SueTube – Let’s talk TV with critic Susan Young

Can we blame the writers’ strike for this?

“Heroes” broke my heart this season by going from an obsession to a duty. Oh, the writers teased me with a few episodes that made me think this series was getting back on track. The last two episodes looked that tonight would be redemption time – and make me want to care about Volume 3: Villains.

It didn’t.

To begin with, we knew that two heroes would be killed tonight. I was hoping against hope one would be the mind-numbing Maya. Oh, I there was that glimmer when Sylar shot her, but then Suresh had to revive her.

Why?

Instead, two heroes were knocked out in the most unlikely of ways and Hiro proved to be crueler than we can accept. In the final moments when the Shanti virus was about to be unleashed on the world, naive Peter came to his senses and caught the vial just as it was dropped by Adam/Kensei.

Milo Ventimiglia as Peter Petrelli, comes to his senses and goes after Adam — NBC Photo: Adam Taylor

Hiro swept Adam/Kensei away _ and into a cemetery vault where, we imagine, he’ll spend eternity locked in a tomb.

Or until the writers need him back on the scene. But by then will he be a mere bones?

David Anders as Adam Monroe before he gets tossed into a tomb– NBC Photo: Adam Taylor

In two improbable storylines, Monica should have been able to use those snappy martial arts she learned to get away from her captor. Instead, she struggles and would have been burned alive with Niki hadn’t shown up. It’s Niki who ends up toast, so now Micah has to deal with the deaths of both his parents while they saved the lives of others?

The other storyline has Nathan standing up in front of TV cameras to expose The Company when he’s shot by an assassin. Hello! He’s got invincible cheerleader blood coursing through his veins. If Nathan doesn’t pop up again, I’ll be surprised.

Adrian Pasdar as Nathan Petrelli, who decides it’s time to out The Company– NBC Photo: Adam Taylor

And who snuffed Nathan? Please. HRG. After all, he made a pact with the devil (or in this case The Company) to keep his family safe. And that pact certainly involved a dastardly deed like knocking off Nathan.

Finally, the closing scene with Sylar regaining his powers and going all “I’m baack…” on us. We’re assuming from the title that Sylar plays a big role in the next series that’s slated to air next spring.

But who knows? With the writers’ strike, it could be next season. All we are hoping is that the writers spend this time pondering a better second half of the season.

Let’s face it. Most of us are going through a love-hate relationship with “Heroes” this season.

In this episode, we had some nice suspenseful moments that carried us through some weak stories. We’ve lost one of the Troublemint Twins, which can only be a good thing. But that Maya is really getting on my nerves. Even Sylar isn’t as compelling this season because he’s so over-the-top evil I’m surprised the didn’t give him a long mustache to twirl.

In the creepiest kiss on TV, Sylar (Zachary Quinto) gets a smooch from Maya (Dania Ramirez) — NBC Photo: Chris Haston

Few deny it hasn’t quite lived up to expections, although the last couple of episodes have stepped up the game. But here’s what I’m not getting into:

Sendhil Ramamurthy as Mohinder Suresh — NBC Photo: Chris Haston

Suresh: I understand how the writers want to make this character go in another direction, but it just doesn’t ring true. I don’t believe he’s convinced that The Company is good and Bob’s the guy to lead the charge into a better world.

Milo Ventimiglia as Peter Petrelli, Stephen Tobolowsky as Bob, Kristen Bell as Elle — NBC Photo: Chris Haston

Bad Dad Bob: He looks like a kindly papa, but we knew he wasn’t one of the good guys. That was confirmed when Noah Bennet told us about how he put his daughter Elle through unspeakable torture when she was just a child. He’s still goading her into bad deeds, and we think it’s just a matter of time before Elle gives Dad a buzz he’ll never forget.

Kristen Bell as Elle — NBC Photo: Chris Haston
Ell-ectric: Oh, my beloved Kristen, this just isn’t working for me. You’re fabulous, but this just isn’t the role for you. Elle doesn’t strike fear, or loathing or any kind of emotion at all. You just want to toss some cold water on her to make her short out.

We’ve only got one more episode before this “miniseason” is over. It looks like we’re all back in New York again to save the world.

Yawn.

Here’s the low-down on the finale, in which we’re told heroes will die! For some of them, it can’t be soon enough.

