Consider The Cheerleader Saved

I've been meaning to do a post on what I thought of the first season of Heroes, now that I've watched it, but I just keep coming back to one thought: they made me really like Hayden Panettiere.

Before she was just one of those personality-less blond girls that show up in US Weekly, a la those girls in those MTV "reality" shows whose names I thankfully cannot conjure up. But out of the entire cast of Heroes she was the surprise, she was the one I ended up really liking while having no reason to beforehand. And I think I know how the Heroes writers did it - they made her Buffy.

A physically invulnerable but emotionally damaged cheerleader who has to hide her secret identity from those she loves, struggles with the cliques in high school while battling for Homecoming Queen, and whose mother ends up having brain issues? Why is that so familiar again?

I'm not knocking them for taking some cues from Miss Summers - there are far worse icons to emulate, after all. And it's not a total rip-off, and the character makes a great fit into the story. But there are certainly residual Buffy feelings coloring my like for Little Miss Miracle-Grow Claire Bennet, which has, in turn, have made me like this Panettiere girl. Which was unexpected.

As for the rest of the show, it's fun. It's not Battlestar Galactica, hell it's not even Lost, but it's a good time. Let's get the requisite bitching out of the way: there's some questionable acting present (cough Milo cough), and sometimes I felt like the writers think we, the audience, are further behind than we really are and their "surprises" are seen coming a mile away. Sometimes I felt like just telling them to get the hell on with things. And coincidences piled so high I couldn't even see the screen here and there. And there's such a big cast that you inevitably care far less about certain people's stories (cough Mohinder cough) that have too much time devoted to them.

Zachary Quinto is pretty bad-ass as Sylar though. My geek fetish is fed hardcore when he puts on the glasses and slicks down his hair, so that's... enjoyable. Add on the fact that he's good friends with Kristen Bell in real life and we've got the makings of a true object of lust there.

So I'm looking forward to the new season starting on September 24th, and not totally just because Kristen Bell's gonna show up. I'm invested. I'll watch it even after her stint ends, most likely. Goodbye to one more hour of my week; it was nice knowing you!
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