Watching Heroes

On April 20, the British Academy of Film and Television Arts (BAFTA) held their annual Television Awards at The Palladium in London. Though the ceremony honors the best in British television, they also give out an award for the best international program airing in Britain. This year’s nominees included American favorites Family Guy, Californication, My Name is Earl and Heroes. Although they had some stiff competition, it’s no surprise (to me anyway) that Heroes took home the trophy that night.

Heroes creator and executive producer Tim Kring was on hand to accept the award, along with the Petrelli brothers, Milo Ventimiglia and Adrian Pasdar. The award was presented by British actor Alan Dale who you might know from his recent appearances as Charles Widmore on LOST, Bradford Meade on Ugly Betty and Dr. Aaron Copely on Torchwood. Milo and Adrian acted as presenters at the ceremony as well, announcing the award for Best Drama Serial. The award went to Britz.

Take a look at a few photos from the night:

Adrian Pasdar, Tim Kring and Milo Ventimiglia looking very dapper as they arrive at The Palladium in London, site of the BAFTA Television Awards.

Milo Ventimiglia and Adrian Pasdar presented the award for Best Drama Serial to Peter Kosminsky, David Aukin, Steve Clark Hall, Man-Jinder Virk and Riz Ahmed for the program, Britz.

Adrian Pasdar and Milo Ventimiglia join Tim Kring and presenter Alan Dale to show off the Best International award.

 For more on the BAFTA Awards and a complete list of winners, visit www.bafta.org.

Photos: WireImage

Happy Birthday to Nathan Petrelli’s alter ego, Adrian Pasdar. Adrian is 43 today.

Adrian was born on April 30, 1965 in Pittsfield, Massachusetts but grew up in Pennsylvania. He started acting after an injury ended his college football career. He got started in Hollywood in the mid 1980’s when he starred as Chipper in Top Gun. Since then he has done dozens of movies and television series, most notably Profit, Mysterious Ways, Judging Amy, Desperate Housewives and, of course, Heroes. Adrian is married to Natalie Maines of the Dixie Chicks and they have 2 children.

In the season 2 finale, it didn’t look good for Nathan but from what I hear, Nathan will be back for season 3!

Also celebrating today is Diana Agron who had a minor role as Debbie, the rival cheerleader at Claire’s school with whom Claire and West played some mind games. Diana is 22 today.

Watching Heroes would like to wish Adrian and Diana a very happy birthday!

It’s been one of those weeks, Heroes fans. I let blogging get away from me and I owe you some Heroes scoop. I’ve been taking notes all week of the things I wanted to tell you so let me get started!

Hayden Panettiere is in the April edition of Cosmopolitan magazine. She discusses guys, messed-up actresses, and being a good “bad girl.” The cover is shown here but if you’d like to see scans of the inside, you can find them here.

Thomas Dekker, who starred as Zach in Season 1, has said that Life & Style Magazine misquoted him when they reported that he thought Hayden dating Milo was “gross.” Apparently Dekker came face to face with a reporter from the rag at a party and said, “Wait a minute! Aren’t you guys the ones who reported that comment about Hayden?!…I’m gonna kill that guy! I said it was gross, but then I said I was just kidding! He went on to explain, “I would have to actually care to be disgusted by it. I’m not disgusted. And, you know, if the relationship is making them happy, then of course it’s not gross. I’m just saying that I could never date someone with that big of an age [difference]. I just don’t see myself having anything in common with a person whose age is that [far from mine], but that’s just me.” I guess he told them! (more…)

NBC has been running “The More You Know” public service announcements for over 19 years now. If you’re like me, then you DVR everything you watch and probably fast-forwarded right through the ads featuring the stars of Heroes. I just discovered some of the commercials on the “The More You Know” website.

The latest campaign focused on issues such as pollution, global warming and recycling and featured Heroes stars Noah Gray-Cabey, Greg Grunberg, Ali Larter, Masi Oka, Adrian Pasdar, and Sendhil Ramamurthy.

