Numbers down even further

I wont go through the whole sad story, but here is enough for you to know:

At 8 p.m. Fox led with the 5.7 for “House,” followed by ABC with a 3.5 for
“Dancing with the Stars.” CBS was third with a 3.3 for “How I Met Your Mother”
(3.6, down just 6 percent from last week's series premiere) and “Accidentally on
Purpose” (3.1), NBC fourth with a 2.5 for “Heroes,” Univision fifth with a 1.5
for “El Nombre del Amor” and CW sixth with a 1.2 for “One Tree Hill.”
http://www.medialifemagazine.com/artman2/publish/Overnights_50/Fox_wins_Monday_with_CBS_on_its_tail.asp

So here is the question:

To save Our Favorite Show should NBC:

• Move the show to another night...say Friday?
• Kepp it there....its just a blip?
• Make some major changes...like a more episodic format?
• Or just allow it to die at the end of the season?

S4 E3 Ink (Episode and recap)

Sylar pushes Matt to his limit, a grieving Samuel ventures beyond the carnival in search of Peter, Claire resolves to be truthful, and a new hero discovers her unique ability.



Last week I praised the arrival of Peter Petrelli: Working Class Hero. This week I bemoan the return of Peter Petrelli: Pretty Boy Tool. Seems like Samuel has a particular interest in Peter due to his own brother being an empath himself. At least, that's the impression I got after watching that subdermal compass go all a flutter an episode's end.

It's clear Samuel just doesn't let any ol' superpowered person into his fold. Instead, they have to pass what amounts to a moral test in order to be deemed worthy of inclusion. One man's morality is another man's depravity, so all things are relative. But Samuel, like all villains worth giving a damn about, doesn't actually consider himself a villain. Until recently, that might have even approximated the truth from an objective perspective. But it's clear that Joseph's death has sent him over the edge upon which he danced for so long.

So Samuel establishes a false lawsuit against Peter, stores up some specially made Sullivan Brothers Psychic Ink, and goes to work on Peter's mind. Then again, Samuel didn't have to manually Photoshop himself into one of Peter's pinned-up articles in order to make Peter doubt his own brain. I'm sure a Sudoku would have broken him just as easily. In any case, Peter apologizes to Samuel, unaware that the apology is itself "proof" for Samuel that he's found a suitable heir for his brother's ability.

Before heading back to the circus, Samuel makes a quick visit back to the home in which he grew up. Turns out he and Joseph lived in a carriage house, the offspring of a wealthy family's hired help. When denied entrance to his old home by the current tenant, he does the sensible thing and sinks the freakin' house. In case you didn't get it, this was the "Our Villain's Only a Villain Because People Didn't Love Him Enough as a Child" move they pulled on Sylar last year. And we all know how awesome THAT worked out.

As for the compass itself: it's unclear what it actually points towards, nor why empaths in particular are appropriate vessels for it. The show already has Lydia as its human version of Cerebro, so I'm unclear what added value is gained by the compass itself. My initial guess is that while Samuel creates ink out of earthen materials he can manipulate, there's something about an empath's power that focuses it and makes it usable for a specific purpose. Does the compass point to a place? A person? A cohesive plotline that won't have me banging my head against the wall by mid-volume? I'll let you, gentle reader, weigh in below.

Two-time touch and broken bones/Mirror in the bathroom

I can't even tell you how sick I am of the on-again, off-again relationship between Noah and Claire Bennet. It's this show's version of Ross and Rachel, but with much less making out. There's no earthly reason these two should re-hash the same talking points over and over again. And yet, on a seasonal basis, these two come together and split apart for the sole purpose of once again placing Claire in a position of danger.

Essentially, we're supposed to swallow that one game of "Guitar Hero" means Claire can call Gretchen her BFF. Well, my wife and I own "Rock Band." We play it all the time. And she doesn't even know as much about me as Gretchen now knows about Claire. We're literally weeks removed from the end of a plot in which superpowered people were sent to internment camps, and we're supposed to be OK with Claire revealing herself to someone who is essentially a stranger?

If you've seen this story before, and trust me, you have, then you know Noah's whole "I trust you" speech is a big fat lie. Unfortunately, 1) this makes us not like Noah, who is lying to his daughter, and 2) not like Claire, because we understand that Claire's judgement cannot be trusted. And meanwhile, it's only a matter of time before Gretchen's posting her own YouTube videos of her new roomie healing after cutting herself in the shower. I'm sooo looking forward to more "Single White Superhero," trust me.

