Rating summary
| Movie |  | 3.0 |
| Video | | 3.0 |
| Audio |  | 3.5 |
| Extras | | 3.0 |
| Overall | | 3.0 |
Heroes: The Complete Collection Blu-ray Movie Review
Reviewed by Justin Dekker March 12, 2024
The fan-favorite series 'Heroes' returns to Blu-ray courtesy of Universal in the 'Heroes: The Complete Series' box set which includes not only the
original four-season run (2006 - 2010), but also the 'Heroes Reborn: Event Series', which premiered in 2015. All of the legacy special features are
included which
makes this the most complete 'Heroes' set to date. The 21 Blu-ray discs are housed in three Viva Elite keepcases; two nine-disc cases (one for
seasons one and two, and another for seasons three and four) and a three-disc case for 'Heroes Reborn: Event Series'. A slipbox to house all three
cases is
included but a Digital Code is not.
Though it may be difficult to believe
Heroes made its television debut in 2006. Almost 18 years ago, the time was ripe for new, quality
superhero programming. The most recent
Batman franchise died an agonizing death in the mire that was 1997's
Batman and
Robin and the property was just coming back to grim life with 2006's
Batman Begins. Robert Downey Jr's iconic portrayal of the titular
hero in
Iron Man was still almost two years in the future. And no one could even possibly conceive of the impending, crushing superhero fatigue
that was to be hot on its heels as the steady and relentless onslaught of Marvel movies would come marching ever onward for 16 years and
counting in its
wake. It's very likely this decidedly PG series that found a home on NBC would not survive had it made its debut in today's saturated market.
There are grittier and more groundbreaking superhero series running on a number of streamers, not to mention a large population of
established, family-friendly DC heroes that called the CW network home for years. So
Heroes was quite fortunate that, with it's attractive,
young, everyman
heroes and shady conspiracies, it landed ahead of that impending typhoon of content and was able to be seen and appreciated as something novel
and inventive. It quickly became "must-see" TV. A sensation, if you will. Stars like Zachary Quinto and Hayden Panettiere became household
names and populated panels at Wizard World events and appeared at comic conventions across the nation. Merchandise like comic books, trading
cards, and action
figures were hard to escape. And for a brief moment, it was on top of the world, relatively speaking. But it wasn't to last. While the premier episode
drew approximately 14 million viewers, with a series high of about 16 million viewers for the first episode of season two, numbers steadily declined
after that. With the season four opener not even able to muster 6 million fans, NBC cancelled the series at the end of that season. When the
Heroes Reborn: Event Series arrived some years later, fans hoped for a return to form. But 2015 was not the same as 2006 and intelligent,
excellently crafted super hero content was everywhere, and while nostalgic to a degree, Tim Kring's creation could not rise to the top.
Please follow the links to read about each of the included seasons:
Heroes: The Complete Collection Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality
To shamelessly paraphrase Battlestar Galactica, all of this has been released before and all of this is being released again. Those hoping for or
expecting an upgrade will be sorely disappointed, as these discs appear to be identical to the original releases from over a decade ago, right down to
the menus which still tout "U-Control" and "BD-Live". As a result, all of the problems that impacted the original discs are fully on display here. The
image is frequently noisy (sometimes distressingly so), banding pops up more than it should, skin tones are remarkably inconsistent, and shadows
consume detail, just to name a few. Sometimes the image is quite good, but other times, all of the aforementioned issues and more run rampant. The
video rating listed for this set is an average of each individual season's ratings. For a season-by-season discussion of the frustratingly variable and
mediocre
video quality, please follow the links above.
Heroes: The Complete Collection Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality
The rating listed for the set is an average of each individual season's audio ratings as the discs appear to be identical to the original releases from over
a
decade ago. For a season-by-season discussion of the audio quality, which is thankfully much more consistent than the video transfer, please follow the
links above.
Heroes: The Complete Collection Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras
As these discs appear to be identical to the original releases, please refer to the links above for a comprehensive listing and discussion of the on-disc
special features. The most significant change with this release is the switch from digibook packaging (shudder) to three multi-disc keepcases.
Heroes: The Complete Collection Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation
Will there be more content set in the Heroes universe in the years to come? Who's to say? As the old saying goes, "there is nothing new under
the sun", and Hollywood routinely likes to remind film and television fans that it loves a remake/reboot. The series, initially, was certainly successful
enough to make the property warrant some consideration. Original series star Milo Ventimiglia went on record recently with his opinion that the
2015 event series, due to its less-than-stellar reception, would likely be the last we'll see of the franchise. And he may be right. But, until such time as
there are more
adventures, fans will have to make do with the reissue of existing material gathered together here in Heroes: The Complete Series which
comes
recommended to only those fans who have yet to pick up the series, who wish to rid themselves of the digibook packaging, or who wish to
acquire the event series at a more reasonable cost.
