SEASON 1: CHAPTER ONE: “GENESIS”

Air date Monday September 25, 2006 7/8C

The search for “Patient Zero” began last night with the airing of NBC’s new drama “Heroes.” This program is a non-linear mystery surrounding a number of gifted people with rare abilities who come together to prevent the predicted destruction of the world by nuclear devastation.

These “Heroes” are an unlikely group but to me were very compelling and totally believable and connected in many odd ways. (See below) We meet Nathan and Peter Petrelli. Nathan, who is running for Congress, also has the ability to fly. Peter, a hospice nurse, may also have this same ability but his real power has yet to be identified. We meet a psychic painter named Isaac Mendez who depicts the end of the world in his art and predicts the ruin of New York City in one of his paintings. We encounter Mr. Deveaux, a dying patient and his daughter Simone. Simone is in a relation with Isaac Mendez and Peter Petrelli is caring for a bedridden Mr. Deveaux. We then are acquainted with Mohinder Suresh who is the stories narrator. His father was the original researcher who was tracking “Patient Zero” and who was, presumably, murdered in that attempt. We see Niki Sanders and her son, Micah. Niki is “blessed” with a doppelganger that protects her (and can kill) and Micah may be a super-genius. We are also introduced to Hiro Nakamura who can bend space-time and teleport from one location to another. And we are also introduced to Claire Bennett who has the ability to rapidly regenerate her body after any life-threatening injury. Throughout the story we see the mysterious Mr. Bennett who is following Mohinder and may be out to capture the Heroes to use for his own plans.

Episode Recap

Prologue:

“In recent days, a seemingly random group of individuals has emerged with what can only be described as “special abilities.”

Although unaware of it now, these individuals will not only save the world, but change it forever. This transformation from ordinary to extraordinary will not occur overnight. Every story has a beginning.

Volume One of their epic tale begins here…”

Chapter One: “Genesis”

New York City - Peter Petrelli, an in-home nurse, is caring for Simone Deveaux’s dying father. Peter tells Simone that her father has only a few more days to live.

Madras, India - Mohinder Suresh, tells his classroom that rapid evolution is happening right now and that man is entering a new gateway to evolution. An associate interrupts the class to tell Mohinder that his father has died in New York City. Mohinder thinks his father was killed because of his research and theories and that he tracked Patient Zero to New York before his death. He wants to finish what his father started. At his father’s apartment Mohinder finds that a man with horned rimmed glasses is there going through his father’s research. He takes a picture of the map on the wall and a folder full of research and leaves before being detected.

Las Vegas, Nevada - Niki Sanders, performs a striptease act in front of the camera which is plugged into a laptop computer. Niki's reflection in the mirror seems to have motion of it owns accord. When unexpected visitors break down her door Nikiand her son, Micah run.

Odessa, Texas – A video camera catches Claire Bennet, as she falls/jumps from an 80 foot tower. Claire is unhurt and re-sets her own dislocated shoulder with no obvious signs of pain.

New York City – Peter, visits his brother Nathan Petrelli, at his campaign headquarters. When Peter tells Nathan of his perceived ability to fly Nathan dismisses it. Nathan receives a phone call and tells Peter that their mother has been arrested for shoplifting.

Odessa, Texas – Claire and her videographer, Zach discuss her ability and what it means. Zach sees Claire's, rapid cellular regeneration first hand as she pushes her ribs back into her body and it instantly heals.

Tokyo, Japan – A heavily concentrating Hiro Nakamura stares at his clock which stops and backs up for one second. Hiro tells his co-worker, Ando Masahashi, that he has broken the space/time continuum but is not believed.

Las Vegas, Nevada – At the school in which Niki has enrolled her son, Micah, Niki unsuccessfully tries to retrieve twenty-five thousand dollars which she had donated to the school. Niki again encounters her mirror-double.

New York City – Angela Petrelli, informs her sons that the charges were dropped. Nathan is worried about what this will do to his image for the upcoming Congressional race. Angela tells Peter that he hero-worshipped his brother but Peter thinks it’s a biological connection.

Las Vegas, Nevada – Niki takes Micah to her friend’s house. Niki tells Tina that she borrowed money from Linderman but also tells Tina that she feels someone is watching her.

