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Heroes is a American science fiction serial drama television series created by Tim Kring, which premiered on NBC on September 25, 2006.[1] The series tells the stories of ordinary individuals who discover that they have superhuman abilities. It also explores how they adapt to the changes these abilities bring, and their roles in preventing catastrophes and saving humanity. The series emulates the aesthetic style and storytelling of American comic books, using short, multi-episode story arcs that build upon a larger, more encompassing arc. Kring and the writers have an idea of where the series is heading for the first five seasons.[2] The series is produced by Universal Media Studios in association with Tailwind Productions,[3] and it is filmed primarily in Los Angeles, California.[4] The executive producers are Allan Arkush, Dennis Hammer, Greg Beeman and Tim Kring. Its incidental music is composed by Wendy Melvoin and Lisa Coleman. The first season attracted an average of 14.3 million viewers in the United States and received the highest rating for any NBC drama premiere in five years.[5] The first season's run consisted of 23 episodes. The second season of Heroes premiered on September 24, 2007,[6] and attracted an average of 13.1 million viewers in the United States.[7] The second season was NBC's top series in adults 18-49,[7] the top Monday series on any network in adults 18-49[7] and the top scripted series on any network in adults 18-34.[7] 24 episodes were ordered for the second season,[8] but only eleven episodes were broadcast,[9] due to the 100 day strike by the Writers Guild of America.[10][11] The dispute has also led to the postponement of a six episode spin-off, Heroes: Origins, which was originally expected to air in April and May 2008.[12][13] On February 13, 2008 NBC announced that Heroes would return for its third season in the last quarter of 2008.[7]
Heroes has garnered a number of awards and nominations. On July 19, 2007 Heroes was nominated in eight categories at the 2007 Primetime Emmy awards, including Outstanding Drama Series and was also nominated for Best Television Series-Drama at the 2007 Golden Globes. The series won a People's Choice Award in 2007 in the category of Best New Drama and was named Program of the Year in 2007 by the Television Critics Association.[16] The series has also been nominated for a NAACP Image Award, WGA Award, and Satellite Award. The first season of Heroes was also a critical success.[17][16]
Synopsis
The plot of Heroes is designed to be similar to the stories of comic books with small story arcs built into the series' overall large story arc plot. Each season of Heroes is designed to involve ordinary people who discover extraordinary powers, and how these abilities take effect in the character's lives. Season 2 was originally going to comprise of three volumes, however due to the writer's strike, the season was redesigned to only encompass one volume called "Generations".[18] Originally Volume 3 was going to be called "Exodus", and Volume 4 was going to be called "Villains." Currently, Volume 3 has been changed to "Villains" and moved to season three.[7] The "Exodus" story arc, which was to involve the effects of the release of strain 138 of the Shanti virus, was canceled. Scenes from the volume two finale "Powerless", were reshot to reflect the cancellation of the "Exodus" volume, and to tie-up all the loose plot storylines of "Generations."[19][20] Season One Season one began in the United States and Canada on September 23, 2006 and featured 23 episodes. Season one consisted of the first volume, known as "Genesis."[21] The series went on hiatus twice; first from December 4, 2006 to January 22, 2007,[22] and again from March 5 to April 23, 2007,[23] with the season finale airing on May 21, 2007.[24] The action goes from October 2, 2006 to November 8, 2006.
