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Last time we met for a Heroes DVD review, I was fighting to get the review done on time before Season 2 premiered. I find myself in the same situation this time, too. As I start this, it is 10:00pm on September 14th, 2008. Season 3 starts at 9:00pm on September 22nd, 2008. So I have a little under 8 days until Season 3 premieres and I would like to have this review done by then. Luckily, I am not hand-cuffed like last year, since this time I caught all of Season 2 when it aired unlike Season 1, and I actually reviewed some of these episodes on my blog.
The Main Characters
There are still a ton of characters on here, documented through the 11 episodes. To keep it easy on myself, I will look at the cover and see who’s there and if they are there, they are important enough to write about. Let’s see, we have Claire Bennet (Hayden Pannattiere) with regenerative healing powers, her father Noah Bennet (Jack Coleman) who had ties to a mysterious company that tracks heroes. Mohinder Suresh (Sendhil Ramamurthy) now works for them and lives with Matt Parkman (Greg Grunberg), a telepath and a man looking for his father, who also has powers. Brothers Nathan (Adrian Pasdar) and Peter Petrelli (Milo Ventimiglia) start this season at two sides of the ocean, Nathan (who can fly) off on his own and Peter (mimic powers) an amnesiac in Ireland. Micah (Noah Gray-Cabey), a technophile and her mother Niki Saunders, a schizophrenic with super-strength, are doing their separate things. Micah is living with his grandmother and cousin, who also shows some sort of abilities. Hiro Nakamura, who can manipulate time (Masi Oka) is in the past dealing with his hero, Kensei. Finally, last season’s villain, Sylar (Zachary Quinto) is with two Mexican stowaways trying to get to America. The brother and sister (Dania Ramirez) have a weird power where the sister, Maya, kills with her tears while the brother heals. Throw in Elle Bishop (Kristen Bell), who can throw energy bolts and is after Peter, and we’re all caught up with the main characters.
The Setting
Our main characters are scattered all over the globe. We’ll be in Mexico, New York City, Ireland, feudal Japan, and California this season, and that’s just remembering Season 2 off the top of my head.
Season Two
---Disc One---
1) Four Months Later (52:33)
Originally Aired: 09/24/07
So the last season ended with some major crap going down. This episode doesn’t pick up right where the last one left off, because that’s not what Heroes is. This takes place in real-time, four months after the events of Kirby Plaza. We start with Mohinder talking about a disease that is targeting the heroes, and getting recognized by The Company. We meet our first new heroes, Maya and Alejandro, running from the authorities in Mexico (wanted for murder) trying to get to America to find answers to their problem thanks to the book that Mohinder’s father wrote. We get a look at their powers, Maya cries a black ooze that kills all around her except her brother, who is the only one who can calm her down. Claire is at her new home in California, in a new 11th grade and she can’t stand out, though she meets a new boy, West. Hiro shows up in Japan in 1671 (during an eclipse no less) and sees his hero, Kensei, who is white, and Hiro’s double-take was awesome. Matt Parkman is succeeding as an NYPD officer, thanks to his telepathy, though Molly is struggling with terrible dreams. Hiro’s father gets a very troubling message, the symbol we’ve seen before on his face. Nathan is a drunk bum now, and still waiting for his brother. He tells his mother to leave, and she has that same symbol over her face, meaning she will die in 24 hours. Claire calls Nathan, who isn’t too receptive to the call, but both miss Peter. Wes spies on Claire, and we learn Wes can fly as well. Hiro’s father is killed near the end of the episode by a hooded man. Finally, Peter shows up in a crate in Ireland, with no memory.
