It's always the show you love the most that you become most critical of, and in this case Heroes was a show many people fell in love with after Season 1's great drama, action, sci-fi and mystery. Season 2 was not quite as good, but now looking back seems much better than what we've been served up recently. It's starting to seem like a big revolving door of bringing us back around to the same storylines, and that may not be the fairest treatment for fans of this series.

The way in which Volume 4 - Fugitives ended was almost surreal, as if somehow Matt Parkman was able to use subliminal mind control to make us all forget how silly the way that Nathan died yet still lives on happened. It basically boiled down to the brothers Petrelli going into a 2-on-1 deathmatch with bad guy Sylar. Their only abilities were to fly, giving Sylar a serious advantage. So they flew in, the doors shut while Sylar was electrocuting them, suspending them, throwing objects at them, buzzsawing them, and who knows what else. It was almost like Darth Vader against two limited Jedi's. Claire got to see more of the handicap fight then we did as she peeked through the door crack. Why they stopped the girl who can re-heal from going into the battle with them is beyond me. So the battle goes on, and eventually the noise stops and the dust settles. Claire goes into the hotel suite to find just Peter, who's bruised up and can no longer fly. He says Nathan and Sylar took the fight out the window. Peter's hurt and can no longer fly, but we learn he gained Sylar's abilities. Which as a fan eagerly pointed out to me, include the whole re-healing thing. Guess Peter didn't want others knowing what he was capable of?

Just moments after Claire and Peter leave the suite, Sylar hurls Nathan back into the suite to finish the fight. Kinda strange, but Sylar wins it by using telekinesis and then slitting Nathan's throat. At first I was thinking somehow Peter morphed into Nathan to absorb the damage and trick Sylar, but that would be impossible with another Peter running around. So Nathan really was killed, sort of. First Sylar had to be stopped. As he changed himself into the president's aid, Samuels, he got into the president's limo. However, it wasn't the president in the back seat, it was Peter using his cool new power to turn into anyone. He jabbed Sylar with a tranquilizer. Next up, the big plan to make Nathan still alive somehow..

Angela told Matt Parkman he was supposed to save Nathan, and boy was she right! What a twist, Parkman was able to go into an unconscious Sylar's head and convince him "You're Nathan Petrelli...Sylar's dead". Somehow he was also mentally sending us the telegram "You all will continue watching no matter how ridiculous this all seems". To make the plan more "plausible" HRG was like "Hey, I've got a spare shapeshifter sitting in cryogenics just for this moment!' Parkman skeptically went along with it, but once again Angela is lying to Peter, HRG is lying to Claire about her real father. The three of them along with Suresh, Ando, Claire, Peter and Hiro, all gathered around the funeral pire/bonfire to watch a fake Sylar body go up in flames. They all smiled and laughed (except Matt Parkman) as HRG dubbed them "The Company" - the next generation. One good thing that came of this all may be that they took away the flying power which was way overused in the past few volumes. Sure, quick travel around the globe is cool, but we need more than that as Heroes fans.

Volume 5 is dubbed "Redemption" and that seems a perfect title, as the writers and creator, Tim Kring, will really need to redeem themselves after treating fans to an entertaining yet watered down Volume 4. Speaking of watered down, it seems we know at least one of the new season's villains, another Strauss sister who can turn into and use water. Peter just might have full use of more than 1 power for a season. Also, Sylar will struggle to figure out he's trapped in Nathan's body, as he continues to toy with clocks. And in case we haven't seen it before, Claire will get mad at HRG who will say he did it to protect her, as Angela will tell Peter the same.

Note: In case you're wondering you can watch episodes of TV on the Web including NBC's Heroes these days. Hulu.com is one free, legitimate site that offers the episodes streaming right onto your computer. You can also opt to buy episodes over at the iTunes Music store.

(Save the cheerleader, she'll save you)

One of the most mysterious characters in Heroes Season 3 Fugitives is a text messager known simply as "Rebel". The rebellious figure has been sending instructional messages to everyone amongst the heroes to aid them in escaping. Rebel's warned Matt Parkman, Suresh, Peter, Claire, Hiro and Ando all of the impending dangers. In Episode 18 "Exposed", the puppetmaster villain (who Sylar must not have killed?) showed up at the Bennet home informing Claire that Rebel told him "Claire will save you".

In the last episode, Angela Petrelli crushed the idea that she was the Rebel when Nathan confronted her. That doesn't leave her out, because the Petrelli's aren't always upfront about everything. She did mention that she doesn't know how to use computers very well though. It could be an insider, but most likely it's someone we've seen before. One individual we haven't seen or heard from since earlier in "Villains", is Micah Sanders, Nikki/Jessica's technogeek-son, who definitely knows how to manipulate technology. Micah was able to get Nathan elected, eject wads of cash from ATM's and order free Pay-Per-Views on TV, so there's no reason he wouldn't be able to use his abilities to hack into the mainframes over at Building 26. He may be hiding out somewhere and viewing the same video feeds that the people going after the heroes are. Micah never really met all of the heroes he's contacted such as Claire Bennet, but he could very well have retrieved some sort of files or list via his hacking.

There's some other possibilities. There was the female known as Wireless who appeared in only a few episodes, but had the ability to control communications devices. My memory might be skewed on this, but I don't recall the soldier (Scott) who was tested with the formula and became super strong getting killed, although he may have burned in the nasty fire at Pinehearst. Claire's real mother who had pyrokinesis supposedly perished in an explosion/fire as did Nikki/Jessica during Season 2. Monica Dawson has also been M.I.A. Another character who basically just vanished is West, Claire's former classmate love interest. He's got that power of flight which has kept Peter from being captured and he could possibly be able to run some surveillance from the sky. The smart money's on Micah Sanders for now, until we get some more revealing clues about this mysterious yet helpful character.

As Heroes Volume 3 "Villains" concluded we had all sorts of new twists and turns in the storyline going on. Here's some quick refresher notes to prepare everyone for "Fugitives" which begins this coming Monday.

