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37 of 38 found the following review helpful:
 First Season Apr 18, 2006
By J. Rose
"JR From the Ball so Blue"
My local PBS station shows this program (eight months a year, they don't show any of their normal programming during pledge months). I admit that I enjoy some of the other programs fairly well ("As Time Goes By," "Keeping up Appearances") but this one is a scream.
There is still some 'settling in' of the actors into their characters' quirks and focus but this show hit the ground running. Far more interested in American Culture than older Brit-Coms, they actually make fun of President George W. Bush. But "Friends" this is not.
It's a show that is about character. Particularly one George Sunday: Enthusiastic superhero, health food store proprietor (he opened the shop because it was a perfect cover for his superhero work as nobody ever much visits), and all around silly-person. His loving girlfriend/wife Janet is smart, sexy and rock solid. She's the perfect foil for George's flights of in-human behavior.
Her parents, Ella and Stanley, hate George from the word go and are amazingly funny folks who Janet can barely stomach. Next door neighbor Tyler looks like a human pincushion and talks like the 60's, 70's, 80's and 90's were VERY good to him. He just happens to instantly recognize George as Thermoman. I admit to having a soft spot for Tyler. He tries so hard, and could have been a one-note character, but he is endearing as well.
George's cousin Arne (another space alien who was stricken from the ranks of superheroes for charging folks for their rescues) and Dr. Piers Crispin (Janet's boss and her mother's idea of a 'catch' for her confounding daughter) are as close as the series get to bad guys.
But they're wimps compared with resident Bad Girl -- Mrs. Raven (the incomparable Geraldine McNulty). She's a mass of Mother Hate, bile, lying, scheming, and genuinely frightening at times; McNulty somehow plays her as an underdog. And G*d help me, I find myself rooting for her at times.
So far, only the first three or four seasons have played here in the States. And while I would miss O'Hanlon as George, I freakin' LOVE James Dreyfus and can only imagine how stellar the show would be with him on it.
This series does everything wrong. The romantic leads marry and have multiple children (a HUGE no-no on American sitcoms with their decade-long flirtations and babies only in the final season ideology). The show takes on current events (when most Brit-coms could literally be from any time at all). But despite these lapses, it is laugh out loud funny.
The moment in season two when Mr. Raven causes a completely naked man to walk out, and back in (under her watchful eye) to the clinic was so funny I nearly passed out laughing. And George's inappropriate kissing of virtually every other character on the show had me in stitches.
Buy the show. Enjoy it! You'll be laughing for years.
19 of 21 found the following review helpful:
Hilarious Mar 20, 2006
By Brandon J. Smith
As a huge Father Ted fan, I followed the hilarious Ardal O'Hanlon to My Hero. While it doesn't quite reach the heights of Father Ted, it certainly doesn't disappoint in any way. This is a fun, laugh-out-loud funny show, and the only question for me is whether I'll buy this first series or wait until the inevitable box set of the show's whole run comes out.
12 of 13 found the following review helpful:
Absolutely Hilarious Jun 25, 2006
By L. Hafer
"Lardwick von Schnirdlewinkle"
I don't know why this serioes hasn't yet taken N. America by storm, but it is one of my all-time favorites. I have yet to see an episode that didn't have me laughing uncontrollably, which is saying something, since I'm kind of negative and critical by nature. :>)
Ardal O'Hanlan is perfect as Thermoman (and just as clueless as in Father Ted), and for sheer 'feel-good' TV watching, this can't be beat.
Worth watching; worth buying!
8 of 8 found the following review helpful:
Thermoman sure goes to the bathroom a lot... Jan 24, 2007
By H. Bala
"Me Too Can Read"
SPOILERS follow.
Straight out of BBC and via certain PBS channels comes MY HERO, an affable, off-the-wall comedy series about that strange visitor from that distant planet, Thermoman (Ardal O'Hanlon). He hails from the planet Ultron and has only recently arrived on Earth. He's not built like a regular guy: he has six toes on each foot for added balance, double jointed knee-caps for extra maneuverability, and a larger than normal navel, of unknown purpose but of which lint content could be used to stuff a duvet. Able to literally sniff out trouble and utilizing restrooms as his means of egress, Thermoman plies his superhero trade on a daily basis and has become one of the busiest caped crusaders around as he rapidly flies around the globe staving off catastrophe after catastrophe. Consequently, he doesn't really have much time for romance. So imagine his surprise when he falls in love with the lovely Janet Dawkins (Emily Joyce), a vacationing 29-year-old British lass he rescues from a fall in the Grand Canyon.
The smitten superhero follows her to Northolt, England, where she works as a nurse in the Northolt Health Centre. He introduces himself to her in his civilian guise of George Sunday, owner of a modest, often unpatronized health store. What then follows is his fish-out-of-water wooing of the down-to-earth Janet, who actually prefers to be with a regular bloke but is, nevertheless, charmed, if non-plussed, by the eccentric Mr. Sunday. The rest of the very brief first season goes on to unveil the various pitfalls and domestic annoyances of a working girl in love with a clueless superhero from the stars.
