HEROES Recap: Series Premiere

So did you guys catch Heroes last night? NBC was marketing the show so aggresively, I half expected someone to storm into my house last night and force me down while I watched the show. But alas, no one did, but I watched it all the same. You know who else watched it? The fabulous Julie!! Julie is my Hero for taking on our weekly recaps of Heroes…enjoy, and tell Julie and I what YOU thought of the show. Is this one a keeper?

Series Premiere
Original Airdate: September 25, 2006

We open on an image of the globe. Fitting, since we’re going to be globetrotting throughout this recap.

New York. Peter leans over the edge of the roof of a tall building. Arms outstretched, he plummets to the ground, floating over the city before he awakens indoors, in a chair. He’s a nurse, caring for an unconscious patient and flirting with the patient’s grown daughter, Simone.

Madras, India. A dandy-suited, attractively coiffed teacher (who we’ll come to know as Mohinder) lectures about genetic code and the possibility of extraordinary abilities. A colleague comes in to tell him his father, scientific researcher turned NYC cab driver, is dead. Mohinder is convinced it was because of his father’s theories and heads off to finish the research his father started – beginning with his house in India (where there’s a mysterious bespectacled man already rooting through things) all the way to his cockroach-infested place in Brooklyn. In both places, there are maps with pin-marked locations and files listing strange and wondrous abilities like teleportation.

Las Vegas. Nikki the webcam star gives a tawdry performance before making sure her computer-genius son is ready for school. Micah, her son, is giving her a little smart-mouthing when they’re interrupted by a knock on the door. Nikki and Micah hurry out back to avoid a couple thugs who break down the door.

Odessa, Texas. Claire the cheerleader ascends a 70 foot tower. Her friend films as she falls with a thud. He rushes over, filming as she relocates her shoulder. “Attempt #6,” she tells the camera, as a deep gash on her face heals itself. You’d think she’d be excited that broken bones and stab wounds are no problem, but she feels like a freak show. A freak show who can shove a compound rib fracture back into her abdomen. Ew. Now I almost “fudged myself.”

Peter‘s dreaming again. This time when he falls he sees a man – his brother Nathan, who’s also on the side of a bus in an ad for congress. At Nathan’s campaign office, Peter tries to convince him he can fly, thinking he’ll understand. He doesn’t. He thinks Peter’s high. Maybe he got some from their mom, who was just caught shoplifting. They head over to bail her out and cover it up.

Tokyo, Japan. Office drone Hiro concentrates hard enough to make the second hand on his clock pause, then move backward. He runs through the office, elated, but his coworker buddy isn’t so impressed – he’s more interested in watching Nikki by webcam.

Back in Vegas, the dean of Micah’s advanced school is informing Nikki that her son doesn’t “fit in,” despite the $25,000 donation she made to ensure his placement there. He refuses to refund her the money (what more would you expect from Aaron Echolls’ former attorney?), and Nikki drags Micah out angrily, saying they’re too good for the school anyway. She catches a glimpse of her reflection in the fish tank – smirking, mocking her.

Peter and Nathan bust their mom out of the slammer. Nathan splits early, but Peter talks to his mom. She’s still torn up about his dad’s death 6 months ago, hence the shoplifting, to “feel alive.” You know, when I want to feel alive, I go for a run. Fun, and not a misdemeanor. Peter tells her he’s always felt he and Nathan were connected. Years earlier, when Nathan had an accident, Peter knew before anyone told him. His mom gives him a light “snap out of it” slap. Glad I’m not the only one who wants him to shut up already.

Nikki drops off Micah at a friend’s, confessing to her pal that she’s $30,000 in debt to some sketchy characters, having borrowed money to pay for Micah’s school. Her friend could be more sympathetic, but at least she doesn’t slap her.

Claire and her videographer walk by an enormous fire from a derailed train. As the buddy tapes, she runs into the fire, just standing in the flames for a minute before spotting someone and dragging him out. She’s aflame herself, but there are no burns. Rather than sticking around to be fully examined by firefighters, she ducks out while they revive her rescuee.