Hiro is Powerless - Arthur Petrelli took away Hiro's powers back in time and tried to leave him stranded. Luckily, good buddy Ando was able to inject himself with that magical power serum and gained a power. His power? The ability to supercharge any other heroe's powers simply by touching them. We saw it on display as he helped Daphne move so fast she traveled back in time to save Hiro. So now there's quite the role reversal as trusty sidekick Ando is the main hero, while Hiro is just another guy with good sword skills.

Peter is Powerful - We've had several seasons now with Peter in limited power mode. Now he's fully charged after he re-injected himself with the power-giving serum. The question is will he be limited yet again? For example will he be one of the first ones taken in by those hunting the heroes? Let's hope not, he deserves to have some fun with the full use of his powers.

Nathan is a Bad Guy - Nathan wants to do what he believes is for the best, following in daddy's footsteps. Unfortunately he's become rather diabolical and when we last saw the Senator he was asking for the President's help in capturing the people with special abilities, aka "the heroes". That makes them the fugitives this go round, with Nathan as the main headhunter.

Primatech & Pinehearst Gone - In the final episode of Villains both buildings were burned to a crisp, destroying all sorts of research and files on various individuals, as well as that serum capable of giving heroes powers. HRG no longer has a homebase to operate from, and there doesn't seem to be a place to keep the baddest of the bad "heroes" captive.

Matt & Daphne In Love - The power couple of the show isn't Nathan and Tracy Strauss but instead Matt Parkman and his beloved Daphne. How long before Daphne tires of Matt's ability to read her mind? Then again, she can run off whenever they fight.

Mohinder & Tracy in ? - Hot blonde Tracy Strauss picked up hitchhiker Mohinder in a sleek sports car after the big Pinehearst blowup. Mohinder gets all the girls. Will these two hatch some sort of diabolical plan, or will Mohinder focus his attention on former love interest Maya?

Elle is Dead - Her boytoy Sylar cut open her skull and made sure to fully devour her electric powers. No more pretty Elle to grace the screen along with fellow bombshells Claire and Tracy.

Sylar is Dead, Again - Or is he? Most likely not because we all know Claire and Peter had something impaled into the back of their head, yet each was able to recover from the injury. Sylar has Claire's ability now too, just as Peter does. And spoiler alert, the commercial for the new episodes showed Sylar back in action...

Tune in to Heroes: "Fugitives" this coming Monday at 9PM EST on NBC!

Read Heroes Season 3 Villains Episode Recaps!

The next installment of NBC's Heroes Volume 4, "Fugitives", is set to return the night after the Super Bowl, February 2nd, 2009 at it's regular time slot. An advertisement aired during last night's WWE Raw on USA, and ads have been seen on NBC as well. In the ad various quick shots were seen of Heroes in distress, or HRG telling someone to get in if they want to live (possibly Suresh). In conjunction with the Superbowl on Sunday, there will be an interesting commercial aired on NBC featuring the Heroes in a touch football game.

The Volume 4 plot will revolve around the Heroes following the explosions and fires that burned down Pinehearst and Primatech at the end of Volume 3 "Villains". Hiro who is now powerless will attempt to train Ando to be a superhero. Matt and Daphne will look to live a normal life as a couple. Suresh will return to his taxi driver job in NYC, while Peter Petrelli will be fully-powered, looking for action again.

There's also several sneak preview clips online of Episode 14 which will be entitled "Clear and Present Danger". The four new clips show Claire calling Peter to warn him of Nathan and Angela Petrelli's plans to take people with abilities in, Peter getting into a taxi cab driven by Suresh, Claire showing up at Matt Parkman's place where she finds out his new power, and Peter confronting Nathan about his plans.

Watch the clips at aceshowbiz.com!

The adventures of Hiro Lost in Time would definitely make for a great spinoff series of NBC's Heroes. Seeing Hiro's mishaps and quests in ancient Rome, the Middle Ages, battling real dinosaurs, or even exploring other planets in the future would all be captivating. For now, Hiro is stuck 16 years ago, back when he was just a young boy who cared more about his Gameboy than saving the world. He was able to convince his mother to give the catalyst to him rather than Claire bear, but all of a sudden, Arthur Petrelli was there and snatched everything away. So that now makes 2 of our heroes powerless, Peter and Hiro.

The current plan is for Ando to try to get the ability to time travel, then go back and save his friend. Is it that easy to decide who gets what ability? As we saw with Scott the Marine in present day, he received super-strength, but who knows what else. He may also have received an over-agressive mindstate to accompany that. The other question is, will Hiro and Peter want to have powers again? Or will they be content as normal human beings amongst their fellow heroes? Angela Petrelli was able to help Peter regain his memory, will she have the ability to restore powers? Or will it take another eclipse to restore their powers? If so they could have a long wait..

Some other quirks about the last episode. Sylar told Peter not to worry, he wouldn't kill him because he didn't have anything he wanted. True, but what about the Haitian? Is there any reason Sylar wouldn't want the ability to block others' powers? Does Sylar know something about the Haitian we don't? For example that Haitian's power would limit Sylar's other abilities? Or was Sylar just ignorant to the fact that the Haitian has a power? Another thing about this season that just seems odd is Arthur Petrelli just showing up places all of a sudden. Yes, he's the super-villain but he just seems out of place when that happens. Robert Forester was great in Tarentino's Jackie Brown but his work as a villain seems strange at times. We may not have to worry about that, because as of right now Arthur's out of commission.

(Arthur Petrelli debriefs the troops with a sketch)

It seems Heroes episode 310 may offer us an "epic battle" between good and evil superheroes, or maybe just a good chase. In case you didn't notice, there's some sort of eclipse on the agenda. Viewers of Heroes have been inundated with drawings, paintings, sketches and comic book renditions of a big eclipse. The writers must think the audience doesn't understand what's coming. It's still uknown what exactly the big eclipse will bring, whether it's a symbol of the world going dark, or if it's symbolic of a reset of all the Heroes' powers. Possibly it wipes out everyone's powers for that moment, or creates a dark battlefield as Suresh alluded to in his narrative.

