Customer Reviews

Heroes: Season Four

5 star:		(44)
4 star:		(14)
3 star:		(9)
2 star:		(4)
1 star:		(11)

 

 

Season four of Heroes had the show taking steps back in the right direction. After the disaster of the past two seasons, the show titled this season "Redemption" to try and earn some respect back. In my mind, they did earn redemption. This season wasn't as good as season one, but Heroes was fun to watch again. Heroes hasn't been fun at all since season one. This season finally started to organically develop the characters again and introduced many new characters I enjoyed.

This season starts a few months after season three, and all of the characters are dealing with the repercussions. (spoiler) For instance, after pushing Nathan's mind into Sylar's body, Sylar is now trapped in Matt's head. Sylar for the first half of the season tried to get back into his body, and along the way insults Matt in the most hilarious ways possible. (end spoiler) These guys together was one of the best parts of the season. The new characters this season are all very cool, which is something that hasn't happened for a long time with Heroes. We get to see the main villain Samuel Sullivan (played by the ever charming Robert Knepper) develop over the season and we see how and why he develops his evil plan near the end of the season. My favorite new character this season was Emma, a deaf file clerk at Peter's hospital who develops synesthesia (the ability to see sound as color). Her and Peter's relationship was another highpoint of the season. I really liked how this season focused on the characters instead of another generic "Let's save the world again guys!" story like they've been doing for a while now.

The story also slowed down this season into something smaller and digestible. Instead of trying to cram everyone's storyline into one episode, this season only included about 2-3 in each episode. This allowed the individual stories more time to develop and slowed the pace down to something enjoyable. When watching this season on TV it was too slow when there was a week in between each episode, but I recently streamed the season on Netflix and the pacing was much better when watched back to back. There was a real slowdown mid-season though that did kill the momentum that the season had been building before then. Watching it on TV, this slowdown was painful to watch week after week and I wondered if Heroes' return to quality was only temporary. It was as if they had only created enough story for 13 episodes but then had to stretch it out into 18 episodes. After this lull in pacing though the season picks right back up and finishes with the best season finale of the show yet.

I don't want to spoil this season for those who haven't seen it yet, but suffice to say the turn around Heroes has done in quality this season is almost unbelievable. For a while there Heroes was one of the worst shows on television, but this season managed to crank out material that was lots of fun to watch. The people giving this season one star have stopped caring for Heroes long before season four started. These people are suffering from disappointment, which is worse than being bad at first and then getting better. Heroes was great at first, and people invested time and money in it expecting it to get better. However, Heroes got worse and worse. People are now bitter about the show and aren't willing to give it a chance. If you are willing to give this season a shot, you will see how much better Heroes has gotten.

Update 05/16/2010: Heroes has been canceled. While it's sad the show has been canceled on its rebound, it's not surprising considering how awful the second and third seasons were. In the second season, the characters puttered around and things moved very slowly. In the first few episodes a lot of nothing happened. It slowly picked up as the season went along, but then the writer's strike hit and they gave us a crappy wrap up as a result. The worst part was (spoiler) they forgot Peter's girlfriend in the future. I know she was probably erased or something when the timeline changed, but it made no impact on Peter what-so-ever in the third season. (end spoiler)

In complete contrast, the first volume of the third season had the characters running around at a frantic pace doing everything under the sun. The worst part about it was that they didn't have very good continuity between episodes. It produced entertaining individual episodes, but as a whole the volume made no sense. The second volume of season three was much better than the first. It had a central storyline to focus on and slowed the pace down. On the flip-side it took a few episodes to find its feet, and the finale was god awful. (spolier) They focused on Claire and the door during the huge Sylar/Nathan/Peter fight?!?! You teased us in the first season finale, but now you actually have it and do the entire thing off screen? There is no excuse for something that stupid. I almost quit Heroes when they had that as the "big climax" of the season. Thank goodness I didn't. (end spoiler) In the end, although it was much better than season two and first half of season three, it only managed to be decent.