2) Lizards (43:17)
Originally Aired: 10/01/07
Claire and all struggle to be normal, as Noah shows he has the painting of Isaac Mendez, one that foretold Kaito’s death. He wants to look for the other ones. Parkman investigates (and sees the sign that Molly has drawn, the symbol for Kensei) and finds the thumbprint of Angela Petrelli on the evidence. Suresh goes off in search of a man dying of the heroes disease, and it is the Haitian, who we know from last season. Suresh cures him, then has his memory wiped. Maya and Alejandro are still on the run (a “running” theme for the season, pun fully intended). Peter still has memory problems in Ireland, but meets a nice lass named Caitlyn. In Japan, Hiro becomes Kensei to try and keep the history he knows, alive, but ends up falling for the girl himself. He even finds out something about Kensei, he has healing powers, too. Claire is interested lizards and regeneration, as Wes expresses interests in the genetics as well. Of course, Claire tries to get rid of him but finds her car is stolen, then she cuts off her toe, to see if it would regenerate, and it does. Only problem was, Wes saw it. Yikes. This was a very slow episode, lacking any real development (except for the one at the end) and really set the tone for how the season would turn out.
3) Kindred (43:22)
Originally Aired: 10/08/07
The Irish-men tell Peter that he needs to work a heist with them so he can make up for the missing cargo in the crate, and to earn back a box that contains clues as to his identity. He helps them and gets his stuff back, but it doesn't spur his memories. Maya and Alejandro are still in Mexico on the run, and when Alejandro gets pinched, she breaks him out. They escape with an American and his car (which was actually Claire's stolen car). We see Niki and Micah again, and they are without DL, who has died in the four months since we last saw him. Niki drops off Micah at family in New Orleans he hardly knows so Niki can go off and do her own thing, going to the company for a cure. We head to Maui, where Sylar is alive and with Michelle, aka Candace, aka the illusionist. Of course, Sylar kills her and tries to take her powers, but fails. Claire confronts West about what he saw the previous night and West shows Claire his gift of flight and his secret that he was bagged and tagged by the people Claire's father used to work for, and it was Noah himself who captured him. Mohinder returns home and is now working in the city and learns of Molly's troubles in school and with her dreams. Turns out that Suresh is working in the old apartment of Isaac Mendez and he sends photos of Isaac's paintings, ending with HRG's death. Hiro is sending Ando messages through the sword of Kensei. He wants to return home, but cannot. A bit better than the second episode, but I had already tired of Maya and Alejandro by now, Hiro’s storyline hadn’t really kicked into high-gear yet, and really it was the story of Peter that is keeping this moving.
---Disc Two---
4) The Kindness of Strangers (43:15)
Originally Aired: 10/15/07
Maya and her brother are on the run, with the guy from last episode, and find a man on the road, and it is Sylar. This is where Maya’s story starts picking up, Sylar promises to bring them to America to find Suresh, who we know he murdered. Micah’s cousin shows a new power, mimicry of things she sees done by others, and even stops a store robbery. Claire goes on a date with West and covers up by saying she joined the cheerleading team. Parkman and Nathan dig deeper into the mystery of Angela and the people she knew, including Hiro’s father, and Parkman is shocked to learn that his father is involved. He is further shocked when his father is the one Molly sees in her dreams, the Nightmare Man. Molly agrees to help Matt find his father, and she does, but she falls into a coma after finding him.
5) Fight or Flight (43:19)
Originally Aired: 10/22/07
Peter has someone looking for him, a girl named Elle (played by Kristen Bell) who has the same electricity powers Peter displayed when he was found. She looks for Peter and when she doesn’t find him, she kills Caitlyn’s brother. Parkman and Petrelli head to Philadelphia to find Parkman’s dad and are shocked to find out he has powers, too, the same powers as Parkman actually, but much more developed. He literally traps Parkman and Nathan in the apartment in their own private hells, fighting each other. Mohinder brings Molly to the company for help, against Bennet’s wishes. Mohinder then goes off to find Monica, Micah’s cousin. This was a much more character driven episode, focusing a some key plot points, and the episode was better for it. The Elle character was the best thing to happen to this season, creating a vixen character who looks sweet on the outside but is just deadly when she doesn’t get what she wants. I like the fact that Parkman’s father has abilities, like Bob from the company, and Hiro’s father (as seen in a deleted scene), as well as other members of the original group that is being killed (including the guy Peter nursed way back in season 1) so it would make sense that Angela Petrelli has some sort of powers, too, though that is something that is still to be revealed.
