When I have time to spare, I don’t really sit down and watch TV like I used to in days of old. So I haven’t seen every new series that’s come out on TV this season, but two’s caught my eye so far: Heroes and Dexter.
Rising Stars on TV?
[[image:heroes01.jpg:I believe I can fl- … be a smudge in the alley:left:0]]”Rising Star” refers to the comic series written by J. Michael Straczynski.
A number of people in the world, mostly unrelated to each other seem to be developing different superhuman abilities, such as flight, accelerated healing, precognition, telepathy and teleportation. And there seem to be a conspiracy behind the entire affair which has yet to be revealed.
Each has his or her own story – a small part of a puzzle – which is slowly coming together with one another, forming a grand storyline which might or might not have an apocalyptic ending. Each episode is titled by “chapter”, making it much more like a televised novel, reminding me of Babylon 5, which is also created by J. Michael Straczynski.
Actors I recognised immediately were Milo Ventimiglia (formerly of Gilmore Girls), Noah Gray-Cabey (My Wife and Kids), J.J. Abrams’ buddy Greg Grunberg (Alias) and Hayden Panettiere (of Racing Stripes which is one of Irfan’s favourite DVDs).
[[image:heroes02.jpg:Super Hiro – the Japanese Vulcan:right:0]]My favourite character so far is the Japanese salaryman who refers to Days of Future Past from X-Men and Star Trek’s transporters, who has the ability to bend space-time to his will. The fisrt major thing he does on realising he has powers is… to teleport into the ladies room at a karaoke bar.
But during one bored train trip to work he concentrates and finds himself teleported to Times Square, New York. Unknown to him, he not only jumped across space, but he is also time-displaced as well. And by the end of the jaunt, we see through Hiro’s eyes the chilling fate of New York.
Most Lovable Serial Killer Ever?
[[image:dexter01.jpg:Would you buy a used car from this guy?:left:0]]What happens when a loving father discovers that his teenaged son has homicidal tendencies? What any loving father would do. Teach him how to do it cleanly, cover his tracks, get him to join the police force as a forensic specialist and teach him a simple code of ethics: If you can’t control your urge, go after the real scumbags that’s slipped through the judicial system using technicalities and high-priced lawyers.
Dexter Morgan is just that. In the first episode he stalks and kills two persons brutally without remorse. In the first episode, we also see him use his skills to help investigate a murder, help his stepsister get a promotion, buy donuts before coming into work for his colleague, and he even tells his girlfriend to “go be a good mom” when her kid needs her when making out with him.
If I ever want a psychopathic serial killer as a good buddy, I’d pick Dexter.
Seriously.
