“YA TOW!”

Yeah, it is pretty annoying when Hiro Nakamura screams out his catchphrase, on NBC’s ‘Heroes’, and it sets Japanese Americans back all the way to the time of the internment camps, but you can overlook it. ‘Heroes’ is filled with cheese like that, but it is also filled with unexpected plot twists, memorable characters and moments that will make you “geek out” (“geek out” being a term that the most hardcore of dorks have developed to look hip. Keep it up guys!). It is the perfect show for both comic fans who want to turn their attention towards a television show (God forbid they would focus on getting a girlfriend or moving out of their parent’s house) and for all you Closet Dorks that need a super powers kick, but can’t set foot into a comic book store.

As of next Monday, ‘Heroes’ will be up to the fourth episode of its third season, but that shouldn’t discourage you from climbing on board. Both Season 1 and Season 2 are collected within very affordable DVD box sets. Season 1 will take you the longest to get through, since it is twenty three episodes long, and it is also what people in the comics industry call the “origin story”. The first season is where we are introduced to all of the major players, and what their special powers are.

Just to make sure you know which power goes with which character, each of the characters tend to use them in excess. One example would be Hayden Panettiere’s character, Claire, who has the ability to heal from any wound or injury. Just picture Wolverine as a fifteen year old cheerleader (you like that don’t you, you sick bastard) to get it. Unfortunately, within almost every episode of Season 1 is a scene where Claire is hurt and then heals instantly. Her finger gets stuck in a garbage disposal and gets shredded up, then grows back. When talking to a friend of hers, on a field used for both football and cheerleader practice, a football player accidentally crashes into her, causing her head to be twisted around, completely backwards. You know, cause these things used to happen everyday in high school, right?

Panettiere might draw all of you guys, who are into jailbait, to season one, but for the rest of us adults, there is a convoluted plot to follow. At the end of it all, the Heroes must band together to prevent an explosion that will destroy New York City. Hey, we have never seen New York buildings decimated in a movie, TV show, comic or real life before, right?

Season 2 is only eleven episodes, since the creators chopped off the second half of the season, when the writers strike postponed everything. I rented all four DVDs for the second season, from Blockbuster, and with a sort of pathetic sense of achievement, I am proud to say I actually watched all of Season 2, within the past three days. Season 2 is considered by a lot of the show’s fans to be inferior to the first season. I disagree wholeheartedly. There are certainly a lot of worthy “geek out” moments in season 2, like when main character Peter Petrelli travels to the future and lands in a Times Square that has been evacuated, due to a spreading virus. Wait, was that ‘Heroes’ or ’I am Legend’? I get my post apocalyptic Manhattans confused, since there are so many of them.

The best way to catch up with Season 3 is to go over to Hulu.com, or NBC.com/Heroes. On either site, you can find all of the most recent episodes. Give the show a try, and don’t worry if you end up screaming “YA TOW!”, I am not going to judge you. Though you maybe judged by your friends, your mom, your mailman, the server