TV Lowdown » Heroes

Todd Stashwick joins cast of Heroes

thetvlowdown — Wed, 14 Oct 2009 10:08:13 +0000

The prolific TV actor Todd Stashwick, who’s been in just about everything, will be joining the cast of Heroes this season.

His character Eli is apparently part of the Sullivan Bros. Carnival, which has been a major plot point this season, and will also have close ties to their leader Samuel (Robert Knepper).

At first my assumption was that he could be playing the supposedly dead brother of Samuel, but a little research reminded me that the deceased Mr. Sullivan was named Joseph. Any predictions, Heroes fans?

Monday poll; Who deserves the chop on Heroes?

thetvlowdown — Mon, 14 Sep 2009 14:32:58 +0000

(Find out who came out on top last week when we asked “Who’s the funniest character in a drama?”)

Sometimes a show having a big, ensemble cast can work incredibly well; just look at shows like Lost, True Blood, Twin Peaks and Battlestar Galactica. By and large they succeed in giving every character their little moments in the spotlight, and ensuring that even the most minor characters have some kind of development.

Heroes was great at achieving this in its first season too, a fairly impressive feat considering their expansive cast and plotlines. In later seasons, however, it feels like many characters are just going in circles; they react to events but never particularly change (unless it’s to suit the plot.) Cutting down on the cast could allow for some deeper focus on those who remain, as well as freeing up a bit more of the budget. Maybe then we won’t have absolutely inexcusable scenes like the epic Sylar-Petrelli confrontation at the end of last season, that literally happened behind closed doors.

So, out of the central characters (as of the end of Season 3) who would you happily axe from Heroes to make room for the others to grow. Place your votes by reading on…

Remember – it’s multiple choice!

Zachary Quinto in Funny or Die video

thetvlowdown — Sat, 05 Sep 2009 08:27:16 +0000

Just came across this dark little thing. “HOSTAGE: A Love Story” stars Zachary Quinto and is about a “hostage and a hostage-taker [who] get dangerously close to one another.”

Don’t watch this at work, or in front of you mother, unless you have industrial strength “fuck”-muffling headphones on.

HOSTAGE: A Love Story with Zachary Quinto from Zachary Quinto

"No, we've changed. Honestly. Really. Change. For good this time. Pinky swear!"

tvlowdown — Tue, 25 Aug 2009 16:40:29 +0000

“They say Season 4 college is for reinventing yourself” says Noah at the start of this promo, trying to drum it home once again that Heroes is scooting back to S1 style stories and trying to move away from the convoluted shambles it became recently.

I’ll be watching, anyway. The trailer doesn’t exactly fill me with squee, but I figure a 40-odd minute period of masochism each week is probably good for the soul. Heroes is a bit like Opus Dei in that respect.

Jayma Mays returning for one-time appearance in Heroes

tvlowdown — Mon, 24 Aug 2009 14:09:17 +0000

Sylar-induced ouchies.

Good news, folks. One of the best elements of the first season of Heroes is making a welcome return, but unfortunately just for one episode…

Jayma Mays is back once again to play Charlie, the waitress with the amazing memory who stole Hiro’s heart before unfortunately having her brain chiselled out by Sylar. Hiro’s storyline for S4 is rumoured to surround a terminal illness that he contracts, setting him off an a “bucket list” mission of tasks he wants to complete before he dies; obviously it’s understandable that saving Charlie might be on that list.

*sigh* Look, I think it’s great to see Mays return, as I really like her as an actor (and Charlie was a great character.) But is Hiro ever going to develop a consistent view on time travel?! One minute he says he must absolutely avoid it, and the next he’s scrunching his face up like a perturbed gerbil and appearing god-knows-when.

Also, wouldn’t a big sci-fi nerd like Hiro know what effect saving Charlie would have on the timeline? If Sylar never took her powers he may have turned out weaker, yes, but what if he had gone on to kill someone far more powerful? There’s no knowing what the consequences would be.

Which is all, of course, academic. The fact that Mays will only be in one episode suggests that Hiro fails, most likely. I’ll have to try to just enjoy Mays’ appearance and not grumble too much about shaky characterisations and time-travel paradoxes.

New Heroes S4 poster reveals nothing, fails to inspire; reflects show perfectly

tvlowdown — Thu, 20 Aug 2009 08:27:08 +0000

I’m sorry if that comes off a little harsh. I do still watch Heroes, and occasionally see glimmers of hope, but the quality of the show has deteriorated so, so much from the almost flawless first season. The amount of incredibly schizophrenic characterisation in later seasons (with not just our heroes’ powers randomly changing to fit the circumstances but also their personalities and motivations) has made it hard to enjoy the show without pausing every 2 minutes to share a WTF?! with anyone else in the room.

Anyway, a new poster for S4 has popped up, and it doesn’t show anything. It’s Hiro, Sylar and Claire just… standing there. The same poster could have been used for S2 and S3, it’s so generic.

Heroes returns to NBC on Monday 21st September with a 2-hour premiere.