind Reader game.

Furthermore, the Blu-ray makes good use of its extra space (BD-50) offering up all 23 first-season episodes on a 5-disc set. (The HD DVD edition is a 7-disc set).

Picture-in-Picture Video Commentaries are part of the U-Control menu found on discs 3-5. The PiP video was recorded on various sets with the actors and crew providing commentary when they were not on call, but in a few instances an actor will have to leave and someone else steps in. Sets include Isaac’s loft, Mohinder’s apartment, Claire’s bedroom, and Sylar’s Primatech cell.

Instead of upgrading the video based bonus material on the Blu-ray to 1080p, Universal unfortunately just copies all data in 480p video from the HD DVD edition. Truly a missed opportunity.

A play-all option for all deleted footage is available; it’s also possible for viewers to select scenes individually.

-- DISC 1 --

Unaired Pilot: The Tim Kring Cut (1080p, VC-1) is a 75-minute version of the pilot (not 73 minutes as advertised) as originally conceived. Several things are different in this version than what aired. Most prominent is the setup of a storyline involving a terrorist responsible for the train explosion whose history crossed paths with policeman Matt Parkman. Other differences include Mohinder coming face to face with a silhouetted Sylar, Isaac Mendez cutting off his hand, and Parkman’s wife played by a completely different actress. Also supposed to appear in the pilot was DL, Mica’s dad, who discovered his power in prison when he’d wake up outside his cell. His scenes did not make this cut, but they appear in the deleted scenes menu.

Unaired Pilot Audio Commentary with Tim Kring is a solid conversation in which he reveals some early ideas, how the show came to him, differences between both pilots, character motivations, and his decision to excise the terrorist plotline.

The Making of Heroes (SD, 10 mins.) looks at the show’s beginnings, casting choices, the 2006 Comic Con presentation, the show becoming a phenomenon (their word, not mine), and general reactions about the show. Features interview clips with Tim Kring and several of the actors, cut to a variety of clips from the show. I would have preferred a deeper, more in-depth making-of featurette, because this one glosses over the season in a superficial way. Think of the “anatomy of an episode” documentary on the House: Season 3 set, that is, if you’ve had the chance to check it out.

Special Effects (SD, 9 mins.) focuses on the visual effects added in post production and visual effects supervisor Mark Kolpack takes the viewer through the process of shooting the scene in which Hiro saves the girl from the truck. Actors were suspended by green-screen rigs to pull off the illusion they were frozen in time while Hero moves past them. An interesting tidbit revealed by Kolpack is Maki Osa, who is also interviewed in this piece, was a former ILM research technician.

The Stunts (SD, 10 mins.) examines the preparations and setups for various stunts, fights, and falls. Stunt coordinator Ian Quinn is the focus subject of this piece, and reveals his cameo as the firefighter from the train accident. Stunts referenced here include the scene where Nathan witnesses his wife’s car accident in mid-air, Peter thrown off a roof, Hiro learning to sword fight, and Sylar fighting Peter in the apartment.

Profile of Artist Tim Sale (SD, 11 mins.) is exactly that. Sale worked in comic books for 20 years and was asked by co-exec producer Jeph Loeb to create the paintings or artwork of Isaac Mendez. Santiago Cabrera gives a quick rundown on his character’s loft, which Sale says he would love to have as a studio. Sale also points out a studio this size must be very expensive and wonders how Isaac (as well as the Friends characters) can afford it. (The answer is: they all make crazy money, and it’s a show.)

The Score (SD, 9 mins.) features interviews with Lisa Coleman, Wendy Melvoin and Michael Perfitt (audio engineer) talking about the score inside their recording studio, which looks small but accomplished. The way it works, they get notes with time codes that indicate when a scene needs to be scored. Coleman plays some cues on a keyboard. Voice artist Shankar is referenced, but never shown (a photo would have been interesting to see).

Deleted Scenes (SD) are available for Genesis, Don’t Look Back and One Giant Leap.

U-Control: This interactive feature allows viewers to select (or deselect) three pop-up items while an episode is running. Viewers can choose between examining Artwork Presentations and reading about Character Connections. Note that some episodes may not feature both options.

BD-Live Enabled Features: Get connected and download exclusive content, trailers and updates directly to your Blu-ray player or PS3. An internet connection is required (Ethernet). Content is available upon the set's release date, and includes the Genetics Abilities test. In order to navigate through content you must register a profile, either through your player or via a Universal registration website.

-- DISC 2 --

U-Control: While an episode plays examine Artwork Presentations and read about Character Connections.