6) The Line (43:22)
Originally Aired: 10/29/07
Peter decides to go to Montreal, where a painting he drew foretold where he would be. Suresh faces a tough challenge, being told he needs to inject Monica with a strain that would get rid of her powers, and he vehemenantly denies doing it. They apologize to him and give him Niki as his new partner. Maya and Alejandro are still on the run with Sylar. Bennet and the Haitian go to Ukraine to meet an old friend in search of the rest of Mendez’ paintings, and using the Haitian’s power to steal memories as bait. They get the information, but callously kill the man in the end. Claire tries to get on the cheerleading team and when the head cheerleader doesn’t oblige, she and her friend, West, use their powers to embarrass her. In Japan, Yaeko finds out it is Hiro who was impersonating Kensei. They share a kiss and it is seen by Kensei. He’s not too happy and even turns in Hiro and Yaeko to the enemy. A really good episode, again focusing on a few important stories, featuring some good reveals (the Hiro/Kensai story, Mohinder’s values, and the paintings) and a great line from Monica (my own personal Oprah, a comment to Bob about the gifts she got). Oh, Peter goes into a bleak future (June 14th, 2008) where NYC is deserted. Awesome!
---Disc Three---
7) Out of Time (43:20)
Originally Aired: 11/05/07
From my original posting on Livejournal (with a few grammatical fixes): HRG finds a painting of Suresh with a gun and believes Suresh is the one who kills him. He tells Suresh this over the phone. Meanwhile, Suresh’s new partner, Niki (under control of Nightmare Man) inflicts herself with the virus introduced last episode, and this is something Suresh’s blood cannot cure. So, the Company sends Suresh to get Claire. Suresh doesn't know what to do and tells the Company his motives with HRG (what a dumbass). Suresh takes a gun and goes after Bennett. Nightmare Man, as mentioned, makes Niki go after Bob, but she resists. Parkman finally stands up to his father and traps him in a mental prison, freeing himself and Molly. West finds out the truth about Claire Bear, that her father is HRG. HRG also finds out that Claire demonstrated her powers and tells the family they must move, but Claire Bear is staying. Brief side note, my wife was watching Sleepless in Seattle this past weekend and one of the characters name in the movie was Claire Bennett. Hiro stops White Beard and seemingly kills Kensei. He returns to the present and learns his father is dead. Peter gets a glimpse of the future, meets his mother there, gets his memories back, and returns back to the present. He ends up face to face to Adam Monroe, who we also know as Takezo Kensei. That was the first Oh Shit moment of the season, and after this episode, the series was really firing on all cylinders.
8) Four Months Ago… (42:33)
Originally Aired: 11/12/07
This is another original review of the show from when it aired. We finally see what happens in the four months since the end of Season 1. First up is Nathan flying off with Peter, Peter telling Nathan to let go, Peter exploding and Nathan being horribly burned. Nathan falls to Earth but Peter swoops down and catches him. Nathan goes to the hospital and Peter is picked up (captured) by the company where he first meets with Elle. He meets another ally there, Adam (Kensei) and Peter thinks he's getting help for his powers but learns from Adam he's just a prisoner. They both escape and Adam helps Nathan heal. Peter tries to run but is captured by the Haitian and has his memories erased. The Haitian wants him to start over. We also learn about Maya and how she developed her powers, but it wasn't anything we haven't seen before. DL survived the gun shot wound and became a fireman, even saving a little girl. Niki starts taking meds to control Jessica but then stops taking it. Another personality takes over and she books it to LA. DL goes over to bring her home and pisses off some dude, who shoots him point blank, killing him. It was pretty graphic for network TV, too. Back to Peter. He remembers everything at the end and he and Adam go to save the world. Another great episode.
