How appropriate that tantalizing tidbits about Heroes would be revealed in the midnight hour.
On the syndicated late-night radio show Loveline, actor Greg Grunberg, who plays the telepathic policeman Matt Parkman on the NBC-Universal series (airing its finale at 8 p.m. Monday, May 21)), chatted with host Dr. Drew Pinsky about what's coming up on the show. The season-ender, he said, will "set up the second season perfectly." One main plot turn will see the cheerleader (Hayden Panettiere) having to choose between "someone she loves and saving thousands of lives."
NBC-Universal has picked up the show for 30 episodes in its sophomore season. Intriguingly, Grunberg said the network is talking about running the series year-round in season three. That would be a huge commitment to a one-hour show that already uses six showrunners to juggle the dozen overlapping plotlines, location shoots and special effects featured on every episode.
The second season will be dubbed Heroes: Generations, said Grunberg. The plotlines will go back in time to tell the stories of the parents of each "hero" and how they came by their extraordinary powers. (Sounds a bit like the flashback storytelling technique of Lost, doesn't it?)
In the last three episodes this season, Grunberg's character, Parkman, goes to the dark side in the future. "We'll find out why that happens [in the finale]. There's an event that changes everything for him," said the actor.
Talking about his co-stars, Grunberg was particularly laudatory of the work of actress Ali Larter, who plays the dual roles of Niki and Jessica Sanders. And he gushed about Noah Gray-Cabey, who plays the young "technopath" Micah Sanders. The 11-year-old is an accomplished concert pianist. Said Grunberg. "He's just amazing."
The best news from Grunberg is that the first season of Heroes will be out on DVD just a few weeks after the last episode airs this month. For each hour, cast, writers and directors have provided commentary. These have been viewable online at NBC Rewind. (All first-season episodes and commentaries are still available there.)
Smart move to get the DVD out as soon as possible. And those commentaries frequently contain info that fills in or explains confusing plot details. They also offer background on just how hard it is to make this complicated show week to week. You might say it's a heroic effort.