While coping, each of the characters is drawn — willingly or not — into the Company's conspiracy to control superpowered people, and into a race to stop an explosion from destroying New York City, which would kill millions of its inhabitants. Throughout the season, the predatory stalkings of the serial killer Sylar and continued manipulations from casino-owner and mobster Mr. Linderman affect the characters directly and indirectly. Several characters' individual stories culminated in a climactic meeting of the characters at Kirby Plaza in New York. These stories included Peter Petrelli's abilities, Nathan's campaign for Congress, Claire Bennet's search for her biological parents, Hiro Nakamura's adventurous journeys, Niki Sanders' multiple personalities, and Isaac Mendez's precognitive visions. Season TwoSeason two began in the United States and Canada on September 24, 2007 and featured only 11 out of the planned 24 episodes, due to the WGA writers' strike. Season two aired on Mondays at 9:00pm.[25] Season two consisted of the second volume, known as "Generations." Season two completed its finale on December 3, 2007.[26] The action takes place from March, 2007. The second season begins four months after the events of Kirby Plaza. Peter Petrelli, Matt Parkman, Nathan Petrelli, and Sylar have all survived the events of the season one finale, and are trying to return to ordinary lives despite their extraordinary abilities, with the exception of Sylar, who is on a quest to regain the use of his abilities. The main plot arc of "Generations" deals with the Company and its research on the Shanti virus. This research is explored through the Company's founders, whose identities are revealed, as well as through the effects of various strains of the virus on The Haitian, Niki Sanders, Sylar, and others. An amnesiac Peter Petrelli observes the potential devastation of the virus in a future New York City. The "heroes" ultimately come together in an attempt to stop the release of a deadly strain of the virus and avert a global pandemic. Interwoven with the main plot are several secondary plots. These include Nathan Petrelli's recovery following the events at Kirby Plaza; the journey of new characters Maya and Alejandro from Honduras to the United States, and their interaction with a powerless Sylar; Claire and Noah Bennet and their family adapting to a new life in southern California; Claire's relationship with her boyfriend West; Monica Dawson discovering her powers in New Orleans, with the help of her cousin Micah; Matt Parkman's reunion with his estranged father, leading to discovery of new abilities; the Company's manipulation of Mohinder Suresh; Ando Masahashi trying to piece together what happened to Hiro Nakamura; and Hiro's journey to Feudal Japan, where he meets his childhood hero, Takezo Kensei. Season ThreeSeason three will begin with the third volume, "Villains", during the 2008-2009 United States television season.[7] [27] "Villains" was originally supposed to be part of the second season, however the writer's strike caused the volume to be carried over to season three. The lead-in to the third volume, "Villains", features Sylar. Throughout Volume Two, his powers are suppressed by the Shanti virus.[28] After using a cure procured by Mohinder Suresh, he regains his abilities, delivering the first line of the volume: "I'm back." Tim Kring has claimed that the new volume will bring a cadre of villains to the show, hence the name.[29] On December 5, 2007 at the Jules Verne Film Festival Adventure, Tim Kring showed a video-preview of Volume three.[30] Cast and charactersOriginally, Kring designed the series to have an ever-shifting cast. However, his motivation changed when he realized how big the original cast hit with audiences; therefore he brought back most of the first season cast for the second season, with a few additions who received a star billing.[31] In its first season, the show features an ensemble cast of twelve main characters making it the third largest cast in American primetime television behind Desperate Housewives and Lost. Although NBC's first season cast page lists only ten characters,[32] Leonard Roberts (D.L. Hawkins), who first appeared in the series' fifth episode, was an additional member of the original full-time cast.[33] In episode eleven of the first season, Jack Coleman (Noah Bennet) was upgraded from a recurring role to become the twelfth full-time cast member.[34] Zachary Quinto and James Kyson Lee, who were recurring cast members in the first season, joined the main cast for the second season.[35][36] They were joined by new cast members David Anders,[37] Kristen Bell,[38] Dana Davis[39] and Dania Ramírez.[40] Anders was originally cast for a recurring role, and was upgraded to a series regular before the season began. He was listed as a guest star until the fifth episode of season two, when he was then listed as a main cast member.[37][41] At the start of season two Santiago Cabrera, Tawny Cypress, and Leonard Roberts were no longer listed as part of the main cast,[42] although Leonard Roberts' character appeared in season two as a guest starring role.[43] The series also features many guest and recurring characters, including friends and family of the main cast, criminals and villains, and other individuals with superhuman abilities.