We know that Arthur realizes they need to get Claire to get the living host Suresh needs to complete the power-giving formula. So maybe the hunt is on with a good ol' game of "Capture the Claire", pitting good versus evil. Also, right now Peter in particular lacks abilities, but as we saw Sylar is able to gain abilities through empathy. Maybe the eclipse gives Peter the ability to get abilities back. But either way, let's hope for a great showdown between good and bad. It's also a shame that Nikki isn't around so we could see her super strength versus that of fear-charged Knox. A Sylar vs. Peter showdown could definitely rev things up for Season 3.


(Look familiar? Total eclipse of the Heroes...)

Once again, you really have to wonder, where's The Haitian been hiding at? This guy can block people's abilities. He could just walk into the middle of a heroes vs. heroes fight and stop the whole thing like a well-respected sports referee. It seems the writers just don't want it to be so simple, but wouldn't the Haitian be the key to stopping just about all forms of chaos? It's either that or Hiro needs to do some serious time traveling...

Feel free to leave your own comments/opinions of Heroes Season 3, and what you think's coming...

Is Heroes in jeopardy of being vaporized much like Matt Parkman's dad, or the villain we saw commit suicide by jumping into his own vortex? We're deep into Season 3 of Heroes, the Villains installment with more and more fans jumping ship or at least harshly criticizing the "revival season". Last season was considered a disaster by many, and creator Tim Kring promised he had addressed all the flaws of that season for Season 3. Unfortunately, two of the show's co-exectuive producers were fired, Jeph Loeb and Jesse Alexander. They also served as senior writers, overseeing much of the script development. Luckily, writers are into episode 20 of the 25 episode season, so time will tell how much of an effect the firings have.

Read more about Heroes losing ratings and writers at NY Times.

I've found Season 3 compelling at times, but again they tend to cram a lot into a little frame of time. They've also made up some quick relationships by jumping back in time. For example, we have now seen that Elle and Sylar shared a brief romantic glimmer of hope. It ultimately may have been what snapped Gabriel Gray into his murderous mind state of Sylar. We also learned that Flint is Meredith's brother, and that The Company tricked him. Meredith also believed she lost her daughter Claire (invinvible cheerleader) to a blazing fire, but we all know later this is not so. We still need to learn the particulars of Claire being given to HRG, and also how Mrs. Petrelli hooked up with Hiro's father.

Right now, the biggest issue may be that Arthur Petrelli just simply zaps people of their powers or annihilates them. Yes, it makes for a great type of villain as seen in comic books, but makes the show ackward, because of the storyline. Hiro spent a large amount of time dreaming of the past so he could warn others, only for Arthur to come forth and perhaps wipe out his memory? If that's so, why did Arthur not just execute Hiro like he did to the precog? It was revealed earlier in the season that Hiro is the key to stopping all this madness, but now he looks like a mindless accomplice. However, one would have to believe the true key to stopping Arthur is now The Haitian. We saw him in the last episode coming into play as he stood in the dining room behind Arthur, blocking his power of suggestion towards wife Angela. So why wouldn't Haitian be necessary to stopping the ultimate evil-doer? He's been able to block Sylar, Hiro, Peter, Matt Parkman, basically everyone with a power.

The only other answer right now is Sylar, but we are unsure if he's truly good or bad to the core. He may have gotten close to his "dear ol' dad" but will he have what it takes to turn the tides and stop the destructive force?

Heroes seems to be on a roller-coaster type good and evil ride this season. We have a menacing villain, cryptic clues, new characters and questionable loyalties. And once again, Peter lacks the full use of all his wonderful abilities. Sylar seems to have re-aligned himself with the dark side, and Hiro is the key to saving everyone. With the way things are progressing, we have elements of Spiderman, The Fly, Back to the Future, X-Men and Star Wars mixed together. And we just might see this season's ending mirror one of those flicks.

It's starting to seem as if we might be headed towards a predictable end for this season. My speculation is we'll be treated to a scene straight out of Return of the Jedi, the final Star Wars installment. In that movie, the evil Emperor is trying to get his apprentice, Darth Vader, to bring his son Luke over to the dark side. Luke refuses to do so, as he's the good guy and last Jedi knight. So since Vader isn't getting his son to budge, Evil Emperor begins to electrocute the life out of Luke. His loving father Darth Vader realizes he'd rather save his son than watch him die, so he ends up tossing the evil Emperor down into a cosmic abyss.

Well it turns out that Sylar, although pretending to be bad, doesn't really seem to be on Arthur Petrelli's side. He did in fact save Peter from falling all those stories and dying. So we just might be headed towards a big finish with Arthur instructing Sylar to kill off Peter since he won't join their cause. Sylar will end up picking up Arthur over head and tossing him down into the sewer, rather than destroying his own brother. So it just might be a bit of been there, done that, and that could spell trouble for writers who need to give us new ideas in this exciting series.

So we have Arthur the Ultra-Villain, Sylar playing his shifty apprentice, and Peter rendered powerless...Once again questions linger...Will Peter be able to regain his abilities? Will he simply start re-learning his powers? Is Hiro going to time travel and restore Peter's powers somehow? Is Hiro the only one who can stop Arthur, or can Sylar? Can the Haitian block Arthur Petrelli's abilities? How many heroes will lose their powers this season and become average joes? Will Suresh be able to cure himself and stop the Company? Are Elle and Clai possibly related somhow? Will we ever see Monica or Maya in the show again? Stay tuned faithful Heroes fans!

(He's alive! Dallas Petrelli assembles an army from his hospital bed!)

Heroes Season 3 Villains is starting to seem more appropriately titled as "Heroes Season 3: Mindfreak", with the way that Tim Kring and the writers are twisting and turning our realities and those of the various characters. With the introduction of Dallas Petrelli, the considered-dead dad of Peter & Nathan, and the various manipulations, who knows what to believe?

First off, we have time travel galore going on this season. We're thrust 4 Years into the future, then 4 tears back to the present. It's enough to make Marty and Doc's time-traveling car overheat. Hiro, Peter and Matt Parkman all have either been in the future or seen it and have ideas about what will happen. We've seen alternate (present day and future day) versions of several characters, Peter's learning how to change the future, as well as Sylar going nuclear and blowing up Costa Verde (in the future). Sylar's mushroom-cloud explosion just might be symbolic, like the combustion of Heroes' fans brains as they try to digest all the concepts going on this season.

