Heroes 1x01 - Genesis review

What would you do if you woke up one day and realized you could fly, see the future, stop time, or even walk through fire unscathed? "Heroes" ask several people the same question. The pilot introduces several characters in different parts of the world that are aware they are no longer "normal." Peter Petrelli (Milo Ventimiglia), a New York nurse, believes he can fly, while his politician brother Nathan Petrelli (Adrian Pasdar), does not believe him, but unknowingly can fly. Niki Sanders (Ali Larter), a Las Vegas single mother struggling to raise her genius son, Micah Sanders (Noah Gray-Cabey), has a split personality in her reflection. Claire Bennett (Hayden Panettiere), a Texan high school cheerleader, can regenerate her body in a blink of an eye. Hiro Nakamura (Masi Oka), a Japanese comic book geek, can teleport himself anywhere in the world. Isaac Mendez (Santiago Cabrera), a drug addict artist in New York, can foretell events of destruction. These are just the few characters introduced in the first hour of the series. Not to mention cast members who are not endowed with superpowers. Namely the Indian genetics professor Mohinder Suresh (Sendhil Ramamurthy), whose wild theories of human evolution are actually not that wild anymore. Additionally, you cannot have a series titled Heroes without villains. The villains do not exactly make an appearance, but there is an air of conspiracy that is bound to tie each character together as they all marvel at the phenomena of the solar eclipse not knowing their destiny is bring them together, most likely in New York.

NBC promotes the premiere with "fewer interruptions" because it needs it. However, the extra ten minutes of episode time are not enough. The pilot begins slowly with disjointed introductions of each character. The interwoven segments only give a quick overview of each character's names, powers, occupations, and their very human issues. With a cast this large, you'll be lucky if the average viewer remembers half of the main cast from one viewing. Heroes tries to develop its characters, but one hour for eight characters is not enough. In the end, the only characters you feel for are the Petrelli brothers, Hiro, and maybe even Claire. Hopefully, future episodes will expand more on the characters before they are too busy saving the world.

The episode starts slow, but it starts to pick up by the end when each character begins testing their powers. Claire runs into a burning fire to save a man. Niki's loan sharks are grotesquely ripped apart by her guardian reflection. Peter freefalls from a building only to find that it his brother can fly. Hiro teleports himself from a Tokyo subway to Time Square in New York, and Isaac points to a painting that prophesizes the destruction of New York.

Though weak in spots of character development, Heroes manages to have an intriguing but predictable premise about each character "destined" for something bigger. Moreover, some of the characters are interesting enough for its cliffhanger ending to have an effect that leaves you wanting more. Not to mention the question: are our heroes destined to be the next evolution of humans, or are they a part of something bigger? Maybe a government conspiracy or is it written in the stars?