TV Newsy Bits - Friday, October 19, 2007

Yes, be considerate -- a good motto, a good way of life. The incongruous part of it all is that this is New Jersey, a NJ Transit train to be more precise. NJT has a new politeness campaign starting up, but I don't think it will make a huge difference.

I'll still end up being surrounded by the party crowd in the evenings heading towards the city. That woman who speaks loud Mandarin Chinese yelling into her cell phone will still sit in back of me no matter where I sit. Some fool will still put a full cup of coffee on the floor as if expecting it to remain upright. People will still put their nasty feet up on seats or even worse, take their shoes off. Someone will still have their iPod so loud I can hear the tinny sounds from half a car away. Me? Nope, I don't do any of those things. I occasionally sit with train friends, but we talk using "indoor voices." I be considerate.

Random mention: I'd be willing to coach the Yankees next year for only four million dollars. Have your people call my people and we'll get it done.

In today's TV Newsy Bits:

• As a tribute to the recently deceased Deborah Kerr, Turner Classic Movies (TCM) will be airing From Here to Eternity and Separate Tables starting at 8 PM ET/PT this Sunday night.
• The folks over at Morty's TV have recent interviews with Daniele Donato and Evel Dick Donato from Big Brother 8. Beware -- the language is a bit rough on Dick's interview. One interesting thing to note on that one is that he said he has a DUI arrest in the past, but has never been arrested for domestic abuse (which was plastered all around the Internet). Both of these interviews are really long. Grab a cup of coffee and get to reading!
• Yahoo TV should be your new home for Seinfield stuff -- you can watch complete episodes, vote for your favorites and more.
  
• Celebrity Rides: Burt Builds a Bandit premieres tonight at 10 PM ET/PT on the DIY network. That's Burt Reynolds and, remember ... you can enter to win a classic Trans Am.
  
• Buddy TV has two interviews which will be of interest to many of the readers here. Wonder Twin Alejandro from Heroes, Shalim Ortiz, is one of them although I'm not too keen on the characters. The other interview is with Taylor Kitsch of Friday Night Lights.
  

Today's music non-sequitur:
"Dear Sir or Madam, will you read my book?
It took me years to write, will you take a look?
It's based on a novel by a man named Lear
And I need a job, so I want to be a paperback writer,
Paperback writer"
--The Beatles "Paperback Writer"

'Heroes' - "The Kindness of Strangers"

Although some important events happened on tonight's episode, it wasn't the edge of my seat excitement I've grown accustomed to while watching Heroes. Oh, I was entertained enough and, as I said, there were some crucial parts which moved the story along. There was no Peter, although Nathan and his mother were there. There was no Hiro, although there was the picture of his father. There was Micah and no Niki.

The Bennets (Butlers) in California

Coincidentally to Claire getting interested in West, her dad told her she may not date any boys. West convinced her to go out with him, telling her he'd fly her anywhere. She lied to her parents, telling them she was going to go to the library. Instead they flew to the top of the Hollywood sign on the hills.

West caught her as she went to leap off the sign saying he knows she has the power, but he never wants to see her hurt. He told her she should tell her dad a credible lie as the library was closed by the time they returned -- something else she was forbidden to do, but not a boy. So, she told him she tried out for cheerleading and was celebrating with the girls. Ho-hum.

The real thing of interest which happened with the Bennets was the Haitian showing up to tell HRG that he had to leave to go to the Ukraine. We don't know why, nor do we know what he'll say to his family about his absence.

Nathan, Mrs. Petrelli, Matt Parkman in NYC

Nathan met up with his sons Monty and Simon (great names) while sporting his beard, but looking more sober. He was told to leave the school area. But he was able to tell them that he's coming home before he went.

Next he showed up at the hospital where Parkman and his partner were getting ready to charge his mother with the murder of Kaito Nakamura (Hiro's father). They said her wounds were self-inflicted. She's ready to carry the weight of the charge even though she didn't kill him. She knows Parkman can read her mind and told him to let it go -- the only way out is to confess and if she doesn't, people like them would be in more danger.

Parkman and Nathan talked. Parkman told Nathan all about his powers and what his (Nathan's) mother "told" him. Parkman also told him all about his wife and all. Ho-hum. Nathan tried to talk her out of it, but she just told him to get into a program because she didn't want to lose another son.

Nathan told Parkman that his father didn't like Kaito, but his mother was a friend. They have the full picture of all of the "older generation" heroes. In the picture there's Linderman, DeVeaux, Mrs. Petrelli, Kaito, Mohinder's new boss whose name is Bob, and ... Parkman's father! I'll be mentioning that again soon.

Nathan saw the monster Nathan in the mirror and punched it, bloodying his knuckles. He's determined to make things right for the dead Pete (who's very much alive over in Ireland).

Micah at the Dawson home in New Orleans

His cousin Damon (?) Dawson is a bully, but the older sister Monica is sweet to him. The children were displaced by Katrina, lost their parents (I assume) and are living with their grandmother, Lt. Uhura. Er, Mrs. Dawson?

Micah blows his promise not to use his powers when he rigs pay-per-view on the TV for a wrestling match Damon is desperate to see. He gets in the good graces of Damon, at least for now.

While we didn't really see anything out of the grandmother, it turns out that Monica has powers of her own. All she needs to do is see something on television and she learns it. First it was making the tomato roses from the show the grandmother was watching, but then it was body-slamming a robber at the fast food place where she works.

Does she know about Micah's powers? I'm not sure. Monica seems to be a bit down on herself -- she thinks that she's selfish because she wants to leave the city while others are working to rebuild it.

I know that the grandmother must have some sort of power of her own!

Maya, Alejandro, Derek, and ... Sylar in Mexico

The Wonder Twins and Derek the car thief (from Jersey) found Sylar in the middle of the road looking very dead. Ah, but no! He told them he had been walking for three days and they have a new passenger in Claire's stolen car. He calls himself Gabriel Gray -- his original name, at least the Gabriel part. I can't recall if his last name was Gray. "Gabriel, just like the angel."

They told him they're headed to New York and Maya showed them the book by Dr. Suresh. Heh, Sylar's eyes lighted up at that! He knew they had to either have powers or a link to them. He told them he could introduce them to the doctor (who's long dead).

While stopped for a bit, Derek saw the wanted poster for the Wonder Twins. Thinking Sylar is normal, he turned to him. That sealed the hero connection for Sylar. He told Derek he'd stall them while he (Derek) called the police. Now, this didn't make sense to me. Like Derek, the car thief escaped felon would call the police for any reason!

But Sylar, as we could have guessed, confronted Maya about the poster. She admitted that it was them although Alejandro told her not to. When Sylar told them Derek already called the cops, Maya got into the start of her black-blood eyes murder bit which made Sylar feel intense pain. Alejandro calmed Maya down and Sylar was fine ... but they didn't know Derek was dead inside the building as the three drove away.

