The hemi-season finale of Heroes -- or the full-season finale if the writers' strike doesn't get settled -- reminded me oddly of why I don't go to the movies anymore. For the movies have become so dominated by digital special effects that such niceties as plot and characterization get lost. Heroes keeps us hooked with its characters, even though most of them don't make a lot of real-world sense. And because, unlike most movies, it doesn't have to worry about telling a complete story in two hours, it can afford genuine suspense and surprise: Sylar's got his mojo back! Nathan's dead! Adam's buried alive!
The second night of Tin Man was for me rather more engaging than the first, largely because we didn't have to spend so much time spotting parallels with The Wonderful Wizard of Oz. (Though there was a nicely witty spin on the MGM version's "lions and tigers and bears, oh my!" and the Toto-shapeshifter character was a clever idea.) Alan Cumming is, as usual, terrific, and Neal McDonough is quite moving as the tormented "tin man." Still, the miniseries seems a little padded out, and I still don't understand what the point of translating one fantasy into another is.