It has been said time and time again, but it is true: Heroes had huge potential but wasted a lot of it. From characters dying and coming back to life inexplicably (How many times did Nathan die?) to running around in circles for storylines (they held on to that future painting gimmick for a seemingly endless amount of time), Heroes just never lived up to what it wanted to be. Seasons one and four are good, and the second half of season three is OK, but the rest is just garbage.

I'll probably do a more complete review of Heroes as a whole when they release a complete series box set, but this is already a good summary of what went wrong with Heroes. Despite being canceled, Heroes isn't quite dead yet. NBC is making plans for a two-hour TV movie to wrap up the series, so we will get more closure than the season four finale offers (which does serve as a decent series finale if the TV movie falls through). Although Heroes is gone, which most people would say is for the better, it has undeniably left a mark on sci-fi television and pop culture in general.

So a few years back this show called "Heroes" was getting all kinds of hype, I finally sat down to watch it (on DVD)...and though I liked certain aspects of it, I eventually found it tedious and pretty much stopped about 1/2 way through.

Then I heard snippets of the plot line of Season 3, and then I managed to start watching season 4 (simultaneously) and I have to say, just when the show seems to keep losing more and more viewers, it seems to be getting better and better.

Part of what makes season 4 a particular treat is the way that the creators and writers really expanded on the more universally applicable concepts of "belonging," "fitting in," "people curious and admiring that may turn to hate," and "redemption." Although this is full of "specials" and great ability clashes and sequences, this season is really rather character focused and humanistic.

The bi-curious relationship of one of the main characters, the continuing complexities of everyone's favorite charasmitic "Villain" Sylar get even more deliciously satisfying, and the "other" villain of this season, a mysterious man named Samuel Sullivan, (who is only much later revealed for his true plan and power) serves as a capable, driven, obsessed, if somewhat over-the-top adversary.

Season 4 kept things rather tight tidying everything up, leading into the next volume in a succinct 18 episode story arc. If you're like me and gave up on "Heroes" early on (or like many others, during season 2) give this season and season 3 a chance, the show has really matured and is worth a watch.

So... for the technical merit:

SPECS

Like most TV shows on Blu, HEROES is delivered as 1080P on a 1.78:1 (16:9) aspect ratio, meaning that, unlike some movies, it will completely fill your TV screen with some of the special features shot on 480i/480p (standard def).

The best sound is English DTS-HD MA 5.1 but the special features could have English Dolby Digital 2.0.

Subtitles are available in English, French and Spanish.


CONTENTS

Besides the 18 episodes, you will find a number of special features.

- In full Hi-Def

* Deconstructing Sylar
* Behind the Big Top
* Heroes Revolution
* Milo Speaks
* Sullivan Brothers Design Gallery
* Genetics of a Scene

- Also, possibly worth watching and found on ALL 4 discs:

* Deleted/Extended Scenes - me not impressed
* Hero Connections Network - familiar to those who watched the previous seasons on Blu and 'an essential'


As you are watching the episodes, U-Control is available, allowing you to bring up important Bio information on the characters on screen at the time.

pocketBLU, a feature I didn't use that (how much is too much?) would upload some bonus features to your smart phone and would also allow you to use your phone as a virtual remote control but... I already have a dedicated one.

Finally, BD-Live would give you access to a rather awkward browser through each you could download some trailers and the the publisher may try to sell you some items.


PACKAGING

Unlike many of today's Blu-ray (and DVD) movies that are packaged in depressingly 'cheap' looking and feeling cases to save a penny or 2, HEROES is not only feature-packed as far as contents but it's actually coming in a nice package. There are some 3-D highlights on the outer cardboard jacket and the discs are held securely inside a nice-looking 'folder'. If HBO's 'Rome' were a 'ten' (stunningly beautiful) as far as Blu packaging goes, 'HEROES Season 4' would be an easy 'eight', meaning 'very nice' or 'I like it'.


