Date: 2007-11-06 16:13 Subject: Er.... Heroes again Security: Public Tags: heroes

Okay, contrary to appearances, this LJ is not turning into a Heroes fanpage. I just had to comment on the latest episode after having dissed the second season so thoroughly in the last one.

I loved the most recent episode. I mean, I still have problems with the Japan-continuity and all that, but at least Hiro's adventures in the past seem to have some relevance now. And maybe... just maybe... all the anachronistic nonsense was worth it to get a decent villain... one who has a history both with our existing heroes and with the company. I was worried that the reappearance of Sylar meant we were going to have to wade through another round of the "sadist with a zillion powers" storyline. Instead, the new villain makes sense and has a lot of potential:

• He was perhaps the first powered individual, and thus he has had time to consider the possibilities open to those with special abilities

• He has no power except that to regenerate... presumably also overcoming aging the same way -- his main strategy seems to be to get others to act on his behalf (i.e. Matt's dad)

• He has a dual nature as both good guy and bad guy -- generally enamored with the image of himself as a hero, but willing to give into his dark side when he isn't given his props... able to inspire others with special abilities to try to change the world, but with delusions of grandeur and a willingness to destroy those who he sees as beneath him

In short, there's potential for an interesting story again... and I for one think it's been long overdue.

Date: 2007-10-23 10:04 Subject: Willing Suspension of Disbelief Security: Public Location: my office, as always Music: the gentle hum of Japanese classes in the distance Tags: heroes

It's strange how we set our personal limits of what degree of unreality we're willing to accept from our entertainment. I just ran into a student in the Commons while I was getting my coffee, and he asked me a question about Heroes. In the first season, which I watched obsessively, Hiro idolizes a Japanese hero named Kensei Takezô, whose legends he heard as a child. The student asked if it was a real person, and I told him it wasn't, though I could have told him the ways it subtly alluded to the legends about Musashi. In the first season hints are given, particularly in the symbol the hero uses on his banner, that he may have shared the type of "talents" the modern heroes have, but it isn't made explicit. Now, in the second season, Hiro has time traveled back to Takezô's time to find out that, while the man definitely possesses the same type of gift, he has no interest in being a hero and, furthermore, happens to be British and thus happens to be able to speak to Hiro in a fairly modern equivalent

Okay. Stop right there. Put aside for a second the fact that Hiro is able to communicate without difficulty with both 17th century Japaanese and a 17th century Englishmen, using his regular 21st century English and Japanese words ("dai pinch?" - I don't think so). And put aside the fact that the events supposedly take place in 1671, more than a half century too late for the type of battles they are discussing. And put aside the fact that a British guy is in Japan during the era of closed borders. And put aside... no, stop putting all this crap aside. That's just too much!

But why was I able to accept as a part of the show's central premise that these characters have these unusual powers, yet balk at these details? In reality, it is far more likely that a British guy happened to get stuck in Japan when they closed the borders and somehow managed to become one of the greatest heroes in Japanese legend than it is to accept that a person can spontaneously regenerate a lost limb, shoot fire from their hands, or stop time, but for some reason it grates on me... almost to the point that I can't enjoy the show. Now part of it might simply be that this premise hits closer to home... by this time I know too much about 17th century Japan to accept implausible storylines that center around it? It's like that symbol that Hiro somehow immediately recognized as representing the characters for "godsent ability" but which were so stylized I couldn't even recognize them as kanji. But I think that's not really it... or at least that's not all of it. I guess I have trouble accepting it because it feels lazy, and that laziness is something I feel from the second season overall.

The first season, or rather the first half of the first season, was a very well-crafted show. The most interesting part for me was to see the various mysteries unfold: what were Peter's powers? whose side was Claire's father really on? who were in the company and what were their goals? Unfortunately, after they "saved the cheerleader," the driving force of the show died a bit for me. I enjoyed the rest of the season, but I somehow felt less urgency to save the world than I did to save the cheerleader, and characters seemed to drift in and out of unrealistic encounters without much motion forward. It might be the nature of a TV show that, even if there's an overall goal in the mind of its creators, only the first part is fully fleshed out... after all, why write an entire season if the show might never be picked up? And why think about shooting an entire season if you only have a commitment for twelve episodes? Now that we're in the second season and Heroes has become a hit, I'm having a hard time getting invested in any of the storylines. It feels like they're just going through the motions -- guess who's got powers now! and look at Claire's dad fighting against the company! and look at Suresh and Matt playing daddy to Molly! and Hiro's in friggin' 17th century Japan trying to fulfill an already fulfilled destiny, speaking modern English to Japan's "greatest hero," and writing notes to Andô in the present by sticking mini-scrolls in his sword rather than just time-traveling back to the present and telling him in person. Oy!

I guess my main gripe is, if you're going to have a show where the central premise is extremely unbelievable, such that people might suddenly gain superpowers, then you need to keep the rest of the show as realistic as possible in order to make your audience willing to accept it. The first half of the first season did that very well, letting the audience ask the question of how they would react if they were suddenly forced to face that unreality. The realistic setting is what made the unreality of the powers interesting. Now that we've moved further from reality in the setting, the whole house of cards is shaking a bit. The characters' motivations don't seem reasonable, the company feels like far less ominous a presence, and the powers now seem more like cheap tricks than miracles. So the lack of extra effort in creating a plausible setting for one of the most popular characters just seems to reflect a general laxness about the show in general.

Date: 2007-09-18 14:31 Subject: Jeremy Robinson, benevolent ruler Security: Public Location: Office... where I should be working Mood: Benevolent Music: Only in my head

I will probably be posting something "real" pretty soon, but in the meantime...

Here are my results from the PersonalDNA personality test. Apparently I'm a "Benevolent Leader." I'm sure my many subjects will be so relieved...

Benevolent Leader

Date: 2007-08-28 11:04 Subject: So here I am Security: Public Location: My office Mood: working Music: While working? Perish the thought!

Hi all.  I mainly set up this LiveJournal Account so I could post replies to a friend's journal, and I'm not sure yet whether I'll be posting much (if anything) here or not.  Depending on what kind of mood I'm in as time goes on, this might turn into a teaching journal, a diary of this year's academic job search, or simply a place to complain about random stuff.