Mohinder Suresh, Matt Parkman, and Molly in NYC

Molly is still having her dreams. Well, nightmares. Matt is obsessed with finding his father since he found the picture of him and plans to use Molly to do the deed -- after all, she's the Walker Locating System or whatever that was.

Parkman told Mohinder that his father left him when he was 13, giving him $120 and he never saw him again. His father was a criminal who stole a lot of money from a lot of people.

It turns out his father is more than just a mere thief or thug. He's the man of Molly's nightmares. Although seeing the picture made her scream and refuse to help, she acquiesced and did her Molly thing.

He's in Philadelphia. But, fine, now Molly is in a state of shock and crying through her thoughts for Matt Parkman to help her.

TV Newsy Bits - Friday, Oct. 12, 2007

It's just a duck. A duck at the park. It refused to catch fish for me, but was willing to eat bread crumbs.

Here are the TV Newsy Bits for today --

• If you live in the vicinity of Scranton, Pennsylvania, and you're a fan of The Office -- I have cool news for you! The Office Convention will be held the weekend of October 26-28. You can find out more about it here, but it sounds like quite the event. Al Roker will be there reporting for The Today Show, even.
• If you're a soaps fan, you might want to check out the exclusively on the Internet show Coastal Dreams. It takes things a step further and provides interactivity the TV soaps just can't do.
• Reality News Online has an interview with Dave Cruser, cast off of Survivor China just last night. Whoa, he's one smug dude. But I noticed that a commenter here on this blog ("Survivor" I believe was the blogger name used) called his nudity in that one challenge exactly right. "Unless it’s your orientation, having a crazy naked guy running at you is definitely going to make you think twice. And it did. If you have a naked guy running at you, you’re going to be that much less ready. Hence the skipping to make things jiggle."
• I still think Dave was annoying, but I think I'd be personally peeved more at Sherea -- especially if I had to work harder to cover her slacking.
• The Celebrity Spider has an expanded promotional bit on next week's Heroes -- mild spoilers within.
  

'Heroes' - "Kindred"

Oh, my. Sylar is back. Kinda sorta back, that is. Here's the skinny on tonight's show ... please fill in any blanks I might have missed!

Peter Petrelli (Cork, Ireland)

Peter's still at the devices of the iPod thugs. In order to receive the silver box with his personal belongings (including his identity), he has to help the thugs and the beautiful sister Kaitlyn (which I might be spelling wrong) rob the proceeds of soccer betting from Pinky's Sportsbook. He doesn't want to help them, but doesn't really have much choice in the matter. As they were talking about the theft, Peter used Parkman's mind-reading powers and found out one thug planned on stealing all the money from the rest. They didn't believe him, silly thugs.

Kaitlyn promised to have his back and pointed out that she had told the others nothing about his powers. So, the robbery went down. It would have been messy, but Peter's powers saved the gig for the thieves. Oh, but when they returned with the proceeds, sure enough ... the one thug tried to rob the rest. Peter went all Sylar on his butt, had him up on the wall and was virtually choking him when Kaitlyn stopped him with a look.

Then it got corny as the brother gave Peter the box, but now he's happy with who he is and where he is (seeds planted by Kaitlyn) and kisses her. Aw, right. He doesn't open the box. She gave him a tattoo, but it vanished.

Claire and West (California)

In class, West again brought up regeneration in the guise of talking about a lizard girl who regenerates. This, of course, is due to his Peeping Tom at her cutting off her toe and it regrowing almost immediately. She ran out of the classroom, he followed.

As he kept at her about being herself, she finally broke down and yelled that she was special and he can go ahead and tell the world ... and ruin her life.

In a case of show me yours and I'll show you mine, he took her flying. And then they kissed. That was a bit schmaltzy until she noticed the two marks on his shoulder. He told her that he lost a day a few years back when he lived in St. Louis. He remembers a man staring at him like he was an animal, then woke up the next day.

Although he doesn't know what happened to him, he'll never forget the man with the horn-rimmed glasses. (Cue organ music here.)

Maya and Alejandro (Mexico)

I guess we're just going to see these two keep getting in trouble or captured, her using her bleeding-eyes power to kill the captors, Alejandro curing her by holding her hands and shaking a lot. This time Alejandro got put in jail after being caught trying to break in a car, then it happened as expected. A prisoner Maya-eyed and brought back went with them offering his car. There was a brief close-up of a sticker on the bumper, but the only part I caught was "coil" -- did anyone get the whole thing?

Hiro and Kensei (1671 Japan) and Ando (present day Japan)

Poor Ando. He's really lost without Hiro, playing video games at work instead of working. He goes to the sword in the drawer as he thinks of his friend. Lo and behold ... since Hiro is in the past, he can send Ando updates about what he's doing in the form of little scrolls hidden inside the Kensei sword.

But, what is Hiro doing? He's still working on Takezo Kensei trying to shape him up into the legend he's supposed to be.

Hiro tired to convince Kensei that he has powers, too. Kensei decided he was the devil. When Hiro showed him a brief smattering of his own time and space continuum powers, Kensei wanted to use his powers for gaining wealth for himself. No, no, no!

Hiro swooped up Kensei, forcing him to use his powers by facing 90 angry Ronin to retrieve the fire scroll from some sort of temple. He abandoned him there figuring he'd do what he had to.

As Hiro and the beautiful swordsmith's daugher talked, she mentioned how Kensei seemed to be two different people ... and how the cherry blossoms bit was so gentle and special. Then Kensei returned, scroll in hand.
Poor Hiro. He thought his work there was done and he also fleetingly felt love, but the swordsmith's daughter was meant to be with Kensei, not Hiro.

Kensei seems to have gone all nicey-nice, and worthy of legend. As he and the swordsmith's daughter walked through the cherry trees, the blossoms floated through the air. All of a sudden, Hiro decided he must stay longer in that time.

Micah, Niki, and D.L.

They're back! Well, D.L. is but a gravestone, but Micah and Niki were in this episode. She's leaving him with an older woman relative in New Orleans (why does that woman look so familiar?). He can't show his powers and Niki said she would return for him after she was cured.

Then she turned up at The Company's new office turning herself into Mohinder's new boss for treatment. Cure, huh? The new boss told her he would only need one thing from her in return for curing her. He didn't say what the one thing was. Run, Micah, run!

Sylar and Candace/Michelle

Candace, the illusionist, is calling herself Michelle now. She's been assigned to help Sylar heal from his Kirby Plaza sword impalement. She's made the illusion that they're in Maui, but it's all just an illusion. She also made the illusion that his wounds look healed, but they're not.

He demands reality and finds himself in a bunker triage kind of place alone with Candace... er, Michelle. He's hooked up to IVs and really in bad shape.

Nonetheless, he decides to do his Sylar bit on her, stealing her powers. It doesn't really work. She's dead (maybe) and fat, he seems to be in agony with no powers in the middle of nowhere.