In addition to the “green” campaign, Heroes stars have helped spread a variety of messages. Ali Larter was featured in an anti-violence spot, Sendhil Ramamurthy did one about drunk driving, Adrian Pasdar’s PSA was about monitoring what your kids watch on TV, Masi Oka encouraged reading, and Greg Grunberg and Noah Gray-Cabey promoted internet safety in their spots. 

You can find out more about the campaign and watch some of the past PSA’s at http://www.themoreyouknow.com/.

NAME: Nathan Petrelli

HOMETOWN: New York City

OCCUPATION: former D.A., elected to Congress but unable to take office

ABILITIES: Flight

KNOWN RELATIVES: Peter Petrelli (brother), Angela Petrelli (mother), Arthur Petrelli (father), Heidi Petrelli (wife), Simon Petrelli (son), Monty Petrelli (son), Claire Bennet (daugther)

ROMANTIC INTERESTS: currently seperated from wife, Heidi Petrelli. Previous relationship with Meredith Gordon produced daughter, Claire

NOTES: Petrelli was instrumental in helping to keep the Shanti Virus from being released. Has been known to associate with Matt Parkman. Has worked with The Company, however his loyalty would be questionable. Was shot during a press conference in which we believe he would have exposed the abilities of evolved humans.

Nathan is played by Adrian Pasdar. “The Company File” is an ongoing series which will become our Character Guide here at Watching Heroes. To see more of “The Company File” profiles, view the Character Guide category. Thanks to Heroes Wiki for assistance with the facts!

Even though Monday’s finale wrapped up a lot of loose ends, it unraveled a whole lot more. Several characters were left in precarious positions and we don’t know if they will live or die (although can anyone ever really die in this show now that we know Claire’s blood is a cure-all)? Well I have some news on who may make it through to Volume 3 and who might not…I’m throwing out a giant SPOILER ALERT now so only click if you’re sure you want to know… (more…)

*The Heroes spinoff will apparently not be called Heroes: Origins. The Chicago Tribute is reporting that a representative for the network said that a title for the new series has not yet been chosen. In the same article there is a nice interview with Kristen Bell.

*Speaking of Kristen, it seems to be her week. She has interviews in the Tribune as mentioned above and in People Magazine. She was also named “TV Babe of the Day” by IGN today.

*And if that’s not enough Kristen Bell for you, she talked to OK Magazine and told them that Hayden Panettiere and Milo Ventimiglia are NOT dating. She says they are just “great friends.”

*Ali Larter made Entertainment Weekly’s list of the top Butt-Kicking Babes. She comes in at #22 for her role as Niki/Jessica Sanders on Heroes. The site her skills as “a reservoir of strength and ruthlessness.” That and her lap dancing skills…

*Set your TiVo’s because the Heroes are making the talk show rounds. Here’s a schedule for the next few weeks (check your local listings for times):

10/19 - Greg Grunberg on The Tonight Show with Jay Leno
10/22 - Adrian Pasdar on Live with Regis and Kelly
10/25 - Ali Larter on The Tonight Show with Jay Leno (this is a repeat of her 9/19 appearance)
10/26 - Greg Grunberg on Ellen
10/29 - Zachary Quinto on The View
11/2 - Zachary Quinto on Jimmy Kimmel Live

*And finally - here is a five-minute preview for the next episode, “Fight or Flight.” More Parkman! Yay! (thanks to Heroes-Revealed.com)

Interviews with Heroes are showing up everywhere these days. Here are a few you might want to read…

* USA Today caught up with Adrian Pasdar, Greg Grunberg, David Anders and Shalim Ortiz at US Weekly’s Hot Hollywood party last week. They talked to the guys about the show, their characters, the Heroes World Tour and what it’s like to be “hot” in Hollywood. They also asked about Hayden and Milo, to which Adrian replied, “They’re friends. We were in Europe together and I’m kind of a surrogate dad to her and anything inappropriate would not have happened on my watch,” said Pasdar. He added that if it had, “I would have had to sit them both down and talk to them.”