IT’S HERO VS. HERO AS THE SERIES’ “VOLUME II: GENERATIONS” COMES TO AN EXPLOSIVE, BLOODY FINISH — Deep below Primatech Paper in Odessa, TX, Peter’s (Milo Ventimiglia) reunion with Nathan (Adrian Pasdar) turns violent when the brothers, Matt (Greg Grunberg) and Hiro (Masi Oka) all clash thanks to Adam (David Anders) and his pursuit of the deadly Shanti Virus. After watching his heroic cousin captured by a street gang, Micah (Noah Gray-Cabey) turns to the one person who can help him save Monica (Dana Davis) — his mom (Ali Larter). Meanwhile, Maya (Dania Ramirez) tragically learns how much of a monster Sylar (Zachary Quinto) really is during his kidnapping of Molly (Adair Tishler) and Suresh (Sendhil Ramamurthy). Meanwhile, Elle (Kristen Bell) decides to play hero to get back into her father’s (Stephen Tobolowsky) good graces. Jack Coleman, James Kyson Lee and Hayden Panettiere also star.

Adrian Pasdar as Nathan Petrelli in “Powerless”– NBC Photo: Adam Taylor

There’s nothing subtle about tonight’s episode, although any time we can ditch the Troublemint Twins is always a good thing.

Hiro learned you can’t play God. After discovering his dad was killed, Hiro goes back in time to save him. But dad wisely tells him that he can’t play god and to just accept what fate has in store. Hiro did, however, stop time long enough to see who murdered dad.

David Anders as Adam Monroe — NBC Photo: Adam Taylor

Heck, Hiro could have just listened to anyone tuned in to last week’s episode. Show of hands of anyone who was surprised to learn it was Adam/Kensei who tossed Kaito over the edge of the building.

Parkman discovered that he not only can read minds, but like dear old dad, he can do a little Jedi mind control trick and make people do as he says. He first discovers this when he gets Molly to come back and finish her cereal, then progresses to his boss to get permission to talk to Momma P.

Once he gets to Momma P, he forces her to tell him the truth about the people in the picture. She tells him he’s no better than his dad if he pries her secret out of her mind.

But Parkman doesn’t heed the warning, and finds out that the final person in the picture is Victoria Pratt, who is played by Joanna Cassidy.

“She just wants to be left alone,” pleads Momma P.

Not a chance.

And finally we have HRG shot through the glasses by no other than former good guy Mohinder Suresh. He saves Claire, and in the end, no one should be surprised that Bob used Claire’s blood to bring HRG back to life.

Lack of surprises has just killed this season, although last week and this week’s episodes have picked up the pace. But just when “Heroes” seems to at least be on the right path, it’s about to go on hiatus. The final episode in this arc is slated for Dec. 3.

But does anyone out there care any more? Interest has been waning all year, and my pal Chad says he even took the last two episodes off his TiVo without watching them. What about you?

Next week:
PETER ATTEMPTS TO SAVE THE FUTURE FROM THE VIRUS — Peter (Milo Ventimiglia) travels to Primatech Paper in Texas with his new friend to destroy the virus, which will kill 93% of the world’s population in the future — or so he believes. Niki (Ali Larter) returns to Micah (Noah Gray-Cabey) with bad news. To right a wrong, Monica (Dana Davis) puts her abilities to the test. Hiro (Masi Oka) goes after his father’s killer. Meanwhile, Matt (Greg Grunberg) uses his mental abilities to track down the last person in the Company photo. Nathan (Adrian Pasdar) learns his brother is alive. Outside of New York, Maya (Dania Ramirez) must choose between Alejandro (Shalim Ortiz) and Sylar (Zachary Quinto).

Guess someone noticed Sylar murdered his mom

And the Dec. 3 semi-season finale:
IT’S HERO VS. HERO AS THE SERIES’ “VOLUME II: GENERATIONS” COMES TO AN EXPLOSIVE, BLOODY FINISH — Deep below Primatech Paper in Odessa, TX, Peter’s (Milo Ventimiglia) reunion with Nathan (Adrian Pasdar) turns violent when the brothers, Matt (Greg Grunberg) and Hiro (Masi Oka) all clash thanks to Adam (David Anders) and his pursuit of the deadly Shanti Virus. After watching his heroic cousin captured by a street gang, Micah (Noah Gray-Cabey) turns to the one person who can help him save Monica (Dana Davis) — his mom (Ali Larter). Meanwhile, Maya (Dania Ramirez) tragically learns how much of a monster Sylar (Zachary Quinto) really is during his kidnapping of Molly (Adair Tishler) and Suresh (Sendhil Ramamurthy). Meanwhile, Elle (Kristen Bell) decides to play hero to get back into her father’s (Stephen Tobolowsky) good graces.