Mohinder's New NYC Office and Mr. Bennet (CA)

Mohinder's returned to NYC, visiting Parkman and Molly. He told them his new office was going to be in town which didn't thrill Parkman too much, but hey. Where the new Company office is turned out to be the kicker -- Isaac Mendez ex-studio!

So now Mohinder is going to be under the watchful eye of The Company. The Haitian could have been a mistake, but it seems like it cast suspicion upon him. When Mohinder was left alone for the boss to meet Niki, he looked at stored canvases. He found the one marked 8/8 -- the last of the set. Uh-oh. He called Mr. Bennet to report his findings. A dead man wearing horn-rimmed glasses.

Run, Noah Bennet, run!

'Heroes' - "Lizards"

Yes! I'm so glad this show is back on! I need me my Heroes fix each week! The only bad thing about the show is that there's so much going on during each episode and so many intertwining storylines that it's hard to keep up with every bit.

HIRO

My favorite hero, Hiro, once again had the most giggles from me tonight. He's still in 1671 Japan trying to make the legend of Takezo Kensei come true.

When the "real" impostor of a hero swordsman got too drunk, Hiro donned his armor and used his powers to fight off the attackers and to save the fair maiden -- the swordsmith's beautiful daughter.

In the end, he returned to Kensei and apparently taught him the error of his ways as he could have said fair maiden. Hiro tried to secure the promise that he wouldn't drink anymore, but Kensei wouldn't quite go that far. But when Kensei decided to do right, he ended up getting shot by arrows ... and miraculously recovered. Hmmm...

MAYA AND ALEJANDRO

These new characters are still trying to get to America and we saw more of Maya's powers.

They stopped over at a home where a woman named Nidia was going to send others with them to make it from Guatemala to Mexico. While there, the woman saw something "black" and evil inside of Maya and called her the devil.

As they went through a tunnel, Maya panicked when separated from Alejandro. Her eyes began dripping blood and she seemingly killed the woman who was escorting her. Yikes! But then we found out that Alejandro can make it stop and also seems to be able to reverse the effect if he gets there soon enough. The "dead" woman recovered, called Maya the devil and ran away. Um, okay.

THE BENNETS (BUTLERS) IN CALIFORNIA

Claire is still having trouble assimilating in school. Her class is studying lizards and regeneration which perks her interest. She asks a few too many questions making her teacher think she's just a very interested student, but definitely catching the attention of West -- a fellow student with special powers.

When her car gets stolen, she stops by the Copy Kingdom, her father's new workplace. While there, she kept pushing him because she wants to know her limits. "Perhaps I can help people with my powers!" Noah told her that the folks after them would push her limits until she had no limits left and they must keep it all a secret.

Meanwhile, Mrs. Bennet insists they have no secrets. So, Noah shows her Isaac's work that he has. He told her that Isaac painted the future and that it was a set of eight -- he needed seven more.

By the end of the episode, she cuts off her toe to see if it will regenerate. And, it does. Oh, but who's peeking in the window at her? West! She ran outside with Mr. Muggles who kept looking and jumping up -- West must be hovering overhead, I think.

MOHINDER SURESH, THE NEW JOB, AND THE HAITIAN IS BACK

Mohinder's new boss at the Hartsdale (NY) office (hey, I used to work in Hartsdale, NY!) sent him to Haiti to cure a "special" person who seemed to have caught the virus. Mohinder's own blood seems to be the only cure.

Once there, the patient turned out to be the Haitian. I always liked the Haitian. Although he resisted at first, he took the cure. Now, the boss thinks that the Haitian, once cured, used his powers to eliminate Mohinder's memory and escaped. In reality, the Haitian showed up at Copy Kingdom to join Noah Bennet and Mohinder knows all about it.

THE DEVEAUX BUILDING ROOF, DET. PARKMAN, MRS. PETRELLI, AND THE INVESTIGATION INTO HIRO'S FATHER'S DEATH

Hiro's father (Lt. Sulu - er - George Takei) did indeed die in the fall from the roof with his assailant. But the assailant's body vanished.

Ando identified Mrs. Petrelli as having a fight with Kito before the assailant arrived. So, good ol' new Detective Parkman and his partner pulled her in for questioning. He eavesdropped her thoughts, but she caught him -- "Get out of my mind!"

When left alone in the interrogation room, she freaked out. They busted in to save her, finding her cowering against the wall. Upon seeing the picture she had, they asked the symbol. She said it was her husband's law firm logo. Ando said the symbol meant "great ability, godsend."

She asked for Nathan, making Parkman think that they weren't estranged. Nathan told him that he was the only one she could ask for help now. They all think Peter is dead.

PETER PETRELLI

... is alive and kind of sort of well in Cork, Ireland. The thugs still think he stole the shipment of iPods and try to beat him for information.

The sister of the chief thug, Kaitlyn, tried to help attend to his wounds only to find they healed perfectly as if they had never happened. So we know he retains his Sylar spark throw people power, as well as Claire's powers of healing.

He has no memory of anything prior to being found in the trailer, though. At least he no longer has that silly haircut. When Kaitlyn asked him about the necklace with the symbol, he didn't know what it was.

The iPod theft was supposed to go to someone named McSorley. Well, his brother tried to assault Kaitlyn and Peter used his powers to save her. That didn't make her brother forgive him, though. He taunted Peter with a box which he said was everything he had with him when they found him, but only let Peter know his first name. If Peter wants the box, he has to make up the theft by working with them on a new caper.

Oh, I have so many questions! What's in the box? Mr. Muggles knows West is up high, why doesn't Claire yell at him? How did Kensei live after the arrow attack? How will Hiro get back to his own time? Exactly what company is Mohinder working for -- could it be the same one who employed Bennet?

'Heroes' - "Four Months Later' - 2007 Season Premiere

Yes! It's here! The new season of Heroes! Will it live up to my expectations from watching last season? Well, it's off to a good start, I think.

In Hiro's storyline, he traveled back in time to 1671 and landed outside of Kyoto, Japan. Several mounted soldiers were about to run him through with their swords and arrows when another rider appeared. So, they wanted to get both Hiro and the newcomer. Instead, an eclipse of the sun occurred, so they shot the arrows at the sun.

Ah, but the laws of gravity dictate that what goes up must come down. Thanks to Hiro's powers, he stopped the arrows just before they hit him, then teleported the stranger away from danger.

The stranger turned out to be the Hiro's Kensei idol, but not all was what it appeared to be.
The man is a sham! He's a Brit who's pillaging villages and more of a villain than any sort of hero! Tekezo Kensei is nothing but a fraud, and a nasty man to boot.


All of the legends are either untrue or Hiro must change them into a reality for history to run the course he's known all of his life. According to legend, Kensei married the swordsmith's beautiful daughter. Yeah, she's beautiful. But he burned her home. She slapped him and took his sword. Poor Hiro, we last saw him on the field after being punched, a goat licking his face.

