REVIEWS: "Heroes" and "Runaway"

In “Heroes” several people scattered around the world don’t realize they are connected to one another by their superpowers. In fact, it’s just starting to dawn on some of them that they even have superpowers.

It kicks off our second full week of the television season, along with another new series, “Runaway,” on a new network, the CW.

The premise of “Heroes” is, shall we say, familiar. “The 4400” comes immediately to mind, as do “X-Men” and even ABC’s new “Six Degrees,” which, like “Heroes,” is heavily driven by coincidence.

What makes this intriguing and ultimately irresistible serial thriller one of my favorites of the fall season are its characters.

This is an appealing mix of broody young things and a character aptly named Hiro whose reactions to their superpowers are fresh and unexpected.

Most viewers will immediately take to the effervescent Tokyo office drone (played by American Masi Oka) who overcomes his humdrum corporate existence by consuming comic books and imagining that he is a comic book hero who can bend time and space. One day in his cubicle, to his delight and ours, he does just that, and his joy cannot be contained.

Other heroes aren’t so enamored of their budding abilities. A cheerleader in Texas (played by Hayden Panettiere) jumps off heights and runs through fires to prove she is indestructible.

She does it with all the enthusiasm of Bill Murray blandly driving off a cliff at the absurdist peak of “Groundhog Day,” less for the thrill than to see if there is anything that will break her. It’s a weird melding of teen-girl mutilation and Wonder Womanlike empowerment.

Meanwhile, in the background, there lurks a central figure who seems to know them all. He reminds me of Cigarette Man on the “X-Files,” an omniscient but not necessarily benevolent figure. At some point this season he will connect the dots, I trust, in a way that reflects some fresh thinking by the show’s writers.

So far, though, they seem to have no shame. “Heroes” is a hodgepodge of gimmicks from across popular culture: time travel, avenger clones, body transport, the starter sourdough from “X-Men” and much more.

The gusto with which they’re thrown together kept me watching — perhaps if only to see if the wheels fell off. I’ve watched two hours, and so far, so good.

For a completely different take from a critic with bona fides in the comic book world, read Mo Ryan's savage beatdown of "Heroes" on her blog.

Also tonight is “Runaway,” in which the movie “Running on Empty” meets “The Fugitive.” Donnie Wahlberg stars as the dad who takes his whole family on the lam to avoid being framed on a murder charge. But Leslie Hope (Mrs. Jack Bauer from the first season of “24”) shines as his wife and the emotional core of the drama.

The idea that Wahlberg’s character wouldn’t simply flee on his own is as implausible as the idea that five people could simply disappear into small-town America despite the obvious CNN appeal of their flight. Perhaps this is one TV show that should have been filmed in Canada — and set there, too.

“Runaway” begins tonight after the 11th season premiere of “7th Heaven” on the CW network, which most of you get on cable Channel 7 (or KCWE, broadcast Channel 29).

Comments

[Kim]

In response to your review of the new CW show Runaway, perhaps your columnist should do a little more research, seeing as the show IS filmed in Canada. It is a true "runaway" production.

[Aaron]

Perhaps the reader should read what the columnist is writing more carefully.