Heroes - a primer

Now that I've completed my 5 Reasons series, it's time for me to spotlight the 2 best new shows of the season. And to help those of you who haven't been watching yet, I'm offering a starter kit!

First up, let's talk about Heroes. Great visuals, a complex plot that is actually decipherable, and believeable characters. It's the story of our world where something is causing a rise in human genetic mutation, resulting in everyday people having extraordinary abilities.

Let me attempt to spell out our cast of characters, and some of the links between them. Oh, and basically everyone on the show is hot, so just remember that.

Mohinder - A geneticist and some-time professor from Madras, India. Mohinder's father did some pioneering (and controversial) research into these mutations. Mohinder has been struggling with his path - should he follow his father, who is now deceased? At one point Mohinder came to New York, where he met his father's former neighbor (supposedly), Eden, and also Peter who sought him out. Recently he has met a boy who comes to people in their dreams (or is it the other way around). And he has found his father's database of potential superpowered beings, which we know includes Niki. Mohinder also knows that his father had a key to Sylar's apartment (which has since been stripped bare).

Nathan - Running for Senate, Nathan doesn't want anyone to know that he can fly. He actively discourages his brother, Peter, from being interested in superpowers. One of Nathan's biggest investors set him up by forcing Nikki to seduce him on camera as "insurance."

Peter - A now former hospice nurse, Peter once was in charge of Simone's father. And now he's sleeping with Simone. Peter has recently deduced that he is able to replicate the powers of another superhuman when in close proximity. Peter was visited by Hiro from the future, and was given the edict, "Save the cheerleader, save the world."

Hiro - Once condemned to a crappy cubicle job in Japan, Hiro discovered that he can stop time, and teleport across time and space. He first teleported to New York in the future, where he saw Isaac had been killed, and a nuclear explosion about to happen. Hiro has dragged his buddy Ando to the U.S. to stop this disaster. Along the way, Hiro ran into Nathan, and Ando met his online obsession, Niki.

Isaac - At least when he's got heroin in his system, Isaac can lapse into a state where he can paint the future. Simone was his girlfriend and his art dealer, but they've broken up because he wouldn't quit the smack. Isaac's work has become a comic book in the future, and Hiro took that comic book to the present and has tried to contact him. He was recently abducted by Eden, because HRG learned that Isaac had been painting a series about Claire's homecoming danger.

Niki/Jessica - A mom trying to do right by her son, Niki has attempted to pay off a debt by stripping on the internet. Niki appears to actually have two sides, the other being Jessica who is aggressive and deadly. When one is "out" the other appears when she looks in the mirror. Niki is currently sublimated while Jessica is on the hunt to get her son back from her estranged husband, D.L.

D.L. - On the run from the police, D.L. has figured out that he can phase through solid matter. He loves his son and loves Niki, but recently discovered that she set him up to take the fall while she retained all the loot from their caper. What he doesn't know is that Jessica is the one who did it.

Micah - The son of Niki and D.L., he quite naturally has superpowers of his own. We're not sure what yet, except that he can use a phone that's out of order, and he's very intelligent. While on the highway running from Jessica, Micah and D.L. ran into a car fire, where Hiro helped D.L. save the woman inside.

Matt - A down on his luck cop in Los Angeles, Matt has started hearing the thoughts of others. One minute it's helping him get closer to his wife, the next it's forcing him to hear that she's having an affair with his commanding officer. Now he's working with the FBI to track down Sylar the killer. He's also met a radioactive man who unintenionally gave his wife cancer. At one point Matt was abducted by HRG and Eraser.

Claire - The cheerleader from Odessa, Texas. She is disturbed to learn that she is able to regenerate her own tissue, and thus recover from virtually any injury (including the start of an autopsy). Her father just happens to be HRG. And she just survived a run-in with Sylar thanks to the intervention of Peter. Her regnerative powers allowed him to survive the encounter.

HRG - Our abbreviation for Horn-Rimmed Glasses man, we're not sure if his intentions are nefarious or noble. But we do know that he loves Claire and has been trying to protect her, and he knows that she is "special." His accomplices are Eden (see below) and Eraser - not his real name, but he's a silent man that appears to be able to wipe the memories of others.

Eden - You'll often hear me refer to her as "PMAT" - a Poor Man's Audrey Tautou. Although she was rather pathetic when she prowled about Mohinder's place, we've now found that she's a bit more cunning. She also has the power of suggestion, quite literally - she was able to stop Sylar in his tracks.

And that's all you need to know! Next week we travel back in time, as Hiro jumps to six months earlier in order to save the life of a lovely waitress who seems to remember anything she reads and was killed by Sylar in the present.

What were all our heroes like months ago? Find out!