Odessa, Texas – A train has derailed and Claire runs into a ferocious fire to test her ability. Once inside she finds a victim of the wreck and drags him to safety.

Brooklyn, New York – Mohinder makes his way to New York and rents his father’s old apartment. He begins reading his father’s research material and begins to reconstruct the map his father kept in India. While working on the map he finds a cassette tape with the word “SYLAR” printed on the label.

New York City – Isaac Mendez is dumping black paint on a finished painting when Simone Deveaux enters the studio and stops him from destroying his paintings. Isaac tells her that his paintings are foretelling the future. After an argument Isaac sends Simone away. Isaac then views a breaking news report on TV showing the train derailment in Odessa, Texas. The camera pans to his painting of the same scene.

New York City – Nathan is successful in hiding his mothers shoplifting arrest and then offers Peter a job recruiting for the campaign. He again dismisses Peter's ideas about flying. Peter flags down the cab that Mohinder is driving and they talk about the solar eclipse, about being special and natural selection.

In a video montage we see:
Odessa, Texas - Zach and Claire discuss saving the man’s life.
Tokyo, Japan – Hiro exercises and looks up at the eclipse.
Las Vegas, Nevada – Niki returns to her ransacked home.
New York City – Mohinder drives his cab and Peter looks up at the eclipse.
Odessa, Texas – Zach and Claire look up at the solar eclipse.
Tokyo, Japan – Hiro looks up at the eclipse.
New York City – Isaac shoots up again.

Las Vegas, Nevada – Niki picks up Micah's pinhole camera and looks up at the eclipse. Linderman's thugs are still in the house and seize her as she tries to flee. The thugs force Niki to perform her act as the camera rolls. She sees her double in the mirror again and the thug turns violent and punches her.

Tokyo, Japan – Hiro and Ando, discuss the possibility of bending time space and about teleportation at a karaoke bar.

Las Vegas, Nevada – Niki awakens when the phone rings and finds that Linderman's thugs have been gruesomely murdered. She takes the video camera but not before she sees her blood-covered double in the mirror putting her finger to her lips in the universal sign for quiet.

New York City – Simone calls Peter who is still in Mohinder's cab and asks him if he can meet her at her father’s home. As Peter exits the cab HRG enters and tells Mohinder that he is going to JFK airport. HRG, tells Mohinder that he knew of a brilliant Professor of Genetics named Suresh in Madras, India. Mohinder slams on the brakes and runs away.

Odessa, Texas – Claire's mother and brother sit at the table eating. When Claire is asked if she did anything special today she replies by saying, “I walked through fire and I didn’t get burned.” Mrs. Bennet believes Claireis speaking metaphorically and responds about facing fears.

Tokyo, Japan – Hiro gets thrown out of the bar after teleporting into the ladies room. Ando does not believe Hiro and they argue. As Hiro walks away Ando calls him, “Super-Hiro.”

New York City – Simone searches her sick father’s home for morphine. Peter tries to tell her that he feels special but Simone is on a mission to help Isaac.

Odessa, Texas – Claire is washing dishes when her school ring falls into the garbage disposal. She reaches into the disposal to retrieve the ring and removes a mangled bloody hand. In moments her hand heals. Claire also tells her mother that she wants to know who her real parents are. Claire's father comes home and we find that it is HRG himself!

Tokyo, Japan – A dejected Hiro rides the subway and upon seeing an advertisement for New York closes his eyes and concentrates. The clock over his head begins to move and Hiro finds that he has teleported himself to Times Square, New York City.

New York City – Simone and Peter make their way to Isaac’s studio and Simone tells Peter of Isaac’s belief that he can paint the future. When they get to Isaac’s they find that Isaac has already injected himself with heroin and has overdosed. Peter finds a painting of himself flying that Isaac had previously painted and begins to believe. Isaac has painted an explosion in New York City on the floor. He regains consciousness long enough to say, “We have to stop it!”

Epilogue:

Mohinder narrates: “This quest, this need to solve life’s mysteries… in the end what does it matter when the human heart can only find meaning in the smallest of moments. They’re here, among us. In the shadows. In the light. Everywhere! Do they even know yet?”

