Heroes Season 1-4 Complete [DVD]

 

 

Create your own review

Heroes started out very well. It was met with both critical and audience acclaim. It followed the likes of Claire, Peter and of course Hiro, long before their characters become repetitive and at times, annoying (season 3). The stories were engaging and exciting, the villain of the piece, Sylar, was mysterious and dangerous exuding real menace before becoming overexposed in later seasons. And more than anything it was a lot of fun to watch

Season 2, while is wasn't quite as good as as season 1, could still hold it own and despite some annoying new additions (namely Maya) there was still a lot of enjoyment to be had, however the writers strike cut the season in half and just as the story was all coming together, as a result the ending was rushed and unsatisfying (what did happen to Peter's Irish flame?), ultimately it would mark the beginning of the end for the show.

Season 3 was contrived and convoluted, boasting a 25 episode season count, the show would loose it's way, new characters would be brought in only to disappear a few episodes later, character motivations would shift rapidly and with little reason. Sylar was explored in too much depth patterned with an annoying sidekick for a limited time before eventually going a bit Norman Bates. The rest of the characters would be saddled with largely redundant stories. The second half of the season would pick up somewhat however there was no big season story arc akin to 'save the cheerleader' of season 1 and it showed, as season 3 proved to be overindulgent and unfocused making for a very mixed bag and the weakest of the four.

The fourth and final season hit the brakes big time. While season 3 was all over the place, season 4 concentrated on far fewer stories but as a result many of these became too long winded, episodes would progress where very little happened or for a situation to be resolved only to be back at square one. While it was a step up from season 3, with a stronger story focus on Samuel and his carnival, it still lacked the greatness it once possessed. The season 4 finale would prove to be the series finale as heroes was cancelled. While originally a TV movie was planned to wrap up the show, this is looking a lot less likely, which is a shame as the season 4 cliffhanger looked set to finally propel heroes into some fresh and interesting territory but now we will never know.

Heroes is a mixed bag, the quality of the show would greatly decrease but for all it's flaws, for the vast majority, it was an interesting and fun ride. If you haven't experienced it before it's well worth a go just don't expect it to maintain the quality of season 1.

Heroes is a great TV series, and I won't bore you with a review of the program itself, because that gets 5-stars everytime.

Instead, this review is specifically looking at this Blu Ray box-set. Now, it has a lot going for it, but as a Blu ray box-set, there's a whole lot more not going for it, due to it being badly organised and presented.

First off, the "extras". Yes, there's a nice selection of extras, but they are all over the place. Some of it is located in places that doesn't make sense to people, such as why discuss about what was not included in Series 3 due to the writers strike on a Series 2 disk? And where are the trailers and TV spots. I recall Volume 2 and 3 had fanfare in the US with a couple hour long programs - where are they? I recall on TV an interview with Hayden Panettiere on Volume 2, where is that? I recall a whole different Volume 3 was dropped, yet less than a couple minutes of this material is included. It would have been better to have included this, with the storyboard concepts for the bits that were not recorded. In the whole presentation, only one episode gets this level of treatment, which is a huge let-down.

Then there's the bizarre situation of number episodes on disks. You get one disk with 4 episodes, the next with 5, then one with 2, and one with just 1 episode. Two disks for three episodes at one point in the series. And for the disks containing 5 episodes on one disk, the menu on the disk is such that you have to scroll to page 2 to view the fifth episode, further reinforcing the badly designed menu interface which appears to have reused a menu from elsewhere and then tried to be amended to fit Heroes.

It also looks like nobody quality checked the packaging, multiple words on the package is combined, making it hard to read the episode synopsys.

All in all, a very poor presentation of a fantastic TV series. About the only thing positive is that you have all the episodes in one box, and for that, an extra star.

Most TV series don't exactly hit the ground running, they introduce themesleves with something from which they can build on. Perhaps it's the fault of Battlestar Galactica which had the kind of opener which left you in no doubt you were seeing something you had to watch. The opening episode of Heroes had this and turned the expectaion level up to eleven. It set up a series which was almost too perfect, an impossible act to follow.

Season 1 is a gripping story brilliantly established. The ingredients of a group of seemingly disparate characters on a collision course with each other, a spectacular villian exuding charm and pure evil, all chasing the prospect of saving the world. It was perfect fare for gripping television. The perfect entertainment: scary, captivating, addictive, and at times genuinely shocking and terrifying. The breakneck pace never really letting up throughout the entire series. At its climax there was a real sense of having seen something completely realised. Few seires have established anything better and delivered on every wish you ever wanted from it. So what next? Looking onwards to the subsequent seasons it seems the creators didn't really have the answer for that either.

Season 2 may well go down as one of the more spectacular casualties of the writers' strike but that doesn't hide the fact that it really didn't deliver anything like the invention of its all too perfect opening season. The premise seemed to be to establish a back story and then drive it forward, the trouble is that it doesn't really work. The initial reason for watching was the brilliant way it made you want to see the next episode immediately (something the boxset allows you to do). At times it manages to raise itself to a state of interesting but the contrast in the look and feel of the preceeding series leaves a sense of confusion and disappointment. Additionally it is quite silly in parts. Telling the story of how Hiro came to own his sword really doesn't seem credible nor does it warrant quite the ammount of time it is afforded. There is a prevailing sense throughout that the writers really don't quite know exactly how to recreate the magic they'd found. The most interesting facet is found on the bonus material where the creators talk about what was missed out due to the failure to complete the plans after the writers' strike forced the effective cancellation of the second half of the series. This appears to hint that they could well have found their original idea and put it back on track. It is worth watching to see yet another example of a wasted opportunity that permiates through the whole second season.

