tv: No Masks. No Powers. No Heroics.
It’s been a no-fun, very busy sorta Wednesday and my brain is a bit fried but why should that stop me from rambling on about something I’m not terribly proud of… an actor crush. Not even a movie actor, a tv actor: Nicholas Burns. He was the cuddl-ee in the brief video clip I posted last February. I mean he’s cute and all, but he has a great way of playing characters that are either dorks without realizing it, or are in complete realization of their dorkness and still in denial about it. A-dork-able levels are off the charts.
Most recently I’ve been watching him in a hilarious show airing on ITV called No Heroics. One could call it a “Heroes meets Friends” but it’s much more like “Reality Bites meets Young Heroes in Love“. It follows the lives (and loves…?) of four friends that just happen to be D-List superheroes. Burns plays a character called The Hotness and he controls heat–see how that works? He plays the usual lovable loser who, along with his friends, is always losing out in popularity to Excelsor, Britain’s most popular superhero. It has the best of dry British humor with just enough sex, modern humor and geek references thrown in. But don’t take my word for it! There’s a trailer here and some choice words from a ranting genius:
[No Heroics] is funnier than a comedy show about bloody superheroes has any right to be. It could have been more full-on and less traditional in places, but, you know, it’s ITV, it’s a fucking miracle it got on the air at all. Full points to creator/writer Drew Pearce for coming up with something that should translate to a general audience because it’s black humour first and everything else second.
Also, it features a doorman whose superpower is summoning monkeys. Beat that.
It also features some amazing artwork by Sam Gilbey who also created a set of fan stickers for the characters like the one seen above. Considering that Heroes is sort of tanking with me right now for veering way too far into soap opera territory, and the only superhero movies that are popular are all dark, emo and moody… being able to watch a show about superheroes that is fun and makes me laugh is a welcome change.
I’m also watching Burns in another show Nathan Barley but more about that later as I’ve only seen one episode. It aired in 2005 and my assessment so far is that I might call it the “Ab Fab for hipsters” in both the fabulous and tragic senses of the series.
You bastard. There’s another tick in the “reasons to get cable” column.
@Lindsay: You have a husband and pets, that is potentially far more entertaining than any television program could be.
@Brian: If husbands and pets were as entertaining as British television, would Barbie be so universally despised?
Gotta go, the husband and pets want to crack open the next Netflix disk of Torchwood.
@Lindsay: Just try not to cut yourself on Barrowman’s cheekbones. 😉
Ive never watched this… maybe I should give it a look….! I never thought of you as an ITV man Brian with all that BBC merchandise bulking up your cupboard. Anyway.. I agree with you on one thing… when did Heroes become a soap opera… ? Its worrying me.