MY RATING

Again, without discussing 'content', this 'Season 4' was worth my purchase and I'm now glad I kept myself away from TV whenever HEROES (and LOST) were showing because I am not fully enjoying this season without commercials distractions.

On the technical merit alone, this (last) season of HEROES is a 5 star release.

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Now, when it comes to the artistic merit... I am not surprised that the show was cancelled. This last season was in many ways a disappointment and it was sometimes painful to watch the show collapsing under its own wait. Plot lines going nowhere fast or disappearing, characters literally sick and tired or out on incomprehensible or unneeded side quests... HEROES was very much exhausted half-way though its abbreviated season.

I am sorry to say but, from an artistic/entertaining point of view, this HEROES season barely earns a 2-star rating. I very much enjoyed SEASON ONE and I found TWO and THREE quite compelling and worth watching and re-watching but I doubt I will ever watch SEASON FOUR again.


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>> Brush your teeth, it's the law! <<

The Heroes TV series began with a huge bang. The characters and intersecting plotlines kept you captivated until the climatic season ending. Very well done.

Season 2 started out slowly, but still had strong acting and character interaction. I enjoyed this season primarily for Hiro's journey back into feudal Japan as Hiro was by far the best character on the show in my opinion.

Season 3 was a mess. As people here have already said, there were characters that we met in Season 2 only to see them drop off the face of the Earth and forgotten in Season 3. Add in stupid storylines like Peter and Nathan's father coming to life (boy was that guy a terribl actor and the internment camp plot line that had some promise, but fell flat in the end.)

So comes Season 4 with hope and promise that they could have redeemed the series back to its original glory, sadly this is not the case. Some quick points:

#1) Too much Claire. Her character became annoying and unwatchable in this season. I didn't understand why the producers insisted on her having so much air time, but they did at the expense of the show.

#2) While Robert Knepper is a good actor and the Samuel Sullivan character was creepy, the whole carnival angle dragged on for too long with a silly ending.

#3) I was hoping for more Hiro in this season, but sadly we didn't get that. The few times we did were the bright spots of this season. Particularly the touching scenes with him and Charlie.

#4) Not enough development of Noah's character. How about having a cool angle with him battling his wife's new guy who is secretly a special planning bad things and taunting him and his failed marriage? That would have been good stuff. Instead Noah is diminished to a sad character who spends time in regret and wondering about what could have been. What a waste.

Bottom line: I don't blame NBC for cancelling this show. It began with such promise and disappointed in the end.

Heroes season 1 was nothing short of spectacular. After that, I don't know what happened, but the care and artistry that went into the writing and production didn't seem to keep up. You noticed it in the little things like the narrative and the comic book titling beautifully done. It was really a work of love. It's like they just tired of it too soon. Sure it went along and was entertaining, and good for the most part. We really grew to love the characters. But odd plot choices soon played into Season 4 and the die was cast for the end. I liked Samuel as an actor but god did they drag out that whole carnival thing. There are many things worth watching it through to the end though. That was just one thread that was thread bare halfway through the season. Overall, I am happy that Season 1 does stand on its own quite well and as a series, it did end at a reasonable story point. It was a great show but some part of the passion left after the first season. If you watch Season 1, you will love it. And if you love it, you should watch it to the end. You'll enjoy it, but it may not be completely, totally satisfying, but still good. And it's lightyears better than most of the other shows, thus my 4 stars.

When the writers of Heroes decided to change everything for season 4, they certainly succeeded. They took a fun, imaginative action drama and turned it into a dull, lazy soap opera. Worst of all, they took the fight out of many of the interesting characters.

