My latest DVD obsession is Heroes Season 1. It doesn't have the witty banter or relevant informative quality of The West Wing but it's a unique and special show. It's shot like a feature film - beautiful and dramatic - and the cast is amazing. I love these people! Their faces, their characters, and while the show already asks the overarching questions of why are we here and what is destiny, each person embodies a philosophical question about life. Is it ethical to know what someone else is thinking? Should we know the future? How is a person's life changed by immortality? The characters struggle with being unique, wanting to be normal, their destiny as a special person and their obligation to humanity.
What I love most about it though is the way it accurately presents good and evil as two sides of the same coin. The desire to be a hero has many different manifestations. Each turn of events sends our characters closer to good or evil and back again. It's never quite clear who we're supposed to be rooting for as the characters aren't sure themselves. It focuses around a fairly simple plot point but demonstrates the multitude of decisions we make every day that affect other people and ultimately test our character and commitment to our collective world. It's the perfect show for the upcoming century as we recalibrate for global warming and try to live for the better of society. I just watched the last episode of Season 1 and even though I can watch the current episodes on the NBC site, I think I'll wait for the next season on DVD to pick it up again. If only I could stop trying to put my hand through walls in the meantime...
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