Heroes: Season One

You can’t fault the extras on this seven-disc set and the unseen pilot is excellent. It’s massively different from the aired version due to all the cuts and changes demanded by the network. Characters are introduced earlier, such as mind-reading cop Matt, and there is a completely new storyline involving terrorism that was later ditched.

There are audio commentaries running for every episode, featuring the cast most heavily involved in that chapter and crew.

The pick of the bunch are those with the show’s creator, Tim Kring, particularly the in-depth chat on the season finale.

His passion for his project is evident. He explains why various plots were dropped, how scenes were shot and the various special effects used – such as how the set for the show Crossing Jordan in LA became Madras in India and how Claire’s face-first leap from 50ft was achieved.

There is some very clever camera work and cinematography used throughout the series and the commentary takes a close look at the work involved, as well as revealing some nice overhead shots that were lost.

The smaller featurettes are a nice pat-on-the-backs to the behind the scenes crew that made Heroes such a success, such as the stunt coordinator Ian Quinn, composers Lisa Coleman, Wendy Melvoin and Manon Dave and comic book artist Tim Sale.

The latter is the creator of the dazzling paintings done by Isaac, the junkie artist who paints the future.

His comic book style is vibrant, exceptionall skillful and an integral part of the story – and all the more incredible when you discover he is colour-blind.

The impressive comic artwork is also used for the great-looking interactive menus – a detail that can often be overlooked.

Finally, there are deleted scenes from every episode and loads with the wonderful Hiro. Many actually add to the plot rather than being fluff that was easy to dump on the cutting room floor.

Heroes fans will find plenty to enjoy from the bonus features – it’s just a shame there are no teasers for the second series, which can’t arrive soon enough.