Why I Like the TV show "Heroes"

January of "poetmom" blogged about the upcoming (tonight!) season ending episode of "Heroes." I also love this show. And this from a person who watches maybe about 2-3 hours of television a week. (Did you know the national average is more than 4 hours a day for the average adult? Scary statistics here.)

I would rather read or write than watch most television. I find the victimization quotient to be too high for me to handle. It's as if every show is ramping up the adrenaline factor to a point where you can't flip a channel without seeing someone being threatened, assaulted, or murdered. Talk about your climate of fear.

So why do I like "Heroes?"

Is there violence? Yes. (Can you say Sylar? *shudder*) But I don't feel like this show promotes the same sense of fear and paranoia that shows like "24" or "Law and Order, SVU," etc, seem to create. In fact, "Heroes" leaves me with a sense of hope, not terror.

The stories are character driven and the characters are flawed, realistic, despite the fact of their superhero powers. I love the fact that it's not always clear who the 'good guys' are and who the 'bad guys' are. The moral ambiguity makes the show more rather than less compelling. Characters make mistakes, stories don't end up tidily.

The plots are intricate but neither overly convoluted nor predictable.

The stakes are high for the characters and the writers are not afraid to kill off popular/major characters along the way. (Rather than wait for the predictable end of season finale where it is expected that a main character will be killed off or placed in some cliff-hanger peril.)

Sadly, the fact that I'm wildly enthusiastic about any show almost always is a kiss of death for that show.

I'm hoping that I'm wrong this time.

Oh. And don't try to call me tonight between 9 and 10pm edt. I won't be answering the phone.