The Bennets have assumed the identity of the Butlers. The family has moved to Coste Verde where the children attend a new school and Noah Bennet has a new job in a copy shop. Mr. Muggles, much to the dismay of Mrs. Bennet/Butler must lead a life of obscurity and not take part in any dog shows. Poor Mr. Muggles.

After being told not to raise any suspicions and not do anything extraordinary, Claire still attracted the attentions of a new young man -- West. She first walked in front of his moving car. In class he asked her if she was a robot or an alien, claiming everybody is one or the other. She asked the difference. A robot does everything he's told while an alien does what he feels like doing.


By the end of the episode, we see that West (or is he Weston?) is one of them. The last scene shows him hovering in the air while looking through the window at Claire's house, then he flies away.

Mr. Bennet/Butler has his own issues. His boss is a young punk jerk bloated with the power of being a retail manager. Oh, that doesn't suit Noah too well. He eventually just flipped the dude by the fingers and told him to get off his case. Now, if anyone knows the paper business, it would be Bennet. Copy Kingdom ain't got nuthin' on PrimaTech, right?

Two new characters, Alejandro and Maya, who claim to be brother and sister (but do we really know that) were introduced. They're running to America through the woods, paying some hustlers to give them a ride towards the border. At one point, as they hid from the cops, we saw a wanted poster for them. The charges? Homicide, of course.

The Latino "Deliverance" type guys who picked them up dumped Alejandro and apparently wanted their way with Maya. Well, she's the killer, not Alejandro. He caught up to her -- all of her captors were dead with blood dripping down their faces. Oh, my!

They continued on in the truck of the dead men, heading to see "the doctor in New York."

And, that doctor in New York? Mohinder was approached after giving a lecture about a virus or plague which could possibly kill off those with special powers. The man who approached him offered him a job -- said that his company tried to get those with powers to use their powers for good, some must be eliminated, though.

When Mohinder told him it would cost too much money, the man turned a spoon to gold. So, he has his own power -- the Midas touch, even! The man knew about Molly and Parkman, as well as Sylar. Mohinder said Sylar was dead. After seeing his golden touch, Mohninder accepeted the job, but quickly called Bennet to let him know he's "in." Bennet says they'll bring the whole company down. The plot thickens.

Meanwhile, Parkman is raising Molly, the girl who can find people. He recovered from his bullet wounds and managed to get himself on the police force. But Molly is having dreams -- she's drawing pictures of eyes at school, along with the symbol we've seen on the sword and tattoos. She had a bad dream -- and it zapped Parkman as he tried to awaken her and used his power to read minds. Why, it zapped him and what we heard sounds like ... Sylar!

Ando is with Hiro's father when the father finds a ripped photo of himself with the mysterious symbol scrawled across it in red. "I will be dead in 24 hours." They go atop the Deveaux Building. Hiro's father (who i want to call Sulu for some bizarre reason) decided he should fight his foe for Hiro's honor. Ando goes off to get him a sword.

But then a man with a hoodie sweatshirt arrives. Ando got back just in time to
see both go off the roof to their deaths (yeah, right).

Oh, but then there's the Petrellis! Nathan has grown a beard and drinks a lot now. He no longer looks Presidential. Mrs. Petrelli blames him for Peter's death. He thinks Peter is alive.

It turns out that she also has found a ripped picture of herself with the symbol scrawled across it in red. And, guess what? The picture is the other half of Hiro's fathers ripped photo!

While Ando was gone and the Hoodie Man hadn't arrived as of yet, she met Hiro's father on the roof. He told her he was going back to Japan and she should vanish, too. "All of them dead, now there are nine." He said he sought redemption by trying to help Hiro, how did she help her son?

Claire knows how to get ahold of Nathan despite the fact he doesn't want to talk to her.

But is Peter dead? Of course not! Over in Cork, Ireland, some burglars were after a shipment of iPods in a trailer. No iPods, but there's Peter chained in the corner. He seems very dazed, says he doesn't know his name ... but knocks one of the thieves across the room with a Sylar kind of touch.

Oh ... I'm hooked all over again!

Today, Tonight...!

Heroes returns at 9 PM ET tonight! Yay! Although I certainly can't live-blog it because I'd miss too much, I will surely be posting about it afterwards!

Well before then, a post I wrote for TV Squad should be published. As I post this, I'm expecting that one up before noon ET. I'm hoping it sparks some interesting discussion and will remain mum about the topic right now.

But, go read it! :-)

TV Newsy Bits - Friday, May 25, 2007

It's the start of a hot holiday weekend here! Today was the first day of over 90-degree temperatures since last August. I just have two words for that...

Air conditioning.

Oh, make it three words. Air conditioning, television.

Yep, that'll do it!

Here are the TV Newsy Bits I found out on the good ol' Internets today:

• Rosie O'Donnell, due to leave The View in about three weeks, has called it quits, asking for an early leave. Thus granted. After the blow-up with Elisabeth Hasselbeck, this doesn't surprise me at all.
• According to Celebrity Spider, some folks don't think Paula Abdul really tripped over her dog causing her broken nose. I don't know. As a pet owner, I have had two injuries caused by tripping over cats. A cut thumb (was carrying the emptied cat food can to the trash when I was tripped) and a greenstick fracture of my arm another time. Both times the pets in question suffered no injuries. So, I think I can believe her, a least a bit.
• Access Hollywood has a "Where Are They Now" interview with Survivor: Africa winner, Ethan Zohn. He's still with Jenna Morasca after four years and has invested his million in good deeds. He was such a cutie, huh?
• The New Jersey Star Ledger has an interesting article comparing the finales of Lost and Heroes. While I don't feel the Heroes finale fell short, per se... I think the Lost finale was better done when the two are compared. However, when I compare the seasons themselves, Lost had some weak episodes at the start of the fall season while Heroes was riveting (and understandable) all season. In its first season Lost was riveting, but often disjointed and odd - giant polar bears, etc. The concept of Heroes has always been more comprehensible for me. I may not know why they have powers, but they do and an evil man and others are after them. Simple.

'Heroes' - "How To Stop An Exploding Man" - A BulletPoint Report

Well, it was the big season finale tonight. In retrospect, I think this is one of the few shows which hooked me right off the bat.

Each week I sat mesmerized by the happenings with nary a moment to relax in between the thrills and chills. I'm going to miss this show.

I thought the ending of tonight's show was a bit different from what I had expected, but it was fitting. Ah, but that's later. Here's what happened on the show...

