The Unofficial Official Heroes Drinking Game (v2)

UPDATED: now that we are on the home stretch of the “last 5” I’ve decided to give this a little revision. Some of the activities aren’t really relevant if you are keeping up with the series, but I’ll leave them in there for “classic” episodes.  Newly added items are in italics.

Heroes is my favorite show on TV right now (with Arrested Development reruns as a second runner-up).  I think the writing is overall very good (some cheesiness here and there), ditto on the acting (ditto), and utterly enjoy the storyline.  Everything about it is, in my opinion, fun to watch.  I also like NBC’s embracement of the Internet for the show (which is apparently poised to grow tomorrow) which includes:

• Every episode, streamable, for free. A+++ for this one.
• Some interactive games (a little 2003, but not too shabby).
• The Hiro Blog.
• Generally encouraging bloggers (especially this one).

Even though there are a couple already (here and here), I decided none of them really addressed all the magic of the show.  So, here’s my Official Heroes Drinking Game (which is, of course, unofficial, other than by my own standards).  Incidentally, I’ve tried to make this fairly spoiler-free for those of you who are waiting to watch the season via Netflix (which is ridiculous because of the free streaming from NBC, but, whatever).  Also, I’m using character names only, if you aren’t familiar with them all, here’s a list of all characters (warning, link may contain spoilers).

Take ONE drink when…

• Niki sees her reflection wink back at her
• Niki looks all panic-stricken (reserve yourself to no more than twice per episode)
• Nathan talks down to Peter
• Simone adds utterly no value to a scene
• Hiro uses a lot of comical gestures and sound effects to complement his English
• Claire breaks a bone (or vital organ) in a way that makes you a bit squeamish
• Matt gets really confused about his power
• Ando makes a comment regarding giving up or going home
• Anyone’s eyes get all glossed over
• Mr. Bennet takes off his glasses, wipes them (or his brow), then puts them back on
• Mohinder makes a reference to something being impossible, stupid, crazy, etc
• Someone’s head gets cut open
• The Haitian guy shows up, and the episode fades to commercial within 5 seconds
• Two Heroes’ paths cross coincidentally
• A dead person comes back to life.  Drink again if it is revealed that that formerly dead person is actually still dead
• Claude snarls menacingly
• Ted gets all sweaty (take a second drink if he subsequently doesn’t even use his power)
• NBC shows a spoiler during a commercial break of another show, and you aren’t able to grab your remote and pause/mute/change the channel in time.  Drink again if you curse the network out loud as a result.
• Sylar fools someone and you sit there yelling at the screen “he’s the bad guy, he’s the bad guy!”
• You get a glimpse of one of Isaac’s paintings and it shows something extra-cool (this is another ‘subjective’ ones)
• Linderman shows signs that he’s probably a grade-A crazy

Take TWO drinks when…

• Hiro raises his arms to the sky in an expression of joy
• Claire runs unnecessarily
• D.L. doesn’t use his ability, but clearly could/should
• A Hero uses their power in a way that makes you clap, cheer, or get otherwise giddy
• Peter figures anything important out
• Sylar shows how much of a badass he is
• A “good” Hero turns out to be “bad” (and vice versa)
• Thompson makes it through an entire scene smiling
• Someone should really just give Candice a punch, because it would really solve some problems, but yet doesn’t
• Hana gets more than 3 minutes of screen time in an episode

Chug it when…

• They find the sword
• The writers use Mohinder’s dad (Dr. Suresh) to explain a key plotline
• A character is revealed to be a Hero and it was a genuine surprise (judgment call, but I trust ya)
• A major character gets killed
• NBC comes up with a key catchphrase to get new viewers involved
• Any Hero dons a spandex uniform (and you must finish all the drinks around if that uniform sports a big X in the middle)
• Someone (not you, of course) radically underestimates Sylar
• An actor who is/was famous on another geeky TV series (or movie) makes a guest appearance
• Two heroes make out.  Chug it again if it turns out many episodes later they’re somehow related.
• The writers introduce a Hero with a very average power, such as “slightly longer limbs than normal people” or “eerily aware of the exact humidity of the local region” or “can summon and control all the nearby butterflies”

Enjoy.  If I’ve missed anything, add it as a comment below!  Please enjoy Heroes responsibly (a.k.a. watch every episode, try to skip the “next week on Heroes” bit). Also, congrats to the producers, writers, crew, etc for a second season renewal already!