9) Cautionary Tales (42:48)
Originally Aired: 11/19/07
The twists and turns kept a-comin'. First we have Claire being captured by the company and Suresh, who is quickly turning into a real company-guy. HRG, in turn, kidnaps Elle, who is the daughter of Bob, who runs the Company. They decide to swap the daughters and when Claire tries to fly away with West, Elle shoots them down. This pisses off HRG who shoots Elle in the arm and is about to shoot Bob in the head when Suresh shoots HRG in the eye, just like in the painting! DAMN! West and Claire escape. That would've been shocking enough but then we see HRG regenerate at the end of the episode!! This damn near almost floored me. In other news, Parkman interrogates Mama Petrelli but can't find out who the woman is in the picture. Hiro time-travels to see his father one last time and he even sees his father's killer. Yep, you guessed it, it's Kensei. I kind of expected that but it was an awesome reveal. We learn that Kensei was pissed he was locked away by these people for 30 years that he is picking them off one by one and his teaming with Peter will only add more intrigue. This was just an amazing episode and probably one of my favorite of the whole series.
---Disc Four---
10) Truth & Consequences (41:26)
Originally Aired: 11/26/07
I don’t have an original posting on this one, I don’t know how I missed it back in the day? I know I saw it, I just didn’t review it. Adam (Kensei) tells Peter about the Shanti virus and the Company being responsible for it. They find one of the old Company members and find where the strain is being held. Elle is told to watch Claire while her father (Bob) gives her the business for not handling the situation well. Suresh used Claire’s own blood to cure Noah, and he wants to use it to cure Niki. Niki, meanwhile, comes back to Micah in New Orleans and tells him she has the Shanti virus. Micah wants to give his mother the medal DL got for saving the girl, but finds out his bookbag that houses it has been stolen. Monica decides to try and get it back for him. Maya and Sylar share some champagne and Sylar shows Maya she can control her power. Sylar kills Alejandro like the prick he is. Hiro investigates Kensei and a possible trail he left so Hiro can find him. Hiro finds old photos of Kensei with his father, and finds it dated to Primatech in Hartsdale in 1977. Hiro teleports and finds Kensei, now called Adam Monroe, wanting to release that Shanti virus to destroy the world. Peter doesn’t yet believe that Adam tried to release the virus, but he does kill another member of the Company. The ending is pretty good, as Sylar takes Molly hostage and Hiro goes to Primatech, where he runs into Peter and Adam, and Peter and Hiro have a showdown. I didn’t like this when it first came on but I don’t know why, this was a great way to set up all the plotlines, have them intersect and prepare for the finale.
11) Powerless (43:19)
Originally Aired: 12/03/07
We finally have the showdown between Hiro and Kensei, with Hiro banishing Kensei away forever and burying him alive. Claire wants to expose the company but is shocked when her father returns alive, and tells her not to. Sylar brings Maya, Molly and Suresh to Suresh's lab to find a cure for himself and Suresh finds that Sylar has the same virus Niki has. Elle spies them on the camera and goes to make the save. Sylar manages to shoot Maya, angry when Molly tells her that Alejandro is dead and can’t be found, but Suresh saves her with Claire's blood. Elle shows up and blasts Sylar away but not before he has the blood. Nathan and Parkman show up to meet with Peter and Nathan convinces Peter that Adam is using him. Peter comes to his senses quickly enough to stop the virus from spreading and destroys the vial. Nikki saves Monica from the thug but not before getting trapped in a flaming building and having it explode. Strange that she saves a girl from a flaming building like DL did. Peter, Nathan and Matt decide to take this public, with Nathan calling a press conference. Right before his big announcement he is shot twice and we see someone (HRG?) walking away. Mrs. Petrelli is saddened by this but knew it had to happen. That's the end to Volume 2. We still have some questions, who shot Peter? Is Niki dead? Have we seen the last of Adam? We get a brief look at Volume 3 "Villains," with Sylar pumping himself with Claire's blood and getting his telekinesis (and I assume other powers) back. He also may develop healing powers from this, too, making him really unstoppable. He grabbed a can of spinach, too, was that a Popeye reference? Getting powers? This was a great end to what I called their mini-season, before the writers strike completely fudged everything.
