I've been watching Season 1 of Heroes, and I think I'm falling in love with the series! What's ironic is that I didn't like it the very first time that I saw it, when it was first on NBC.
So why the change? Here are some reasons.
1. When I first saw Heroes, I had missed the pilot, so I was clueless about much of what was going on. Who was that bald professor in India who keeps popping up, and what was his significance? To be honest, I thought he was still alive. But, actually, the whole point of the pilot was that somebody killed him because he (the professor) was researching people with special abilities. Also, the pilot allowed me to see why the guy with the horn-rimmed glasses was so important: he was in the Indian professor's office soon after he died.
2. When I first saw Heroes, I didn't know if the guy with the horn-rimmed glasses was a good guy or a bad guy. He was Claire's step-father, and Claire had special abilities, and I wasn't sure if he was a danger to her. Now, I can watch the show with the assurance that he is a good father and admire him accordingly.
The same goes for Nicole's ex-husband, the escaped convict. I was never really sure if he was a danger to Nicole and their son. Now, I have assurance that he is a loving father who is trying to be a true hero with his abilities. I really liked the tender "daddy moments" between him and his son, as they talked about comic books and monsters. And, as with Claire's dad, I can admire him as I watch the series, whatever his imperfections.
3. One of my favorite movies is M. Night Shamaylan's Lady in the Water. I don't care if it won a bunch of Golden Raspberry Awards--I still like it! On that movie was a little boy who could decode the voice of God by reading cereal boxes. The actor who played that little boy is Nicole's son in Heroes. I didn't have that positive association when I first watched the show, but now I do. It's like being in a high school cafeteria and seeing someone you know.
4. Whenever Hiro and his friend talked, I got annoyed. It's kind of like the Sun and Jin episodes of Lost. I have to stop doing my homework so I can read the dialogue. And I rarely know when it's coming, so I end up missing part of it. I still have that annoyance, but at least now I can rewind the DVD to see the dialogue again. And I'm getting to really like Hiro, since he's so cute and sweet. He wants to be a superhero--with a sword!
5. In a lot of cases, I only come to appreciate a book or a movie the second time around. That's the way I am with C.S. Lewis. What he said in Mere Christianity appeared utterly irrelevant to me the first time that I read it, but I began to see its gems of wisdom when I read it again four years later. That's how it is with Heroes.
6. I don't like fads. When Heroes was first on, I got so sick of hearing "Save the cheerleader, save the world"--over and over again, on commercials, in conversations, etc. Now, three years after Season 1, nobody says that anymore, so I can watch the series without that annoyance.
7. I'm superstitious about the number 6, so I'll add a number 7, even though it's technically not a "why I didn't like Heroes then but like it now" sort of statement. I somewhat like the politician on the series, the one who can fly. He's definitely not interested in being a superhero. He just wants to be Congressman! He clearly has a shallow, selfish side that is obsessed about his image, yet he is caring too. It's interesting to watch him wrestle with the implications of his abilities. He's the last person you'd expect to be a freak, but he is one!
I have a lot of catching up to do on Heroes!