No, MY HERO is definitely not one of those cerebral comedy shows. It doesn't have multiple intricate plotlines going on per episode. Instead, what this show has going for it is an engaging comic quirkiness and just plain old silliness, most of which is embodied in our main character George, aka Thermoman, who elicits giggles and smiles from the viewer as he insists on verbalizing his blunt and mindnumbingly obtuse takes on Earthlings and their alien ways. Mind you, it's not that he's stupid as much as he's still fairly new and hasn't yet adapted to the every day nuances of our society.
The very literal-minded Thermoman and his alter ego George Sunday is played with straight-faced, dry-witted panache by Irishman Ardal O'Hanlon while his love interest, the much put upon Janet Dawkins as portrayed by the appealing Emily Joyce, provides common sense and the sorely needed grounding for this daft series. Matter of fact, Janet may be the most normal of her lot as she often finds herself besieged by her meddling mum, her amicably unhinged neighbor Tyler, her self-worshipping boss, and a very unnervingly sarcastic receptionist (who resents her triplet offsprings). On Thermoman's side, there are his ever sniffling, socially inept employee Avril and his cousin Arnie, himself once a superhero until he got fired for charging rescue fees, who now resides in New York and dispenses wisdom to our clueless hero.
This being a television series, the budget isn't set at a lofty level; thus, the f/x is a bit slapdash (there aren't any supervillains here, for example,and all the rescue missions are done off-screen). But, never mind. You could put a "glass is half full" spin on it by stating that the shoddy effects actually add to the fun and silly, unassuming ambiance of the show. Ardal O'Hanlon actually looks pretty decent in his red and gold superhero costume and his visored helmet, even a bit dashing and all that. Meanwhile, Emily Joyce doesn't need a super suit to look good. Other than the two very capable leads, this show is vastly served by the inspired performances of Geraldine McNulty in all her bitter glory and Hugh Dennis, who plays his character with dizzying self-absorption. The rest of the cast is okay.
What sucks is that MY HERO, the first season, is comprised of only six half-hour episodes. It would've been nice to have seen more of George and Janet's domestic misadventures as they strived to maintain a sense of normalcy in a very weird relationship. From Janet's point of view, it's a little off-putting to have a boyfriend who can supersuck crumbs and laundry suds off the floor. She's even given a superhero manual to read so as to not cramp the fella's style. They can't have sex more than once a month lest she sap too much energy from him, to the detriment of humanity. Plus, everyone thinks he's really odd. And from George's point of view: he's going out with an Earthling woman, who is definitely inferior to him species-wise, something which his biased father vehemently points out. He also has to deal with kooky neighbor Tyler, who, probably thru ingesting enough herbal stuff, instantly pinpoints his true identity. Plus, he still has to save the world every now and then. So who's ahead in this relationship?
The best part of this series, obviously, is when George (not Thermoman) is on the screen, bluntly speaking his mind and committing howlingly funny faux pas after faux pas. The second tier of hilarity comes from Mrs. Raven's scathing comments and Dr. Crispin's shameless self-love and eternal quest for the spotlight (his polished battle cry is "I am always here" as he rushes off to do his morning telly show). Emily Joyce, too, has her witty bits. Anyway, the stories are simply structured and generally follows the tried and true comedic plot patterns. What makes 'em brilliant are the throw away, eccentric bits that pop out of the dialogue every now and then, mostly from George's lips. And, if you enjoy Ardal O'Hanlon as George, then check him out in FATHER TED where he plays the simple-minded but very funny Father Dougal Mcguire.
The rather shabby Bonus Features include "Against All Odds" (5-minute on-the-set interviews with Ardal O'Hanlon and Geraldine McNulty during the filming of a stunt), "Funny Blokes: Interview with Ardal O'Hanlon," and cast bios.
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"My Hero" (episode one) - While rescuing nurse Janet Dawkins from a lethal plunge into the Grand Canyon, Thermoman finds himself falling for the winsome damsel. In his civilian guise of George Sunday, Irish health store owner, he pursues her to England where Janet works in a clinic with dourly sarcastic receptionist Mrs. Raven (Geraldine McNulty) and the self-involved Dr. Piers Crispin (Hugh Dennis).
"Guess Who's Coming to Lunch?" (episode two) - This is a hilarious episode! George and Janet grow ever more anxious about George meeting her parents for the first time and over lunch. George, upon Janet's insistence, strives to be "normal," but, really, it's easier said than done...
"Mission Impossible" (episode three) - A Russian space station careens out of control and veers towards Earth, but Janet won't allow Thermoman to go and save the world until she's cleaned his costume of a toast jam stain.
"Thermoman's Greatest Challenge" (episode four) - George has recurring nightmares of Janet being killed and pretends to go to the bathroom 17 times.
"Old Man Riverdance" (episode five) - George's peculiar dad, the original Thermoman, comes a-visitin' and he doesn't think much of his son cavorting with an Earth woman.
"The Party's Over" (episode six) - Janet hits the big 3-0 and she's not bothered a bit about it.
8 of 8 found the following review helpful:
Brillant! Mar 15, 2006
By Laura Kay Schneider
Knowing that we will be leaving England soon, I am frantically searching for "My Hero" on DVD to watch in America. Hilarious. Classic.Brillant. Such a clever show. A cross between Mork and Mindy and Superman, this show is a must for all comedy fans.
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