Interview With Greg Grunberg (Matt In Heroes)

Power: Can Read People’s Minds

Can you tell us about your character Matt?

He’s an LAPD cop, he’s got dyslexia, he can’t advance and become what he really thinks he should be, which is a detective or something more important, be where the action is. He can’t do this because he has dyslexia and can’t pass the tests and now suddenly, he’s hearing voices. He gets the one ability that a cop needs to solve crimes as quickly as possible and be the best he can be. But this then changes the rest of his life.

Your character can read minds, how does he feel about keeping his mental powers a secret?

It’s going to be a constant struggle for my character. He’s having issues with his wife. They’ve not been at each other’s throat, but there’s a conversation they always have where she says, “Hey, why can’t you be satisfied with our lives?” And he wants more.

What I love is that it’s not as simple as telling people, “Hey, this is what’s happened.” People aren’t going to believe you, they’re going to think you’re nuts, how do you handle it. When my character first realizes that he can’t control it, it’s an amazing thing.

The scripts are so great. When I read them, I get an idea of what a cool idea it would be to read people’s minds. I’m like, “Oh, this would be great.” It’s on such a simple level, I read and it’s just like, “Wow, that’s the greatest way to use it.” I’ve already shot a little bit where I’m using it to satisfy my wife.

What does the future hold for the characters? Do they become a team of superheroes?
Read the full story

Interview With Tim Kring (Executive Producer Of Heroes)

Where did you get the inspiration for this series?

The germ of this idea came about a year ago now. I was supposed to develop a show for NBC and I became fascinated with this idea of a new paradigm of the serialized large ensemble show. I happened to see two movies that sort of moulded together in my mind. One of them was The Incredibles. And the other was the Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind by Charlie Kaufman. I started to blend those two things in my mind over the next few days because I loved both of them. Mixing the idea of people who had superpowers trying to struggle with their everyday lives with these people that you could pass on the street and never think twice about. In my mind, those two things started to come together and that was the genesis of where the idea came from.

How does this show differ from other serialized dramas?

With this show I wanted to start from the very, very beginning. Looking at when people would discover these abilities. It’s very much a journey of the hero in the classic sense of the term. We watch their growth and their journey through the course of the show and ultimately, gain this kind of wish fulfillment that you or I could be these people. This is their journey from very ordinary to extraordinary people.

The show has some fantastic cliffhangers. Have you found it hard to maintain the suspense and intrigue with so many different plotlines?
Read the full story

Will Heroes Re-ignite British TV?

So you’re interested in one of the highest rating Scifi tv programmes since Lost?

Here at Scifi UK Review, we’re keeping a close eye on the series; to see how it progresses. Will it be canned halfway through, as such other delights as Farscape and I-Man were destined to be?

Heroes will be broadcast on the UK Scifi TV Channel from 19th February (a double bill of episode one and two), initially for 9 episodes, but judging by NBC’s decision to extend, it will be increased to 23 episodes!

From the creators of Lost, this explosive new drama entitled Heroes - a show about ordinary people discovering their extraordinary powers - is currently the number-one new show in America. Weekly figures are in excess of 14 million and increasing every week.

Heroes is predicted (not sure by who) to be a global phenomenon and looks set to grab the imagination of UK viewers when it premiers on the Scifi TV Channel in a few days time.

As a total eclipse casts its shadow across the globe, a genetics professor in India uncovers a secret theory – there are people with super powers living among us. Amongst these are a high school cheerleader who learns that she is totally indestructible; a gifted artist whose drug addiction enables him to paint the future; a young man who develops a way to stop time through sheer will power; and a single-mother stripper who learns that she has an alternate personality with homicidal tendencies. In Los Angeles, a jaded cop discovers that he can hear people’s thoughts, a revelation which puts him on the trail of an elusive and sadistic serial killer.

As we follow their lives week-by-week, we discover that their ultimate destiny is nothing less than saving the Earth from Armageddon.

Each blockbuster episode costs $2 million to make and is littered with CGI and special effects usually reserved for Hollywood films. The breath taking action sequences and cutting-edge drama are guaranteed to keep British viewers gripped from start to finish.

Creator Tim Kring says of the upcoming show, “We sort of made a pact internally that we weren’t going to be the show that made you wait for stuff.”

Working alongside Kring (also creator of long-running crime drama Crossing Jordan), is Damon Lindelof (Lost co-creator) and Jeph Loeb (television writing credits include Smallville and Lost, as well as writing credits for Batman and X-Men comics). With these credentials behind Heroes, there is little surprise that it has been hailed as X-Men meets Lost.

Find all articles on Scifi UK Review for Heroes.

If You Like Heroes, You’ll LOVE This!