Deleted Scenes (SD) are available for Hiros, Better Halves, Nothing to Hide and Seven Minutes to Midnight.

-- DISC 3 --

U-Control: While an episode plays view with Picture-in-Picture, examine Artwork Presentations and read about Character Connections.

Godsend PiP Video Commentary with actors Sendhil Ramamurthy, Leonard Roberts, and Jack Coleman: A fairly good commentary with several nice insights, but mostly screen-specific comments.

The Fix PiP Video Commentary with actors Greg Grunberg and Hayden Panettiere and writer Natalie Chaidez: Funny and informative, Grunberg is the Heroes commentary master. Panettiere points out a few things but looks a bit uncomfortable with this process. After the first act she leaves for the set and Natalie Chaidez steps in to finish the commentary with Grunberg. Best commentary on the disc.

Deleted Scenes (SD) are available for Homecoming, Six Months Ago, Godsend and The Fix. The single scene from The Fix is interesting as it finds Parkman throwing a dishonest plumber out of his house for trying to rip him off.

-- DISC 4 --

U-Control: While an episode plays view with Picture-in-Picture, examine Artwork Presentations and read about Character Connections.

Distractions PiP Video Commentary with actors Zachary Quinto and Milo Ventimiglia and writer Michael Green: A decent commentary with a few insights, but mostly screen-specific comments.

Run! PiP Video Commentary with actors Greg Grunberg and Kevin Chamberlin, and writers Adam Armus and Kay Foster: Another decent commentary featuring Grunberg, except he leaves halfway through and is replaced by the two episode writers.

Unexpected PiP Video Commentary with episode director Greg Beeman and actors Zachary Quinto and Sendhil Ramamurthy: One of the better commentaries with Beeman pointing out interesting things about the making of the show and what's happening on screen. The two actors make some good points as well.

Company Man PiP Video Commentary with episode director Allan Arkush, writer Bryan Fuller and actor Jack Coleman: Sitting on director's chairs on the Primatech prison cell set, the participants have mostly interesting things to say and make good observations on what's happening on the screen. Arkush is the most vocal and leads most conversations.

Parasite PiP Video Commentary with Allan Arkush, writer Chris Zatta, and actor Jimmy Jean-Louis (The Haitian): Again, Arkush is the most vocal and leads most conversations, but gets input from the other participants as well.

Deleted Scenes (SD) are available for Distractions, Run!, Company Man, and Parasite. Scenes from Run! include Mohinder calling Parkman’s house but getting his wife, and the Haitian telling Claire a secret. One of the scenes from Company Man finds HRG and Parkman discussing certain events. The single scene from Parasite is a conversation between Nathan and Hiro.

-- DISC 5 --

U-Control: While an episode plays view with Picture-in-Picture, examine Artwork Presentations and read about Character Connections.

.07% PiP Video Commentary with writer Chuck Kim, Andrew Chambliss (assistant to Tim Kring), and Tim Keppler (assistant to Allan Arkush): Despite the participants not being that interesting at the start, their comments are genuine and appreciated.

The Hard Part PiP Video Commentary with Greg Grunberg, Jack Coleman and Sendhil Ramamurthy: This one is among the best commentaries on the whole set as all three share good rapport, observing what's on screen, discussing the episode story and change in characters, and cracking jokes.

Five Years Gone PiP Video Commentary with stunt coordinator Ian Quinn and actors James Kyson Lee and Noah Gray-Cabey: An interesting choice of commentators for this episode turns into a fairly engaging time. Quinn's input is good and Lee has a lot of things to say, while Gray-Cabey seems a bit lost and tends to laugh more than offer commentary.

Landslide PiP Video Commentary with actors George Takei, Masi Oka and Matthew Armstrong: Another engaging commentary featuring the one and only George Takei! He makes interesting observations and all share good rapport, while Oka offers cool tidbits and comments, and Armstrong ponders about events in the story.

How To Stop an Exploding Man PiP Video Commentary with producers Dennis Hammer, Allan Arkush and Tim Kring discusses the locations, characters and storylines as they appear in the episode. A few tidbits are also revealed, plus the usual thoughts and comments. It’s a decent commentary that runs slightly dry at times, but overall gets the job done.

Deleted Scenes (SD) are available for .07%, Five Years Gone and Landslide. One deleted scene for each episode, none of which are interesting.

FINAL THOUGHTS

The first season of Heroes is simply terrific entertainment and quality storytelling. This Blu-ray presentation offers solid video and audio quality, as well as a pretty good selection of bonus materials.