• The voice of Mohinder Suresh opened the show saying wise, pithy, and prophetic kinds of things. Make him shut up, please.
• The show started by tying up the loose ends on the dead folks from the last chapter.
• DL regained conciousness.
• Nikki asked why he took the bullet as he could have just allowed it to phase through him.
• We asked the same question.
• No on got an answer.
• Linderman remains dead.
• Thompson, Bennet's ex-boss from Primatech, also remains dead.
• Mohinder, Bennet, and Parkman are still in the Kirby Plaza Tower.
• Molly reminded Parkman he once promised to keep her safe from the Boogeyman (Sylar).
• Parkman told her that no one would hurt her.
• Bennet, with some persuasion from Parkman and Mohinder, decided that she could remain alive and actually help them by finding Sylar.
• Bennet told Mohinder about Thompson, the corrupt organization he was working for, and how he (Bennet) is a good guy.
• They kiss (not literally) and become buddies once again.
  
• Meanwhile, Hiro talked with his father.
  
• Hiro wants to find Ando; his father thinks his destiny, his mission, is more important.
• Hiro respectfully refuses - "I won't abandon my friend." He goes off looking for Ando.
  
• Sylar is still at Isaac Mendez's studio. He's not happy with Peter Petrelli paintings.
• Nathan's mother told him that Linderman is dead.
• When Nathan seemed to waver, she reminded him the plan wasn't just Linderman's.
• "The world will need me after the explosion. This changes nothing," said Nathan.
• Back at the Kirby, DL doesn't think he can make it and told Nikki to go find Micah and return.
• Claire and Peter called Bennet to tell him that Ted (Nuclear Hands Dude) Sprague was dead.
• Bennet and Peter both agree that Sylar, in addition to Peter, absorbed Sprague's power.
• Bennet told Peter that he would locate Sylar as soon as they fix the tracking system (Molly).
• Molly had a bit of a relapse, but was "fixed."
• She pinpointed Sylar's location on a map. Bennet recognized it as Isaac's studio.
• But he couldn't tell Peter that because...
• Peter led Claire to Nathan and his Mom, telling her he trusts Nathan.
• Claire ends up going off with Nathan and his Mom.
• Peter passed out on the street.
• He awakened watching himself back nursing Mr. Deveaux.
• And... his mother is talking to Charles Deveaux!
• Deveaux is in on the whole thing. They're discussing which son to use to save the world.
  
• Mom Petrelli thinks Nathan is the one because Peter was so iffy.
• Deveaux told her that Peter had heart, compassion and hope -- he was the one.
• It turns out that Deveaux can see the invisible Peter and talks to him once they're alone.
• "You had the power all along," Deveaux told Peter (sounding a lot like the Wizard of Oz). "You just needed to know how to use it.
  
• Back at Isaac's loft, Ando arrived with the sword to kill Sylar.
• Sylar sneaked up on him and stuck him on a wall, telling him he didn't want his brain.
• But then Hiro arrived to save the day! Or, at least, to save his best friend.
• Sylar taunted Hiro about freezing time.
  
• "Can you do your little trick quicker than I can do mine?"
• ZOOM - Hiro did it. He and Ando are back in Japan at their workplace.
• Hiro told Ando that he taught him the meaning of bravery, but he (Ando) must remain behind.
• Back at the Kirby, Candice is playing her illusion tricks.
• Nikki found the right room, but Candice is done up like Jessica and Micah is laying dead on the floor.
• Then it was Jessica's turn to save the day.
• She appeared in broken glass and told Nikki that she was stronger and it wasn't Jessica (Candice).
• Nikki went a bit Jessica on Candice and rescued the alive Micah.
• Back to Claire -- she jumped out of a tall building to escape from Mom Petrelli and Nathan.
• "Let her go," said Mrs. Petrelli.
• Bennet came across Peter who was still down on the street.
  
• He told Peter he'd take Claire's place with the gun if Peter can't control the radioactive hands.
• Bennet said he owe Pete. And, more importantly, he told him to call him Noah. Noah, eh?
• All of the heroes are working their way towards Kirby Plaza.
• Peter and Sylar face off.
• "Didn't I kill you once before?"
• "Didn't take," said Peter.

In the end, it wasn't any one hero who stopped Sylar. Parkman tried to shoot him, only to have Sylar stop the bullets and send them back into Parkman. Nikki, with her new-found strength, whopped him with a pole from a parking hydrant. Hiro ran him through with his sword. So, it wasn't the duel of powers that we expected between Peter and Sylar, not at all.

And, we're not even sure Sylar is really dead. One of the last scenes had his blood (no body) running into a drain with a cockroach scurrying in it.

What about the explosion? Well, Peter's hands did go crazy and he couldn't control the power. Claire tried to shoot him as planned, but couldn't do it. Then Nathan saved the day. He arrived and flew Peter away and we saw an explosion. Why couldn't Peter fly himself away? Maybe he can't concentrate on flying when he's exploding? Can't Peter live through the explosion? Ted Sprague couldn't blow himself up, after all.

And, what of Hiro? After running Sylar through with the sword, it seems Sylar slung him back into the past where he's surrounded by armored men on horses.

Um. Okay.

TV Newsy Bits - Friday, May 18, 2007

It felt odd not writing up the latest Survivor episode last night. Relaxing, yes. But odd indeed.

Despite the fact that many series have wrapped up and others are in the process of doing so, there are always TV-related Newsy Bits to be found on the Internet.

Here are some of the interesting articles I've come across while poking about:

• Thanks to blog reader Sue, here's a great interview with Yau-Man Chan. He's likely to go down in the books as one of the most entertaining, most enjoyable, and smartest contestants ever on Survivor. There are also rumors that he may make a Top Ten appearance on Letterman, but I haven't heard anything concrete about that. Another interview with Yau-Man can be found on IGN.
• Ousted American Idol contestant Melinda Doolittle was interviewed by Fans of Reality TV.
• Despite a commenter making the claim a few days ago that Jericho was picked up for another year, it's cancelled as I posted. More sources here and here. No, I didn't want to see it cancelled, but I researched before I posted the information.
• TVGuide.com has an interesting article -- Backstage at Dancing With the Stars: Len Judges the Remaining Three Couples.
• NBC is taking advantage of the Heroes addiction faced by many show fans. You can read all about spin-offs, schedule additions, you name it.
• Speaking of Heroes, Masi Oka (my favorite Hiro!) was recently interviewed by the Seattle Times.

'Heroes' - "The Hard Part" - A BulletPoint Report

Yes, graphics artist Zoetawny made me a Heroes tag for the blog. (She rocks, y'know.)

Blog reader Sydney asked me in comments if the show location in NYC and bomb bit bother me due to my proximity to the events of 9/11. Although I truly love this show, I must admit that the NYC bomb/nuclear explosion bit does bother me some. I lost some friends, neighbors, and a relative when the planes crashed in the World Trade Center, and it changed life around here. So, yes, it touches a nerve at times, but I enjoy this show anyway.