Season Review
This season was pretty much ravaged by the writer’s strike, having the 11th episode act as the final chapter to tie up loose ends instead of what it was originally intended to be, altering storylines so it could wrap up and not leave too many loose ends. This season takes a lot of heat for starting off too slowly, and it is actually a valid point, but, it did finish very strong. Everything from the third disc on was very good, very well-planned out and finally had all points converging at the end. Who knows how things would’ve been different if not for the writer’s strike? It wasn’t as good as the first season, not as well planned out, but it finished very strong and restored my faith in the series, enough to keep me on board for the third season. If Season 1 was an easy A, Season 2 would probably be a B, based on the strong ending.
DVD Features
A) Extras
---Disc One---
1) Deleted Scenes (4:36)
These are all from “Four Months Later”
---A) I Too Have A Special Ability (2:20)
Hiro’s father has a special ability, he basically has the brain of a computer, even faster, and that’s why he has done so well in the stock market.
---B) Petrellis Don’t Deserve to be Saved (2:16)
Nathan drinks his life away as we see he gave up his political office position. His mother shows up saying she’s scared for her life, where Nathan says Petrelli’s don’t deserve to be saved.
2) Heroes Season 2: “A New Beginning” (14:40)
This probably could’ve gone on Disc four, since it showed some scenes from episodes not included in the first three episodes. Tim says this season should be as exciting and surprising as Series One. We really just meet the characters in the season, as well as the new guys (Kristen Bell, Dania Ramirez, etc). They also look at the general stories these guys will go through, including major spoilers if you haven’t seen Season 2 yet, so beware if you are seeing it for the first time.
3) Audio Commentaries
---A) Four Months Later
Tim Kring, Jeph Loeb and Jack Coleman recorded this commentary. If you don’t know who either of those three are, you have no business reading this and saying you’re a fan. They talk about the use of subtitles, with the Spanish and Japanese being shown in different colors. They really talk about certain shots, the actors. It is just a standard commentary mentioning the basic stuff without adding in anything terribly interesting or funny.
---B) Lizards
Allan Arkush (Executive Producer), Michael Green (Co-Executive Producer) and Greg Grunberg (Matt Parkman) recorded this commentary. If you have never heard a Grunberg commentary, they are all fun. This was a fun commentary, not too revealing, but fun.
---C) Kindred
This commentary was recorded by Paul Edwards (who directed the episode), JJ Philbin (the Co-Executive producer), and Zachary Quinto. Zach jokes about Mohinder and Parkman living together the Heroes: My Two Dads version. Very enjoyable commentary, Zachary, JJ and Paul had good chemistry.
---Disc Two---
1) Deleted Scenes (11:02)
---A) Fight or Flight (6:46)
------i) Look Yaeko, He Had It All Along
This one Hiro talking about feudal Japan and preparing for their big mission against White Beard and Hiro using his powers to make Kensei and Yaeko fall in love.
-----ii) And She Hits Me Hard
This is more of feudal Japan, with Kensai trying to kiss her and getting smacked for it.
----iii) I’m the Only Normal Person in this Family
Monica mimics moves she sees in Enter the Dragon when her brother catches her.
----iv) You Think I Don’t Know You, Hiro
Hiro impersonates Kensai (in the mask) and makes things right with Yaeko. Yaeko thinks it is Hiro, so he uses his power to switch places with Kensei
-----v) Don’t Thank Me Yet
The gangster confronts Monica, since the cops are after him, so she does her Bruce Lee moves on her. The gangster gets tasered by Mohinder, who tasers her. What a prick, and a huge heel turn for Suresh there, as he never would’ve done that before.
---B) The Line (5:06)
------i) So It Does Run in the Family
Monica mentions that her powers run in the family like Micah and DL. Monica is upset that she was tasered and brought away, explaining all the “gifts” she got. I think the DL line was deleted because she doesn’t know he had powers?