New York City – Nathan gets out of a cab in an alley somewhere in New York. A cell phone falls out of the air and lands on the pavement at his feet. Peter yells down to his brother that he has been up on the building all night thinking about his destiny. He steps off the building and as he is falling Nathan flies up to catch him!

Trivia

* Ando Masahashi's screen name is "Huggerz69."

* Niki Sanders' screen name is "xxxnikki4u."

* Niki Sanders does not have a tattoo on her back in this episode. Her entire bare back is clearly shown twice.

* Niki's name on her website is spelled "Nikki."

* Peter reveals that Nathan had an accident and that he felt it three hundred miles away. He does not, however, divulge the nature of the accident.

* Nathan is on the phone with Mr. Linderman when Peter interrupts him at his campaign headquarters.

* Niki tells Tina that she went to see Linderman and borrowed thirty thousand dollars.

* Mohinder's apartment number is 316.

* As Isaac is mixing paints in his studio Nathan Petrelli’s political campaign commercial is playing on the TV. in the background.

* Nathan's campaign slogan is “For a Better Tomorrow.”

* When Peter gets into Mohinder's cab he tells him to take him to the corner of Center and Canal. Later, while still in the cab he tells Simone that he was heading home. Peter then, lives near the corner of Center and Canal.

* Hiro and Ando talk about Star Trek and Ando says, “Beam me up, Scotty!” Later Hiro tells Ando that he wants to, “boldly go where no man has gone before.” This is another Star Trek reference.

* The men in the karaoke bar are singing a Backstreet Boys song which was parodied on YouTube in much the same manner. (The Back Dorm Boys perform “I want it that way.”)

* Hiro mentions X-Men # 143 and Kitty Pride from the DC Comic books.

* Mohinder's taxi operator’s license number is 0258723 and it expires on 02/30/2007. There is no February 30th. The number on Mohinder's taxi is IV3058 and the license plate number is YUT-2375.

* Claire's mother’s dog, Mr. Muggles won five All-Breed Rallies and two Regional’s.

* While Claire is washing the dishes in her kitchen the television in the background is showing a news report of the derailed train. Laura Lancaster is reporting this story. (Laura Lancaster is a network executive at NBC.)

* When Hiro is riding the subway in Tokyo the local time on the clock over his head reads 11:43 (and it is probably PM as it appears that he is coming home from the bar.) The clock reverses and stops at 1:00 (also PM as he is now in New York and the sun is up.)

* HRG tells Mohinder that he is on his way home after a long business trip. When he first enters the cab he tells Mohinder that he wants to go to JFK airport.

My observations:

Characters / occupation/ ability:

Isaac Mendez – Painter /Psychic (foresight)
Hiro Nakamura – Office worker / Bends Space-Time
Simone Deveaux (Deveraux?) - unknown / unknown
Mr. Deveaux (Deveraux?) (Simone’s father) – dying patient / unknown
Micah Sanders – Student / Genius (?)
Niki Sanders – Stripper / Doppelganger (Mirror double?)
Nathan Petrelli – Politician / Can fly
Peter Petrelli – Hospice Nurse / unknown
Matt Parkman – Policeman (Did not appear in pilot) / Can read thoughts
Mohinder Suresh – teacher / Narrator – searching for Patient Zero
Mr. Suresh – Mohinder’s father / Research scientist w/ Hero clues
Claire Bennett – High School Student/ Rapid Cellular Regeneration
Mr. Bennett – Claire’s “father” - antagonist / unknown

Connections:

1) Hiro has on his computer a screen saver that looks like a painting by Isaac.
2) Micah and Hiro are both reading a comic book called “9th Wonder” with images that look like paintings by Isaac.
3) Peter is the hospice nurse for Simone’s dying (?) father.
4) Simone is Isaac’s girlfriend.
5) Isaac painted the train wreck where Claire saved a worker.
6) Claire’s “father” is following Mohinder.
7) Micah constructed a pinhole camera to view the eclipse. The same eclipse that Isaac painted earlier.
8) Hiro’s co-worker has a video of Niki on his computer.

