Touch: The Complete First Season DVD review

            Although the premise seems slightly different, “Touch” has so many similarities “Heroes” that it becomes impossible not to compare the two. There are even locations which seem similar to those in “Heroes,” and it almost feels like the leftovers from a one-hit-wonder. “Heroes” had an ensemble of characters that intermingled throughout the seasons and ultimately the series. “Touch” has a myriad of characters which intermingle and connect throughout each individual episode, with only a few major characters returning week after week.

            “Heroes” was about a select group of mutant human beings with special abilities, whereas “Touch” is about a select group of humans with special abilities that are more mental and less physical. Our narrator is a mute boy with the ability to see connections and patterns that nobody else can see, and he uses this to help people around him and far from him. This becomes complexly reliant on how small changes in our life can have a ripple effect that has massive repercussions.

            Although Jake is the one with the ability, he is only able to achieve his goals with the help of his single father, Martin Bohm (Kiefer Sutherland), whose ability to communicate with his son is limited to say the least. With the help of a Child Protective Services employee and a brilliant professor with special knowledge (Danny Glover), Martin and his son are able to work together to change people’s lives.

            This show is often melodramatic and cheesy, and what it does have going for it is remarkably similar to what made “Heroes” work. Sutherland is over-the-top and over-acting as usual, even without trying to save the country from terrorist attacks. With all that is wrong with this show, I still found myself drawn in to each episode. The first season has 11 episodes, all included on three discs with special features. There is an extended pilot episode, some featurettes and a few select deleted scenes.