(Volume One: Genesis) In His Own Image

Season 1, Episode 1, Aired
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Episode Summary

In this episode, we are introduced to Peter Petrelli, a young man who dreams of flying, and his brother Nathan, a ruthless politician who thinks that Peter is dreaming his life away. Meanwhile, ordinary people from all around the world are starting to suspect that they have abilities beyond those of normal humans. Artist Isaac Mendez believes that he is painting the future, high school cheerleader Claire Bennet is suddenly able to recover from any wound almost instantly, Japanese businessman Hiro Nakamura tries to convince a friend that he can bend space and time, and single mother Niki Sanders starts seeing strange things in mirrors. Upon learning of his father's death, genetics Professor Mohinder Suresh begins to look into his research for a clue to why he was killed. When he follows his father's trail to New York City, however, Mohinder learns that someone else is on the trail of the same research. Someone who may kill to protect the secrets of the next step in human evolution.moreless
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Cast & Crew

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Fan Episode Reviews (187)

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  • That falling of Peter is one of the most legendary moments in the history of television

    10
    "Perfect"
    By Erekle_var, Dec 12, 2011 Report Abuse
    a few days ago I've been thinking about the series start, how it started, how it developed. so i downloaded first episode and watched it! it was powerful and I've been thinking about that falling! that moment is really epic and is really on of the most legendary moments in the history of the heroes and in the history of TV series! I mean it was starting so good... and first season was so good and even second season was so strong... what happened then... it's just a shame that series that strong and that powerful became thing that it's today...moreless

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    1 1

  • A show with outstanding possibilities, but one needing a new script cookie cutter.

    8.4
    "Great"
    By bmoshier, Jan 25, 2011 Report Abuse
    Heroes' pilot episode began by grabbed me saying this is will be an epic story starting with this first volume. I wondered is a volume an entire season, an episode, or a couple of episodes? I couldn't wait to find out. Just like reading a new Harry Potter book, I looked forward to viewing this volume. I thought of J. Michael Straczynski's epic story Babylon 5, to which he gave his very heart, soul, and blood.

    Starting off hopeful, I couldn't believe my senses when I began feeling I was watching Surface, but with different characters and objectives/plot devices. The scenes left me wanting to get to the next scene or to skip to the end of epic and see how it turns out.

    This episode was slow in introducing the players and getting the story line going. When comparing the show to other TV shows I enjoy, I'm left wondering what is the show's purpose, where are we going, why should I watch it, and won't they let us get to the next scene. Star Trek (all versions), JAG, Law & Order, Stargate (all versions), Babylon 5, etc, all have a good pace and even by the end of their first episodes I understood the show. Yes, there are outstanding shows leaving the bigger question unanswered (e.g. X-Files, Babylon 5), but their scenes don't leave one praying for the ability to bend space and time.

    Oh, don't get me wrong, I want the show to succeed and be on for many season. I love the idea of being able to bend space and time. In fact, if I could choose my power it would be either the ability to bend space and time or the same as those of the X-Men's Phoenix. Cosmic powers are always the coolest, in this viewer's opinion.

    I want to see where this story takes us and how it works off of conflict. On the other hand, with so many similarities to Surface and NBC cancelling it, one can only see a dark possible future. The producers should check in with the guy who paints the future to see their's.moreless

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  • this was a good ep

    9.0
    "Superb"
    By cube2k8, Jun 08, 2010 Report Abuse
    in this ep of the show heroes the story starts to being people all over the world begin to think they are getting theses abilties like a cheerleader name clair that can never get hurt a painter that can paint the future and nathan a brother that belives he can fly and other brother nathan that is a ruthles politian and noaha a guy that is the father of clair that takes care of the people with powers and mohinder a teacher that learns of his fathers death and he learns about what his father was studing and thinks someone is falling him to find out the situation .moreless

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  • A fantastic start to this incredible series.

    9.0
    "Superb"
    By isolatedbrain, Feb 01, 2010 Report Abuse
    We are introduced to so many awesome characters, with so many different and exciting abilities. All the storylines make you hope and wait for more.