As for Peter, not sure if this bothers other fans, but it seems he never quite gets to fully use and develop his powers. We saw him training with Claude the invisible man during Season 1, but he's been in and out of comas, had amnesia, joined a group of thugs, been stuck into the body of a villian and now put back into a coma-induced state by his mother. Some of the coolest and best-delivered moments of the show have been Peter using those powers to rescue someone or fight Sylar. Kring and the writers have to know that fans would like another Sylar-Peter showdown, so what gives there?

We also have Mr. Linderman, who is really just some sort of figment of the imagination that Dallas Petrelli has Matt Parkman's dad playing in Nathan and Daphne's minds. With the introduction of that concept, who knows what's really real now. Everyone's reality we are seeing just might be altered, including ours as we watch the show.

There's also the concept of Good & Bad, which the show warned us about for this season. Anyone can turn evil as we've been seeing, and anyone can become a good guy. Also, this season more than ever, the writers seem to be introducing the concepts of religion and evolution. Linderman and Nathan have discussed doing God's work and the concept that they could be angels, with Nathan becoming ultra-religious after his "rebirth". Of course then he found out he wasn't exactly born to fly.

Tracy Strauss, the triplet sibling of Niki and Barbara Sanders, learned about the genetic creation of various heroes in a lab, including Nathan. So we also get to toy with the concepts of creation vs. evolution. How many heroes were born with abilities and how many were manufactured? As for Tracy, is Niki still alive or did she perish in that explosive fire, rescuing Monica? Where's Barbara, the other triplet? And wasn't there a Jessica in the mix? Is Tracy just another manipulation of the mind?

The writers have definitely set this up good so we can't second guess a thing, even if they hand it to us. While the storyline has been pretty straightforward with no real holdouts in terms of surprises, it's still left open a world of possibilities. In Season 3, it looks like our brainwaves will truly be put to the test. With the changing of alliances, the deceptions, the secrets uncovered, the manipulations of space, time and mind and Suresh' transform into a Spiderman/Fly type monster, we have a season full of the good, the bad and the ugly!

The writers have definitely given us a great start on Season 3. Add to that Sylar's new role, and seeming comedic one-liners, and they definitely want the fans invested back in NBC Heroes. We now have Sylar in a suit, teaming up with Noah Bennet to track down the villains who escaped Level 5. Claire has undergone a brief training season with her mother in an isolated cargo box. So we get the flipping of good vs. bad, as they mentioned we would for this season.

We can already see this plot development coming a mile away. Sylar goes good, to "help" HRG track down the bad guys. Sylar is in sort of a personal growth stage/battle with himself to stop cutting off the tops of heads and stealing powers. His mentors are Angela Petrelli and Noah Benett. Meanwhile indestructible cheerleader, Claire Bennet, is oblivious to the pairing of Sylar with her father, and is going out on a personal mission to take Sylar out. The good news is that HRG is sorta on the same page, wanting to help his daughter destroy Sylar, but doesn't realize her plans. He's always been one to keep her out of harm's way. So I fully expect we'll see a Claire vs. Sylar showdown..Possibly Peter gets involved, unless..

We get a Peter vs. Peter showdown. The futuristic Peter wearing all black, versus modern Peter, learning to cope and control his powers. It's like a Matrix style battle in the making, of clones. But seriously, do Heroes fans not want the fourth installment of Sylar vs. Peter? That seems to be the true backbone of the show. Each guy has vast powers and can do some major damage. Having these two face off in the city streets or some abandoned warehouse full of machinery makes a lot of sense, and for Must See Heroes TV!

Another interesting aspect is that Hiro Nakamura and Ando are in a cell on Level 5 right nearby to resident Sylar. Sylar would love that whole teleportation, stop time power, because it makes his power-stealing that much easier to do. But as long as Haitian's in the building, all powers are off at the door...

Meanwhile the Parkman "Lost in Africa" story seems to be a replay of last season's Hiro "Lost in Ancient Time" story. The difference is Parkman really isn't using his powers, he's just zoning out to his new friend's iPod and checking out mysterious paintings. Apparently, Matt meets a new woman, but she dies in his arms. Is the blonde we saw someone we know (Tracy, Elle, Daphne)? Or is a brand new character waiting in the wings?

It seems this season still has mysteries involved, but the writers/creator have deliberately informed us what may be coming. Now let's hope for some great twists and turns in a climactic payoff for Season 3!

(What's the meaning of the new paintings?)

Season 3 kicked off with a bang and definitely did not disappoint. We had back-to-back episodes: "The Second Coming" and "The Butterfly Effect". Last season now looks like a mere blur on the roadmap to great stories, special effects, drama and action. They've done a good job at throwing all kinds of twists and turns into just 2 episodes, giving us plenty of room to speculate. Here's some thoughts on the first two episodes and what we might expect this season.

The future "Peter" definitely gives us the display of powers (and special efx) we've been waiting for. I had been contemplating the idea that maybe this badass future Peter we were seeing was really Sylar coming back in time (after killing Hiro). It may make sense after seeing what Mrs. Petrelli said to Sylar, making him into her son.

So what's up with Mrs. Petrelli? She told Sylar he's her son, but I'm not sure she meant it literally. She's got some sort of mind manipulation powers and may be convincing Sylar to do her bidding. The bidding would be having Sylar go out to stop the future Peter, or even worse to destroy the world.

The fact that Sylar can morph into different people makes him deadlier than ever, but we didn't really see it displayed yet. It would make sense if "future Peter" is Sylar and he made "present day Peter" look like the inmate Jesse. You'll remember Candice had that ability to change the way things looked, but I'm not sure she could change something and leave it looking like that for an extended time period.

And how about the joke from Sylar when Claire asked if he was going to eat her brain now - "No Claire that's gross" - great stuff from the writers. It seems all Sylar needs to do is touch a certain part of a Heroe's brain to gain their powers, sorta like how Micah touched electronics and got a feel to make it work. I can't recall exactly, but weren't some of the brains removed from various dead people with powers? Where did those go? Also let's add to the list of new powers for Sylar: ability to heal, ability to create his own gold items- so he has a solid source of income in these rough economic times.