-----ii) To Fight Alongside the Great Takezo Kensei
Hiro likes fighting alongside Kensei, its like fighting with Superman. This was a dull scene.
----iii) No More Tazer Kidnapping?
Monica gets her gifts, and tells Bob that they shouldn’t do anymore tazer kidnapping. The deleted scenes here really just got rid of the tazer storyline for Monica.
2) Takezo Kensei: Sword Saint (23:48)
This is a fantastic featurette on Japan during the late 1600’s (when Hiro was in feudal Japan) and about the history of Takezo Kensei and White Beard. It sounds like John Rhys-Davies was narrating this. Of course, it is all fictional, but it is an indepth look at that fictional legend, including his tasks. Fun featurette, giving a lot of insight into the legend of Takezo, complete with the presented by blurbs before each chapter, giving it a real documentary type feel.
3) The Drucker Files (8:32)
Drucker, the godfather of the Internet, is focused on this newscast type program from fiction GNI network. Hana Gitelman (the woman from Season 1 who could control the internet and all devices) is related to Drucker and shows how the powers go from family to family. Charles Deveaux is in the story, too (he was the one Peter cared for in Season 1, and father of Simone). This is like the Kensei featurette, a well-done faux-documentary piece. Another really fun feature. I guess they had enough time to make these after the writers strike. I wonder if this would’ve been on Origins?
4) Audio Commentaries
---A) The Kindness of Strangers
This commentary was recorded by Tim Kring, Dana Davis and Adrian Pasdar. Adrian says that people thought he had a fake beard, when it was real. Dana plays Monica on the show. Adrian jokes about seeing the boy version of movies like Bratz (since a Bratz girl was in the episode) because of his sons and hasn’t been to the movie much. Kring said he looked forever for the Rey Misterio 619, which would take me about 5 minutes to find. I think they looked at a bunch of moves instead of just the 619. Kring is a big fan of wrestling according to Adrian, but didn’t know why it was called the 619. The kid who plays Micah really is a prodigy, playing the Sydney Opera House at age 3. Adrian mentions the make-up was about 4 hours to put on, sometimes 5, and over an hour to take it off. Awesome commentary.
---B) Fight or Flight
This commentary was recorded by Greg runberg and Greg Beeman (the Executive Producer). The two Gregs, the first time this has happened? Grunberg compares himself to Kristen Bell, but a lot hotter. They jokingly call Kristen, “Lightning Lass,” but isn’t that a Legion of Super-Heroes character? The Gregs joke about Parkman’s hair-off with Nathan. Grunberg says that the guy who played his father on Heroes, played his father on Felicity. Another awesomely fun commentary.
---C) The Line
This commentary was recorded by Co-Executive Producers Adam Armus, Kay Foster and actor Jack Coleman. Enjoyable, but not too informative.
---Disc Three---
1) Deleted Scenes (7:51)
---A) Out of Time (2:42)
------i) Get Down From There
West helps Mrs. Bennett change a lightbulb, by flying up to do it. Funny scene.
-----ii) She Can Find Peter
Nathan wants Molly to find Peter, but Parkman doesn’t want to put Molly through that.
---B) Four Months Ago… (3:43)
------i) Happy Birthday, Micah
Micah’s birthday seems to be December 5th, which wouldn’t make sense in the timeline. Anyway, Niki is popping pills.
-----ii) There is No Need To Cry, Child
Maya has a meeting with a nun who tells her she doesn’t need to cry. That’s how she got the nun gear on, I suppose.
----iii) I’m Not OK, Do I Look OK?
Nathan (with some bad make-up on) is trying to recuperate, but can’t. He snaps at his kids, too. What a bastard.
2) Genetics of a Scene (23:14)
This is hosted by Allan Arkush, and he talks about the Hiro in Japan aspect of the season. Arkush lays out the types of scenes he has in a massive binder and goes out to planning a scene, and he starts talking about the cherry blossom scene. We then move to Greg Beeman, who talks about the Maya/Alejandro introduction scene, then the Nathan/Peter scene from the Four Months Ago… episode. Allan comes back and talks about the set for Isaac’s loft, talking about a scene from episode 11. This was a pretty decent featurette.
