'Round here, we call them "subs"

Woo! New episode of Heroes tonight. I think this might be my new favourite TV show, which is weird, because I’m not a superhero/comic book kind of girl. Yes, I’ve watched geeky sci-fi shows before. And, sure, I was a Buffy fan for a bit. But it seemed weird that I was even interested in this show. I guess it’s because it has one thing I can’t resist: Bryan Fuller. Thanks to Dead Like Me and Wonderfalls, I am completely his bitch, and will at least attempt to watch any show that has his involvement.

I’m trying not to get too involved, though. After the general assyness of Lost that started around the end of the first season and the ridiculous coma baby/long lost father/child-molesting mayor/Irish mafia that was Veronica Mars' second season, I don’t want to get burned by a TV show again.

For now, I’m being cautiously optimistic. The show is about superheroes, but it has managed to strike an acceptable balance of fantasy and reality. It has yet to cross the line into stupidly contrived deus ex machina where things don’t make sense, even in the context of the show’s fake universe. The cast is, for the most part, solid, and the guest stars didn’t stink of stunt casting. George Takei’s guest spot had me worried, but he was awesome. Not a Star Trek reference in sight. The plot arcs are progressing nicely, and the backstory pieces serve to enhance the action. The show hasn’t fallen into the Lost trap of doing a whole episode about some event from someone’s past, and having it serve purely as the moral of the day while teaching us nothing new about the character or advancing the plot in any way.

I really only have two complaints about the show. First, nothing stops an episode’s momentum like one of the interminable cop drama vignettes. I get the impression that people love Greg Grunberg, but, jebus fucking christ, his character’s plotline is just so dull. I don’t care about his failing marriage or his shortcomings as a cop or his rapport with Clea Duval. Shouting "Be less boring" at my television isn’t going to fix anything, so I’m sort of hoping that they just kill him off. Similarly, the whole Niki plotline feels too disconnected from the rest of the action, and it’s sort of repetitive. Yes, she’s Niki/she’s Jessica, good/evil, creamy/chunky, Ali Larter/Diana Krall. We get it. Now, do something. I’m hoping there’s going to be one hell of a payoff, because I I think Ali Larter kicks ass.

I suspect tonight’s episode may take care of both of these problems, so, good on you, Heroes. If it goes well, I may choose to ignore the whole ambiguously-gay-except-no!-he’s-totally-straight sidekick thing. Or maybe not.

I just hope that after this season they don’t fuck it up. If the second season starts back at the beginning with a different set of heroes I’ll throw a brick through my TV. Then I’ll throw my TV through the windows of the producers’ office.