Remember how it all started? A brand new show with super powers, mystery, twists and plots; a cute blond cheerleader set on dying and videotaping it over and over again, a flying politician, a young mother with multiple personality disorder (who used to be so badass in her ‘unwhiny’ mode)… A crazy maniac killing people with abilities one by one hunting them down; premonitions, dreams, clues and hints, ever increasing sense of urgency…

Despite of or maybe due to all the familiar and recognizable stuff, all the comics and popular culture references it was good. The ever twisting storylines, the secrets untold (seriously, wasn’t Mama Petrelli the most crazy cold-blooded b*tch already and yet we knew nothing of her past at the moment), it was good. It felt like home.

Then the usual happened: some big boss decided not to kill off the maniac in the season finale ’cause such a cliff-hanger would bring more ratings. And everything just went to the dogs.

Season 2 was the tale of a frog prince, only vice versa: you passionately kiss some young shirtless stud and he just turns green and ugly. Oh, wait, it wasn’t Hulk, right?

The actual epithets for the season might be ‘random’, ‘boring’, ‘painstakingly unengaging to watch’, you get the drift. Those that were badass turned into whiny pussies; adorable — into annoying (Hiro, it is you I’m talking about!), and those already irksome became intolerable. Plus a whole new bunch of ‘heroes’ emerged and none of those helped the cause.

Heroes was one of the few shows that actually benefited from the writers’ strike.

But as if that misery was not enough season 3 is upon us. Well, guess what. The huge redemption thing didn’t work out.

Jeez, Mohinder has nice abs but his Hulk-ish Dr.Jekyll/Mr.Hyde performance does nothing to justify his presence on the show. Forgive me for saying this, but it’s like he’s there for racial diversity or something. Along with Maya, BTW.

Claire is not helping either. For two seasons I’ve been resenting the fact that nobody got the idea to cast Lucy Lawless as Claire’s biological mother for Hayden Panettiere’s resemblance to Lucy circa her BSG first appearance seems just striking to me. And wouldn’t it be just cool? (Yes, I know, I’m still a Xena fan somewhere very deep inside).

Hayden vs. Lucy

So, in season 3 the girl just becomes wooden. No, plastic. Well, maybe that has something to do with her gradual loss of feelings and sensations but that would be way too subtle for me.

Peter Petrelli, a lost boy of seasons 1 and 2, who discovered that he was Neo to the ‘Heroes’ Matrix, the one with abilities and responsibility to save the world, turned John Connor of Terminator 3: Easy on Dog Drugs chronically incapable of achieving something. Anything. Gosh, his own mother tried to kill him and I felt for the lady in that case.

‘Heroes’ season 3 was supposed to be the great atonement for hapless and lifeless season 2 but it turned to be a great nothing. I think, I will drag along to the season finale but only because of inertia.

P.S. Even Nathan and Niky2.0 lack any signs of mutual chemistry. I guess, that’s what meeting with God and talking to imaginary clockwork friends would do to your health.

The first season of ‘Californication’ blew my brains out. It was right after ‘Dexter’ but before ‘Weeds’ (I jumped the ‘Weeds’ bandwagon rather late) and it was pleasantly shocking. Remember the very first episode? Blow-job in the church, though imaginary? That was like ‘am I seeing this on TV for real?’

The story, the controversy on the verge of hitting you in the face with a hammer, the somewhat bitter humor, the casting — everything was just top notch.

Agent Mulder David Duchovny is brilliant as Hank Moody (that last name does have meaning both in English and in Russian — it sounds right like the beginning of the word ‘douchebag’ in the later). He is cute (even adorable when his daughter is around), funny as hell and just hot. Though only from this side of the screen because to be in a relationship with him is torture on so many levels. Poor Karen (Natascha McElhone) won’t ever be able to forget him and move on and it is always a tad too much for her to accept Hank and live with him in their ‘happily ever after’.

Becca, the aforementioned couple’s daughter, is another example of stereotypes done right. She is in her ‘finding herself’ mode, dressing in black and basically being funny and cute Goth princess as Hank calls her (was it even possible to imagine funny and cute Goth child before?).

The crazy Runkles, Charlie and Marcy rule the show whenever they are on screen. They are both nuts, they look like a real life long time married couple and their chemistry is uncanny.

I loved each and every minute of season 1. And the ending was grand and it felt like a finale. If only they stopped there, left Hank and Karen to their own devices and gave us a ghost of hope that they wouldn’t f*ck up again…

But no, money is God and in God we trust, so here comes season 2. I confess, it was pleasant to see them all again. The first episode took the bull by the… uhm, horns right from the start. I felt for the male audience. Really, I did.

But we all knew where it would go, right? Hank is back on his promiscuous ways still longing for Karen. And the moment of their breakup was so incredibly artificial. The supposed ‘last drop’ was not compelling; the Hank’s Nemesis, Mia was way out of line. How the hell did she get to that party? Was she invited by Hank? If yes, well, he deserved what he got.

My major complain is not the storyline though. It is the general feeling of uneasiness. The jokes are somewhat lazy in not a good way. Only the Runkles are still crazy funny.

I will definitely watch it for some gems that are bound to happen in the mediocre swamp of what this show has become but I hope there’s no season 3. Some premises are not that strong.