What in the world has happened to “Heroes”?

Yeah, I’m late jumping on the critic wagon wondering how such a good series could go so terribly wrong. Call me an optimist, but I kept thinking it would get better. Instead, I’m hoping the writers’ strike gives the scribes some time to rethink this entire season.

Tonight’s aptly named “Out of Time” did nothing to make me want to extend my stay in “Heroes” land.

First, the Irish adventure could not have gone worse. Maybe it was the whack Irish accents, or the lack of crackle between Peter and Caitlin, but tonight when they were split up I found myself cheering.

And Peter’s amnesia? I’m so over that. Then we have the baring Peter’s chest to the world at least once an episode. Nice the first time, but tonight just made me yawn.

Could there be less passion between Katie Carr as Caitlin and Milo Ventimiglia as Peter Petrelli? — NBC Photo: Chris Haston

Thank god the wonder twins didn’t pop up again. The black-eyed death has seeped through the fourth wall and into my living room, making me want to curl up and die every time I see them on the screen.

Claire Bear has become unbearable. Daddy, if you can kill and abduct people, then I can at least have a boyfriend. Oops. Sorry he killed you daddy, but gosh I need my independence. Claire Bear, and her twisted little boyfriend West, must go.

The whole Molly-Matt-Suresh triangle has turned into My Two Dads, the Twilight Zone edition. Suresh has lost his sex appeal through this little daddy adventure, and Matt’s just trying too darn hard. As for Molly, well, we won’t knock child actors but perhaps this wasn’t the most inspired casting.

Sendhil Ramamurthy as Mohinder Suresh, Adair Tishler as Molly, Greg Grunberg as Matt Parkman — NBC Photo: Chris Haston

And just when we think we’ve finally gotten rid of Kensei, he pops up as the mysterious Adam. Adam’s the guy we’re all supposed to fear, the one really going after the people in the Company. Apparently, Hiro’s little frolic with his princess has left this immortal spending centuries nursing a grudge.

David Anders as Kensei — NBC Photo: Justin Lubin

Lord, make it stop now.

How could this series go from my No. 1 pleasure to this?

Next week, we’ve got Kristen Bell back. As much as I hate to admit it, my Veronica Mars didn’t add the much need punch “Heroes” needed when she popped up the first time.

The episode goes back four months earlier to answer some questions. Nathan pays a terrible cost for his heroic actions. While Peter survives his detonation over New York City, the Company “bags” him as a threat to the world, eventually leading to violent confrontation with Elle (Kristen Bell) and the Haitian (Jimmy Jean-Louis). D.L. (Leonard Roberts) makes the ultimate sacrifice for Niki (Ali Larter) and Micah (Noah Gray-Cabey). Maya (Dania Ramirez) horrifically manifests her dark powers for the first time, driving her and Alejandro (Shalim Ortiz) to America for help. A mysterious, yet familiar face is introduced.

Seeing Kristen Bell on “Heroes” tonight was electrifying.

OK, that was cheap thrill, but discovering K-Bell’s special power allows her to shoot bolts of electricity through her hands was, as she said in an interview last week, pretty cool.

Her character’s got some problems distinguishing right from wrong. Here’s a primer: helping people is good, frying them is bad. She just had to cook the truth out of Peter’s pal. And it was all for nothing, because “daddy” called her home before she could seal the deal with Peter.

So who do you think “daddy” is? It couldn’t be HRG. Or could it?

At least we won’t have to listen to those obnoxiously bad Irish accents any more now that Peter’s on his way to Montreal to find out more about his past.

Talk about Daddy Dearest. Welcome to your worst nightmare: That your papa is a real boogeyman out to trap you in your own mind.

Luckily, Matt Parkman inherited his old man’s mind power, but not his Satan-worthy evil twist. Makes Sylar look like just a nasty bully in comparison. Parkman’s pops tried trapping his own son in a field of nightmares, but Parkman was able to wake up _ and roust Nathan as well.

