TV Jots

I’ve been avoiding writing a review of what was my favorite new show last fall, simply because I’m among the hordes of people who think the series has lost its way this season. Once a Heroes freak, always a Heroes freak, though, and that’s a fact that persuaded me to put off joining the crowds of naysayers in hopes that things would right themselves eventually. If “Out of Time” is any indication—and I pray it is—there are clear signs of resuscitated vibrancy straight ahead.

The one thing that helped my former favorite show begin recovering from its slump more than anything else was the sheer joy instilled by Hiro’s return to modern times at last. Sorry, Tim Kring, but the 17th-century feudal Japan setting just didn’t work for me at all past the first episode that introduced it. The hokey backdrops (seriously—who thinks Japan looked anything like that centuries ago?), not to mention the slapstick interactions between Hiro and the hero he’s revered since childhood, an Englishman posing as the legendary and supposedly Japanese Takezo Kensei (David Anders, who played supercool baddie Julian Sark on Alias), were so disconcerting that they unsuspended my disbelief altogether and brought me crashing back to disinterested reality.

Not only did Hiro return to modern times in “Out of Time,” however. So did his former idol, as well, although now transformed into the mysterious figure Adam Monroe that prior episodes have been dropping clues about with increasing urgency. Once the man is matched to the name, there’s no turning back. Viewers have all they need to speculate about a concrete person to their heart’s content and begin anticipating the what and the why of what’s transpiring.

What exactly is the relationship between Adam Monroe and Kensei, and how do both/either relate to the recent events befalling our various contemporary heroes? If you follow the Heroes online spoiler chat as I do, you probably more or less know the answers to the questions that the unenlightened will be asking during coming episodes. Still, that won’t take much away from getting to see it unfold in living color.

And what about this Elle? How does she mesh with the larger picture? Another genuinely intriguing character played by a beloved actress, Veronica Mars alum Kristen Bell, has helped infuse Heroes with much-need excitement and intrigue in the last couple of installments.

I sincerely hope that Heroes has found a worthy groove at last that can hold the attention of the show’s audience and perhaps—if the cast and crew are lucky—dissipate all of the whining about how off track it has gone. If the December 3 episode ends up serving as the second-season finale as reported, Heroes is poised to end its abbreviated sophomore run on a high instead of a low.

Note to Kring: This time, however, we need to see it happen onscreen instead of being forced to imagine what follows after someone flies into outer space and the final scene fades to black.

Tags: Heroes, NBC, Out of Time, television, Tim Kring, tv