Casting
Tim Kring describes the casting process as an "incredibly simple and easy process."[47] Every actor and actress that production wanted to cast for the show came in and read for their respective parts.[47] When Jason La Padura, the casting director for Heroes, is casting for a new character for the show -major or minor- his company puts out a script breakdown, which is an analysis of a screenplay or script, which includes several production elements for the potential actors. Padura's company then receives resumes and photos and looks for potential actors to cast. When it comes to guest stars, Padura states, "we need to really be able to see what the people have done, what they're about, we pay a lot of attention to people's training, their previous credits.[48] La Padura says that casting co-stars is an easier process, and can be done through an online service used by casting directors. When it comes to well-known actors, Padura submits their names, and if production are interested, they may offer a role that was already planned or write-in a new role for that actor.[48]  Sendhil Ramamurthy's character of Mohinder Suresh was one of only a few characters that was changed based on casting. Suresh was originally designed to be a 55-year old professor, however, due to Ramamurthy's audition, the part was rewritten and made younger to fit him.[47]  Hayden Panettiere was cast by Marc Hirschfeld, executive vice president of casting for NBC Universal Television. Hirschfeld explained that when they were trying to decide who the cheerleader should be, he literally picked up the phone and said to the producers, "You got to meet Hayden Panettiere."[49] Dania Ramirez was cast on the series based on her work on The Sopranos. She was notified by Kring that he was creating a Latin character and wanted her to come and test. Ramirez was the only actress called in to test for the role.[50] Kristen Bell was first approached about being cast in July 2007, during a train ride back from the San Diego Comic Con with Heroes actors Zachary Quinto and Masi Oka, and writers from the series. The writers had mentioned that if Bell "ever want[ed] to come on Heroes, give us [writers] a call", to which Bell said she would love to. Bell had several casting options, including ABC's Lost, however it was officially announced that she was cast in August 2007.[51] David Anders auditioned for the role of Takezo Kensei. He read his scenes, impersonating Peter O'Toole, in which the producers responded by asking him to tone down the impression on his second audition. He was contacted two weeks later and given the part. Anders was aware at the time that his role was a recurring role that had the possibility of being promoted to a main cast role, however, he did not find out until the filming of episode five that he would be portraying Monroe, and that his character would be moving into the present.[52][53] Jack Coleman was originally cast to only be in the pilot, with an open-ended contract. The connection between the characters of Claire and Mr. Bennet, and Kring's approval of Coleman's performance led to him being upgraded to a recurring character, before being promoted to the main cast roster.[54] Dana Davis received the Heroes script during the 2007 pilot season. She auditioned once for the role and was cast.[55][56]  La Padura stated that the character of Peter Petrelli was the hardest to cast due to conflicts regarding the Petrelli brother's ages. La Padura states the Petrelli brothers were originally written to be twins, and it became obvious in the production process that in order to have correct dynamic between the two characters, Peter had to be the younger brother. Adrian Pasdar was cast first. Milo Ventimiglia's role as Peter was the last to be cast and the most difficult.[48] Greg Grunberg originally auditioned for the role of one of the Petrelli brothers. It was not a fit for him, but the production liked him so much, they rewrote the role of Matt Parkman to fit him. Originally Parkman's character was to be much younger, and La Padura was looking to cast a Ryan Phillippe-type actor for the role.[48]  La Padura also states the Masi Oka was the easiest actor to cast although casting the character was difficult due to a small pool of Japanese-speaking actors. Masi walked in the door and production knew he was "terrific" and "ideal" for the role.[48] Ali Larter was cast for the show after reading several pilots during the 2006 pilot season. She auditioned for the role and was brought in a second and third time to meet with the studio and network respectively before being officially cast.[57] Tawny Cypress also auditioned for the role of Niki, but was not awarded the part. Instead, Kring rewrote the role of Stella for her and renamed the character Simone Deveaux.