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Announcements Mar 24, 2026 at 3:51 PM

'Heroes' - A message from the future: "Save The Cheerleader, Save The World"

Posted by Neo2199

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_Ay4gjBhQb4
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hardyflashier Mar 24, 2026 +1110
Damn, I remember when the first season was airing. Everyone was so hyped.
1110
LettersWords Mar 24, 2026 +190
I rewatched S1 a couple months ago and it was both worse than I remembered and better than I expected. Still lots of fun to watch and had some really good stuff mixed in with more stuff that was done poorly than I remembered.
190
Weed_O_Whirler Mar 24, 2026 +143
I did too, and man it made me miss that era of TV. Don't get me wrong, there's some rough patches in that season, but in episode 1 we get to see 5 people use superpowers, and as the season progresses more people show up with powers and people keep using their powers. If that show was made today, end of season 1 we'd see a small glimpse of one person barely using a power.
143
hotmugglehealer Mar 24, 2026 +74
> If that show was made today, end of season 1 we'd see a small glimpse of one person barely using a power. The post credits scene of the season finale would be the protagonist trying to move something with his mind. The camera will focus on the object he's trying to move but it will be stationary for about ten seconds. Then finally, it will just jiggle a little bit and the screen will cut to black. ``` Fin ```
74
Familiar_Air3528 Mar 24, 2026 +58
Hayden Panettiere’s character gets a paper cut in science class, we zoom in on the paper cut, and in the very last second it just barely starts to heal The previous 5 (there was only 6) episodes focused entirely on setting up our characters’ interpersonal struggles and hinting vaguely at mystery box elements Season 2 comes out 4 years later and gets half the ratings. Every single one of the high school characters is noticeably and obviously older.
58
cap616 Mar 24, 2026 +10
Then 2 more years until season 2 with 8 episodes of tragic back story
10
hotmugglehealer Mar 24, 2026 +9
Sylar's dad was an alcoholic and shoved his mother in front of him that one time.
9
TheRealDrSarcasmo Mar 24, 2026 +2
Don't forget the part where we eventually hear that some of the writers "didn't really like comic books or superheroes".
2
Amathyst7564 Mar 24, 2026 +5
Ahh yes, X-Men 3 chess piece move scene or the inception spin top wobble.
5
AggravatingYak6557 Mar 24, 2026 +2
So basically the end of X-Men 3?
2
Forward-Cat6083 Mar 24, 2026 +9
Surf Dracula
9
SmokinBandit28 Mar 24, 2026 +11
Gods if that isn’t true, it would be a whole season of alluding till the last 3 seconds of the final episode being a character maybe making a pencil on a desk slightly wobble with telekinesis. Then it would be a year and a half before a second season where again there’d be no powers until right at the end.
11
RusticGroundSloth Mar 24, 2026 +21
The product placement… Nissan Versa! Nissan Versa!
21
Herself99900 Mar 24, 2026 +7
Between that and the "Oh Daddy, the Rogue! You got the Rogue!" Every time I see a Rogue or a Versa, I want to clobber whoever made that deal.
7
bros402 Mar 24, 2026 +2
Was Company Man still a good episode?
2
Samiel_Fronsac Mar 24, 2026 +39
They had great free comic tie-ins in their site too, adding to the episodes... Then season 2 happened, and they abandoned that lore completely.
39
hardyflashier Mar 24, 2026 +33
RIP Peter's Irish girlfriend
33
CrazyDaimondDaze Mar 24, 2026 +15
Trapped in a post apocalyptic future she never came back from and was just forgotten just because lmao. Well, at least she may have died from the disease that killed most of the population in that future, so I guess there's that
15
InternetProtocol Mar 25, 2026 +7
me and my brother like to meme "ya trapped me in the fewchur peeter" in a bad thick irish accent.
7
dlanod Mar 25, 2026 +6
That's the one that undermined the show for me - basically killed the idea that there was an overarching story that they'd built towards.
6
humanoideric Mar 24, 2026 +271
Heroes and Westworld both had such hype, goated first seasons
271
Mattyzooks Mar 24, 2026 +157
Heroes didn't stick the landing the finale though. Westworld's s1 finale was arguably its best episode. Although, a lot of reviewers didn't love Westworld when season 1 aired, particularly Sepinwall.
157
Darkkujo Mar 24, 2026 +31
Yeah that whole 'save the cheerleader' thing turned out to be complete and utter nonsense right? It's been a while since I saw the show but I remember being really let down by that being such a big deal which never paid off.
31
OffTheMerchandise Mar 24, 2026 +101
