Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #409 in DVD
• Released on: 2008-07-28
• Rating: Suitable for 15 years and over
• Format: PAL
• Number of discs: 4
• Running time: 462 minutes

Amazon.co.uk Review
Truncated to a slim 11 episodes as a result of the writers’ strike that was ongoing in America during its production, Heroes’ second season nonetheless packs enough in to keep the momentum rolling on one of the most exciting Stateside shows of the moment.

Heroes is, at heart, the comic book tale of a varied group of people, each with special powers that they struggle to come to terms with. With such powers, of course, come troubling foes and situations to face, and that proves to be the case here. So this time, we pick up four months after the events of the first series, and there’s the small matter of the Shanti virus to contend with. This provides the main thrust for the series’ story arc, and allows room for several interesting sub-plots to develop too.

Yet while, in the world of Heroes, you suspect that this second series will never rank with the best, there’s easily enough here to justify the asking price, and the show emerges easily with its reputation intact. Even when it’s not at the top of its game, Heroes is exciting, interesting and polished entertainment. --Jon Foster

Synopsis
Combining comic book style and geeky in-jokes, Heroes is a stellar series that draws comparisons to fan favourites such as Lost and The X-Files. But thanks to its well-drawn characters and intricate plot, this drama reels in more than just superhero fans. Heroes revolves around the premise of seemingly ordinary people developing fantastic powers. There's Claire (Hayden Panettiere, Ice Princess), a cheerleader who can't appear to be injured or killed. Matt (Greg Grunberg, Alias) is a cop who can read minds. New Yorker Peter (Milo Ventimiglia, Rocky Balboa) has the power to adopt other heroes' abilities, while his politician brother (Adrian Pasdar, Judging Amy) has a special power of his own. Though the show boasts many other characters, its secret weapon is Hiro (Masi Oka), a Japanese office worker who is delighted to discover he can move through space and time. Set four months after the end of series one, the second series of Heroes thrillingly builds on the previous events, introducing a variety of new characters including Honduran twins Maya (Dania Ramirez, The Sopranos) and Alejandro (Shalim Ortez), the devious and lethal Elle (Kirsten Bell, Forgetting Sarah Marshall), and Hiro's idol, Takezo Kensei (David Anders, Alias).

Customer Reviews

Generation Effect
Heroes season 2 (Generations), begins four months after the events of Kirby Plaza (Season 1 - How to Stop an Exploding Man). The main plot arc of "Generations" deals with the Company and its research on the Shanti virus, exploring the history of the Company's founder. Interwoven with the main plot are several secondary plots introducing a host of new characters. These include the journey of new characters Maya (Dania Ramírez) and Alejandro from Honduras to the United States; Monica Dawson (Dana Davis) discovering her powers in New Orleans; Hiro's journey to Feudal Japan, where he meets his childhood hero, Takezo Kensei (David Anders) and Elle Bishop's (Kristen Bell) search for Peter Petrelli.

After a extremely well writing and well acted first season, season 2 is a mixed bag. The introduction of a number of new principle and secondary characters leads to a neglect in the development of some of the original characters, most notably Niki Sanders. Episodes are also slow moving in comparison to the first season, again likely due to the secondary plots involving the new characters. The highlights of season 2 is the portrayal of Angela Petrelli by Cristine Rose, who frequently outshines the principle cast and the introduction of Kristen Bell as the sociopathic Elle Bishop. Standout episodes include; Four Months Ago... & Powerless.

it gets better i promise
The first few episodes are a bit slow in this series, but after the reveal episode (about halfway) it does improve. Although I found this series a little frustrating, especially new characters like the twins and the lack of focus on much loved characters from season 1, there are some great aspects which give me hope for season 3. The mohinder/parkman/molly set up is interesting and Elle and Adam are fantastic, although loving the actors already from Veronica Mars and Alias does help.

What I can't believe about this is the price of the DVD, its only 11 episodes long, yet the price is more like a series 22 episodes long. The studios should take their punishment and charge us a fair price for this much shortened series!

Lacks the focus and excitement of the first season.
Season 2 sadly lacks the pace and excitement of season 1. It is slowed down by some stories which take too long to get going. For example, Peter Petrellis trip to Ireland and Hiros trip to Japan in 1671, are dragged out week after week when they could have been dealt with in a couple of early episodes.

Another issue is that of the villains. Sylar was genuinely menacing, and the two main ones in season 2 (excluding Sylar) never reach the level of intensity that Sylar delivered in season 1.

It's not all doom and gloom though. The performances are still of a very high standard and, some of the effects now match big budget blockbusters that come out year after year and give Heroes a very cinematic feel.

Overall, season two just seems to lack focus. It was clear in season 1 that the writers knew exactly where they were going, What seems to happen with a lot of US TV series though, is that the writers have to fill 20 odd episodes a season and this makes for some dull episodes along the way. The writers strike cut short season 2 and long term, this is likely to benefit Heroes. The writers have admitted they made mistakes and season 3 promises to be more focused and get back to more edge of your seat thrills that we first saw in season 1.