Heroes: Season 1 Part 2 (www.the-usher.com)

"Save the Cheerleader, save the world"

Volume One: Genesis

Godsend
Matt reveals his abilities to his wife. Bennett confers with Mohinder. Now that she knows the truth, Claire tries to make sense of her life. Hiro seeks the sword that he is destined to own. Niki must face the consequences of her decision to turn herself in to the police. Simone and Nathan are worried about Peter, who has been in a coma for two weeks. Peter meets a new hero. Micah visits his mother.

The Fix
Hiro continues to search for a sword while being chased by mysterious figures. An invisible man named Claude has something to teach one of the heroes. D.L. takes on new family responsibilities, and Matt opens up to his wife. Bennett continues to focus on the captive Sylar. Claire seeks out the Haitian and then her birth parents. Mohinder looks for those on the list, and receives a surprise visitor. A psychiatrist offers to help Niki.

Distractions
Hiro deals with explaining his new heroic path in life to his ambitious sister and tycoon father. Niki has the chance to reunite with D.L and Micah. Claude's mentoring of Peter leads Peter to question those closest to him. Claire goes to a trailer park looking for her birth mother. Sylar wears a disguise and makes a move against Mr Bennett.

Run!
Matt enters the private security business and receives an objectionable client. Suresh finds another person on the list. As her home-life worsens, Claire strives to learn more about her birth parents. Hiro and Ando get sidetracked in Vegas again while searching for the sword. Nathan is forced to deal with a secret from his past. Still indebted to Mr. Linderman, Jessica resorts to unsavoury methods that could spell doom for a fellow hero.

Unexpected
Peter learns that he and Claude may have been betrayed. Matt's reunited with the radioactive Ted Sprague and Hana Gitelman a woman with "wireless" mental abilities. Hiro makes a tough choice about his mission. Claire can no longer hold back her anger towards her father

Company Man
Matt Parkman and Ted Sprague arrive in Texas in search of answers and take Bennet and his family hostage. More is revealed about Mr. Bennet, the agency for which he works, and how he found Claire.

Parasite
As the election and destruction of New York approach, Nathan meets up with Linderman. Hiro attempts to steal the sword heading him in a new path. Suresh and Sylar make progress with the list at great cost. D.L. begins to suspect problems at home. Isaac paints an even more terrible painting. A new hero, Candice Wilmer, appears.

.07%
Sylar and Peter face off. Linderman reveals his plans to Nathan, and enlists the aid of another Hero. Claire finally meets her real father, and Bennet, Matt and Ted attempt to escape from Thompson.

Five Years Gone
Hiro and Ando find themselves five years after the destruction of New York City. People with extraordinary abilities are labelled as terrorists and are being registered, hunted, and killed. Hiro and Ando meet up with darker versions of the other heroes in preparation for a showdown with the President. This includes a darker side of Matt, a Jessica/Niki with a clear winner in their battle, a brown-haired Claire, and a man named Andy, who's a big-hearted Texan. It also features an event at an upscale gentleman's club.

The Hard Part
Jessica and D.L. discover some of the stuff that Linderman wants from them and Micah. Sylar questions his path when he realizes what he is predestined to do and reunites with his mother to seek validation. Hiro and Ando follow him, and Hiro's resolve is tested when he realizes the enormity of killing another human being. Meanwhile, Angela Petrelli tries to convince Nathan to go along with Linderman's plan. And Peter tries to prove to Claire that they are both destined to save New York. Also there is a new hero who is supposed to be holding the key to stopping Sylar.

Landslide
Angela Petrelli is forced to play a bigger role in Nathan, Peter, and Claire's life. The truth about the death of Nathan and Peter's father is finally revealed along with his true identity. When Nathan finds out that he may have a chance to become more than a Congressman, he is confronted with a decision that he must make. As Election Day nears some try to leave NYC. Bennett and Matt learn another surprising secret. Also, Sylar is eating another hero's brain and Hiro's father returns to teach him a great lesson.

How to stop an Exploding Man
Can Sylar be stopped? Will Linderman's vision live on with Nathan? What will it take for Peter to save the world, what sacrifices will be made? With all the horrible predictions unfolding before them the heroes face moments of pain and peril in Kirby Plaza.

The second half of season 1 of 'Heroes' continues but can this break through show keep up its momentum?

The first half of the first season of 'Heroes' really hit the ground running and introduced us to the character that would define the series for years to come. The season half of the season reveals the story of this volume 'Genesis' and some underlying plots that define not just season but will have repercussions for the coming second season.

Now we are introduced fully to Sylar, discovering his backstory, his motivation and exactly what his power can actually do. This is a superb part for any actor but Zachary Quinto makes the character extremely menacing and terribly creepy. As he appears after the attach on Claire, we really get to see what both the actor and the character can bring to the series because you can't have heroes without any villains.

More is also revealed about the connection between the Petrelli family, the Charles Deveaux (Richard Roundtree), Hiro's father Kaito Nakamura (George Takei) and Mr. Linderman and the Company they set up, headed by the mysterious Mr. Thompson (Eric Roberts). Mr Bennet, the man with the horn rimmed glasses and Claire's father is the one who lets us into the inner working for the company, as he tries to protect his beloved Claire from been taken in as her power is revealed.

The main character that goes through the biggest growth however is Peter Petrelli, played by Milo Ventimiglia. With his power been the ability to gain the power of anyone he comes in contact with, Peter has to learn to control each new ability he gains and some are much harder than others. But there is one power he has gained that could destroy most of New York.

The second part of the first season of 'Heroes' proves that this is one of the best debut seasons of a science fiction show since 'The X Files'. With excellent and well developed characters and a twisting and turning interwoven storyline that grips you throughout the season, this is a show that is already gaining a huge amount of followers and could easily be a classic in the making.

PICTURE & SOUND

Presented in Anamorphic Widescreen 16x9 with Dolby Digital 5.1, the series looks great.

BONUS FEATURES

Deleted Scenes
View deleted scenes from the episodes 'Godsend', 'The Fix', 'Distractions', 'Run', 'Company Men', 'Parasite', '.07%', 'Five Years Gone' and 'Landslide'.

Audio Commentary
Listen to commentary for all the season one, part two episodes with contributions from series creator Tim Kring, writers Adam Armus, Natalie Chaided, Michael Green, Kay Foster, Bryan Fuller, Chuck Kim and Jeff Loeb, director Jeannot Szware, executive producer Allan Arkush, stunt coordinator Ian Quinn and stars Milo Ventimiglia, Hayden Pinsetters, Sendhil Ramamurthy, Masi Oka, Jack Coleman, James Kyson Lee, Adrian Pasdar, Ali Larter, Greg Grunberg, Zachary Quinto, Leonard Roberts and Noah Gray-Cabey.

Profile of artist Tim Sale (11.24 mins)
The man behind the drawing of troubled artist Isaac Mendez talks about how he became involved with 'Heroes', his career to date, how the paintings have driven the plot and how he adapts the script into a painting.

The Stunts (10.21 mins)
Stunt coordinator Ian Quinn talks about the many stunts in the show and how he has to work at creating the powers and the reactions to them on the show.

The Score (8.55 mins)
Composers Lisa Coleman and Wendy Melvoin and sound engineer Michael Perfitt talk about the music of the series and working with Shenkar to produce a more ethnic sound to the score.

OVERALL

The DVD treatment for 'Heroes' season 1 part 2 is very good. The inclusion of commentary tracks for all the episodes is exceptional and the deleted scenes and featurettes only add to the value. The lack of interviews with the cast is a bit of a let down however but fans will be pleased with the extras.

DVD

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