    Peter has always been one of my favorites. Since this beginning, I've loved his character. I also enjoy Claire as well. She may seem like the whiny cheerleader at first, but there is so much more to her. Hiro is also very close to my heart. He is so adorable. His amazing friendship with Ando kinda melts my heart a little.

    I noticed that Mohinder's accent changed when he left India, and went to New York. That kind of bothered me. But it's not a big deal, really.

    This was a great first episode for Heroes. :)moreless

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  • *** Spoiler-free *** Some interesting characters, too few original special abilities, correct ensemble cast, disjointed story and episodic editing

    6.0
    "Fair"
    By goa103, Jan 09, 2010 Report Abuse
    A contemporary vision of X-Men ? It could be one way to describe Heroes after watching its pilot, Genesis. However as told by Mohinder Suresh during the introduction, the characters with special abilities are not mutants but evolved humans. But the problem is that you can't learn how to fly overnight nor how to teleport. That's why I found his genetic theory didn't really make sense. It's specially true considering the importance of technology in our reality. Otherwise let's not forget it's only fiction and entertainment.

    So like in Carnivle it seems the characters are more than who they appear to be at first sight. Although their profiles are different, I wasn't convinced by most of them. Only Niki Sanders, played by gorgeous Ali Larter, and Isaac Mendez intrigued me. The first strips on the Internet to pay her bills and take good care of her genius son. Apparently she has a split personality but it seems something even weirder is happening to her. It becomes quite obvious at the end. Isaac is a painter and can predict future events. I found the idea of using arts original because it brought something accessible to the audience. Moreover the actor's performance was quite good and you could feel how lost he was and how much he was suffering.

    As for the others I thought I was actually watching The WB instead of NBC. Most performers are pretty people and I found their characters, like the regenerating cheerleader Claire Bennet and wannabe flyer Peter Petrelli, lacked authenticity. Otherwise it was balanced with educational elements that brought some depth to them. We're watching their first steps so it could be as entertaining as in Smallville, but without the fascinating Superman mythology surrounding Clark Kent. They all have a different story but we soon learn that they're all connected, like in Lost for example. One thing I liked about Mohinder and Hiro Nakamura, the time bender, is that they brought a universal vibe to Heroes. For once they're not just here to smoke an ensemble cast but to convince the viewers that the evolution phenomena is happening right now all around the world. Moreover it seems Mohinder was used as a centric character around whom the others revolved. But the most interesting and fascinating one was probably Hiro, a Japanese. Indeed beside his funny jokes he said some very deep things about his culture. He wants to be special, different. Like in Antz he's tired of being a nobody.

    Therefore Heroes definitely has potential. However the editing ruined the experience. Reversing some events was a good idea but it felt like the episode was just a bunch of random scenes put one after an other. So in the end Genesis appeared to be a show produced for the Web, made up of mini-episodes. Last but not least it seemed some characters were just here to fill the gaps. For example even if I liked Niki she wasn't connected to the other characters and the writers failed in intriguing us enough. In fact it was my second viewing of Genesis and even the first time I felt betrayed because I knew the upcoming episodes would focus on specific characters, one at a time like in the worst episodic formated productions. It wouldn't be an issue if they were as fascinating as in Lost.moreless

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Trivia, Notes, Quotes and Allusions

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  • Trivia

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    • Since Claire Bennet can regenerate from any injury, it seems that the holes for her pierced earrings should close up when she does not have any earrings in. This does not, however, seem to be the case. Edit
    • The cheerleading uniform Claire wears in the pilot episode differs from the one she will wear for the rest of the first season: the pilot episode's uniform has a shallow V-neck in the front and back of the top, while the uniform she wears for the rest of the season has a deep V-neck in the front and a high "crew" neck in the back. Edit
    • If you look closely when the camera pulls back to reveal the painting of New York City being destroyed, you will notice that Isaacs left arm had a red scarf wrapped around the stump where his hand should be. This scene was originally intended that Isaac be in the near death state that Peter found him in because of that self inflicted injury. The version that aired explained Isaac as having overdosed. Edit