Series 3 suffers from the aftermath of that. Instead of simply carrying on where the strike would have left off the writers decide upon a completely new direction. It's a puzzling choice. What you get is not one but two big stories which divide the series into two parts. It is a considerable improvement on the unimpressive predecessor but there's still something rather unsatisfactory about it. By now the series settles into its merely interesting rut. There are moments where it raises its game - and just about enough to keep you watching - but it feels curiously disjointed and leaves a sense of not quite delivering all it could.

Season 4 does at least try to match the ambition of season 1 by attempting to liven up the brand with a slew of new characters (although seasoned TV watchers will know this is also usually a desperate attempt to stave off a network cancellation). It just about works. The story returns to the full arc throughout a season and manages to return a sense of anticipation for the next episode missing in too many of the prior episodes. Yet despite this some of the devices are frustrating. Too often two story threads develop and then one is explored in the following episode which then ignores the one from the previous episode. So you are consequently waiting longer than seems necessary to move the story arc forward effectively. As the season progresses it feels that someone hasn't grasped how to plot the season effectively. That said, it does build to a rather satisfying climax. It's other flaw is there are, by now almost too many characters to focus on, so most seem never to be fully realised.

Heroes is engaging (intermittently) but fatally flawed on two key areas of its characterisation. Harking back to season 4, as mentioned above, the new additions never quite come to life in the way others did. Most appear in the carnival where many of the misfits have gathered to feel they belong. This is brought into sharp focus with the return of the puppet master character who appeared first in season 2. Compared to most of the other periferal characters he seems quite well realised whereas others really seem like the two dimensional plot devices they really are. It's a shame but is clearly indicative of the problems the creators and writers cleary had in managing to decide what to do with the series as a whole.

The second problem concerns the series premise of being told using an arc structure - giving the viewer a single point of climax at the end of the story. Whereas something like the X-Files managed the difficult conceit of combining a Twilight Zone styled single story horror approach with a long running arc for the characters to grow and develop, Heroes sticks to its story arcs without the single episode thrill or a long running development of its characters. None of the central characters appear to grow and develop effectively as people. The traits of Peter Petrelli, Claire Bennett, and even Syler, for example, seem never to really grow as people. Each time they move their personalities forward, they seem to retreat back into the facets of their original selves. Hiro is glimpsed in one of the opening episodes from the perspective of a future version of himself from the future. He's depicted as something colder and more calculated yet that transformation never takes place throughout the series. By the climax he seems to be not far from the excitable man-child he begins as. Syler does develop better than most but all well developed baddies must remain true to their psychotic core. Compared to a series like Battlestar Galactica (an abject example of how to take your story, and its characters on a complete journey) Heroes never quite manages to deliver.

Heroes is a beautifully realised effects laiden show with plenty of thrills and spills througout its four seasons. There is much to enjoy here. Season 1 is perfect, and if they'd stopped it there it would probably be remembered as a truly perfect classic series. Like all series it does lose its way, and lose it at times quite dramatically, yet it is still watchable by the end of its climax in Season 4. That said viewers may well feel that being merely watchable has diminished the initial impact. A case of the sum not adding up to its initial considerable part.

Share your thoughts with other customers: Create your own review

› See all 24 customer reviews...

 

3.0 out of 5 stars Down hill all the way.
The first season was unbelievably good, and there lies the problem. The rest couldn't live up to it and just went down the hill and by the time the whole series ended, it was a... Read more

Published 1 month ago by WJ

5.0 out of 5 stars Heroes DVD boxset - Excellent
Heroes - what can I say it's excellent only downfall is there wasn't enough of it. Having it in blu ray is a bonus. Read more

Published 2 months ago by Litto_lamb

5.0 out of 5 stars good product
i was very happy with this product didnt think it would be as good as it actually is. it is appsoultly brilliant.

Published 3 months ago by gemma

5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent series & addictive viewing!
Bought this box set as a gift for my other half but if I'm honest I think I enjoy it more! The Heroes stories are a must have for any comic book fan with interwoven plots,... Read more

Published 5 months ago by WylieKitt

3.0 out of 5 stars Started off well
It was amazing, then it was okay, then it got good then it got bad and then real bad.
I couldn't stand the carnival thing, it really spoiled it for me. Read more

Published 6 months ago by Leilani

5.0 out of 5 stars Great value
I genuinely liked Heroes - it's one of the not so many occasions when I was captured immediately by the story line, by the characters and by the actors. Read more

Published 6 months ago by L-andee

4.0 out of 5 stars Very good
I didn't believe will get this movie, but worth to pay this amount of money and watch it in blue ray player

Published 7 months ago by Mohammed

5.0 out of 5 stars Heroes Boxset
This is a fantastic box set. The package looks incredible, it's got an irridecent design, so shimmers in your DVD/Bluray collection. The show itself really pops on blu-ray. Read more

Published 7 months ago by Addem

5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent quality with gr8 packeging
i really liked this boxset, as im new into heroes. i saw the pilot episode it was awesome, and the clarity is just about perfect. the packeging is so attractive

Published 9 months ago by chaay karak

5.0 out of 5 stars Really Good!
I've bought this set from amazon, because it is way cheaper here than buying the seasons separately where I live (Netherlands). The package looks really good. Read more

Published 10 months ago by Yuri Meiburg

Search Customer Reviews
Only search this product's reviews

› See all 24 customer reviews...

Search Listmania!