It's great to see Linderman back. Well he's not really back, just an apparition that Nathan sees. Or is it a mind trick? If Linderman were truly back, the creators could then bring back just about anyone they chose to. Or maybe it's possible now. Also, did Linderman have a hand in bringing someone else back to life..say Jessica/Nikki as Tracy Strauss? Interesting that she has a different power now to freeze people, and Suresh had the super strength.

We saw Electrocution-expert Elle as a guest star in Episode 2, and she almost was destroyed by Sylar. Her electric outburst saved her, but I'm not expecting her to last through the entire season. Most likely one of the new bad guys destroys her, possibly the one with the powerful force he emits that looks like some sort of radiation blast.

As for the new villains, they really haven't given us much insight beyond: a guy who absorbs fear to turn it into super-strength, a guy who controls magnetic forces (like X-Men's Magneto), and Jesse, who HRG has no clue about. Let's hope Jesse has a power, and it's not just to be the "cool guy who rolls with the villains". Also, it seems like Peter in a roundabout way is back where he was last season, rolling with a crew of bad guys while trying to save the world.

Are Micah and Monica no longer part of the Heroes crew? It's strange how they would not survive an exploding building which they weren't even in, but Nikki is back. Wouldn't that make Monica's role in last season basically useless in terms of overall story development? Well, at least she has her own comic book now.

Hiro vs. Ando was also an interesting story turn. Ando may have hit the nail on the head when he speculated "maybe it was someone who looked like me" that killed Hiro in the future. That could mean Sylar or Peter had changed their appearance in an attempt to steal that 1/2 formula from Hiro. But we also have that "power syringe" Suresh made and who knows, maybe Ando got power-hungry. Daphne's power is interesting so far, and she's stated she has a "boss". Is it Mrs. Petrelli or someone new?

The Suresh-Maya pairing makes for a steamy romantic couple for this season. Maya is looking better than ever, most likely due to the fact that she's not on the run, sweating and crying. Suresh made a cool power-giving syringe, until he discovered it gave him skin lesions and seemed to take his power away. Is Suresh dying now, or will he find a cure? Will a villain steal the power syringe? How bout giving HRG some kind of cool power? We still need someone who can stretch themselves out like Mr. Fantastic.

Is Claire the one who has the "purity of blood" needed for the second half of "The Formula"? HRG is setting out alone to track down the missing villains now. Will we see a return of his sidekick, The Haitian? Is Mrs. Petrelli now running The Company? Who's working for her? (possibilities: Daphne, Sylar, Haitian)

Speaking of powers, it seems that Matt Parkman and Nathan should be on the "Most Expendible List". Smart money is on Parkman to bite the bullet out of any of the main heroes, and possibly Nathan, although he's got a Senate role now which plays an important part in the story. Peter has Parkman's power now, but realistically Parkman is just a detective in the show who can give HRG backup.

Parkman's interaction with the turtle was funny, and it would have been interesting if there was a hero who could turn into animals. Possibly a joke from the creators there. Matt met up with a man who seems to have the power that Isaac had in Season 1. He can foretell future events by paintings. He's painted what looks like an exploding earth, see picture above. This must be some sort of warning sign for others, and we've seen it twice now. So possibly Peter or Sylar painted the other, but what does it mean?

It's gonna be a great season from the looks of these first two episodes. We have all sorts of bad guys out and about and the Heroes will need to find ways to stop them. Peter has the trump card, as does Sylar. Is it possible we see Sylar play the role of "good guy" trying to stop the villains?

(image source: pjlighthouse.com)

With Heroes Season 3 approaching us full speed next Monday, it's a great idea to reflect back on the Season that was. We can have a moment of silence similar to the one Hiro had for his father, or similar to the one Adam Monroe had after being buried six feet deep. It all depends on your perspective. Some consider the past Season to have been a huge flop, while others still saw the glimmer of hope for more great Heroes action and stories to come. Let's hope for a bright season 3 full of drama, action and surprises..

Now here's a look back at things to remember from last Season as we head into Season 3: Villains!

- Nathan Petrelli was about to reveal his hero status at a press conference until a mystery man in a hat fired a shot or two into his chest. He was laying motionless in Peter's arms and appeared dead as the season came to a close. Officer Matt Parkman was also on the scene but didn't hear anybody thinking about it.

- Prior to Nathan being shot, his mother Angela was on the phone with an unidentified person. It's unclear if she ordered a hit on her own son, but it was hinted at.

- Nikki/Jessica went into a burning building and rescued Monica who had been kidnapped. The building was shown engulfed in flames as Micah and Monica dove for cover. Nikki wasn't shown afterwards and it was possible she died.

- Claire fell in love with West, a young male with the power of flight just like Nathan's. Their relationship was rocky towards the end, with West flying away. It's unclear if they will be back together or broken apart in Season 3.

- We met Elle (Kristen Bell) last season, a trouble female who could electrocute people. She ended up helping the heroes towards the end, aiding Suresh and Maya, and went looking for Sylar.

- Peter Petrelli had the most "action" during Season 2, as he came back from amnesia, fell in love in Ireland, helped thugs in Ireland, was captured by The Company, escaped the Company, went back to the future, met Adam Monroe (Takezo Kenzei), had a brief battle with Hiro, and in effect, "Saved the World" from a deadly virus being unleashed. Whew!

- Hiro went back in time during Season 2 to meet Takezo Kenzei, whom he thought was his hero. Hiro ended up taking on the role of Kenzei, learning swordplay, saving a princess and fighting Kenzei in a burning fire. They seemed buddy-buddy, up until a feud over the princess. Takezo went on to become a villain and had the power to live through terrible injuries, similar to Claire Bennet. He took revenge on Hiro, murdering his father, and enlisted the help of others to track down and kill founding members of the company. At the end of Season 2, Hiro confronted Adam and eventually teleported him down into a deep grave, where he rests, still alive.

- Dr. Suresh joined "The Company" where he tried to help cure the heroes of genetic diseases. Suresh ultimately had to shoot HRG who had betrayed the Company in order to save his daughter Claire. Later, it was shown that Suresh rescued and possibly revived HRG from the seemingly fatal gunshot to his eye.

