October 2007 News Archive (Page 4)

Those that saw the commercial for next week's Heroes already know the great news: Kristen Bell premieres!

And she appears to be up to no good, interacting with Peter (Milo Ventimiglia) in Ireland in some diabolical way.

The former Veronica Mars star recently spoke to TV Guide about her character, Elle:

"She's a little messed up in the head, which makes her manipulative and out to get what she wants," Bell said.

This, Bell notes, is "really interesting... because [Heroes'] whole first season was about these fairly good-natured people trying to embrace these abilities and being very conflicted as to how they should be using them. Elle is not that way at all. She very much enjoys her power and the emotional power it gives her over other people."

Series creator Tim Kring adds: "Elle was raised within the Company, and this is in some ways a cautionary tale about what would happen to any of our characters had they lived with powers their whole life."

So, are there any characters at all Elle can relate to? Well...

"There's a very interesting dynamic between her and Claire, in terms of what is and what is not. There's a deeper relationship there than people are expecting."

Gosh, is it Monday yet? We can't wait to watch as this develops.

Welcome to our fourth Heroes Round Table.

While fans of the show gather in the forums to discuss every character and story line, our staff comes together every week to analyze the latest developments from the latest episode.

Topics in this edition include: the absence of Hiro and Peter; Nathan's beard; and the secret life of the Bennets. Let's get to the Q&A…

No Hiro or Peter last night. Did you miss them?
A. Hiro: No, as long as each character is making his way back to the States and a more exciting story line. I'm far more concerned about Ali Larter's presence on the show. Are we sure D.L. was the one who died?

Milover: Are you kidding me? Comic relief from Masi Oka and the chance to see Milo Ventimiglia shirtless are two of the biggest reasons I tune in! Next time you're keeping these essential cogs in the Heroes wheel on the sidelines, NBC, shoot me an email beforehand so I can go to bed early.

Timex: Yes and yes. They kept me from two of my favorite characters. Hiro's our light-hearted hero; of course I miss him! As far as Peter, he's the super hero of the show, even if he is slumming it right now.

Parkman's father is The Boogeyman. Too outlandish of a coincidence? Or a cool Heroes connection?
Milover: Maybe a tad much, but still a cool connection. Come on. It's Heroes. You have to expect the unexpected... and that we are all connected.

Timex: When it comes to Heroes, nothing is too outlandish of a coincidence. Need I list all the outlandish coincidences from even just last night's episode? Alejandro and Maya running into Sylar? Parkman being the detective on the Momma Patrelli case? Nothing seems outlandish at this point.

A. Hiro: I'm a fan of crazy coincidences. Some may even refer to these as fate and, let's face it, the mythology of Heroes is pretty much grounded in these talented individuals being connected in various ways. But there's a slippery slope to be careful of here. Next thing you know, Mohinder's mailman will be the former babysitter of Nathan's kids and Kensei will be Claire's second cousin. The show can't shock the viewers too many times or there's no way to follow the story line.

Nathan shaved. Yay or nay?
Timex: I kind of was digging the cuddly, drunken teddy bear look Nathan had going on. But of course he also did look like a creepy hobo when he went to visit his kids through a gate. It's tough, but I'm going to have to vote yay.

A. Hiro: Nay. I was hoping for a beard-off between Nathan and future Jack from Lost.

Milover: Yay. That was the worst facial hair experiment on TV this fall. Yes, even more of a disaster than Alex Karev (Justin Chambers) on Grey's Anatomy.

Which secret will be revealed first: Claire dating West? Or Mr. Bennet working against The Company?
A. Hiro: Claire and West. Mr. Bennet will be on to them when he finds the obligatory home pregnancy test in the kitchen trash can.

Milover: Claire dating West. How good are teenagers - even those with regenerative powers - at keeping secrets? Plus, you could tell Mr. Bennet already knows in the back of his mind that Claire is up to something. As for his crusade against The Company, Mr. B. is covering his tracks... for now.

Timex: Claire dating West. I mean, Mr. Bennet is kind of the man. I'd like to think he's better at keeping secrets than the world's worst liar. Aquarium? Library? Really?

While some feel the second season of Heroes is off to a slow start, Entertainment Weekly has the answer: More Jack Coleman!

The magazine sat down with the man who portrays Mr. Bennet before the season premiere a few weeks ago. Here are a few highlights from the interview:

Did you ever think HRG would connect with the audience the way he has, and in turn, become the defining role of your career?
Well...no. The character was never originally part of the plans. [But] as the season went along, I just started getting better and better stuff... I really think the character of HRG — he really is a story engine. I can connect people. I can know their past when they don't, I can let the audience in on things that the characters can't know. I can be hunting someone, or I can be trying to liberate someone. There's just so many ways to go with it.

It's weird to think, in light of where we are today in the Heroes saga, that your character wasn't conceived to go any further than a few episodes.
It's really weird. My suspicion is that it wasn't ''This man is brilliant! Give him lots of stuff to do!'' I think they just saw how well the character could work as a story device. The moment that Tim [Kring, creator] decided that this man in the horned-rimmed glasses was Claire's adopted father, that was the moment in my mind that the character as he came to be known was created. Because it's just too rich not to mine it.

You have great chemistry with Hayden Panettiere — was it easy for you to develop a rapport with her?
The scene that we did in the pilot where I come home and she comes running into my arms, we'd known each other for about 45 seconds when we shot that. I was the guest star. I come out of my trailer, we're about to shoot, she comes out with ''Daddy!'' I thought, ''Wow, this is a very open actor.''