And tonight was no exception. Here's the skinny to keep things up to snuff (or something to that effect):

• Hiro and Ando teleported back to the present. "Don't worry, New York! We will save you!"
• At the Petrelli house, Claire is still supposed to go to Paris, but Peter tells her she can't leave.
• Peter told her she's needed to save the world.
• "I explode," said Peter. "Like Ted," Claire replied. Peter didn't know about Ted Sprague's ability.
• Ted Sprague, Matt Parkman (mind reading ex-cop, future creep), and Mr. Bennet decide to head to NYC. The Walker Tracking System which tracks the heroes is there.

• Sylar, after killing Isaac, painted Ted Sprague.
• It dawns on Sylar that if he absorbs Ted's powers, he will explode.
• "Is that what Isaac saw?" - Sylar has a conscience?
  
• Sylar called Suresh Mohinder telling him that taking the powers is natural selection, but he didn't want to kill the innocent. He didn't want to be responsible for the apocalypse.
• Nikki in the mirror again convinces Jessica to go with DL to rescue Micah from Linderman.
• Meanwhile, Micah is with Candice (the illusionist morphing woman) in New York.
• Micah doesn't like Linderman. "He smells funny."
• At the Kirby Plaza, Suresh met up with Bennet's ex-boss (Thompson?), refused to work for him.
• Thompson told Suresh he had the only one who could stop Sylar - Molly Walker.
• "She's on the list." Sylar attacked her family. She has a virus and her powers are currently blocked.
• Sylar, still at Isaac's, made a phone call, then was prettying himself up to go visit someone.
• Hiro and Ando arrived at Isaac's, saw Isaac dead on the floor Sylarized (as Hiro saw once before).
• They hid behind Sylar Ted painting when Sylar emerged from the bathroom.
• Sylar heard their heartbeats (super hearing from the woman in that garage).
• As Sylar whisked the portrait away, Ando and Hiro teleported out and escaped.
• Back in Las Vegas, Jessica and DL went through the wall into Linderman's place. He wasn't there.
• They found files on their lives (Nikki, Jessica, DL, and Micah).

• There was a painting of Micah in a burning high-rise building there.
• Suresh met up with Molly Walker, a young child.
• He determined that she was like his deceased sister, Shanti.
• Her (blocked) ability is finding people wherever they may hide.
• Molly told Suresh of the Boogeyman who sees into your soul and steals your brain.
• Suresh eventually gave Molly a cure - his own blood.
  
• Back at the Petrelli's house, Claire told Nathan that Ted Sprague blew up her house.
• Nathan called Linderman. "Mr. Linderman, we have a problem."
• The election is tomorrow.
• Who was Sylar going to visit? Why, it's his mother! He brought her a snow globe for her collection.
  
• She fusses about him, tells him he could be anything, even the President.
• He was upset that she neglected a clock of his father's and set about fixing it.
• He hedged around and seemed to be trying to get her permission to no longer be "special."
• He just wants to be a normal watchmaker.
• "You could be so much more!," she told him.
• Back where Micah's being held, he tried to escape. But Candice's illusions had him returning to the same room each door he tried.
• Candice appeared to him as Candice instead of his mother and told him to behave.
• Oh, back to Sylar's mother's place in Queens -- Hiro and Ando followed him there and eavesdrop outside of the window.
• Sylar's mother continues to do what she wants, makes him a sandwich when he really wanted to talk about being normal again.
• Uh-oh. When she insisted how special he was, he told her "I can do a lot more you don't know about." He then made it snow.
• Everything whirled and he lost control. A snow globe hit her in the head, causing a cut.
• She locked herself in her bedroom.
  
• As he begged for forgiveness, Ando said it was the perfect time for Hiro to kill him with the sword.
• Hiro said he couldn't kill someone while he was asking for forgiveness.
• Sylar told his mother he was going to do something horrible, he was going to kill a lot of people.
• His mother told him he wasn't her son. He wasn't Gabriel. She told him to leave.
• Sylar and his mother started fighting and he (seemingly accidentally) stabbed her with a pair of scissors.
• At that moment, Hiro froze time and tried to kill Sylar with his sword.
• Sylar unfroze, grabbed the sword and broke it while his mother was still frozen in time.
• Hiro and Ando blinked away. Sylar's mother fell to the floor, dead.
• Back to Peter and Claire -- Peter gave Claire a gun, said she had to go to Kirby Plaza with him. If he started to explode, he wants her to shoot him in the back of the head where the glass shard had "killed" him before she took it out.
• Claire saw a picture of Ted that Peter drew. He told her he could draw the future. "You're a part of this, Claire."
• Mom Petrelli, called by Linderman, went to Nathan to convince him he had to follow through on the plans. It's his destiny to set the course of history after the catastrophe.
• Cut back to Sylar - he's using his dead mother's blood to draw Kirby Plaza on the apartment floor. Creepy!
• Claire and Peter went to Kirby Plaza only to see Mr. Bennet, Ted Sprague, and Matt Parkman approaching.
• Claire ran to her Dad.
• Peter started absorbing Ted's abilities and his hands went radioactive.

Wow. It sounds like Sylar has issues, eh?

TV Newsy Bits - Monday, May 7, 2007

Another season of The Amazing Race has ended, Survivor 14: Fiji is down to one show and then the big finale and reunion night (Sunday, May 13 starting at 8 PM). But we're getting closer to Big Brother 8! That should be starting the first week of July.

Dancing With the Stars and The Bachelor: An Officer and a Gentleman are still going strong, as is American Idol. And, but of course, tonight is How I Met Your Mother and Heroes night for me!

Here are the TV Newsy Bits for today:

• If you're in the New York City area and, especially if you were around in the 1970s, tonight's 11 PM WCBS2 news (Channel 2) has an interview with Son of Sam killer David Berkowitz thirty years after the killing spree. I know it's a macabre thought, but I won't be able to not watch it. That was such a horrendous and plain old odd case.
• BuddyTV has their interview with Eric and Danielle, winners of The Amazing Race 11: All Stars, online for your perusal.
• Celebrity Spider has mild promotional spoilers (nothing big) for this week's Survivor 14: Fiji episode.
• Heh. Celebrity Spider also reports that the host of Pimp My Ride has lost his license to drive. Hmmm... could he get a new show called Pimp My City Bus?
• After sources said a few days ago that Lost will end after two more seasons, new sources are now saying three seasons.
• TVGuide.com has an interview with Missy Peregrym, the actress who plays Candace (the "illusionist" Primatech Paper morphing woman) on Heroes.
• This article casts doubt on the return of Jericho or The Class next fall, but I haven't seen any official announcements.

An added note: Some of the regular blog readers want to get a real-life meet-up arranged sometime over the summer. Most likely it would be in either New York City or perhaps Philadelphia. If you're a regular commenter here and want to get involved in the planning, send me an email (the contact info is in the sidebar). I'm putting together a mailing list to work on the details. Since this blog doesn't show email addresses, we're doing this off blog. If you want to get involved, yet don't want to use your regular email, send me an email telling me who you are in comments and I'll send you a free gmail invite.

