OTHER TECH

A particularly cool look was given to that location so that it was clearly different from other settings on the show. Yeah. Of course, we were actually in Monrovia, somewhere east of Pasadena where I'd never been before [laughs], and it looks like frickin' Montana! That whole episode was really fun for me. And I appreciate the scale of creativity that went into making a completely different climate and topography just outside of Los Angeles.

An interesting thing that videophiles will look for when we get our hands on the Heroes HD DVD set - and I don't know if you'll find this amusing or not - will be details like the amount of stubble on your face, since you're in various states of being shaved and unshaved throughout the season. I just got a new TV, so I'm a couple clicks behind the HD movement, but I'm certainly interested in seeing what HD DVDs can do.

Consider it part of your research process. Yeah, exactly! Studying the details of facial hair.

You did commentaries for "Distractions," Episode 14, and "Unexpected," Episode 16. The HD version has picture-in-picture pop-ups where you guys come onscreen during the commentary. Had you done commentaries before, or was this your first crack at it? I think those are the first ones I've done.

Did you like doing them? Yeah. The one you saw with Milo [Ventimiglia, who plays power-absorber Peter Petrelli], I didn't really get it [laughs]. That one [for "Distractions"] felt a little stilted to me. The one I did with Sendhil and Greg ["Unexpected"] felt much more natural. Once you find the tone of what they should be, you just have fun and have a really good time with them. I think I put a little too much onus on myself on that first one to say something meaningful. [Note: These two commentaries originally appeared on nbc.com concurrent with the posting of their respective Heroes episodes soon after they initially aired.]

It's like learning on the fly. Plus it was done relatively soon after I started on the show. Obviously, my rapport with Milo and Greg has grown over the last year, so if we did it now, it'd be a much different story, I'm sure.