Greg Grunberg as Matt Parkman

So if Parkman can make Nathan snap out of it, why can’t he rescue little Molly from her nocturnal prison? Guess we’ll have to wait until next week.

“Heroes” is getting dangerously overpopulated _ and creator Tim Kring says he’s well aware of the problem.

“On a show like this, you have to be able to fold people in and fold people out,” Kring says. “So the audience should fully expect to see characters leave, soon.”

One person not leaving any time soon is new character Ella, played by “Veronica Mars” star Kristen Bell.

“It’s been so much fun,” Kristen says. “She (doesn’t have) the brightest and shiniest of intentions. She’s so conflicted and comes across as such a vixen. She’s so much fun to play with.”

Kristen says she can’t reveal her secret powers, “but it’s a very cool power.” She has ties to HRG and Claire and to Suresh.

“(She’s) a little messed up in the head, manipulative, out to get what she wants. She doesn’t have many boundaries,” Kristen says. “All first season about good natured people, conflicted about how to deal with them. Elle enjoys her power and the power she gives over other people.”

Tim says they are tying Elle to The Company that HRG was involved in.

“Elle was actually raised within The Company,” Tim says. “It’s a cautionary tale about how (the other heroes) would have been if they lived with The Company their whole life.”

Tim says once again this season will be filled with plenty of answers.

“We actually are not a shot that tries to keep answers away from the audience,” Tim says. “No answer so precious we can’t tell the audience what it is. But something to be said for drawing out interest.”

Questions are answered by Episode 11, which Tim says ends the second “volume.”

“Last season was all one volume, so at the end of the year, we were dragging out a lot of story so expectations were so high, it was hard to meet,” Tim says. “This (season has) multiple volumes. Every question raised (in the first volume_ will be answered, then the next (set of questions) swings us into another volume. People say they want answers, but like the twists and turns.”

Kristen is signed on for 13 episodes, but says it is up to the discretion of the producers as to how many episodes she’ll actually appear in.

“I start in Episode 5, I’m not in episodes 6 or 7, then episodes 8 and 9 expose a lot of Elle,” Kristen says. “At the end of 13, we’ll have a pow wow and see if it makes sense for me to continue.”

Kristen says she’d love to stay on “Heroes.” So what about a “Veronica Mars” movie or animated series?

“If (creator) Rob (Thomas) asks me to mow his lawn, I would do that,” Kristen says.

Actually, we’re hoping he opts to do more “VM” with Kristen.

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OK, it’s just a week away from Veronica Mars, er, Kristen Bell, coming on “Heroes.” But first, we must deal with tonight’s episode.

I have to admit I wasn’t blown away by the first, or even the second, episode of “Heroes.” Things didn’t start getting interesting for me until last week. This week, things really started percolating.

Spooky Sylar hooked up with the Troublemint Twins, a coincidence that makes you suspend your disbelief by epic proportions. But just like a bad horror flick, I started screaming at the screen: Shut UP Maya. Yet, she didn’t, and now Sylar’s heading to New York with the double sibs to find Suresh.

But the big news of the night is THE PHOTO. The photo shows the 12 who are related to some of the Heroes, like Hiro’s deceased dad and Peter and Nathan’s parents. We discover tonight that one of the men in the photo is Suresh’s new boss and more importantly, another man in the photo is Parkman’s estranged dad.

Parkman tells Suresh that dad deserted him when he was 12, gave him $125 and a pat on the head before dashing out of Dodge.

Worse news. Parkman’s deadbeat dad is the Nightmare Man who has been haunting Parkman’s charge Molly.

Cripes!

So Parkman gets Molly to confront her worst nightmare and seek out evil dad. What were you thinking, Parkman??? Now we know where daddy dearest is, but at what cost to poor little Molly?

Sendhil Ramamurthy as Mohinder Suresh, Adair Tishler as Molly, Greg Grunberg as Matt Parkman — NBC Photo: Chris Haston

Next week, Kristen Bell, who looked deliciously wicked in the previews. “Heroes” is back on the can’t wait for the next episode list.

