Heroes: Season 2

The first season of Heroes was an exciting, surprising look at a group of ordinary individuals who had to learn how to embrace their newly discovered extraordinary abilities in order to save the world, or in some cases, to cope with it. Season two reboots the series by flipping the concept, as these extraordinary individuals now attempt to live very ordinary lives. At the same time, a handful of new characters rehash the season one angst of coping with their newfound powers. The best moments of this season find the return of a powerless Sylar and the further delving into the workings of the mysterious Company. However, boring narratives abound, such as Hiro’s trip back to feudal Japan, as narrated by an unnecessary series of letters from Hiro to best friend Ando, the story of twins Maya and Alejandro Herrera prior to meeting Sylar, and Peter’s stint with amnesia. The discovery of Mohinder Suresh’s superpower — the ability to make the wrong decision at every turn! — and the overused healing factor definitely don’t help. Neither does a story line that doesn’t hit its stride until the halfway point and then fizzles at the climax. This four-disc DVD set makes much of this somewhat excusable, as an alternative (read: original) ending and a featurette that examines said conclusion reveal that the full season was actually aborted early thanks to the writers’ strike, thereby negating the second half of a season that was supposed to have a big build up, some exciting surprises and a final kicker that reveals the relatively annoying Maya to be the big hero of the season. Some elements of that storyline are also exposed through the inclusion of short webisodes that were originally aired on NBC.com. Other bonus features include audio commentaries for every episode, two authentically faked documentary/news programs related to the characters, a bunch of deleted scenes and more of Tim Sale’s artwork. While the second season of Heroes was a letdown, this DVD set shows what it could have been, giving renewed hope for the third season, even though the weak season three sneak peak reveals absolutely nothing.