Genesis (Heroes)

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“Genesis”
Heroes episode

Claire Bennet in the burning train.
Episode no. Season 1
Episode 1
Guest stars Ntare Mwine as Joseph
Cristine Rose as Angela Petrelli
Randall Bentley as Lyle Bennet
Corey Cotler as Bus Driver
Omid Abtahi as Amid Halebi
Shishir Kurup as Nirand
Written by Tim Kring
Directed by David Semel
Original airdate September 25, 2006
Episode chronology
← Previous Next →
– "Don't Look Back"
List of Heroes episodes

"Genesis" is the pilot episode of the NBC supernatural drama series Heroes. It was directed by David Semel and written by Tim Kring.

Contents

[edit] Plot

Spoiler warning: Plot and/or ending details follow.

The episode opens up with narration by Mohinder Suresh. Meanwhile, a different man, Peter Petrelli is seen standing on a building, then falling. Peter then wakes up in the home of Charles Deveaux, a patient under his care.

In Madras, India, university professor Mohinder Suresh, the narrator from before, is speaking to his class. After news of his father's death in New York, Mohinder suspects that his father (Chandra Suresh) was murdered due to his genetics research. He goes to his father's local apartment to look for clues and to finish his research. However, before Mohinder can thoroughly analyze his father's findings, he realizes someone is still in the apartment when that person's phone rings. As the intruder talks on his phone about Mohinder's father and the research, Mohinder narrowly escapes.

In Las Vegas, Nevada, after doing a webcam performance in her garage, Niki Sanders prepares for the day with her young son, Micah, who has assembled a motherboard and created a pinhole camera. They are forced to flee when Niki sees thugs approaching their home.

In Odessa, Texas, Claire Bennet's story opens up with her getting her school classmate Zach to videotape her climbing up to an 80-foot (24 m) height and jumping off. Shockingly, Claire then gets up and re-locates her dislocated right shoulder as if it was nothing. More disturbingly, she also refers to this instance as "attempt number six" to Zach who has been filming the attempt. As the shot fades out, the cut on her cheek visibly shrinks as it heals.

Back in New York, Peter keeps "having these amazing dreams" when he closes his eyes, specifically dreaming he can fly. Turning to his brother Nathan, who had just gotten off a call with Mr. Linderman, Peter talks about his dreams. However, Nathan is a politician running for Congress and is extremely busy. Although he does listen, he disregards Peter's claims that he can fly and wonders why Peter would come to him, anyway. Their conversation is then interrupted when Nathan gets news that their mother, Angela Petrelli, has been arrested for shoplifting.

In Texas, Claire confesses her despair to Zach, who believes "this is the single coolest thing to happen to [their town]" in many years. She disagrees and swears him to secrecy. Though he says she'll still be popular, she claims she's a freak. After describing some of the gruesome ways she's attempted to injure herself as proof, she then asks for the tape and takes it from him, promising to talk to him in school as a reward for helping her.

In Tokyo, Japan, with intense concentration, Hiro Nakamura discovers he has the ability to manipulate time. He causes his clock to stop and tick back one second. Elated, he runs to tell his coworker, Ando Masahashi, who has a hard time believing Hiro. Hiro tells him about one of his earlier attempts - causing the subway train to be 14 seconds late. Ando is more interested in watching Niki Sanders' webcam.

Back in Las Vegas, after Niki visits her son's private school and is given bad news about her son's tuition, she storms out and sees her reflection in an aquarium with an expression different to the one she has. Disturbed by what she sees, she yells at her smirking reflection to leave her alone, much to the confusion of her son.

At the police station, Peter and Nathan talk with their mother. Recently widowed, she had been doing odd things for several months, and has now been caught shoplifting socks. Nathan, more concerned with his campaign than his mother, tells her to "get over" her husband's death. Peter attempts to be understanding and talks with his mother after Nathan eventually leaves. As they talk, Peter tells his mother about an almost metaphysical connection he feels he has with his brother, recalling a time in the past where Peter knew Nathan had been hurt before being told. His mother is unconvinced.

Taking her son to a friend Tina's house, Niki talks to her about her situation. She explains that the home invaders seen earlier were sent by Mr. Linderman, who appears to be a loan shark with mafia connections. Niki also tries to tell her friend about this strange "other" she hears and sees, but her friend doesn't understand. Frustrated, Niki simply leaves.

Claire, on her way home, sees a devastating fire raging from a train wreck. With little hesitation, she tells Zach to start recording again, and tests her resistance to heat by rushing in. She pulls a man out of the burning train and is quickly inspected by a firefighter, only to reveal that she has no burns. She runs away before she can be detained.

Now in Brooklyn, New York, Mohinder has taken a job as a taxi driver and rents his father's other old, local apartment. Although it is in disarray, much of the material is still there and Mohinder begins to reorganize it.