Kristen Bell as Elle — NBC Photo: Chris Haston

Oh, and the Big Showdown with Nightmare Man is just three weeks away. Here’s the blurb:

Nov. 5 episode:

WHILE SEVERAL HEROES FACE OFF AGAINST THE “NIGHTMARE MAN,” PETER LEARNS JUST HOW DEADLY THE VIRUS CAN BE — When one of his forgotten abilities suddenly manifests, Peter (Milo Ventimiglia) and Caitlin (Katie Carr) get thrown into a crisis situation, and learn first-hand just how deadly the mysterious virus striking people with abilities can be. Suresh (Sendhil Ramamurthy), Matt (Greg Grunberg), Nathan (Adrian Pasdar), Niki (Ali Larter) and Bob (guest star Stephen Tobolowsky) band together to fend off the “nightmare man’s” attack. Despite Claire’s (Hayden Panettiere) best efforts to keep them apart, West (Nick D’Agosto) learns that the man who kidnapped him as a child is her father (Jack Coleman). Meanwhile, in feudal Japan, Hiro (Masi Oka) and Kensei’s (David Anders) legendary journey takes a dramatic, final turn. Kristen Bell, Noah Gray-Cabey, Dana Davis, James Kyson Lee, Zachary Quinto and Dania Ramirez also star. Alan Blumenfeld, Jimmy Jean-Louis, Shalim Ortiz, Eriko Tamura and Adair Tishler guest star.

I have to admit, I was starting to get a little worried about my show after the past two weeks.

And I’m still not really happy with the lousy Irish accents in the Peter storyline, although I am appreciating the buffness that is the new Peter. The only storyline I enjoyed right from the beginning was Hiro in old Japan.

The twins haven’t really done it for me. She kills, he heals. Too many subtitles. I don’t like subtitles as a rule because while you are reading, you miss out on the actors and the nuances in their faces. With these new characters, it gets annoying quite quickly.

But tonight we got Sylar, and that bad to the bone boy has learned that he still has some considerable limits on his power. Thank goodness.

And what a treat to see original “Star Trek” actress Nichelle Nichols as Micah’s caregiver.

Nichelle Nichols as Nana Dawson — NBC Photo: Chris Haston

First Sulu (George Takei) and now Uhura. Trekkies should be in bliss. Can Spock and Kirk be far behind?

It’s all a great tie-in to the new “Star Trek” being film, which stars Zachary Quinto (Sylar) as Spock.

For fans of Kristen Bell (“Veronica Mars”), she’ll be showing up as Elle on the Oct. 22 ep.

Kristen Bell NBC Photo: Chris Haston

Yep, I’m back on board after tonight’s show.

Guess what? Claire got a car. A Rogue. From Nissan. That didn’t take anyone out of the moment, now did it?

Still, it was a decent episode even though anyone who had been to YouTube had already seen about the first quarter of it. And yes, I admit to contributing to that let-down by posting those trailers. Still, it took a while for anything to feel fresh tonight.

Claire and H.R.G. are feeling a little fenced in California, where they are supposed to be keeping a low profile. Then perhaps Claire should NOT have tried to set fire to her hand during science class when new found pal West was watching.

West, we soon discover, has a little something extra like Claire. We also discover that managers of Big Box stores shouldn’t mess with H.R.G., especially during his coffee break.

And Nathan and Peter are back, although looking pretty darn shabby. Nathan, we’re assuming, lost the race. He’s now got a scruffy beard when he isn’t looking at his ground-beef face in the mirror. Has he healed a little, or is it an optical illusion?

NATHAN LOOKS LESS DAPPER THIS YEAR

And Peter? He’s trussed up in a cargo box in Ireland. With amnesia. And getting grilled by people with the worst Irish accent I’ve ever heard.

MILO VENTIMIGLIA AS PETER, LOOKING A LITTLE LIKE A VAMPIRE

But by far the most interesting parts had Hiro catching up with his personal hero Takezo Kensei during a 1671 Shogun showdown. Turns out, Takezo’s more Han Solo than Luke Skywalker. Hiro is disappointed, but we’re more interested than ever in this guy.

MASI OKA AS HIRO NAKAMURE, DAVID ANDERS AS KENSEI – NBC Photo: Paul Drinkwater

So what did you think of the episode? Up to expectations or disappointing?

OK, it’s only Friday but I’m already tense with anticipation about the second season opener of “Heroes.”

We know our Heroes will be time traveling and going to places they’ve never been before, like Hiro getting jolted back to feudal Japan (well, actually only about 30 miles away from the L.A. studio).

Here’s a quick peek at what’s in store for us:

So what do you think?