Church of the poison mind/I think I'm paranoid
OK, let me just say that all my Evil Parkman dreams started to come true tonight. While I'm preparing myself to be disappointed in the eventual outcome, and wish the show focused more on Samuel as this Season's Big Bad without diluting the evil pool with Sylar's continued presence, I really enjoyed everything inside that dilapidated house.

When deployed properly, the ability to alter a person's mind is perhaps the most potent (and terrifying) power of all. You can argue until you're blue in the face that Sylar is actually the Sylar we know or just a byproduct of Parkman's guilty conscience, but you can't deny there was a realness to the cold look in that dead girl's eyes under the stairs. The fact that she was only a delusion should have taken away the power of the scene, but instead only validated the depths to which Parkman's mind can sink. This was one fake out that "Heroes" did deliciously.

The only problem with this storyline? I'm worried about its connection back to the carnival plot. Sure, we saw Sylar's face on Lydia's back next week. Does that mean that a psychic inside the carnival is working his/her mojo on Parkman in order to break Sylar-as-Nathan free? Seems like a complicated way to go about that change. Easier to just mind-frak the faux Senator back to life (back to reality), right?

Parkman's dark side is a fantastic little story, but only ultimately works if it ties into the volume as a whole, not as a stand-alone piece. The show may just be taking its time in allowing Samuel to gradually recruit all existing heroes one by one, but it needs to assure us that each piece of the seemingly disparate puzzle indeed connects. Moreover, it needs to explain sooner, not later, exactly why Samuel needs so many new members in his faction.

Ultraviolet (light my way)/Good vibrations

A possible way to tie everything together into one melodic whole? Emma, the show's first deaf superpowered character. Say what you will about the show's quality, but you can never fault their diversity in casting and in character. She's just developing her powers, which seem to manifest themselves in the realm of sound vibrations and the electromagnetic spectrum. Maybe these powers will develop into something cool, but for now they resemble something akin to an iPod commercial.

However, her ability to intuitively play the cello might also play a part in countering the effects of Peter's compass. I'm probably reading waaaay too much into this, but in Emma's ability to emit a sort of siren call with her music, I got a strong Mother Abigail vibe from her. The compass can't draw people in; it can only point to their direction. Samuel has to go TO those he wishes to find. It's possible that Emma will be the end of the rainbow for the side of good as the battle lines are drawn in "Redemption."

Or, you know, she'll get a job working Disney's Electric Light Parade. With "Heroes," nothing is ever truly out of the realm of possibility. Even if we desperately wished it could be.
http://www.hitfix.com/blogs/2009-1-13-monkeys-as-critics/posts/recap-heroes-ink

S4 E1/2: Orientation/Jump, Push, Fall (Full Episode)

The ringmaster of a very special carnival seeks revenge for the death of his brother; Tracy resurrects, hell bent on revenge; Claire starts college; Sylar's personality threatens to disrupt Nathan's life, while wreaking havoc in Matt's mind.



http://www.hulu.com/watch/97009/heroes-orientation--jump-push-fall#s-p1-so-i0

S4 E1/2: Orientation/Jump Push Fall (Recaptlet)

We apologize for the snark. The regular recap was not ready yet, so we had to settle for the cynics at www.televisionwithoutpity.com


Remember when back-to-back episodes would have been something to get excited about? Yeah, me neither. Anyway, Claire sees her roommate dead on the ground and insists that it is murder, not suicide. Her strange new friend Gretchen, who has an unhealthy obsession with dead bodies, says that they should try the age old Jump, Push, Fall test to determine the real cause of death, if only they could find a cadaver. Claire naturally leaps from the window herself, and new pal Gretchen sees her ribs sticking out and whatnot and is notably wigged out.

HRG gets a call from Tracy, who swears she didn't kill Danko. Instead, HRG determines that speedy knife guy must have wanted something, and after some digging in Danko's guts, HRG pulls out a key. The key leads to a safety deposit box, and HRG enlists a reluctant Peter's help to get it. Peter's the muscle in this scenario. Go ahead, laugh. I'll wait. Done? Nope? Yeah, it's a pretty hysterical concept. Anyway, they eventually find the box, containing a broken compass, and then speedy knife guy shows up and tries to kill them. Peter steals his power and they battle all blurry for a while, while HRG stands to the side and does literally nothing. Then knife guy runs off. The compass works for Peter, so HRG asks Peter to be his partner, but Peter turns him the hell down. Later, Peter gets called in for an emergency and it's a sliced up HRG who just got his little compass stolen. Then Tracy weirdly goes to the hospital and now she's friends with HRG or something and it is just strange.