Next, we meet Isaac Mendez. Behaving erratically, he begins destroying his paintings. When his girlfriend Simone Deveaux arrives, she attempts to calm him down and reason with him. Isaac then admits to her that although he claimed to have kicked his drug addiction, he was high when he made the paintings. Although distressed, Simone realizes the paintings are "fantastic". Isaac, however, insists that they are evil. When she asks what he's talking about, he shows her a painting he made three weeks ago of a suicide bombing in Israel and that morning's paper. The images are identical, right down to details Isaac couldn't have possibly known beforehand, as the event depicted in the paper happened the day before. Isaac then insists that something is wrong with him and that there's "only one way left". Simone assumes he means going cold turkey and says he cannot do it alone, but Isaac, not willing to let her stay, yells at her to leave until she finally does. After Simone walks out, Isaac watches a news broadcast of a fire—the same one Claire saved a man from—and looks at another one of his paintings next to the television, which depicts an aerial view of the situation perfectly.

At campaign headquarters, Nathan has just managed to sweep his mother's arrest under the rug and wishes she'd just get a hobby. Peter, on the other hand, simply sees it as a cry for attention and a sign of loneliness. Nathan then segues the conversation into offering Peter a job as a coordinator. However, Peter is turned off by Nathan's self-serving intentions and attempt to "do the right thing" by him. He declines, saying he doesn't want his brother's pity and walks out. There in the street, Peter sees Simone hailing a cab, then hails one himself. The driver just happens to be Mohinder and the two begin a conversation. Peter seems impressed by Mohinder's knowledge of the ongoing solar eclipse, and asks him about "being special". Although Mohinder does not immediately realize what Peter is referring to, he eventually talks to him about genetics and evolution.

In a montage, each of the major characters watch the solar eclipse. Niki, specifically, looks through the pinhole camera Micah made earlier this morning just for the occasion. She then realizes the thugs are still there, and attempts to escape but fails. The thugs then propose that she perform for them on camera and force her to do so. She is distracted again by her reflection. The thugs, confused, hit her, and an altercation ensues, though the scene cuts off just as it starts.

Back in Japan, Hiro and Ando have left work. Hiro is still going on about his powers and Ando humors a bit, allowing him to explain further. Hiro claims he'll soon be able to teleport by bending the "space", in the space/time continuum. Ando couldn't care less and suggests going to get a drink. At a bar, Hiro offers detailed theories on how he'll do what he says, referring to the comic book Uncanny X-Men issue 143, from the "Days of Future Past" storyline. Ando sarcastically suggests Hiro teleport into the ladies' room, thinking his friend could learn more there. Then he leaves the table to get another drink. Hiro, feeling up to the challenge, decides he will do it. When Ando leaves, Hiro stares intently at the ladies' room door and poses humorously in concentration.

Some time after we last saw her, Niki awakens to find the garage trashed, with the dead, bloody bodies of the thugs strewn about and torn apart. Shocked, Niki catches a glimpse of herself in the cracked mirror. Her reflection is covered in blood—even though she isn't—and is giving a hushing gesture.

In the cab, Peter gets a call from Simone telling him to hurry over to her father's place. Less than a minute after Peter leaves, Mohinder gets another fare. This other man seems ordinary enough at first, talking about himself and heading home after business. However, he begins to ask Mohinder pointed questions, referring to his father's teaching position in India, among other things. Getting spooked, Mohinder abandons the cab and runs away. The mysterious man then gets out and is revealed to be the man with horn-rimmed glasses, who was at Mohinder's father's apartment in Madras.

Back in Claire's home, over dinner, she confides to her mother that she "walked through fire without getting burned." However, her mother believes that she is being metaphorical, and thus dismisses her comments.

Back in Japan, Hiro successfully teleports into the women's bathroom, forcing him to be ejected from the bar and being called a "pervert". Hiro tells Ando that he wanted to be "special". He says, "I will go go boldy to where no other man has gone before". Ando responds sarcastically,"Go on! You're a Super Hiro!" Hiro walks away, leaving his friend there.

At Simone's father's place, where she had called Peter for assistance, Peter attempts to explain his thoughts and feelings about his true purpose to Simone, but repeatedly brushes him off to urgently find morphine, not telling him who it really is for but implying he will need to help administer it.

As Claire washes the dishes after dinner, her mother tries to plan a day together. While taking off her ring, Claire drops it into the still-running garbage disposal. She reaches in before turning it off, and mangles her hand in the process. After retrieving the ring, she hides her hand from her mother as it heals. She asks her mother to tell her who her real parents are. Her father finally arrives home, and is revealed to be the man from Mohinder's cab.

