Tea Fee

[migrated from myspace blog]

Somehow I've become a bit of a TV junkie this fall. I had about 5 shows on my "must watch" list last year. Then I had to go and add two more incredible shows to that list. The only new show I've really bothered to watch had me hooked before it ever aired. I downloaded a copy of the Heroes premiere over the summer and knew I'd have to watch it when it showed up on NBC in the fall. Now, four episodes into its first season, it keeps getting better with every episode. I was never really into sci fi, even though I did watch Star Trek TNG back in high school. Ever since Lost, though, sci fi has been making a mainstream comeback. Battlestar Galactica is moving to NBC in the spring and Heroes has the largest audience of any new show on TV. I'm not able to quantify the reasons for a mainstream sci fi popularity, but I know for me it's been the shift in the approach to storytelling. Writers bring such a fresh approach to the genre by focusing on the drama and making us care about the characters first, and secondly creating an incredible story shrouded in mystery.

Twice I've come away from Heroes with goose bumps. The first time was seeing NYC in the middle of a nuclear explosion just before Hiro jumped back to Japan and 5 weeks earlier. It took the story to a new level. We knew the stakes were huge and the time was short for a Japanese office worker to try to save a huge portion of the American population. The second was seeing a ninja Hiro (if Heroes is the best new show, he's the best new character on TV) from the future speaking perfect English and bringing a message to help the Heroes on their mission.

Lost has had a goosebump moment in each episode so far. Seeing Flight 815 crash from the Other's POV, Ben revealing several big secrets to Jack, and Desmond's new ability to quote speeches from the future as if they were past.

I can't imagine there's ever been a better period to be a TV junkie than this time of incredible writing, ensemble casts, and storytelling that knows no limits.