New Cast Members!

I'm very cautious about revealing anything that might be considered a spoiler. That being said, I don't think a Reuters article counts as a spoiler, nor do trailers. Therefore, I don't mind discussing new characters. However, I'll try not to mention anything about them in relation to existing characters who may or may not be coming back. Are we all set on that? Good.

So...no recurring role as Kensei for George Takei. That was kind of cute while it lasted, though. I'm going to predict (like everyone else hasn't already...) that Kensei is part of the Nakamura line. Speaking of Hiro, Tim Kring has picked him up a potential love interest in pop star Eriko Tamura, playing a princess.

Apparently, one cop isn't enough for Heroes, and NBC has decided that there just aren't enough cop shows on TV, so Heroes gets another cop (played by Barry Shabaka Henley). If there are cops, there must be bad guys: Holt McCallany will be playing the ringleader of a bunch of Irish thugs. Maybe this is the ultimate attempt to revive The Black Donnelys? Whatever it is, let's hope that these last two characters aren't an early sign that the writers are having to dip into the old cliche' well this early on.

Claire will be getting herself a set of Plastics (no not that, you perv...like in Mean Girls), with a couple of cheerleader "friends" in Lyndsy Fonseca and Dianna Agron. If you were trying to hide from a Company with as long a reach as OWI (even post-finale, there's got to be a lot of power and influence to be explored)--not to mention a super-powered serial killer--would you take up cheerleading again? Does the NBC store have an overstock of "Save the Cheerleader" t-shirts to sell off? Oh yeah...and Claire's getting a super-powered boyfriend too. Not at all conspicuous...

Sorry if this all sounds too negative, sidekicks, but my first impressions of these new characters isn't good. The thumbnail sketches we're getting just sound like very canned characters, and also seem to indicate a lack of growth in our established characters like Claire. Granted, we don't know much yet, and Heroes has done a great job so far (yes, even the finale, you little whiners...nyah nyah nyah), so I'm keeping my fingers crossed.

What are you thinking? Sound off in the comments!

Some Second Thoughts

As might be expected, the internets are abuzz with criticism of the Heroes finale, "How to Stop an Exploding Man." I say "as might be expected," since there is nothing more cranky and vocal than a fanboy who doesn't get what (s)he thinks (s)he ought to get out of his/her show.

Now, I'll grant you that some of the criticism are valid, but a lot of it is just sour grapes and hype. We've had 22 shows to figure out how to tie all these plot threads together and to anticipate The Bomb, so some letdown is to be expected. Still, the bulk of it sounds like a petulant kid not getting that one toy for his birthday, even though he got tons of other gifts.

That being said, there are a couple of things I wanted to vent about regarding the finale. Yes, I still liked it, and I'm still dying to see where Volume Two takes us, but here''s a couple of things about the finale:

• One hour was just not enough. They really needed two hours to tie up the storylines, lead us into Volume Two's stories, and still not make the whole thing feel rushed.
• Most rushed of all was (obviously) the big Peter/Sylar showdown. Seriously...a couple of punches is all we get? The fight in Mohinder's apartment (to say nothing of "Five Years Gone") were more exciting. The parking meter was an apt weapon, though...insert your coin and wait for Season Two.
• Did anybody else feel like Niki was marginalized? One good swing, and Peter shoos the little missy off to tend to the young'uns. Sheesh...

OK, that's enough whining for now. Heroes is still the best thing on TV, and I still liked the finale. I guess I just had to go on the nitpicking bandwagon for a minute or two. Hey, even healthy relationships need the occasional spat. So stay tuned, sidekicks! More Heroes stuff as it happens!

P.S. I do have one last request of all you devoted readers. I've enabled comments on my posts, so if you agree, disagree, or just want to be heard...leave a comment or send me an email (link is in the right margin).