3) Audio Commentaries
---A) Out of Time
Daniel Attias (he wrote it) and Masi Oka (he starred in it) recorded this commentary together. Masi jokes that Claire is their Kenny from South Park. It’s great hearing Masi talk about and asking Daniel why things were shot since he came from an actual CGI background. Very good commentary.
---B) Four Months Ago…
Milo Ventimiglia and Greg Beeman recorded this commentary. Greg was good on the other one I heard this collection, and I hope this is just as good. They talk about Kristen joining the cast and editors having a crush on her, since they hang on her shots a little too long when his character has something to say. Christine Rose (who plays Mama Petrelli) says she’s scared that every episode would be her last since her character would die. Greg says he needs to know math to be a good director, something as a math teacher I like to hear. The burning house scene was a block away from the Desperate Housewives block. Another really fun commentary.
---C) Cautionary Tales
Episode Director Greg (there’re lots of them on the show) Yaitanes and stars Kristen Bell and Ashley Crow recorded this commentary. I’ll be honest, I wasn’t too impressed with this one.
---Disc Four---
1) Season 3 Sneak Peek (8:37)
This is a sneak peek at Season 3, a season which shouldn’t be hurt by any sort of strike. Dania and Sendhil are happy to be back on set, as is Ali (she survives!). They show some of the filming of the first two episodes, clips of the last season, and cast and crew comments. I’m ready. I don’t know when this will be posted online, but I’m watching this a day before the Season 3 premiere.
2) Generations Alternate Ending (17:59)
This is cool, it’s the alternate ending to the last episode. Originally it was supposed to be just the end of one arc to Season 2, but the writers strike changed that. The scene starts the same, but this time the glass vial breaks, releasing this stuff into the air. People start dying as Peter blames himself for this happening. Nathan tells the city they need to quarantine, but no one believes him. Parkman convinces them (using his telepathy and getting the nosebleed). We head to the Sylar/Elle confrontation, then the Niki segment. Peter then starts a landslide to block access to and from the town (this was only storyboarded and never filmed). We get some more of the old stuff (Hiro buries Kensei, Dania comes back to life) before going back to another press conference, where he’s announcing the break of the virus as Hiro, Suresh and Claire look on. Nathan passes out during the press conference. We end with Sylar again.
3) Inside The Alternate Ending of Generations (10:57)
Jeph Loeb, Jesse Alexander and Tim Kring talk about the ending of Volume 2, as well as where they were going for Volume 3. The writers strike threw off their plan, as Vol. 2 would’ve ended up being a finale, instead of just the end of an arc. They decided they didn’t want to end on the same cliffhanger and so the decision was made to change it. As it was changed, episodes 12 and 13 were already being shot. Maya and Claire were going to get involved in this, especially with Maya and her plague ability, who would become the hero who would stop it by taking it into her. The Company was going to sacrifice the whole town so the secret wouldn’t be released, and that was the Pandora’s Box Angela Petrelli mentioned before.
4) Untold Stories (12:13)
These are the untold stories from what would’ve been Season 2, episodes 12 and 13.
---A) Teaser
Elle says she was close to catching Sylar, but he is still killing. Elle is really a child looking for the affection of her father. We head to a clip of Sylar killing another guy for his powers, another guy with impenetrable skin. So Sylar goes through the mouth instead, ouch. Sylar now has super-skin, and healing powers (from Claire’s blood). Elle sees him but Sylar runs out.
---B) Act 1
Elle goes back to her father, who isn’t happy with her performance at not taking out Sylar yet.
---B) Act 2
Sylar kills a Chameleon girl, one who could get invisible and adapt to her surroundings, I guess.
---C) Act 3
Noah is still imprisoned when Elle shows up to ask him for help with Sylar. Noah wonders why Elle doesn’t have a partner and claims he has a partner she doesn’t know about.