Also strange, Hiro accidentally sends himself back to the carnival, but doesn't stop his young self from going to get his fortune told. However, T-Bag (also known as Samuel, apparently) encourages him to make another small change that won't rip the fabric of time apart or anything. Except that it sort of does as Ando and Komiko are dating now. Hiro sees this as a good thing (because even though he's not a pre-teen any more, he's still an idiot) and decides to go back to undo everything he's done wrong in the past. Well, that should take a long, long, while.

Meanwhile, in the storyline I just can't stand, Matt Parkman is hallucinating Sylar, who is looking for his body. Matt tries to ignore him, as he's apparently gone power-free for six weeks and isn't looking to get addicted again. There's group therapy, an annoying interrogation scene where Matt tries to do whatever job he's got this week, and then way too much of Matt's wife, who is having an affair with the water delivery boy. Matt finally caves and uses his power to send water boy away, and Sylar is delighted because now Matt will help him... in theory. Also, Nathan is having weird facial ticks, which is gross and apparently just there so that we realize the internal conflict going on inside him. Subtle.

Aside from taking advantage of stupid Hiro, who is apparently on tap to replace the ailing old time-traveling guy, T-Bag and crew need to take up a collection of heroes for some sort of mission. The tattoo seems to be of Peter, Sylar and Claire... for whatever unknown and presumably nefarious reason.
http://www.televisionwithoutpity.com/show/heroes/jump_push_fall.php

First ratings...

I won't bore you with the details, but it doesn't look good for our Heroes...

...NBC limped out of the gate on the first night of the new season with its combination of the two-hour fourth season-premiere of tired Heroes (3.4/ 5 from 8-10 p.m.) and week two of The Jay Leno Show (#3: 4.4/ 7 at 10 p.m.). Comparably, Heroes dipped by 11 percent from its 9-10 p.m. overnight average (3.8/ 6) from last March and April.
Take a look at the half-hour breakdown:

Heroes (NBC)
8:00 p.m.: 3.7/ 6 (#4)
8:30 p.m.: 3.5/ 5 (#4)
9:00 p.m.: 3.2/ 5 (#4)
9:30 p.m.: 3.2/ 5 (#4)
http://www.mediaweek.com/mw/content_displa...aa3a407d60e3eb3


When I saw that people taped the show, but watched something else FIRST (Like Dancing with the D-Listers), it did not bode well.

PEOPLE, REMEMER.....ALWAYS.....HEROES F1RST!!!!!

S3E24: An Invisible Thread (Season Finale)

+ Recap of last few episodes and key points of all the incidents that occurred to each character.
+ A short Mohinder soliloquoy occurs as we see Matt on a bus riding to Washington D.C., Hiro and Ando outside of Building 26, and Angela, Claire, and Mr. Bennet in a car driving.
+ Mr. Bennet figures out that the Agents know where they are as he drops Claire and Angela off and tell them to find Nathan.
+ Mr. Bennet gives Claire a phone and drives off.
+ Mr. Bennet arrives at a checkpoint as a truck filled with agnts arrive behind him and surround the car.
+ The same ending scene of last week's episode where Sylar is stabbed in the head by Danko replays over again.
+ Sylar is getting up like he did in the last episode and pulls out the knife from the back of his head as he tells Danko that its because of his shapeshifting ability he was able to survive.
+ Sylar traps Nathan in the bathroom in order to absorb his memories later.
+ Danko becomes TK'ed to the wall as Sylar tells him his plan to meet with the president and he transforms into Danko and kills another soldier outside of the room.

COMMERCIAL BREAK!!

+ Angela tells Claire that Mr. Bennet got caught because he was doing it for Claire.
+ Angela tells Claire to go find Nathan as she tells her that she needs to find Matt Parkman in order to save Nathan from harm.
+ Sylar is dressing up in a suit as he tries to wake Nathan up in the bathroom in order to get information about his past.
+ Nathan's secretary walks in as Sylar is turned around and tells him that his daughter is there to see him.
+ Sylar tells Claire that he is planning on stopping 'Sylar' from meeting the president
+ Claire questions Sylar if he really is Nathan and through the use of his powers figures out a way to convince Claire that he is Nathan.
+ Nathan and Claire are already on their way to meet the president.
+ Danko is being transported as Hiro and Ando are outside discussing a way to get inside.
+ They start arguing over Hiro's power and the effects its having on his body.
+ Danko is being transported down the hall as everyone sees him and stares at him, he gets throuwn into a room with a single table and Mr. Bennet standing around.
+ Mr. Bennet says, "Fancy meeting you here."

