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http://uk.tv.ign.com/articles/101/1016874p1.htmlHeroes: Sylar and Parkman's New Connection
Zachary Quinto and Greg Grunberg tell us what's to come in Season 4.
by Eric Goldman
US, August 21, 2009 - Spoiler Warning: Certain aspects of the upcoming season of Heroes are discussed in this article.
The carnival has come to town on Heroes and behind-the-scenes there's a new set to go along with it. On the Universal Studios lot an entire carnival has been built for Season 4, as Samuel (Prison Break's Robert Knepper) and his traveling show astonish audiences with their super-power fueled abilities.
I visited the Heroes carnival set and was quite impressed by what I saw. The carnival was extremely functional and large, and truly looked ready for paying customers. In the scene being filmed during my visit – for the sixth episode of the season -- a familiar figure by the name of Sylar (Zachary Quinto) is performing some menial work, moving a wheelbarrow filled with debris, when he is approached by carnival performer Edgar, played by the one and only Ray Park (The Phantom Menace / X-Men / GI Joe).
Edgar is quick to taunt Sylar, clearly trying to get a rise out of him. Things get heated, and the next thing you know, Edgar is showing off what super speed and accuracy can do, as he begins throwing the knives on his belt at Sylar. But of course Sylar is no easy target, showing Edgar his own abilities in a sequence that required a green screen to be brought in so that the characters' abilities could be fully formed in post-production.
- NBC
Sylar (Zachary Quinto, center) looms large in the Heroes: Season 4 poster (click for larger version)
The question is what would bring Sylar to this relatively mundane situation in the first place? As Zachary Quinto tells me, "They find him actually, more than him finding them. He is eluding the cops and stumbles in the carnival and they invite him in. It seems a better option than going back to jail, so he ends up here."
Of course the last we saw, Sylar was living the existence of Nathan Petrelli, thanks to Matt Parkman's mental manipulation. While the circumstances have obviously changed by episode six, Season 4 makes it clear from the get go that what happened to Sylar is actually much more complicated than it looked. As Greg Grunberg explained to me in a conversation a few days before my set visit, "The little mind meld that I did at that end of last season didn't go as clean as it appeared, so I've got Sylar stuck inside me and he can't get out. He's in me and Nathan. He's in my subconscious. So I can see him and other people can't. And he's telling me, like, "Don't be such a ******** p**sy! Do this! Do that!" And I'm [yelling], "Shut up!" People are looking at me like I'm crazy."
Grunberg told me the storyline for he and Quinto was, "Really cool. All Sylar wants is his body back, so he actually kidnaps my son to get his body back. It's very, very cool. And I get to work with Zach a lot more than I ever did." Quinto was also clearly happy about this storyline, noting, "I love working with Greg. He's just such a riot. We have a great time." Quinto said he also appreciated that some of the situations with Sylar and Parkman, "offer the opportunity for my character to be a little lighter, so it's really good."
The carnival scenario is key to the season, and introduces several notable new characters, including Samuel, Edgar and Lydia (Dawn Olivieri). Regarding these new additions, Quinto said, "It's awesome, man. I think it's a great creative direction for the show to go in. It's definitely a new energy, new blood, a new sense of community that exists within the carnival - which I think is part of what drew people into the show in the first place, so I think it's going to be good."
Samuel is definitely the guy calling the shots at the carnival and the main new threat on Heroes. Discussing that, Quinto said, "I think, especially in the darker, shadowy side of Heroes, that it's going to benefit from some new energy. It's great for me to have been the only sort of sustainable villain since the first season, but I think Robert brings with him a real formidable presence that will probably translate into a long lasting relationship with the show."
- NBC
Greg Grunberg (with Quinto) in Heroes
Grunberg had nothing but praise for Knepper's performance, saying, "That guy is incredible. He's such a great actor and he brings so much weight." As for Ray Park, Grunberg had no problem owning up to being a full fanboy over the man behind Darth Maul, exclaiming, "He is unbelievable!"
It's no secret Heroes faced a lot of criticism last season. Grunberg said he felt this season marked a change for the better, remarking, "The show is about discovery again and it's about those characters again. It's not so abstract in that we're not saving the world every single week, which got a little bit too unrelatable in that way. I think people are going to love it."
Heroes: Season 4 premieres Monday, September 21st on NBC. We'll have more from the set next month, including conversations with new cast members Robert Knepper, Ray Park and Dawn Olivieri.
-Kev