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Series one introduction - Radio Times, February 2007 |
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Jenny Eden talks to some key players in Heroes.
"What would an ordinary person do if they
woke up one morning to find they had
super powers? They wouldn't reach for
a pair of Lycra tights and a cape and rush
off to save the world. Or at least not in hit new US series
Heroes, which starts in the UK on Sci-Fi this week.
Instead, its reluctant superheroes hide, test or shun
their powers, fearful of being labelled freaks. There's the
indestructible blonde cheerleader; the hospice nurse who
thinks he can fly and his politician brother who denies the
fact that he can; the Japanese office worker who can stop
time; the internet stripper with a murderous mirror image;
and more as the series progresses, including the former
Doctor, Christopher Eccleston, as an invisible man.
At first, the only thing they seem to have in common
is their struggle to cope with their extraordinary abilities,
but then their lives begin to intersect. The show's creator,
Tim Kring, says: "I want to explore what it's like to get
out of bed one morning and find out you can fly. You
still have rent to pay, a job to do and a relationship, but
you have these abilities. Ultimately it's a kind of curse."
But it's been a blessing to TV ratings in the US, where
the show has been the big hit of the year. Kring came up
with the idea after watching the films The Incredibles and
Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind within 24 hours.
He took advice from the bosses of Lost on sustaining
a series with major mysteries, then he recruited comic-book
experts and cast unknown actors to help viewers
buy into the idea. He credits the success of the show to
viewers wanting to find heroes in an uncertain world.
"Post 9/11, I think there is a feeling that the world
is a scary place. With terrorism, global warming and
diminishing natural resources, life feels out of control.
Heroes is a kind of wish fulfilment that there are these
people out there and we can help ourselves."
One character that has captured the imagination of
the US public is cheerleader Claire Bennet (Hayden
Panettiere), who discovers she can't die. Suddenly, instead of being the
most popular girl in school, she faces the possibility that
she's the biggest freak. "Claire is the homecoming queen,
then she has to come to terms with this thing that makes
her different from everyone else," says Panettiere.
But the breakout star is Masi Oka as genial Japanese
office worker [Hiro]. His abilities allow
him to travel through time, and he comes back from the
future with the message, "Save the cheerleader, save the
world", which became a catchphrase that swept America.
"Hiro wants to be special," says Oka. "Everyone else
is in a state of conflict, but Hiro embraces his powers
with an open heart and an open mind."
**
Now take a look at our full Heroes guide.
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