[58] Zachary Quinto auditioned for the role of Sylar, during the time when the series was currently airing. Tim Kring was not present at his first audition, but after a five day process, Quinto was awarded the role.[59] Santiago Cabrera was cast through an interview process. When he auditioned for the production team, he went all out, doing the scene from the pilot when Isaac was under the influence of heroin. After the scene, the producers asked, "Well thank you very much for that. Maybe you would try it now not so on the effects of drugs." He eventually landed the role.[60] Leonard Roberts was awarded the role of D.L. Hawkins, after he beat out Jimmy Jean-Louis (The Haitian), who auditioned for the same part three times. The part of the Haitian was rewritten for Louis. The original concept for the Haitian was to be a character from New Zealand, who would have been called "The Kiwi."[61] ProductionConceptionHeroes began development during pilot season in 2006, when Tim Kring, then creator of NBC's Crossing Jordan, came up with the show's concept. Kring wanted to create a "large ensemble saga" that would connect with the audience. He began thinking about how big, scary and complicated he felt the world is, and wanted to create a character driven series about people who could do something about it. Kring felt that a cop, medical, or Lost-type drama did not have characters that were big enough to save the world. He came up with the thought of superheroes; ordinary people who would discover extraordinary abilities, while still rooted in the real world and in reality. Milo Ventimiglia described the pilot as a "character drama about everyday people with a heightened reality." Kring wanted the series to have touchstones that involved the characters and the world they lived in.[47][62] Before he began putting his ideas together, he spoke with Lost executive producer Damon Lindelof, with whom he had worked with for three years on Crossing Jordan. Kring credits Lindelof for giving him ideas on how to pitch the series to the network and advice on the lessons he (Lindelof) learned about working on a serialized drama. The two still speak and support each other's projects.[63][64][65] When Kring pitched the idea for Heroes to the NBC network, he described the network's reaction as "excited...very supportive."[66] He comments that he has been partners with NBC for some time based on his six year run as showrunner for Crossing Jordan.[66] When he pitched the pilot, he described every detail, including the cliffhanger ending. When NBC executives asked him what was going to happen next, Kring responded, "Well, you’ll just have to wait and find out."[67] After the project was greenlit, a special 73-minute version of the pilot was first screened to a large audience at the 2006 Comic Con in San Diego.[68] It was initially reported that this unaired pilot would not be released, however it was included on the first season DVD set.[69] Writing and episode formatWhen the writing team works on an episode, each writer takes a character and writes the individual scenes surrounding them. These stories are then combined and given to the episode writer. This system allows every writer to contribute to every episode.[70] and enables the writing team to finish scripts sooner, so the filming crew can shoot more scenes at a location.[67] Tim Kring describes the writing process as a collaborative one and states that the collaboration process is important because production needs to shoot several scenes at a single location. In order to do this, several scripts have to be ready. Jesse Alexander, co-producer and writer, explains that this process is important in a serialized drama because one has to know where each character's development is heading.[67] Episodes have a distinct structure: following a recap of relevant events, each show begins with a cold open, which is sometimes the beginning of a scene that was introduced in the previous week's episode. At a dramatic juncture, the screen cuts to the title graphic, which is an eclipse of the sun by the earth, with the Heroes logo and a musical interlude. The opening credits generally appear alphabetically by last name over the scenes that immediately follow. Several characters' stories are shown throughout the episode. Sometimes these stories are stand alone events, while at other times character stories intertwine and cross over. Most episodes end with a suspenseful twist or cliffhanger,[71] revealed just seconds before a smash cut to a "to be continued" graphic. Music and soundtrackMusic from the first season is composed by Wendy Melvoin and Lisa Coleman, with music engineer Michael Perfitt[72] and vocals provided by Shenkar. Each episode averages thirty to thirty-five minutes of music, played entirely by Melvoin and Coleman themselves and is produced on three Intel Macs and a hard raid system.