- Let's not forgot Maya, Alejandro, Monica and Micah, although they may be forgotten as Season 3 rolls through. Maya is the girl who unleashes her own deadly plague that kills people when she gets upset. Her brother was her calming force, with the ability to bring back those victims to life. However, they met up with and "befriended" Sylar, who ended up killing Alejandro and seducing Maya to bring him to see Suresh.

- Micah went to stay with his grandmother and cousin, Monica. We didn't see any power used by the grandmother, but it's possible she has one. Monica was learning her power to mimic actions she saw, mostly on TV's or iPods. She met with Dr. Suresh and Bob of The Company who tried to work with her to cure her. She ended up trying to use her heroic abilities to save a comic book that some thugs stole from Micah. Monica was rescued from her kidnappers and a burning building by super-strong Jessica.

- Most importantly, the ultimate in anti-heros, the main villain Gabriel Gray aka "Sylar" seems to have regained his powers after an injection from Dr. Suresh. Recall that Sylar ate a brain last season, the brain of Candice who was able to morph herself into various people, and change scenery. This could be really bad for the heroes, but it's unclear if Sylar truly acquired the power...yet.

That's a lot to digest, but hopefully brings people up to speed. I may have forgotten a few important tidibits, so feel free to leave those in the comments for other fans.. Also, feel free to browse past the Season 2 episode recaps here at the Heroes Among Us blog! And now the countdown continues, we have just 5 days Heroes fans!

Heroes Season 3 debuts on NBC Monday 9.22.08, check local listings for times...There will be a special recap episode prior to the new debut episode.

With Heroes Season 2 finale, we saw 2 of the Heroes supposedly "bite the bullet". Nathan was the more literal death as he was shot twice by an unknown assailant from the back of a press conference crowd. This came right before Nathan was going to shock the world, and expose the fact he couldd fly and that there were many other people with powers like him living amongst the population.

Niki/Jessica was the other presumed death. She was rescuing Monica Dawson from a burning building, held up a fallen wood post so Monica could escape, and presumably Niki didn't escape. The building blew up and young Micah, the son of Niki was left devastated. A true death or just a suspenseful cliff hanger for Season 3? They didn't show her escape, which is often the greatest trick in comic books and even soap operas.

In comic books, these things happen every other issue. Superman, Batman, Spiderman, X-Men have all died, many times. The heroes are shot, blown up, drowned, evaporated, and we are to think they are gone for good. But never fear, they return, again, and again, and yet again. It's part of the fun. Even if the original artist or writers truly kill them off, someone else picks up the series and re-creates it. Fans would be disappointed if their hero really were to be eliminated.

Evidence that Niki and Nathan may not be gone for good comes in the form of the "blood cure". We saw it used on Nathan via Takezo Kensei aka Adam Monroe. Nathan survived a deadly nuclear blast at the hands of his brother way up in the atmosphere. He was badly burnt up to a crisp, but still alive. Adam's blood restored his health, when added to his mix at the hospital.

Further evidence comes from Mr. Noah Bennet (HRG) and Maya. Each were presumably down for the count, after being shot. But a dose of Claire's blood injected into their blood streams saved the day. What's to say this cure can't save the latest 2 to go down? Of course, these are also real life actors. The parts could be played by others, or they really could be gone from the show to pursue new acting gigs in movies or TV. Additionally, Peter comes into contact with you, he's got your power, so you may be less needed. But remember, in the superhero world, deaths are usually temporary and a means of suspense until the next exciting episode or issue.

It appears not everyone is overly enthused with the Second Season of NBC's "Heroes". FlickDirect has a recent write up, "NBC's Heroes Isn't Off to a Great Start" in which they criticize the show as having weak plot lines and stereotypical characters.

The review comes after just 3 episodes of the show. I can only defend it since I became a huge fan of the show after Season 1 and realize the storylines do take some time to unfold and become more intriguing as we go along. Many people called the Season Finale a letdown, which may be true. However one of this show's strongest assets continues to be its "mysterious" quality which always hangs over our heads and the heroes' heads. Even if certain things appear predictable they never are. Last season fans were kept guessing all season long as to who or what would blow up New York. It turned out to be fan favorite, Peter Petrelli. Now fans are wondering who the mysterious hooded figure is and who the guy terrorizing Molly Walker is (revealed to be Matt Parkman's father in the "Kindness of Strangers" episode). There's also mystery surrounding what Sylar will do and who his next victim will be almost always.

To criticize the show early on would be easy. I'll be honest the three love stories are a bit much, although they are a necessary tool in most TV and movies. Claire continuing to whine about wanting a normal life can be overdone as well. But when it's all said and done the show gives us plenty of mystery to ponder and supercool powers to see in action.

In Heroes Episode 204: "Kindness of Strangers", we are shown the picture of a "meeting" of some sort that Nathan finds amongst his belongings in an apartment. The picture contains 12 individuals, some of who have been murdered.





Here's who is known to be in the picture:
1st row (Bottom) Left to Right: Unknown (Mrs. Deveaux?), Charles Deveaux, Unknown person, Unknown male

2nd row (Top) Left to Right: Unknown (Mrs. Linderman?), Mr. Linderman, Mr. Arthur "Dallas" Petrelli, Angela Petrelli, Kaito Nakamura, Matt Parkman's father, Bob (from "The Company")

So far the following individuals in the picture are dead or believed to be deceased:

Charles Deveaux - died of natural causes, Cancer (In season 2, Kaito implies that Charles' death may have been due to foul play, rather than by succumbing to his illness)
Arthur "Dallas" Petrelli - said to have commit suicide
Kaito Nakamura - murdered by mysterious hooded figure, who is stalking them.
Mr. Daniel Linderman - murdered by DL Hawkins (phased his fist into the back of his head)

According to that, just 8 individuals in the picture are considered to still be alive. "Bob" is Suresh' boss at The Company and has the power to turn objects to gold. Matt Parkman's father may be the "nightmare man" who has been haunting Molly Walker and can see her, and also may be the one killing the other elder heroes.