'Heroes' - "String Theory" - A BulletPoint Report

Oh my gosh, I don't think I've ever experienced a show which keeps me as riveted to my seat as this one. I swear, you blink and you miss out on something crucial. Now, I wasn't invited to the big Spider-Man 3 premiere in the city tonight, but I think Heroes was probably more entertaining. And, but of course, who cares about the red carpet stuff, anyway?

Tonight's episode brought us five years into the future. Gulp. It's not a pretty world, not at all. Since the present Hiro and the future Hiro are both in the episode, I'll refer to them as Hiro and Future Hiro respectively. I guess we should also keep in mind that anything which happened in tonight's episode is subject to change if the past is changed.

Here's the skinny, not necessarily in the order shown on the show:

• Hiro and Ando were in the future Isaac's studio after half of New York City was destroyed.
• They were confronted by Future Hiro who insisted Hiro shouldn't be there.
• "I scare me." -- One of the best lines of the night from Hiro.
• As they look at the timeline on strings in the studio, both October 4 and "save the cheerleader" stand out.
• Future Hiro thought Sylar had exploded and that Hiro had killed him the day the bomb exploded.
• Hiro said he hadn't killed him.

• Future Hiro told him that he had to go back and kill him the day after the election (Nathan).
• Nathan Petrelli is President and has Parkman (mind-reading ex-cop) and the Haitian working as Homeland Security.
• The government has decided that heroes (those with powers) are terrorists and must be rounded-up.
• Parkman and the Haitian burst into Isaac's studio and capture Hiro, but Future Hiro and Ando escape.
• Future Hiro said only Peter Petrelli is strong enough to fight the Haitian and they must find him.
• Ando and Future Hiro went to a nightclub in Las Vegas where Peter's girlfriend works.

• Oh? His girlfriend is Nikki, no Jessica about her. No DL, no Michah, either.
• Peter's weird haircut is gone, but he bears a scar on his face which resembles the one on Omar in The Wire.
• Peter's not interested until they mention stopping Sylar may change the world he sees now (five years in the future).
• Nathan is pushing for gathering all the heroes and killing them, telling the nation it was an attempt to cure them, but failed. Extinction, he calls it.
  
• His advisor, Suresh Mohinder, claims that would be genocide.
• Nathan argued the powers are out of control -- he used the example of a kid who sucked all the oxygen out of his school classroom and killed all his fellow students.
• When Mohinder reminded him that he (Nathan) has powers, Nathan said he could only fly. That's not dangerous to others.
• Meanwhile, Mr. Bennet (Horn-Rimmed Glasses, HRG) has set up a service to help relocate heroes... sort of like witness protection.
• When Future Hiro and Ando approach Bennet, he agrees to help them because they reminded him Hiro told Peter to "save the cheerleader, save the world."
• Suresh and Parkman were checking out the timeline. Suresh said October 4 is the day he had his father's ashes and met Peter Petrelli. He realizes that Hiro wants to go back to change the future. Suresh determined that each string of the timeline is a person. One breaks in the past, it changes the future.
  
• Parkman has turned into a real creep, in my opinion.
• Claire, with brown hair, is now a waitress in a diner in Midland, Texas, going by the name of Sandra.
• She's in love and plans to be married to a boy who doesn't know her past.
• HRG shows up at the diner and urges her to leave.
  
• Before she can (planning then to elope), Parkman shows up and takes her back to Mrs. Petrelli's house in NY.
• Nathan meets her at the house. But he ISN'T Nathan! It's Sylar! He's killed Candace and taken on her morphing powers! Oh, no! Sylar is the President!
• He went for Claire's brain, but we didn't see her die and, if she did, that could change if the past is changed.
• In NY, Parkman was frustrated and beating Hiro because he wouldn't (couldn't) tell him anything from the past five years.
• But... HRG ratted out Future Hiro and Ando in Las Vegas to Nathan! ACK. Apparently, he had an agreement to "give him the big ones."

• Parkman realizes there are two Hiros and that Hiro is being truthful.
• Nathan directs Suresh Mohinder to kill Hiro with an injection.
• Peter Petrelli saved Future Hiro and Ando from Parkman and they escape.
• Ando was saddened when Peter told him he died in the explosion. Future Hiro had refused to tell him.
• Pete thinks that Hiro wants to save Ando when he goes back.
• Suresh knows that if Sylar is killed five years ago, millions of lives would be saved.
• Pete told Nikki he's going with them. He said he was the bomb and killed them all, not Sylar. He must help Hiro.
• As Nathan is giving a five-year anniversary speech in NY, he announced a new treatment for the "terrorists" - one which will cure them. (Kill them.)

• The Haitian was assigned to help Mohinder give Hiro the shot to kill him. Mohinder pulled a fast one and gave the Haitian the shot instead so Hiro could escape.
• Meanwhile, Future Hiro, Ando, and Peter were trying to rescue Hiro.
• When Parkman radioed Nathan to tell him the Haitian was down, Nathan flew away... in front of the whole crowd and world attention.
• Parkman shot Future Hiro in the back, stunning Hiro. "I'm dead."
• Nathan morphed back into Sylar. He and Peter got into a super-fight in the hallway. Who will win? I dunno.
• Hiro and Ando time-traveled back to NYC to save the world.

Episode overload alert, eh? I can't wait until next week! If I left something important out, let me know. I may have blinked.

'Heroes' - ".07 Percent" - A BulletPoint Report

Heroes is back! Yes! This show is consistently the most action-packed, can't take your eyes away for a moment, don't dare get distracted, hour on television I've ever encountered. And, mind you, I've encountered a heck of a lot of television in my time.

Here's the lowdown on the happenings of the evening not necessarily in the order in which they occurred:

• The Primatech Morphing Woman, Candace, tried to fool Mr. Bennet into thinking she's Claire, but to no avail.
  
• Bennet, Parkman (reading thoughts ex-cop), and Lionel Sprague (radioactive hands guy) are still being held prisoner at Primatech. Bennet's boss intends on killing them -- he was just waiting for the order to do so.
  
• Bennet uses his mind to communicate with Parkman who springs Sprague. All three escape from Primatech. Bennet wants to go to NYC where they can destroy the tracking system which tracks the heroes.
• Linderman and Nathan were in Las Vegas where Linderman revealed an Isaac painting of Nathan as President.
  