[73] The second season brought the addition of Manon Dave to the music team.[74] Melvoin and Coleman became involved with Heroes from their previous work with executive producer Allan Arkush.[73] Tim Kring, gave general instructions to the pair, including the emotion and direction for each character. Kring wanted incredibly unusual music and gave Wendy and Lisa a lot of freedom and permission to experiment. In the pilot episode, Kring suggested that a dreamy cue be used in the scene involving Claire Bennet running into a burning train. The dreamy cue has since become "a signature piece of the show." Additionally, the pair developed specific musical cues for each character:[73]
In 2007, the ASCAP Film and Television Music Awards gave Wendy and Lisa the "Top Television Series" award for their work on Heroes.[75] In France, the theme music of Heroes is composed by Victoria Petrosillo. Her song, "Le Héros d'un autre", is used by television network TF1 to replace the show's original incidental music. The network created a new opening credit sequence in order to play Petrosillo's theme song.[76] The Rogue Wave song "Eyes" from the Just Friends soundtrack is featured in the first season episodes "Genesis" and "Collision".[77] The official Heroes soundtrack was released on March 18, 2008 by The NBC Universal Television, DVD, Music & Consumer Products Group. It contains new recordings from Wendy and Lisa, and contributions from Panic at the Disco, Wilco, Imogen Heap, Bob Dylan, Nada Surf and David Bowie, among other artist and bands. The disc also includes the Heroes theme. The disk does not contain, however, "Eyes" by Rogue Wave, which was featured in the first and third episode. The B-side features 45 minutes of nonstop narrative by Mohinder Suresh. On February 29, 2008, NBC Universal Television, DVD, Music & Consumer Products Group released five music videos created by Heroes producer/director Allan Arkush, each combining show footage with songs from the soundtrack. The music videos were released on Zune and MSN.[78][79][80] The track listing is as follows:[80]
Filming and visual effects Mark Kolpack of Stargate designs, is the visual effects supervisor and Mark Spatny[81] is the visual effects producer for Heroes. They work with visual effects animators Anthony Ocampo and Ryan Wieber, who are also from Stargate.[47][82] The series visual effects consist of blue screens and 2D and 3D animation. The visual effects for the series are created after the scene is shot in post-production, unlike special effects, which are incorporated into the scenes during filming.[83] Notable visual effects that Kolpack has pointed out include radioactive Claire in "Company Man", Nathan flying from Mr. Bennet and The Haitian in "Hiros", and Hiro's time freezing encounter with the schoolgirl in the red bow in "One Giant Leap".[47] The special effects are coordinated by Gary D'Amico. Stunts are coordinated by Ian Ouinn, who also uses blue screens to accomplish some of the stunts in the series, such as Nathan Petrelli flying away from Heidi during the car accident scene in "Six Months Ago". Principal filming for Heroes take place in Los Angeles and Santa Clarita, California.[4] Kolpack and his team are also responsible for making Los Angeles look like international locations, such as India and Ukraine, using blue screens and set designs by Ruth Ammon, production designer for the series.[84] The series is filmed using a single-camera setup. In keeping with the comic book thematic elements used on Heroes, professional comic book artist Tim Sale was brought in to provide the artwork used within the series, including the artwork of Isaac Mendez, and Mendez metafictional comic book series, the 9th Wonders!.[85] Additionally, the font used in captions and credits for the show is reminiscent of traditional hand-rendered comic book lettering. It was created by Sale and is based on his handwriting style.[86] DVD releasesThe first DVD release of Heroes was a sampler disc, containing only the first episode, and was released in the UK and the Republic of Ireland on September 3, 2007.[87] UK Region 2 split Heroes into two halves on its initial release; part one being released on October 1, 2007 and part two on December 10, 2007.[88][89] When the second part was released, a complete first season boxset was also released on the same day.[90] Heroes was also released as two parts in Ireland, Norway, Denmark, Finland and Sweden, with the first part being released on November 28, | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