---D) Act 4
Hiro is told by Ando to help the save the world by traveling to the past to stop the virus but Hiro says he can’t, since nothing good ever comes of it. Ando runs into traffic so Hiro will save him, but Hiro doesn’t use his powers and just shoves him out of the way.
---E) Act 5
This is from episode 13, and it shows Hiro dead with a sword in him, Monica and Micah dead, Parkman done for, and Milo holding onto life. Someone is choking Claire, too. Noah’s done for, Claire is beheaded, and the Villains rule the roost. Sylar leads Nightmare Man, Adam Monroe, Niki and an unnamed man as Angela Petrelli looks on. It was just a dream. This was awesome.
5) NBC.COM Featurettes (3:47)
---A) Hotel Corinthian Explosion
The Corinthian hotel is brought down via explosions to applause from the onlookers.
---B) Maya y Alejandro Viral Video
This is filmed hand-held “Blair Witch,” style, and deals with one of the people killed by Maya.
---C) Nathan and Peter Brooklyn Cam
This is the scene of Peter and Nathan exploding above the sky as seen from Brooklyn, and then seeing Peter fly and pick up Nathan. Cool stuff.
6) Time Sale Gallery of Screen Art (2:02)
This is a 2-minute auto-scrolling feature showing all the different pieces of art that Tim Sale drew for this season.
7) Audio Commentaries
---A) Truth & Consequences
Adam Kane and Stephen Tobolowsky recorded this commentary together. Adam is the episode director and Stephen is Bob on the show. They joke around a bit until someone else shows up to join the commentary, a guy by the name of David Anders, who we know as Adam Monroe on the show. This was an okayish commentary.
---B) Powerless
Allan Arkush and the composers, Lisa Coleman and Wendy Melvoin recorded this commentary. They talk a lot about the music of the episode, as well as the original alternate ending.
8) Previews (6:42)
There are previews here for: Battlestar Galactica, Coach, Eureka, Incredible Hulk, Murder She Wrote, Northern Exposure, Quantum Leap, The Rockford Files, and A-Team/Knight Rider/Magnum PI.
B) Audio/Video
The TV shows are presented in beautiful 1.78:1 anamorphic widescreen. They went all-out on the video here. It is many times better than when I watch it on network (non-HD) TV and is better than some movies I have seen recently on DVD. It’s just such a vivid picture. Audio is standard 5.1 Dolby Digital. When used it is very good, almost movie quality.
C) Packaging / Liner Notes
The packaging is a fold-open case housing 4 DVD’s inside an awesome slipcase. The cover is just a beautiful shiny piece of art and I can see my freaking reflection in it. The only insert is a leaflet promoting the new season one side, and the magazine on the other.
D) Easter Eggs
None that I could find.
Overall Review
Disc one starts out with some previews; House on DVD, Scorpion King, The Scorpion King 2, Life Season 1, and Season 3 of Heroes, all totaling 3:23. The season started out very slowly, but man did it pick up by the last four episodes. The collection is actually very well-priced on Amazon, about $25 for a four-disc collection, and it does come pretty fully-loaded. There are commentaries for each episode (some being very good, some being just okayish), some deleted scenes, and some really cool featurettes, especially the alternate ending and how things could’ve turned out for the third volume. I wonder how much of this they will actually use for Season 3? While not a stellar season (started way too slow, but finished strong), this has enough good content on here to make it a high recommendation.
Overall Rating
9.0
10.0 Perfect
9.0-9.5 Near Perfect, Highly Recommended
8.0-8.5 Really good disc, Recommended
7.0-7.5 Good DVD, Mildly recommended
6.0-6.5 Above Average DVD. Mildest of mild recommendations
5.0-5.5 Decent all around disc, but catch it on TV
4.0-4.5 Great Movie but horrible DVD
3.0-3.5 Horrible movie but great DVD
2.0-2.5 There’s at least some merit to this DVD, but not much.
1.0-1.5 Horrible DVD, don’t even bother
0.0-0.5 Worst DVD ever
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