Stay Tuned

The Daily Star, Oneonta, N.Y., Friday, September 18, 2015 2 By Rory MacDonald- Gauthier TV Media W hat makes a hero? Adoring fans? Bil- lions of dollars to spend on nifty gadgets and weapons? A cape? According to NBC, none of the above. It's been five years since "Heroes" wrapped up its fourth season, but due to an overwhelming amount of support from fans and actors alike, the capeless crusaders will make their re- turn in the form of a 13-part miniseries, aptly titled "Heroes Reborn." The series premiere airs Thursday, Sept. 24, on NBC. A lot can change in five years. Reboots aside, it's rare to see a television show at- tempt to pick up where it last left off a few years down the road, let alone five. Five seems to be the magic number, which is something "Heroes" and "Heroes Reborn" creator Tim Kring recently explained to the Television Critics Association. "I would actually say that it is season 10," he said during an NBC party for the TCA. "I know that sounds a little pro- vocative, but the point is, one of the things that we talked about at the very beginning in the writers room was how we wanted every single bit of the mythology to feel as though there was a continuum from the show, and the show picks up five years later. So, ergo, it would be five seasons later and this would be season 10. That was the thinking." "Heroes" originally ran for four seasons on NBC from 2006 to 2010 and gained a loyal following, but new fans to the series need not worry. The reboot serves as an ode to the loyal viewer but also as an open-arm gesture to new fans. "The idea is that for the loy- al viewer of the original series, we want to honor them, and they are rewarded for having been loyal fans of the show by seeing all kinds of things in- side the show that other peo- ple may not see," Kring said. "There are a ton of Easter eggs, but it was really impor- tant to me and to the network — it was never an argument — we need to be able to say if you weren't a viewer of the show originally, you needed to have an on-ramp." To the disappointment of many, three of the main char- acters from the original series will not return for "Heroes Re- born." Sylar (Zachary Quinto, "Star Trek," 2009), the main villain of "Heroes," will neither return nor be referred to. Over to the good guys, the series will be without Peter Petrelli (Milo Ventimiglia "Gotham"), the hero with the ability to ab- sorb anyone's power. Addi- tionally, Claire Bennett (Hayden Panettiere, "Nash- ville"), the invincible and near- ly impossible-to-kill cheerlead- er (technically she can die if her brain is destroyed), will not be making her return — but her father will. The man with the horn- rimmed glasses, Noah Bennett (Jack Coleman, "The Office"), will be back in the saddle, however things have drastical- ly changed since we last saw him. When the series kicks off, fans will see Noah attempt to live a quiet, suburban life after losing his adopted daughter, Claire, during a terrorist attack that wiped out all known peo- ple with abilities just one year earlier. Significant as it is, the show's producers and crew have been tight-lipped about the attack thus far but do have plans to explain the latest puz- zle. "There was an event that happened, which is a mys- tery," said Kring. "It's a big mystery because we all know that Claire shouldn't die. Don't know how, don't know why? We uncover a lot of that." Catch the series premiere of "Heroes Reborn" when it airs Thursday, Sept. 24, on NBC. Robynwood Home 2 x 2 coverstory Zachary Levi as seen in "Heroes Reborn" There goes my hero NBC revives hit sci-fi series after fi ve years with 'Heroes Reborn' By Adam Thomlison TV Media Q: I saw an amazing thriller the other day but I never caught the name. It had a great cast, with big names such as Denzel Washington and Angelina Jolie, as well as some odd choices such as Queen Latifah and the guy who played Al Bundy. Can you give me the name of the movie? A: The movie you're thinking of is 1999's "The Bone Collec- tor," and it would have been a shock if it hadn't turned out to be an "amazing thriller," as you say, given the people in- volved. Denzel Washington was near the peak of his towering suc- cess, while Angelina Jolie was just at the cusp of hers. And de- pendable thriller director Phillip Noyce was, well, dependably good — among the 18 other feature films he's directed are 1992's "Patriot Games" and its 1994 sequel, "Clear and Pres- ent Danger," both based on Tom Clancy novels. This one, too, was a book first. Before it was a movie, "The Bone Collector" was a novel by the hugely successful thriller writer Jeffery Deaver. It's the first in his Lincoln Rhyme series — that being the name of Washington's character. It's interesting that you call the casting of Queen Latifah "odd," because Deaver would almost certainly agree with you, though for different reasons. Presumably you're referring to her being more famous as a rap star and comedic actress. However, she was also some- what ill-suited to the role as it was written because she's a queen and not a king — her character, Thelma, was written in the novel as a man named Thom. Q: I loved Kelli Williams in "Lie to Me." What else can I see her in? A: Kelli Williams actually has a pretty thick resume, filled with a number of pretty hefty TV supporting roles, but lately she's been focusing on her own show, "Ties That Bind." She stars as a veteran Seattle detective balancing that complicated job with even more complicated family issues — and sometimes both at once. The show starts with her arrest- ing her own brother and being forced to care for his two teen- age children. It airs on the upstart cable network UP TV, which deals in such adult-skewing, family-oriented fare. That's actually the second big role she landed after her Fox procedural series "Lie to Me" ended in 2011. In between those two, she co-starred in the sixth and seventh seasons of the smash-hit Lifetime drama "Army Wives." Have a question? Email us at questions@tvtabloid.com. Please include your name and town. hollywoodQ&A Fly Creek General Store 1 x 6 Brandon's Feed & Seed 2 x 2 Hours: Mon-Sat6am-9pm;Sun7am-7pm 607-547-7274 303677 ETHANOLFREE GAS CURRIEDCHICKEN SALADWRAP $ 5. 89 3-SCOOPSALAD $ 6. 75 BLT $ 6. 49 W/AVOCADO GENERALSTORE CLUB $ 6. 79 WALTON 99DelawareSt.•Walton,NY13856 607-865-7778 www.BrandowsFeedAndPet.com ONEONTA 4119StateHwy.7•Oneonta,NY13820 607-432-3884 305060 NewBrandow's16%Layer Crumbles $2.00OFF withcoupon until September30th 303494 305439

• Cover