HEROES: "One of Us, One of Them"

AICN is hateful for the sake of being hateful in its "Heroes, Shmeroes" smear, but many of the points Herc raises are valid (others? not so much). What is frustrating for me, as a viewer, is the almost deliberate-seeming sloppiness of HEROES. The show can't seem to keep its own characters, plots and continuity straight. Even from one episode to the next!

EW gives another fair review, echoing many of my own thoughts.....

http://www.ew.com/ew/article/0,,20228188,00.html

After watching tonight's ep, I have a few more "rants"

What is this show's obsession with the following plot: "here's a really bad thing that's going to happen; now watch our characters try to avoid it!"

First season had the prophetic paintings PLUS Hiro's glimpse into a nuked NYC.

Season two showed a glimpse at a future ravaged by a plague.

Now, season three shows us a glimpse into the... you guessed it... "Days of Future Copyright Infringement" PLUS ... now they are dredging up another dude who does prophetic paintings.

Methinks HEROES needs a new plot structure, especially for its season-long arcs!

Then we have the fun of the HEROES head scratchers: Why would Mama Petrelli let Sylar loose? Why would Sylar go along with a tenuous partnership and then return to possible imprisonment? Why would Peter accompany powered up villains to a bank robbery where he's out-numbered and out-gunned? Why would Claire's Two Moms not suspect she's going to run off the second she gets a chance? Why is Micah in a church/funeral home alone that's still exhibiting his mother's body? Why is Hiro an idiot?

And, although Sylar's arc looks intriguing, we've seen nothing in his behavior to suggest he wants redemption at all. He's been a cold blooded serial killer. It seems they are going to try to "blur" the lines of good and evil, with Peter as "bad" and Sylar as "good"... but I'm not quite buying it.

I admit I enjoyed moments of "Sylar as cop"... it was chuckle-worthy. But really, we've seen nothing in Sylar's past to indicate he's capable of that sort of ruse. Even when he was posing as "phony" telephone repairmen or whatever, Sylar couldn't shake his creepy-mojo.

Moreso, it seems like the HEROES crew is enamored with Zachary Quinto's ability to elevate what he's given in the script. I fear they are going to get too precious with this notion, as evidenced by (no doubt alternate-reality) Martha Sylert viewed in the previews.

And Hiro-Ando. This storyline just feels so forced. The rift in their friendship. Their new quest. It's a shame, because some of the dialogue was fun. And the notion of them chasing a villain backed by "oldtime serials soundtrack" was a little inspired. As usual, HEROES fails in its execution of what was a good idea "on paper." And, again, Hiro works best as earnest nerd. Emotionally retarded boy child? Not so much.

My final gripe... the way the show keeps using the word "villains" (cuz it's the name of the arc, silly!). "Claire, these people are villains." And Claire line about "tracking down these villains."

Really now, HEROES, do people talk like that? The show is self aware of comic books and Batman, Robin and the Hulk... yet it wants us to take it seriously when a character uses the word "villain" in an irony-free, turgid delivery.

Wouldn't one say super-powered criminals? whack-job lunatics? sadistically super-whammied (well, Chloe Sullivan would say something like that...)? When was the last time you heard someone say the word "villain" in normal conversation?

There are some good ideas in HEROES. Some potentially fascinating characters. Some undeniably fun moments. What is maddening is that, in there somewhere, is the potential for a great show... and instead, HEROES seems content with being a mild diversion.