Smothered across billboards, it was the TV catchphrase of the year: “Save the cheerleader, save the world.”
To strangers of the phenomenon, the phrase was either intriguing or simply confusing. But for fans of NBC’s hit show “Heroes,” it was a mantra of hope against villainy.
“One of the characters on the show is a cheerleader and Sylar (the villain) was going after her to acquire her power,” Anil Sharma, a second-year biology student, said. “(So for) all the other people, it was their job to “˜save the cheerleader, save the world.'”
Such perilous plots filled the first season of “Heroes,” a television series about regular people discovering they have special powers. The first season of “Heroes” ends tonight at 9 p.m. on NBC with a season finale that seems to put the fate of the world once again in the hands of newly minted superheroes.
“They have slowly been building up to the finale; there’s going to be an epic battle between Sylar and Peter,” Sharma said. “I’m definitely rooting for Peter.”
The story line has thickened, as the show, which became the first major network show to receive a full season deal for 2006-2007, largely focuses on developing interesting character relations that can lead to more intense story lines.
“I like a lot of these serialized television shows like “˜Lost’ … as opposed to something like “˜CSI’ where there is one story one week and a new story the next week. (“˜Heroes’) is a continuation building up to something bigger,” Sharma said.
Third-year biology student Brian Lansangan is also one of the millions of viewers ““ many of them college-aged ““ who has become a fan of the all-too-exciting “Heroes.” Lansangan, too, likes the fact that character development has escalated the battle stakes.
“When the show started it was about discovering the powers, then it went to a new chapter where they had to save the cheerleader,” Lansangan said. “Then it was finding the list of all the heroes; then it got toward trying to stop Sylar, the main villain, and the bomb. … (The show) gets more exciting.”
Not generally a fan of comic-book heroes, Lansangan did not start out the new television season anticipating the show. He only began watching “Heroes” on Monday nights to fill the void left by the popular FOX show “24,” which did not begin its current season until January.
But even before tuning in, Lansangan unknowingly had already encountered the superhero drama at his brother’s high school in Santa Clarita, where some of the scenes for the show were filmed. But though he saw the camera crews and the beginning of sets, Lansangan didn’t find out what they were filming until “Heroes” aired.
“I went by the school there to drop him off (and) I saw them setting up,” Lansangan said. “The first time they were filming I didn’t know what it was yet. I wasn’t sure what it was until I recognized part of the high school on the show.”
Lansangan likes the fact that the superheroes on “Heroes” for the most part don’t have alternate identities a la Bruce Wayne/Batman. And more importantly, they skip the superhero spandex.
“It’s much more based on regular people, not on costumes and stuff; it’s regular, everyday street clothes,” Lansangan said. “It wouldn’t make it as realistic if people were in tights.”
Sharma also has enjoyed watching the show as it evolved from introducing the characters to exploring their relationships.
“The show has definitely evolved now that they are all acquainted with each other. It’s got a lot of different characters and now they’re all starting to come together,” Sharma said. “(Hiro Nakamura) is the funniest. He’s kind of like the geeky one on the show; he was all into superheroes before he found out he had powers. … He is definitely the most enthusiastic about being the whole superhero thing.”
Malcolm McDowell, who plays the evil Mr. Linderman on “Heroes,” thinks the show’s twisted plots have made the show a success among the collegiate crowd.
“Young people for some reason love this show. And I think they love it because it is so open-ended and sort of very oblique,” McDowell said in a conference call.
“It’s very compelling when you really haven’t got a clue what’s going on. You think you know what’s going on, (but) the next week you find out that you’re completely wrong ““ it’s gone in another direction.”
While UCLA students are anticipating tonight’s climactic battle, they are also dreading the likely cliffhanger ending that may disrupt their summer relaxation.
“I have feel that it’s going to be pretty crazy to wait all summer,” Sharma said. “I’m looking forward to the anticipation and at the same time I’m dreading having to wait that long till September to have more answers.”