Back in New York, artist Isaac frantically paints over his canvases. Simone, the daughter from the first scene, arrives, halting his destruction. Why was he doing it? Because they’re evil, duh. He painted a suicide bombing three weeks before it happened, while he was high. (For serious — not like when I made fun of Peter before.) He insists on going cold turkey, despite Simone’s offers of help. Blah, blah, melodrama. On the TV, we see the train derailment, and a painting of the exact scene is right next to it. Cue Twilight Zone theme.

After rejecting a job offer from his brother (and some pleas to grow up and get a life, which I heartily second), Peter hops in a cab. It’s Mohinder’s! They do the usual small talk about topics both meteorological (impending eclipse) and philosophical (genetically pre-determined destiny). I mean, who doesn’t talk about that stuff? Natural selection is one of my go-to icebreaker topics.

As the eclipse takes place, Nikki heads back to her place to pick up some things. The place has been ransacked – and the thugs are still there. Even worse, one of them is eating her Little Debbie snacks. Wow. That is just a low blow. Isn’t there some kind of thug’s code that prohibits snackage on one’s sugary indulgences? Harsh. Greasy weasely thug gets odd facial hair thug to film as Nikki gives a forced performance. When she’s temporarily distracted by her mirror image, greasy thug smacks her around. Douchebag.

Meanwhile, Hiro and his homie head home from work, stopping at a karaoke bar first. Hiro’s pal dares him to teleport into the ladies’ room, and gets him kicked out of the bar when it seems like he was successful. Smooth.

Sprawled on her bed, Nikki wakes up to the sound of Micah on the answering machine. Her home is covered in blood and she’s got a pair of dead henchmen on her hands. Somebody’s got some splainin’ to do! From the look her blood-covered reflection gives her, I’d say she doesn’t have a very credible story for the authorities. She grabs the tape (wonder if we’ll see it later?) and heads out.

Peter ditches Mohinder’s cab when he gets a call from Simone saying she needs help. He’s replaced by a middle-aged man wearing glasses, who gets awfully chatty with Mo, making comments about his surname, his father, his genetic theories. Mo gets spooked, stops the cab, and hauls ass away. Dude, don’t leave your cab! That’s your livelihood. (Is it just me, or are cabs creepier since “The Bone Collector”?)

At dinner, Claire’s mom yaks about her dogs and misunderstands her daughter when she says she walked through fire. The bulb may be dim, but she’s well-intentioned – she later asks Claire if she wants to go to the mall. Claire says yeah, and that she loves her. Aww…what a touching moment…too bad it’s ruined by Claire dropping her ring in the running garbage disposal, then retrieving it with her then-mangled, bloody stump of a hand. She hides it as it heals, telling her mom that she thinks she’s old enough to know who her real parents are. Her mom seems amenable (iiiiinteresting) when her dad arrives home. Shock, it’s bespectacled evil cab-hijacking middle aged man, who Claire hugs warmly.

On the subway home, Hiro spots an NYC poster, then closes his eyes. The numbers on the clock behind him speed up, and suddenly he’s in the middle of Times Square. Cheaper than flying, and no jet lag! He lets out an elated cry.

Peter and Simone arrive at Isaac’s, where he is alive but overdosed. Rather than being helpful, Peter gets distracted by one of Isaac’s paintings – of Peter, in the air. Personally, I’d be a bit more troubled by the painting of the enormous fiery mushroom cloud engulfing the city, but then again I’m not quite so self-centered as Peter.

Nathan exits a cab in an alley. He’s calling Peter on his cell when a phone drops to the ground next to him. Peter’s high above, at the edge of the building just like in his dream, saying “it’s my turn to be somebody, Nathan.” He’s on his way to being a pancake when someone swoops in, pulling him higher, up into the sky. It’s Nathan. Nathan?! He doesn’t even look quite sure how he did it. But before either of them knows what’s going on, he’s losing his grip on Peter, who slips out of his hands. Ay!

Will Peter meet his maker? I don’t think so. I think Milo Ventimiglia is meant to be one of Heroes’ hot leading men, and I’m pretty sure they wouldn’t off him in the first episode. So we’ll all tune in next week to find out more about the connections between all these crazy kids and the evolution of their amazing abilities. See you then!

Julie is a GMMR recapper extraordinaire, but she also has her own fabulous TV website. Head over to TV and Sympathy to read more from Julie.