Heroes - Season One Grade: C- Extras: B

I tried to like "Heroes." I really did. As an obsessive "Lost" fan, there exists a taboo about enjoying "Heroes" that pervades the landscape of message boards and fan sites found in the nether regions of the Internet. The sheer amount of hate lobbed back and forth between the entrenched camps of both series' devotees is staggering, and never having seen an episode of "Heroes," I rented the set to see what all the fuss was about. \nI'm still not sure. The show has its moments, surely, and I applaud any series aiming higher than the standard serial fare. As our heroes do their hero thing and the nefarious Sylar does his nefarious thing, mysteries are revealed and questions are asked then answered at such a pace that it's perfectly clear "Heroes" is trying to coddle former "Lost" fans who were too impatient for that show's slow, methodical reveals. \nMost of the cast seems to have been culled from some modeling company's casting call, but that's really an unfair criticism, since "Lost" has plenty of pretty people, too. The only difference is, those folks can act their ways out of a paper bag. "Heroes" is heavy on melodrama, and rarely is subtlety and nuance the order of the day. Masi Oka is likable enough as the time-traveling Hiro, and Hayden Panettiere, as the physically regenerative Claire, is a welcome presence in prime time. Other than that, no other cast member truly stands out, and that's dangerous for a show so dependent on the talent of its ensemble. \nFor serious fans of the series, there's enough supplemental material on this seven-disc set to fill a weekend. The fabled 73-minute unaired pilot (that remains, as fans will find, unaired for a reason) is here, as well as a ridiculous amount of deleted scenes to check out. Also, alongside a standard behind-the-scenes feature are commentary tracks on 12 of the 23 episodes from cast and crew. \nPerhaps my general disinterest in the superhero genre was what caused my distaste for the series. Still, Tim Kring's creation so often feels like an overwrought fan boy flavor-of-the-week (now complete with a curious Emmy nomination for Best Drama Series) that I have to chalk it up to something more significant. Maybe it's because it's just not that good. To each his own.