Watching Heroes (season 1) on BBC2 and BBC3 has meant that Rachael and I were confused about whether this week was really the last episode, or whether there were two episodes tonight, or what. A quick visit to RadioTimes.com showed two episodes tonight on BBC2. I opened the blurb to see whether it really was the penultimate episode and got this:
Landslide
So, here we are, at the end of a series that either touched the boundaries of greatness, or was an elongated piece of soul-sucking tosh, depending on your point of view. It’s been a long haul. Never has a TV drama taken itself so seriously and been so shudderingly portentous, thanks to those little bits of homespun “wisdom” voiced by the dull Mohinder. Mind you, just about everyone has a greetings-card aphorism on their lips in this double bill. According to Peter Petrelli, “Death is the one thing that connects us all . . . that makes us realise that we have to be good to one another.” If you say so, Peter. Still, despite all this cod-philosophical eyewash, there’s no denying the final episode is a humdinger, packed with tremendous bits of trickery, as all the Heroes gather for a showdown with evil on Kirby Plaza. And there’s no meaningful last message. Heroes is just about home and family; so was it ever anything more than a 21st-century Little House on the Prairie?
OR, alternatively, you can tell me what episode it is, and what we can look forward to. If I’m reading about episode 22 of 23, the chances are I’ve already formed my own opinion about this and am not interested in what amounts to a one-sided conversation about its merits or otherwise. Alison has essentially written a blog entry. I wonder if she’s asked her boss whether she can have a ‘comments’ button added.
By counterexample, here’s the write-up for the final episode.
How To Stop An Exploding Man
Drama series in which people all over the world deal with their newly-discovered superpowers. With Isaac’s horrible predictions all unfolding before them, the Heroes face moments of pain and peril in Kirby Plaza with unflinching bravery.
It’s somewhat weak on the specifics, but at least it doesn’t tell us what opinion we should be having.