  • Notes

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    • The Symbol: There were no new appearances of the symbol in this episode. Edit
    • In the originally aired version of the pilot, Claire injured her hand badly by putting it into a running sink garbage disposal to retrieve her class ring. However, Emerson (the company which makes the "In Sink Erator" brand disposal which was used in the shot), threatened to sue NBC for airing footage which they claimed "seriously damaged the reputation" of their product. NBC settled out of court, so all future airings of this episode will have that scene removed. (This scene was kept in when it aired in Australia and the UK). Edit
    • International Air Dates: India: January 24, 2007 on Star World Australia: January 31, 2007 on Channel 7 Malaysia: January 31, 2007 on Star World Sweden: February 7, 2007 on Canal Plus UK: February 19, 2007 on the Scifi Channel Brazil: March 2, 2007 on Universal Channel Hungary: March 4, 2007 on TV2 Turkey: March 4, 2007 on CNBC-e Belgium (Flanders): March 5, 2007 on VT4 Israel: March 6, 2007 on Yes Latin America: March 9, 2007 on Universal Channel Latin America Portugal: April 14, 2007 on TVI Poland: May 17, 2007 on TVP1 South Africa: May 23, 2007 on SABC3 Philippines: May 28, 2007 on Crime/Suspense Netherlands: June 21, 2007 on RTL 5 UK: July 25, 2007 on BBC2 Italy: September 2, 2007 on Italia1 Norway: September 3, 2007 on NRK3 Germany: October 10, 2007 on RTL2 Estonia: October 17, 2007 on TV3 Finland: October 17, 2007 on MTV3 Czech Republic: January 3, 2008 on Prima Croatia: February 25, 2008 on NOVA TV Slovakia: June 30, 2008 on Markiza Edit

  • Quotes

    ADD QUOTES
    • Ando: What now? Hiro: I've broken the space/time continuum! Ando: Good for you. Hiro: My clock. I made it go back one second using only my mind, my thoughts. Ando: Too bad you're not paid by the hour. Hiro: I'm serious. This explains the subway this morning. Ando: It was fourteen seconds late. Big deal. Hiro: The train is never late. Ando: Until you made it late...using only your mind. Hiro: Yes. I have discovered powers beyond any mere mortal. Ando: Right. You and Spock. Exactly. (Hiro's supervisor grabs him by the collar and drags him away speaking in Japanese) Ando: Use your 'death grip', Spock! The 'death grip'! Edit
    • Simone: You know, I don't know what he'd do without you. You've got a real gift. Peter: Just doing my job. Simone: No. You're like a son to him. Peter: Well, then, that would make us like brother and sister. Might be a little awkward if I ever wanted to ask you out. (chuckling) I'm sorry. That was, uh, that was inappropriate. Simone: No, it's--it's sweet. It's... I'm dating somebody. Edit
    • (Peter's falling through the air and Nathan flies up to catch him) Nathan: Peter! Peter: You're flying, Nathan. You're flying. How did you... Nathan: I don't know. (Peter slips from his grasp and falls) No! No! Edit

  • Allusions

    ADD ALLUSIONS
    • Nathan (To Peter): Do not pull a Roger Clinton on me, man! I'm eight points down in the polls. Reference to former President Bill Clinton's half-brother Roger Clinton, who was the family's black sheep, having criminal records of drugs, drunk driving, and various other charges before being pardoned by the former President in 2001. Edit
    • Hiro: The Aboriginals in Australia can bend time and space. Hiro is refering to spiritual beliefs of the Aboriginal in Australia. The expression "dreamtime" is used as a reference to time outside of real time, time in the past or future or parallel timelines, in theory similar to the powers which Hiro has developed. Edit
    • HRG: Probably a lot of Sureshs where you're from, like Smith or Anderson. Smith and Anderson are the names of the antagonist and protagonist of The Matrix Trilogy. Agent Smith is the antagonist and Thomas Anderson (Neo) is the protagonist. Edit

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