After episode 203, "Kindred" we are left with quite a bit to contemplate and speculate about. Sylar and Peter are on almost similar quests to regain their identities and use of powers, but each is in a different predicament. Sylar is lost in the middle of nowhere after killing Candice. He has realized he doesn't have use of his powers, making you wonder who or what will find him next. Obviously whoever Candice was speaking to via phone knows of Sylar's location.

On the other hand, Peter has lost his memory of his identity and has developed a love interest in Ireland. He has decided to forego opening the box containing his personal things which will clue him in about his true identity. So for now, the 2 most powerful heroes are isolated from the rest. If Sylar does regain his powers he makes for one dangerous bad guy now that he could basically assume the appearance of ANYONE. Scary thought. Would not be surprising to see yet another Sylar vs Peter showdown this season, or even to see Sylar turn good. Why you ask? Whoever this character is that is worse than the Boogeyman just might be dangerous and evil enough to kill off Sylar as well.

The other thing we are left with at the end of episode 203 is the revelations that while working for "the Company" HRG once abducted Claire's new love interest, West. West doesn't know that HRG is her father yet, but Claire is fully aware of the situation. To make things more interesting, Suresh finds an Isaac Mendez painting showing HRG's demise due to a gunshot wound to the eye/head. Claire seems to be part of the picture, and you would have to believe the shooter will be West, the other dark figure holding Claire in the painting.

So far the Suresh undercover, Sylar lost in the middle of nowhere, new mystery hero killer and Peter's adventures in Ireland make for some intriguing plot lines. Maya and Alejandro needs to develop a bit more, but so far it's been a bit too much of the crying over the power and "RUN!" involved. However, it could become more interesting as the season progresses. Most likely these two are on a collision course with Suresh and the Company, and even Niki Sanders. Could get very interesting.

Note: These are merely my speculations, thoughts and questions, please don't take these as spoilers or as what will happen, just thoughts on what may go down with the show.

Now that we are three episodes into the second season, a few things are becoming apparent and curious:

1) There's going to be at least 3 love stories to deal with this season; Peter and the girl from Ireland, Claire and West, and Hiro and the Princess. It seems a bit more lovey-dovey than last season for sure and hopefully it doesn't water down the show completely. There's also the brother-sister love of Alejandro and Maya which so far has been a little less interesting than the other situations. Looking at Maya's power makes you think she will have a showdown with Niki or Sylar.

2) Speaking of Sylar, he should be re-introduced tonight if not soon. Best guess is he was dragged down to the sewers by Candice who is now wooing him with her powers. The big questions: do they team up? does Sylar steal her power? It's going to be interesting to say the least.

3) I had originally speculated the new manacing hero-killer was Nathan possibly or even the Haitian, but now neither of those seem to make much sense. Haitian was in Haiti and Nathan was at the police department when mother Petrelli got attacked. So that still leaves it open, this dark sinister force, is it someone we have seen or someone new completely? A friend of mine suggested it's probably someone working for Linderman, perhaps Niki. However the Boogeyman's voice heard in Molly Walker's dream seemed male.

4) I was expecting the whole Hiro & Kensei part of the show to be the typical "travel back in time" concept we see in movies, however it's been very entertaining so far. I'd give that along with Peter in Ireland the two best stories of the new season. Seeing Peter unleash random powers at certain moments has been fun thus far.

5) Dr. Mohinder Suresh working for "the company" should prove interesting too. Perhaps Suresh gets found out by his employers and needs to be rescued by various heroes from some sort of safe-holding cell in a secure compound. This would make for a great episode.

Overall, the second season is offering a good deal of intrigue so far. You have to wonder when Sylar does resurface who the first victim will be? Also will the whole "5 Years Later" episode start becoming more and more true? Suresh is working for "The Company" albeit as a spy to take them down, but perhaps he changes his tune. Sylar had Candace's power in the future, as well as Nathan's power and appearance indicating he gets to both of them. Strong possibilities for this season? You decide.

In addition, you may enjoy this post over at Blogging Experiment called "Heroes' Lesson on Blogging", as it discusses the world of blogging related to Heroes characters.

Even though only 1 episode of the new Heroes has been shown, it's still fun to pose questions and make some speculations. Here's a few things to ponder so far.

- Sylar and Candice will team up. This appears to be the case due to the early TV promo which shows Sylar sitting in a beach chair wearing a Hawaiin shirt asking "so none of this is real?" It makes one conclude that Candice was the one who saved Sylar, brought him down to the sewers and used her powers to decorate it like a tropical island.

- Sylar's main target this season will probably be Molly Walker first and foremost. He realizes Molly's power will basically help him find whoever he wants wherever they are. Now the question becomes did Peter absorb her power when she was nearby and will he start to use it?

- The Peter lost and confused in Ireland situation is a bit perplexing. Will he have forgotten all his powers? Who chained him up in a cargo container? Will he become a criminal until he gets his memory back? A lot of questions there. On a side note, these "forget who they are" stories can get old on shows, especially when we saw Peter finding himself so much in Season 1.

- Either Nathan or West will die this season. This is assumed based on the fact two heroes now possess the power of flight. Since Peter can already do that, it makes you think Sylar's going to take it from someone. So will it be Claire's new friend, or her father? Could be interesting. If both Peter and Sylar could fly, it makes for some great aerial battles!

- Who is the person/villain trying to eliminate the original elder Heroes? You can speculate so many people are in that role. Nathan sticks out as one strong possibility due to his mother and Linderman trying to make him destroy NYC. They ruined his life, made him lose his brother (he thinks) and office. So now he's seeking revenge based on all that. He also has the ability to fly, and as seen he might have used that to kill Hiro's father. Other possibilities include The Haitian (he's still mysterious) as well as some character we've never seen before. It's someone that Hiro's dad knew, giving one possible clue.

- Last but not least is the new enemy that Molly Walker is having nightmares about and drawing, who is worse than the Boogeyman. Questions become, what are his powers? Is it the same person that is taking out the elder Heroes? Will anyone have the ability to face and stop this new menace? Stay tuned...