At the end of Season 3, HRG, Angela and Nathan (Sylar) discuss their plans to run a new, government-funded "Company". Never happened. Instead, HRG's main storyline involved buying groceries and falling in love with an old colleague. I missed the old HRG, tough and conniving and willing to do just about anything to accomplish his goals. Angela Petrelli was deliciously wicked in seasons 1-3, but she was declawed in season 4, and relegated to very little screen time. Tracy Strauss began the season with a vengeance, then pretty much disappeared. Claire went to college and experimented with a lesbian relationship. Hiro got sick, then got better. Peter was in a lot of episodes, but did little else other than meet a new friend, Emma. And Sylar's big journey in season 4 was trying to make some real, human connections. I don't think he even opened any skulls at all! Little action, lots of soap-opera melodrama.

The plots of season 4 took forever to build. The entire season could have been compacted into 3 or 4 exciting episodes, but the writers stretched the stories thin enough to cover the whole season. For example, the big threat of season 4 was Samuel and the carnival. From the first episode, viewers could tell the writers were making Samuel into a villain, but he offered no real threat until the last couple of episodes. The whole season was setup and foreshadowing.

Season 4 had its moments, though. Although the Sylar/Nathan hybrid could have been completely avoided if Angela and HRG had simply revived Nathan with some of Claire's blood (as was done to HRG in season 2), I enjoyed watching Sylar free himself from Matt's mental prison. Another satisfying story was the resolution of Hiro's relationship with Charlie. It was sad, but very well written. Unfortunately, shining moments like these were too few and far between.

Thanks to season 4, Heroes didn't end with a bang...it was more like a dull fizzle.

After the surprise ending of Season 3, I went into Season 4 a new fan. I watched the first season and the show never caught on for me. I can back after seeing Zach Quinto in Star Trek, and fell in love with Heroes.

Season 4 had great characterizations. Yet again, the writers had their hands tied with a season cut short by the Olympics. Therefore some parts feel rushed. The slam bang ending we were expecting never happened. And even with inconsistencies, the carnival added to the story. If only there weren't soooo many characters, the writers could concentrate on the core people.

Now I hear there may be a Season 5, but if so, it will again be truncated. I only hope the writers can do the show justice in 13 episodes.

PS--despite what the haters say, Sylar is a fabulously layered character. Don't count him out now that he wants to be good. And Peter, with Nathan gone, has become a stronger character, not a weaker one.

I just read that Heroes has been canceled. I'm sad to see the show go. I must admit that I'd never heard of the show until a couple of months ago, and spent the last couple of months watching all the episodes back to back. I was hooked after watching season one, disappointed that season two was so short (writer's strike), season three picked things up again, and season four had it's share of surprises.

I really loved how the show gave flesh and bone to the characters, and even switched them from good, to bad, to good again. The cast was fantastic, all of them. And, as for Sylar (Zacary Quinto), he was one of the creepiest villains I've ever seen on the screen. I wouldn't want to run into him on the street.

This show has been some of the most engaging television I've seen in ages.

My thanks to all who brought us this remarkable show.

Heroes started out as a phenomenon. It was a show that caught on like Lost, House and all the other major shows that were released around it's time. Sadley after an extremly successful first season and a TV writters strike Heores never was the same.

This season was titled Redemption and it was a season that deserved the title. We were introduced to some great new characters as well as a very interesting new story. Yet the show never was able to bring itself back to the impactful first season and NBC just decided to cit the chord. To me I am all about closure and not to give Heores a proper send off was terrible. I had heard there were plans for a 2 hour series finale made for TV movie, but it was scrapped. Either way as a whole Heroes was a very interesting take on the whole superhero theme and I am very glad to know that I was able to be a part of it.

Though many considered Heroes to be going down hill, in the last few moments of the final season, there seemed to be a beacon of hope and new energy for the show...and then it was cancelled.

The price for the DVD set is far too high, here on Amazon. Target currently has this set for ten dollars in store. I just picked my copy up today. I didn't want to spend more than that on Season 3 or 4 given the ratings drop and how NBC crapped all over the Heroes series. I dislike supplying companies with my money when they do that to shows I love. Anyway...I recommend going to Target if you are desiring to complete your collection. As of August 30th, 2011 the price is $9.99 for each season, 1-4.