I was really kind of blown away. Hayden has chemistry with everybody. She does. She's just invested in whoever she is looking at and acting with, and I think that's something that's really special about her. She's very savvy about the camera, but she's not giving it to the camera, she's giving it to the actor. We had a scene right before ''Company Man'' where, in the hospital, where she finally blows up and yells at me. We had to do a lot of coverage of her, and she's crying through the whole thing, for several hours, and it's exhausting.

And we did all her coverage, and then the camera came around and shot me, and all the tears came, and she's off-camera. She really invests. It's funny, all of this talk in the media about her being another ''teenage starlet,'' wondering if she'll go the way of other young actresses — people need to pay attention to her work.

Her work is really good. It'd be nice if people talked about that sometime instead of just where she's going, or who she's dating, and whether or not she's going to run off the rails. And by the way? I don't see that happening.

How do you feel about the work of this actor? Let us know in our Heroes forum.

No Hiro. No Peter. But still a great episode of Heroes this week.

Events and characters are really starting to come together, as Sylar is now a traveling companion of Maya and Alejandro, while Nathan is helping Parkman solve the mystery of the older generation of Heroes.

And that cliff hanger... wow!

Did you miss "The Kindess of Strangers?" Or wish to relive a few of the key moments? Check out our recap now, chock full of Heroes photos, quotes and more.

And don't forget about our Heroes forum. Discuss the latest developments with other fans right now!

As usual, we'll post a detailed recap of the most recent Heroes episode after it airs tonight.

In the meantime, though, talk about "The Kindess of Strangers" right now with fellow fans of the show. How do you feel about Monica? Any idea who the killer of Kaito is yet?

Discuss your favorite characters, ask about the latest developments and post new theories today. We'll see you there!

Hayden Panettiere played the hero at this weekend's children's book-reading, benefiting the Boys and Girls Club of South Central Los Angeles.

Sponsored by "Milk and Bookies," parents and their children came out to a Studio City bookstore to buy books, which will then be donated to a new library in the area.

The Heroes actress brought her own book, Sassafras, which she read to the kids. Isn't she adorable?

After making his triumphant return to Heroes last week, Zachary Quinto sat down with TV Guide for an interview.

The actor discusses how quickly his career has gone from the depths of Hollywood to the summit...

TV Guide: A year ago, you were just another jobless Hollywood actor. Now you're starring on the white-hot hit Heroes and playing young Spock in the next Star Trek movie. Are you sure you're not dreaming all this?
Zachary Quinto: It's all very dreamlike, though Trek is feeling less so as it draws nearer. We're getting ready to shoot in a month, and I just had my first fitting for my Vulcan ears. It felt incredible, and in that moment there was a huge shift for me. Suddenly it was real, and I was like, "OK! Let's get this thing going!"

TV Guide: In a wild twist on Heroes, your serial-killer character, Sylar, has lost his powers. Will this help humanize the monster?
Quinto: Not really. Sylar's plans for ultimate power have been derailed, but that doesn't give us a chance to know him better. If anything, he's the same guy but even more driven and obsessed and in a place of absolute hunger: "I want my power back! No time to waste!"

During this struggle, he'll align himself with the twins, Maya [Dania Ramirez] and Alejandro [Shalim Ortiz], and they'll go on a journey to New York to find Mohinder [Sendhil Ramamurthy].

TV Guide: Do some fans root for you to slay as many heroes as possible?
Quinto: Oh, yeah! There's a group that calls itself the Sarmy — or Sylar's Army — that's dedicated to the support of my character, and they don't like it when he's disparaged. Their slogan is "Every villain needs a legion of evil supporters." But what's funny is they do great charity work. It's never bad to have an army.

TV Guide: Is it true you were ready to drop out of showbiz when Heroes came along?
Quinto: I was in the depths of despair to the point where I couldn't get out of bed. I was about to turn 30, which is a notoriously tumultuous time for people, and I was dealing with career obstacles that were profound — a real existential crisis. I was asking myself, "What's the point of all this? Why am I even in the game anymore?"

TV Guide: But you'd already had a few cool roles by that time — Tori Spelling's gay BFF on So NoTORIous and CTU analyst Adam Kaufman on Season 3 of 24. Weren't you encouraged by that?
Quinto: So NoTORIous was great fun but had no far-reaching appeal. 24 did have that, but I was an information disseminator who was very expendable on a show that doesn't have a lot of char­acter depth. Until Heroes happened, I'd never played an amazing character on a really great show that a lot of people watched.

Milo Ventimiglia is making the rounds these days.

Aside from being seen quite often in public with Hayden Panettiere - and causing a stir among celebrity gossip outlets - the Heroes star is on the cover of Prestige magazine.

Take a look:

A record number of fans responded to this week's Heroees Caption Contest. And we appreciate all entries.

But any time you can combine two of our favorite shows into one caption - 24 and Heroes in this case - you'll be a winner. See what we mean by checking out the entry submitted by "Aleander Savant" below the photo...

Jack Bauer called and says he's running a bit late. You mind defusing this?

During the upcoming Heroes episode, "The Kindess of Strangers," we'll meet Monica, Micah's cousin. Played by Dana Davis (formerly of ABC's The Nine), here's what we've learned about this new character:

Monica's mother died during Hurricane Katrina and the family has moved back into their once-flooded home, where her grandmother (Nichelle Nichols) cares for her two grandchildren.

Monica grows into an avenging angel, intent on bringing justice to the corruption-plagued Big Easy. Her storyline is expected to run for at least five or six episodes of the second season.

As we already know, Micah has been sent to New Orleans to live with these relatives.