Season One of Heroes was phenomenal; I really got invested into the characters and their wild stories. It was funny, exciting, dark and unique. Season 2 dipped in quality a bit, partly due to the writer's strike, but I still found it entertaining and not as bad as many are making it out to be. Hiro DID spend too much time in Japan but it was wrapped up nicely. I liked the new characters of Monica and Elle. Matt was given more time on-screen (not as much as Hiro or Claire but still quite a bit.) It's a nice set-up for the next season (which sounds like it'll be amazing... if you're disappointed with Season 2 don't stop watching. The creators are really working hard on 3 and even made an apology.) The second half of Season 2 gets even better and that's when the show really takes off.

Warning! Minor Spoilers!

Well, the previews promised that we'd see some huge revelations about our heroes, but as typical with previews, they lied. Yeah HRG was more like it was when we first met him, but apart from that I didn't feel that anyone was any different that usual.

This episode was marginally better than the first four, but it perpetuates the season-long problem of getting any meaningful narrative going. Season One started off with a sense of wonder as we saw our various heroes learn about their powers and gradually get to know each other. Season Two started by busting up everything that had been gained in Season One. I think it was a titanic writing decision to create a Diaspora of heroes, flinging all the characters off to different parts of the globe. Did that in Season One. Do something different in Season Two.

I certainly don't think the show is hopeless at this point. But with almost every major character from last season there is a sense that nothing has happened to them in Season Two, apart from Claire and HRG. Is Ali Larter even in this show any longer? Is she off shooting a movie and just dropping by the set for brief appearances as Nikki? Are we going to have to suffer much longer through Peter not knowing who he is? Fans were outraged last year with LOST at their failure to move the story along in their first six episodes. There is a lot of fan outrage at HEROES right now about their failure to move things along and viewership has been dropping. Will the producers respond like those on LOST did and speed up the narrative and focus more on major characters rather than dilly-dally like they have so far? I hope so. I'm far from giving up on the show at this point. I don't have the sense of excitement at the beginning of an episode like I did last year and like I do this year when PUSHING DAISIES or FRIDAY NIGHT LIGHTS comes on. Some of my suspicion is that they have too little story for too many episodes. If there is a writers strike or lock out on Nov. 1 and this and all other Hollywood (and Vancouver) productions are shut down, perhaps the producers will have time for some serious self-assessment and do whatever is necessary to get this potentially good show back on track.

Note: Non-fans of the show may not realize, as a friend of mine who read this review did not, that HRG is the name usually given to Claire's dad, known on HEROES boards simply as HRG for Horn Rimmed Glasses.

I do ackowledge that the second season of Heroes was a let-down in some ways. Even the producers have admitted they made the mistake of assuming fans wanted the same slow build as the first year and the plot of Hiro in Japan dragged too long. But it does come together with great bits, none as good as the introduction of Kristen Bell as the wonderfully psychotic Elle. Despite his presence in a poor plot, Sylar is still a great menace to watch and the Adam Monroe character is inspired as well. I do think the writers had planned for the reast of the season to be amped up but the strike curtailed it. Still, this second volume is a good way to enrich the show's history and, while not as great as the first season, is still better thrills, drama and even laughs than most network shows today. Plus, I'm sure the commentaries will touch on the problems it had and deleted scenes might help as well, making it a must have, whatever the price.