• Linderman wants Nathan to work with him to "save the world." He wants to heal it, and brings a dead plant to life to prove his point.
• Linderman believes the future, including the NYC explosion, needs to happen to save the world. After all, only .07% of the world's population would die and Nathan would be a hero bringing people together for a common goal.
• The explosion would be a catalyst for good. Peter would die the day after Nathan was elected.
• Back in Brooklyn, Peter Petrelli went to Suresh's apartment (where Suresh was stuck on the ceiling by Sylar in the last chapter).
• Sylar tried to cut Peter's head to steal his brain, but Peter healed too quickly. Then it became a powers struggle between Peter and Sylar.
• At one point Sylar gathered glass shards with his power, then shot them like shrapnel, one striking Peter's brain.
• But Peter sort of had the last hurrah when something he did rammed an object into Sylar, knocking him unconscious.
• Suresh fell from the ceiling, fussed about Peter being dead and brought him to his mother's house where Claire had been getting to know her grandmother. Grandmom had plans for Claire to go to Paris with her.
• She was crushed that Peter was dead, as was Nathan when he arrived. "You weren't supposed to die like this."
• Mrs. Petrelli told Nathan "we hide it" until after the election.
  
• Claire wanted to see Peter once again and removed a huge glass shard from the back of his head. Oh, no... he lives once again!
• Mrs. Petrelli told Peter and Nathan that she knew all about them and had earlier admitted her own powers to Claire.
• It's decided that Claire indeed will go to Paris with Mrs. Petrelli... maybe.
• Suresh met up with Bennet's boss in lieu of Bennet (he's "no longer with the company") and Bennet's boss wants him to work with him... for the purpose of good, of course. @@
  
• Back in Las Vegas, DL wants to take Micah and leave Jessica (no Nikki in the picture). He doesn't want Micah mixed up with Linderman.
• But Linderman wants Micah. When he told Jessica (it was just a courtesy, not really asking), she refused to give him Micah.
• So he sent a morphed-into-Jessica/Nikki Candace to fool Micah and took him. "Do you want to save the world today?"
• Sylar recovered and saw the list of heroes had gone missing with Peter and Suresh.
• But he found a slip of paper with Isaac's name and address.
• He went there, and found Isaac was expecting him. Isaac told him that he had already sent the information on how to kill him (Sylar) and he'd finally be a hero.
• Sylar absorbed Isaac's painting powers and set himself up at an easel.
• Then there was Hiro and Ando in the future, looking at a destroyed NYC.
• Ando mentioned he now had the sword and they could transport themselves back and change the future.
• They went to Isaac's future studio where they found a timeline of events with things like "save the cheerleader" and Nathan's election.

And, this just in from Primatech Paper:
Learn more about the guy Linderman wants to put in office so bad...and you've been helping keep out (so far).
Visit: votepetrelli.com

I can't wait until next week! How about you?

'Heroes' - "Parasite" - A BulletPoint Report

This Heroes report is dedicated to the memory of Sara Emiliano, a real life hero herself although she may not have thought herself one. Fighting Crohn's Disease, she died violently over the weekend. She was good people, funky boots and all. Forever 21, she'll be missed. Rest in peace, Sara.

Sigh... onto the show. Yet another action-packed episode...

• Isaac blames Peter for Simone's death even though he pulled the trigger.
• Hiro is in Las Vegas trying to meet Linderman so he can get his Kensei sword.
• Mr. Bennet, whose memory was wiped by the Haitian last week, wants his daughter back. His boss reminds him that Claire was an "assignment." Matt Parkman (Mind Reading Ex-Cop) listened and affirmed that Bennet doesn't know where Claire is. The boss had made a deal to let him go for "eavesdropping," but left him there.
• The Haitian told Claire that she must leave the country because what they (Papertech) would do to her, not even she could recover from.
• Nathan is working with the FBI to set up Linderman. Peter was invisible and eavesdropping as he met with the agents. Peter told Nathan that Simone is dead and he feels responsible. Nathan told him to call Suresh.
• Mr. Bennet came home from the hospital. All of a sudden, his wife knows all that's going on? She told him he told her all about Claire, his job and more in the shower. Something's up, I say.
• The woman from Primatech (can't recall her name) arrived at the Bennet's home to take Bennet away as there was a "paper emergency."

• Sylar, still posing as Zane Taylor, is working with Suresh. He volunteers to call Isaac Mendez, but said the line was busy. "Who else from the list should I call?" "No one. I already have you, Mr. Sylar." Yep, Mohinder finally caught on and figured Sylar out. He put curare in his tea to render his powers useless.
• Nathan and Hiro bump into each other in Vegas. Nathan knows Hiro wants the sword and helps him through to the museum curator.
• Claire's new identity is Vivian Lewis from Canada. But when she and the Haitian go through boarding at the airport, Claire stole his papers so he couldn't board. But she already blew it - she told him she wanted to go see Peter Petrelli.
• Bennet's Primatech Woman (ack, name... I need her name) and Bennet showed up at Isaac's in NYC. She morphed into Simone when the NYPD knocked on his door investigating gunshots and bearing a Simone photo.
• Mohinder has decided Sylar is a parasite feeding off the powers of others. He wants to kill him for killing his father. Sylar told him that his father told him everything about his sister, how he didn't want to work with Mohinder because he was too delicate, etc. Mohinder said Sylar was called Patient Zero by his father and he needed spinal fluid before killing him.
• Back in Vegas, Hiro delivered the ripped Isaac painting to the curator, then tried to steal the sword when he left for a moment. The curator caught him and called security. The security guard turned out to be Ando, who had been following Hiro. Hiro got the sword and his powers back. He teleports himself and Ando to escape the other Linderman guards.
• Oh, no. They teleport into the future, landing on the Deveaux Building roof which is wrecked, as is the city around them. Hiro thinks he failed to save the world.
• Back in vegas again, Jessica killed the FBI agents working with Nathan. But then Nikki showed up to tip off Nathan. She told him that he can't kill him, he must make a deal with him. She told him that Linderman knows he turned on him.
• Meanwhile, Sylar was able to stop his IV as Mohinder said he needed four genes. He asked Mohinder for salvation. When Mohinder had what he needed, Sylar stopped the bullet shot at him and escaped his bonds. He told Mohinder he wasn't begging for his own life, he was offering him his.
• Back at the Bennet's home, it turns out that Bennet's wife is actually morphed Primatech Girl and the boss turns up. "He is going to be a problem." Uh-oh.
• Isaac took drugs to paint more.
• Claire went to Peter's apartment where her grandmother (remember, she doesn't know Nathan is her father) answered the door. Oops, the Haitian is there and she's in cahoots with it all, too.
• Nathan went to kill Linderman, an unlikely evil older man in a restaurant kitchen cooking. Linderman gave him a speech about how you can have a life of happiness or a life of meaning, but you can't have them both. If you choose a life with meaning, you'll wallow in the past and worry about the future. He told Nathan he can win the election and be near the White House in just two years - a life of meaning.
• Nathan didn't shoot him.
• Peter arrived looking for Mohinder. Mohinder had been stuck on the ceiling (I'd say velcro!) by Sylar. Sylar started to cut Peter's head with his super-finger to steal his brain. The last shot was that silly lock of hair falling on the floor with blood drops.

Heroes goes on hiatus returning April 23rd. They say they've saved the cheerleader, when they return it'll be time to save the world. I'll have to go through Heroes withdrawal, how about you?