Curmudgeon, Part Whatever

I watched NBC's new drama, Heroes, again Monday night, having found the first episode a bit too violent for my tastes but the story worth giving a second look.

Well, that episode is looking almost tame in comparison. Yes, I get it. The show takes a graphic-novel approach to the super hero sensibility–I mean, they hit you over the head with the manga stuff for heavens sake–but this violence is all too realistic, done by talented TV special effects people without the "Pow" and "Zap" distance of the printed page.

After I had seen the body of a woman pinned to her bannister by countless knives, and not one but two people whose heads had been sawed off Hannibal Lecter/Mondo Cane-like, their brains removed–I had had my fill. I now need to go and check what the kids demo viewership number was for that show. OK, I just checked ,and the show was the highest-rated in the 6-11 demo with a 1.6 rating.

In one instance–the guy who wasn't frozen (don't ask), they cut to the semi-decapatiation twice in case I had not figured it out the first time. It was really beyond sick, and gratuitous.

But hey, maybe it's just me.

By John Eggerton