COMMERCIAL BREAK!!

+ Nathan wakes up in the bathroom as Peter finds him knocked out in the bathroom and tells Peter that they need to stop Sylar.
+ Mr. Bennet and Danko are discussing Sylar and the fact that they can't kill Sylar anymore because he moved the spot and how they got there.
+ Mr. Bennet tells Danko that he would have became exactly like Danko if he didn't have Claire and that they need to do something to escape.
+ As they are about to shake hands, Hiro and Ando freeze time and appear.
+ Ando finds pictures of themselves and takes them off a wall.
+ Hiro's ears are bleeding as Ando notices that Hiro is straining himself.
+ Hiro says "Holy Crap" as they find everyone in the containment center drugged.
+ They grab all the agents and replace them with all the people who have powers.
+ Mr. Bennet figures out that Hiro must have stopped time because the door is open and that there are no guards.
+ Mohinder is checking Hiro out and figures out that his powers are having an adverse affect on his body and that he can't use his powers anymore.
+ Nathan meets with a colleague as Claire starts picking up on all these hints that Nathan isn't who he really is.
+ Danko is about to betray Nathan and stab him with a tranquilizer as Hiro freeze time and uses it on Danko.
+ Hiro collapses as Mr. Bennet runs off to meet with Nathan.
+ Mr. Bennet calls Claire as it becomes obvious that Sylar is now impersonating Claire and tells Mr. Bennet that he is Sylar.

COMMERCIAL BREAK!!

+ Sylar is controlling Claire to open a bottle of wine and makes her move slowly towards Sylar and controls her every movement to serve wine.
+ Sylar is telling Claire that they have a lot in common as he makes her drink wine.
+ Claire tells Sylar that she would continue to hunt down Sylar continuously as Sylar starts telling Claire that they may eventually fall in love with each other.
+ Peter and Nathan arrive at the hotel and Nathan tells his colleague that Sylar is the one upstairs and shows him his power.
+ As Peter and Nathan enter the suite, Claire is thrown through the doorway as Nathan and Peter fly in to confront him.
+ Claire watches him from the hallway as Nathan and Sylar flew out the window and Peter and Claire run off to confront Sylar.
+ Nathan gets thrown through the window and Sylar cuts his throat as he says, "Claire will be so mad at me."
+ Sylar transforms into Nathan and walks off, leaving Nathan dead in a chair.

COMMERCIAL BREAK!!

+ Angela finds Matt Parkman and tells him that he has to come with her to find Nathan and save him.
+ Mr. Bennet arrives and finds Claire and Peter as the agents stop them as they warn them that the president is in danger.
+ Matt and Angela arrive at the hotel and finds out that Nathan died and Angela starts questioning her dreams.
+ Sylar arrives in the basement as Nathan and takes over a body of Nathan's colleague and starts going after the president.
+ Sylar gets in the car with the president and shakes his hand as Sylar figures out something is wrong and gets stabbed by Peter with a tranquilizer through the bottom of his neck.
+ Sylar is knocked out as Peter lays back and says, "I bet you never thought that I took that one from you."

COMMERCIAL BREAK!!

+ Mr. Bennet lays Sylar on a couch as Mr. Bennet and Angela is trying to convince Matt to mind control Sylar into becoming Nathan and telling the president that everything that occurred was a mistake.
+ Matt digs into Sylar's brain and tells him that he is now Nathan Petrelli and that Gabriel Gray is now dead.
+ Sylar transforms into Nathan and looks at Mrs. Petrelli and goes, "Ma?"
+ We see Nathan standing over Sylar's body and burning it as Sylar/Nathan stands by Angela.
+ Mr. Bennet asks Sylar/Nathan if he convinced the President to solve the problems, and Mr. Bennet says that he likes the name the "company."
+ Mr. Bennet tells Claire that Sylar is really dead as Matt Parkman walks away angry at himself for what he did.
+ Peter is standing there looking at Sylar/Nathan through the fire as Mohinder's soliloquouy ends.

END OF VOLUME 4!!

Beginning of Volume 5...
+ We see Water escaping from a kitchen as it flows into the living room and reanimates itself into Tracy and kills someone.
+ Nathan is sitting in his desk as he finishes looking at a newspaper mentions the murder and Angela walks in and tells Nathan that its time for lunch.
+ Nathan looks at the clock and figures that its running a little late as Angela feels a little uncomfortable with herself as she knows that Sylar will eventually come back.

Recapper's Note:
It was a fun season, can't wait for the next. See you next year and catch you on the other side of the moon.
www.9thwonders.com