I remember seeing an interview with Masi Oka (Hiro) in which he claimed a new viewer could start watching Heroes from this season and not be lost. Sorry Masi, I need to disagree. I tried to keep that idea in the back of my head while I watched the first new episode, and if I hadn't watched Season 1, I'd be completely lost. Four months later is right, but how would a new viewer be expected to know what's going on with Peter, Nathan, Claire, Mr. Bennett, and Hiro from the start here? It could be very confusing. Perhaps I missed the "previously on Heroes" that comes before the show too as I saw it on NBC.com streaming video. If that was there, things make more sense.

I don't want to by too cynical about the show just yet either since it's just the first episode. It had an interesting start but some of the stories were a bit jumbled together here. The person stalking the original Heroes (Kaito Nakamura, Angela Petrelli, etc), makes for an interesting plot. For some reason when I saw the mysterious character who took out Hiro's dad (plummeting off the roof with him), I thought Nathan Petrelli. I started thinking he just might have the motive to go after these people, because he believes they were all reason for Peter's "demise" and the almost blowing up of NYC.

It makes you wonder if the person who took out Hiro's dad is also the person haunting Molly Walker's dreams. That might toss the Nathan theory right out the window, and would make this very interesting. I'm very curious to see the powers of each of these characters (if they are seperate). Sylar has been a great villain but it's nice to meet some new ones too.

The revelation that the boy Claire met named Wes can fly is interesting, since he shares it in common with Nathan, Claire's father. The other new powers seen were the man who employed Mohinder for the company. He can turn objects to gold which is sort of neat. Imagine what Sylar would do with that. Also imagine what he would do with the new girl, Maya's power. Terrifying.

Hiro lost in time is kind of cool to see, because he hasn't really gone back so far in history before. Now he'll be involved in making some real history with Kensei the warrior and setting the course of things straight.

Finally, there is the Peter situation. It was a safe bet the top character on the show lived, but now it seems he's forgotten who he is and what he can do. I always dislike those sorts of plots, but that's probably what the writers want for now. The fact he was chained up inside a huge cargo container, it makes you wonder who put him there. Also, will Peter become part of a crime syndicate or gang? The guys who found him just might take him in.

Overall, I'm looking forward to the next episode as always, because I know some episodes are better than others. We still haven't seen Niki, Isaac, DL, Sylar, Candice and several others. They have plenty of time to make things interesting from here on out. The best part of the show is they give you plenty of room to imagine just about any scenario playing out. For example, with Sylar alive it's very possible Nathan has gone "bad", and Sylar will end his existence. Add to that the fact that Surseh is now a "Company Man", those both play right into the future that Hiro saw where Sylar had killed Nathan, and Suresh was part of the Company. Strangely suspicious but could become very interesting.

Heroes DVD Review - A New Fan

Special thanks to Nick, a social media friend of mine at Gather.com who recently decided to get the brand new Heroes - Season One DVD. Nick didn't watch the show on NBC last season, but was introduced to it from the Netflix DVD rental service. I think it's great to hear about new fans of the show and their reactions/thoughts about it. Without further ado, I will hand this post off to Nick for his discussion of the Heroes DVD...

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Heroes Season 1 DVD

So, my wife and I started Netflix about a week and a half ago, and one of the things we wanted to see was Heroes once it was released on DVD. It was one of those shows that didn't do much to spark our interest with its advertisements when it was on, and really - I don't go out of my way to watch many shows. House is really about it.

But, we had been reading good things about Heroes for awhile, liked a couple of the people in it and well - I am and have long been a 'superhero' or comic book kind of guy. So, we decided to load up on Heroes, and in the span of the week got through all 7 discs, having finished the last 9 episodes tonight (it was a REALLY busy Saturday around here, as you can tell).

I really enjoyed the first season and am now looking forward to season 2 starting on Monday. The basic premise of people coming 'into their own' with super powers is hardly new stuff, but it was pretty entertaining in how it was handled I thought. Most of the characters were pretty interesitng, and a lot of them did not end up at all how they were expected to based on their early season endeavors.

It felt like a bit of a tease with the showdown with Pete and Sylar there at the end, because of their prior near-square offs as well, but something to look forward to next season I suppose. The DVD's also had quite a bit of commentary, some features and some deleted scenes - a far cry from a lot of 'season' DVD's with little to no content.

All in all, it was a very enjoyable DVD set, and I'm now stuck looking forward to weekly installments (that part's going to get annoying after being used to commercial free 8 episode spats). Any other big Heroes fans out there? :)

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About the Heroes DVD Special Features

I haven't done all of the special features yet but most - but, mostly we were just watching the main episodes and the deleted scenes, but here are the features and a quick rundown of them. I do recall that on disc 1 there was the 'unedited, unaired pilot' that was roughly 70 minutes.

The DVD video transfer was pretty good. I imagine the HD one will come across better, but I've seen a lot of TV shows brought over to DVD and the color and contrast was pretty good while not showing much artifacting or grain when in dark scenes.

The audio was pretty good, including a few instances of good surround sound flourish. There was closed captioning for the hearing impaired (we use it a lot ourselves because our kids can get so freaking noisey).

There were quite a few deleted scenes (I think I might have read somewhere that there were 50 of them), and while they weren't needed to advance the story, they were interesting. The first disc had some scenes that seemed to contradict the story they 'went with' very slightly in reference to DL.

- "The Making of Heroes" is just a 10 minute feature. Pretty typical fare and it was not my favorite aspect of the bonus features.

- "The Special Effects" and "The Stunts" are exactly what they imply - just a look at some of the effects and stunts found in the show.

- "The Profile of Artist Tim Sale" This is an interesting bit about the colorblind artist who painted all of Isaac's paintings of the future.

- "The Score" is just a quick featurette about the program's musical score.

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Thanks again to Nick for providing these reviews! It's good to see new fans jumping on board because this is by far the best show on network TV since who knows what! (Lost or 24?) The Heroes - Season One DVD and Heroes - Season 1 [HD DVD] are available at Amazon among other retailers.

Also, feel free to join Gather, where Nick shares his thoughts on TV, football, and video games amongst many other topics. You can sign up for a free Gather account, and receive rewards such as Borders gift cards or money!

Season 2 is right around the corner, on Monday, September 24th at 9PM EST!