DVD reviews: Heroes Season 1 – 7-Disc Special Edition – Issue 65

There’s a wish fulfilment that a lot of people have, the desire to do something more with their life, something that helps humanity. Some of us even have a sense that we are meant for something greater. This is not a reference to a mid-life crisis, by the way. This is actually the basic premise for Heroes, in which we see people who live seemingly ordinary lives suddenly discovering abilities, really cool supernatural/superhero-type abilities, that will lead each to play a part in saving the world.

A large ensemble cast makes up the heroes in, er, Heroes. All are now huge celebrities, and more than 400,000 people watched this show every week here in little old New Zealand. This would be because Heroes is absolutely bloody brilliant and it has an addictive quality that can only be described as viral. I sat up late into the night, every night, obsessively watching episode after episode until I completed this box set. Admittedly, part of my obsession lay with the dashing Dr Suresh (Sendhil Ramamurthy). He is so hot (help me Jesus, I’m a bad girl). But still, with or without the fine doctor, Heroes is a great watch.

The characters in this bangin’ show range from a cheerleader who has a habit of getting injured and regenerating (even when she has a branch sticking out of her head and is halfway through her own autopsy); to a Japanese office worker who can stop time and travel when he scrunches up his face; to a politician who can fly. With these kinds of abilities special effects naturally play a huge role. A scene that really sticks in mind is the Tokyo street sequence, where Hiro, the office worker, first stops time. Everything freezes in mid air as he rushes to save a little girl from being squished by a truck that is in the midst of slamming into a toy stand. All kinds of toys, which Hiro has to dodge around to reach the girl, are suspended in the air. These three-dimensional objects were later built into the scene after filming. As for the other actors (including a girl skipping), they had to be suspended by ropes and pretend to be frozen. These ropes were then digitally removed later. The amazing thing is that the special effects are not distracting; they’re so seamless that they incorporate naturally into the scenes. Well worth looking at in detail.

Until Heroes I hadn’t seen anything original to do with superheroes since, well, ever. Comics are even nicely included in the script. This series is in a field of its own and it’s easy to see why it has become a global phenomenon with obsessive fans (cough, cough). Even the soundtrack is hauntingly beautiful. There’s a load of bonus material included with this beautifully presented set. An unaired first episode, a look at the special effects, deleted scenes and the making of are just some of the extra goodies you’ll find.

From: Universal
Genre: Action/supernatural drama
Rating: MA 15+
Sound: 5/5
Vision: 5/5
Overall: 5/5

JESKA INNES