Back in Japan, a slightly-dejected Hiro rides the subway and sees a poster advertising a trip to New York. After intense concentration, the clock above him begins to speed up rapidly. He suddenly arrives in the middle of New York's Times Square. Raising his arms triumphantly, he exclaims, "Hello New York!"

As Simone and Peter arrive at Isaac's apartment, Simone is explaining Isaac's ability to tell the future with his paintings. Simone finds Isaac lying on the ground, apparently overdosed on heroin. She frantically calls 911 while Peter discovers a painting that depicts him flying off of a building. It is also revealed that Isaac painted a large floor mural depicting the city being destroyed in a nuclear explosion. Isaac's only words are, "We have to stop it."

The next morning, Peter stands atop a building, waiting for his brother to arrive. When Nathan's arrives in the alley below, Peter drops his phone, which shatters on the ground and grabs Nathan's attention. Peter talks about his destiny, indicating his need to "be somebody." He steps off and falls from the building, but is saved at the last second by Nathan, who is actually the one with the ability to fly. As they struggle, Nathan loses his grip and Peter falls again.

[edit] Narration

At the beginning
Where does it come from? This quest... this need to solve life's mysteries for the simplest of questions can never be answered. Why are we here? What is the soul? Why do we dream? Perhaps we would be better off not looking at all. Not delving, not yearning. That's not human nature, not the human heart. That is not why we are here.
At the end
This quest... this need to solve life's mysteries. In the end what does it matter when the human heart can only find meaning in the smallest of moments? They're here... among us... in the shadows, in the light, everywhere. Do they even know yet?

[edit] Unaired alternate version

An unfinished pilot was leaked onto the internet in July 2006, having been ripped from a DVD screener. The screener version had certain differences from the version which ultimately aired. Isaac's part in the story was especially different.

  • The episode was titled "In His Own Image".
  • The scene with Ando watching Niki's webcam was slightly different, showing him asking her for more time rather than starting at the beginning.
  • During Isaac's interaction with , he shows her a recent painting he made, which looks exactly like her standing in his doorway three minutes previous.
  • Isaac handcuffs himself and later apparently cuts his hand off.
  • Micah steals $300 from Tina and leaves on his own, apparently to buy a train ticket to an unspecified place.
  • Used the tracks "Vespertilio" and "Eptesicus" from the Batman Begins score composed by Hans Zimmer and James Newton Howard whereas the finished Genesis pilot used original music.
  • A subplot involving an engineer with radiation-based powers and ties to a terrorist cell was cut; elements of the character, including inducing cancer in his wife, were reused for the character of Ted Sprague...

[edit] Trivia

  • Hiro's comic book reference to Ando was slightly incorrect. The "Days of Future Past" storyline is actually found in Uncanny X-Men #141-142. An entry in Hiro's blog [1] references this.
  • NBC, Nissan, Apple and NCM teamed up to give theatre-goers a chance to get a free download of this episode from the iTunes Store starting on September 1, 2006.
  • Claire's father talks to Mohinder Suresh in the cab wonders if the surname "Suresh" is probably as common in India as the surnames "Smith" and "Anderson" are in the West. The antagonist and the protagonist of The Matrix trilogy are named Agent Smith and Thomas Anderson, respectively.
  • A parody of the internet-famous Back Dorm Boys can be seen singing "I Want It That Way" in the Tokyo karaoke bar.
  • The subway that Hiro is riding in is the Los Angeles Red Line.
  • Claire Bennet is a cheerleader for the fictional Union Wells High School in Odessa, Texas. NBC's series Friday Night Lights is set at the fictional Dillon High of Dillon, Texas, but is based upon Permian High School Panthers, also of Odessa.
  • The song Niki strips to is Wilson Pickett's recording of "Mustang Sally".
  • The solar eclipse is seen in both Japan and America at the same time. This is not actually possible.
  • The song playing when the eclipse appears is "Eyes" by Rogue Wave.
  • Mohinder's accent is much stronger in this episode than in the others. This is done as a "Linguistic" type of technique in cinema. It shows the true nature of the dialogue and then regresses in order to be better understood by the audience. This technique was used on the movie titled "The Thirteenth Warrior" and even greater extent in the book which the movie is based on, "Eaters of The Dead", were the clan was still using their language through half of the book's dialogue.

[edit] External links

Heroes Season 1 episodes
v • d • e
"Genesis" • "Don't Look Back" • "One Giant Leap" • "Collision" • "Hiros" • "Better Halves"
"Nothing to Hide" • "Seven Minutes to Midnight" • "Homecoming" • "Six Months Ago" • "Fallout"
"Godsend" • ""The Fix" • "Distractions" • "Run!" • "Unexpected" • "Company Man" • "Parasite"
".07%" • "String Theory" • "The Hard Part" • "Landslide" • "How to Stop an Exploding Man"
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