* George Takei talked to Entertainment Weekly about his role on Heroes and how he came to play Kaito. He also chats about Star Trek, gives his thoughts on Zachary Quinto as Spock, and talks about when (or if) he might retire.

* Masi Oka chatted with Geek Monthly about, well, being a geek. He also talks about his work with Industrial Light and Magic and, of course, a little bit about Heroes as well. The best part of this interview is the photos though. They’ve posed Masi as a cowboy, the Fonz, Tony Montana from Scarface and my favorite, Mork from Ork. Don’t miss this one! 

* The UK’s Female First interviewed Tim Kring. He chatted about his influences (The Incredibles for one) and how Heroes came to be. It’s a great in-depth interview with insight into Tim’s goal for the show and some of the characters…a must read.

Watching Heroes, NBC Heroes, Tim Kring, Adrian Pasdar, Greg Grunberg, Shalim Ortiz, David Anders, Masi Oka, George Takei, Interviews

I have quite a few tidbits of Heroes news for you today including 5 scenes from episode 2.2 “Lizards.”

*Watching Heroes now has a MySpace page. Come visit us and add us to your friends!

*The LAist has a great interview with Greg Grunberg (Matt Parkman) in which Greg discusses his relationship with the cast, the Heroes World Tour, his character, the Band from TV and much more. He also reveals Adrian Pasdar’s YouTube handle (buckshotwon) where you can find some great behind-the-scenes videos of the cast.

*If you missed the season premiere, don’t fret. NBC will be repeating it on Saturday (that’s tomorrow!) at 9pm eastern. Under a new Neilsen rule, the ratings for Saturday’s rebroadcast will figure in with the original ratings. NBC is the first to take advantage of the new calculation, and it has some of the other networks up in arms.

*Actor James Kyson Lee (Ando) is debunking the “Hayden loves Milo” rumors. James told People magazine that the rumor was absolutely not true. (Has he seen those photos and videos?)

*And finally, YouTube user EzraSmall has given us another 5 scene preview, this time for the 2nd episode, “Lizards.” Check it out!

Well the Emmy’s are now history, and Heroes came home with nothing. They had too much going against them: Sci-Fi, Fan Favorite, The Sopranos ending. They lost to The Sopranos in both the directing category and the best drama category. Masi Oka, who was up for Best Supporting Actor, was beaten by Terry O’Quinn of LOST. I must admit, though, if Masi couldn’t win, I’m glad Terry O’Quinn took the trophy. He is fantastic on LOST.

Even if they didn’t come home with the statues, the cast still looked great. Here are a few photos from last night:

Zachary Quinto (L) & Sendhil Ramamurthy (R) arrive on the red carpet. (more…)

A Pre-Emmy Cast Party was held last night at the Chateau Marmont in Los Angeles. It was sponsored by Perry Ellis and Vanity Fair. All of our cast favorites were there, including a few we thought were “dead.” Could this mean there’s a chance they aren’t as dead as we thought they were? Eh, probably not. They all look like they’re having a blast though, dead or not.

First, we have the Lovely Ladies of Heroes. On the left, Kristen Bell (Elle) and Hayden Panettiere (Claire) and on the right, Ali Larter (Niki/Jessica).

(more…)

Take a look at these fantastic Heroes Season 2 publicity stills of the cast. (These may be a little spoilery so only click if you dare.) (more…)

Lots of Heroes news this week! NBC has finally announced the dates and cast members for the Heroes World Tour. What an awesome opportunity for those of you in these cities! 

Europe Tour Dates
-Munich (8/26-8/27)
-Paris (8/28-8/29)
-London (8/30-9/2)
Cast Members: Jack Coleman (”H.R.G.”), Hayden Panettiere (”Claire”), Adrian Pasdar (”Nathan”), and Milo Ventimiglia (”Peter”) with executive producer Dennis Hammer (more…)