Marital Problems

The title of this post is a cheap shot. No, Mrs. Rogue and I aren't really having problems. But we might after she finds out how madly in love I am with a man by the name of Tim Kring. Who is this mystery man, and what has he done to win my affections? He's the writer behind shows like "Crossing Jordan" and "Chicago Hope" as well as films like "Teen Wolf Too." So, I'm in love with the guy who created "Teen Wolf Too"? Yes...and no. I do have a serious man-crush on Timmy, but not because of his excellent work with Jason Bateman. He's been busy recently with a little show called "Heroes" and last night, his "little show" put on the best hour of television in years.

"Heroes" is (as I've described it to friends) what would have happened if Stan Lee created the X-Men after watching "Unbreakable" by M. Knight Shymalan. Gritty, realistic, exciting and damn good television. Using comic book methods like cliffhanger "to be continued..." storylines and camera angles that Alex Ross would appreciate, "Heroes" has brought the enduring archetypes of superheroes to the small screen, and to mainstream America.

The characters that Kring and his team introduce us to are not two dimensional. They have thoughts and feelings, hidden motivations and alliances, and act based upon their circumstances, not some idyllic sense of right or wrong. They are real people. Or about as close as television comes to them anyway. Is it Shakespeare? No. Does it go as far towards creating its own language as "Deadwood" did? No. Does it tackle societal questions every week like "Battlestar Galactica"? Not quite. Is it consistently compelling television, significantly more entertaining than any other genre show on TV? Yep. Without a doubt, including "Lost" and the aforementioned "BSG". It's that good. Or at least it is now.

You'll notice I'm not talking about specifics. That's because this show is far too good to spoil (especially last night's episode). If you are not watching this show, do yourself a favor and jump on the bandwagon. The ratings are just going to go up which means if you are not already missing out talking about this show with your co-workers you will be soon. It's classic water cooler stuff. But Joel, you ask, how do I catch up now? Log on to your computer and watch the episodes for free on NBC.com, or buy them from iTunes, or heck download them illegally (not that I condone that kind of thing) just do what you have to do to catch up with this show. The good news is, you've got some time to do it. After next week's episode (which looks to be almost as good as this week's) "Heroes" goes on hiatus until late April before wrapping up the season with five episodes week after week. So, get cracking. You've got two months to figure who these "Heroes" are and why Joel might want to marry their creator.