Claire’s “accidents”:

1) Two foot pole through the neck (Discussed by Claire in Episode: Chapter 1: Genesis)
2) Jumping from a high structure (Episode: Chapter 1: Genesis)
2a) Dislocated shoulder (Episode: Chapter 1: Genesis)
2b) Ribs sticking out through skin (Episode: Chapter 1: Genesis)
3) Fingers caught in the garbage compactor (Episode: Chapter 1: Genesis)
4) Intense fire at train wreck (Episode: Chapter 1: Genesis)
5) Multiple stab wounds in the chest (Episode: Chapter 1: Genesis)
6) Hit by a truck (As seen in Episode: Chapter 2 preview)
7) Exposure to radiation (as reported on news from train wreck) (Episode: Chapter 1: Genesis)

Mr. Bennett (Claire’s “father”)

1) Seen in Mohinder Suresh’s father’s apartment after his death.
2) In Mohinder’s cab. (Matrix reference: "…but I'm sure there are a lot of Suresh's where you're from, it's like Smith or Anderson." Smith and Anderson are the antagonist and protagonist in the Matrix.
3) “Father” of Claire Bennett.

Isaac Mendez:

1) Has a large painting of Uluru hanging over his bed, which implicates him as the artist of “9th Wonders”, making Hiro and Micah his fans. Hiro may even be searching for him while he is in New York.
2) The painting that Isaac is covering with black paint is of a hand holding a vial of foaming liquid. This may be something to look for in the future.

Isaac’s paintings:

1) Eclipse of the sun.
2) Suicide bombing of a bus in Israel.
3) A hand holding a foaming vial of liquid.
4) Train wreck and ensuing explosion.
5) Nuclear explosion in New York City.
6) Image of Peter Petrelli falling from a building.
7) Image of Claire Bennett in her cheerleading uniform.

Hiro’s events:

1) Makes the clock stop and reverse for one second.
2) Causes the subway to be fourteen seconds late.
3) Teleports into the women’s room of a nightclub.
4) Teleports from Tokyo to New York City.

Mohinder Suresh:

1) Is reconstructing the map in his father’s apartment of supposed Hero activity.
2) Finds audiocassette tape labeled “Sylar” in his father’s apartment.
3) Believes that mutated or “different” genetic codes may be the next step in evolution.
4) Is being followed by Mr. Bennett.
5) Has his father’s folder of Hero incidents.

The names:

1) Isaac - From the Hebrew name (Yitzchaq) which meant "he laughs". Isaac in the Old Testament was the son of Abraham and the father of Esau and Jacob.
2) Mendez - A patronymic surname meaning "son or descendant of Mendel or Mendo," given names meaning “knowledge, wisdom.”
3) Hiro - Japanese meaning "broad-minded, just."
4) Nakamura - Japanese surname means "middle village" and is the eighth most common Japanese surname.
5) Simone – Is a Hebrew name meaning “one who hears.”
6) Deveaux – Is a spelling variation of Devereux, the English (Norman) place name which resulted from the fused preposition -de- added to the location Evreux, which is located in Eure, Normandy. The name would have been recorded as in this example: John de'Evreux , which meant, John-from Evreux.
7) Micah – The name Micah is a shortened form of Micaiah which means "Who is like unto the Lord?"
8) Sanders – A patronymic surname derived from the given name "Sander," a medieval form of "Alexander." Alexander comes from the Greek name "Alexandros," meaning "defender of men" from Greek alexein “to defend, help.”
9) Niki – A derivative of Nicole, which is of Greek origin, and its meaning is "victorious people."
10) Nathan – Is a Hebrew name meaning “Gift from God.”
11) Petrelli – Came from the personal name Pietro, or Peter, which is itself derived from the Greek word petrus, meaning “rock.”
12) Peter – According to the New Testament, Jesus gave the Apostle Peter (whose given name was Simon) the name Rock (Kephas or Cephas in Aramaic; Petros or "bedros" (Greek). The name was transliterated into Latin as Petrus, from which the English form Peter derives.
13) Mathew – It is of Hebrew origin, and its meaning is "gift of the Lord."
14) Parkman – Means the keeper of the park.
15) Mohinder – Sanskrit in origin meaning the great God Indra (the God of the sky).
16) Suresh – Unknown
17) Claire – Is Latin and Greek meaning “bright, shining, clear.”
18) Bennett – From the medieval given name Benedict, originating from the Latin "benedictus" meaning "blessed."