It's been 20 years, so my memory could be wrong. But I think the idea was that if Sylar got her, he would've somehow been able to kill her and have her indestructible powers and there would've been no way to stop him.
101
_Diskreet_ Mar 24, 2026 +77
Zachary quinto did such a good job of playing Sylar.
77
KahBhume Mar 24, 2026 +20
I just wish the writers did a better job of writing for him. They didn't know what to do with him after season 1, and the result was jarring.
20
bionicjoey Mar 24, 2026 +22
There were no writers after season 1
22
Debt101 Mar 24, 2026 +12
Well that's because heroes was supposed to be an anthology show with different heroes each season all culminating in a finally season with all of them. But the network decided the characters were too popular and they wanted them back. Same thing happened with stranger things though they managed to keep it popular.
12
fvalt05 Mar 24, 2026 +5
Great performance!
5
The_Last_Minority Mar 24, 2026 +22
IIRC, he actually doesn't kill her due to her healing (though most people think she's dead) but he does become functionally immortal. However, the twist at the end of Season 1 is that it was never Sylar who blew up New York, but Peter. Of course, the moment Peter intervened to save Claire, the whole future changed, but I think that was the case in both timelines. In the timeline of the show, though, they beat down a non-healing Sylar and are able to evac Peter before he explodes. From my understanding, the big red flag at the end of Season 1 was the network insisting that Sylar survive due to his popularity, and then moving away from the anthology style that was originally planned. Add that to the writer's strike in Season 2, and the show kind of collapsed in Season 2 and never really recovered.
22
CrazyDaimondDaze Mar 24, 2026 +16
How much I loathed that writer strike back then (no, not for the writers asking for a better compensation, but for the reasons that got them into striking back then). Not just Heroes, but Pushing Daisies and Terminator the Sarah Connor Chronicles got mad dirty back then
16
IolausTelcontar Mar 24, 2026 +4
Cries for T:TSCC.
4
teachersn Mar 25, 2026 +3
Sarah Connor Chronicles was such a shame. The season/series ended with such an absolutely incredible couple episodes.
3
bionicjoey Mar 24, 2026 +2
At least it gave us Doctor Horrible
2
saintash Mar 24, 2026 +24
Um yes and no. Hiro from the future was under the impression that skylar was the bomb. Thats the lie I think nathan and peter's mom's spread about what happened when it's really peter, who killed everyone. Technically saving clarie is what ends up saving NYC. But not for the reason hiro originally thinks is the reason why saving her, will save the world. She talks Nathan into getting involved. Which he does and it saves the city. And stops the spiraling effect of the terrible things that path leads down.
24
ireillytoole Mar 24, 2026 +39
I thought there was a payoff? If Sylar killed Clair and absorbed her invincibility power, then he would have been able to survive Hiro’s sword stab in the final battle. But Peter saved Clair, so Hiro was able to stab Sylar and defeat him. Of course…I’m ignoring the mess of everything after season 2 and onward…
39
HazelCheese Mar 24, 2026 +8
Future Hiro thought Sylar was the bomb and thought he needed to be prevented from getting Claire's power so Hiro could kill him and stop him from exploding. Future Hiro didn't know it was actually Peter but saving Claire saved the world anyway because Claire made Nathan choose his family over the election and he helped stop Peter destroying the city.
8
onikaroshi Mar 24, 2026 +10
Unfortunately that was studio meddling
10
Mattyzooks Mar 24, 2026 +28
I believe Claire being alive allowed her to talk to Nathan and guilt him into not allowing NYC to blow up.
28
drmojo90210 Mar 24, 2026 +2
It was literally NBC trying to manufacture a viral marketing phrase. They did this a few more times with other lines from the show too. I always thought it was super cringey.
2
A_Is_For_Azathoth Mar 24, 2026 +14
True Detective as well. First season is one of the best seasons of TV I've ever seen. Then season 2 aired.
14
ymi17 Mar 24, 2026 +7
The nice thing about TD is that each season can be its own thing. S3 was incredible.
7
Cromasters Mar 24, 2026 +5
Which, ironically, is also what Heroes was supposed to be like.
5
TheKyleface Mar 24, 2026 +6
I don't get the hate for S2. It wasn't as good as S1 but it was still leagues better than most shows at the time.
6
ahuangb Mar 24, 2026 +2
True Detective S1 is great but it still be might one of the most overrated pieces of media out there. Great season? Yes. All time great TV seasons? No. I know it's also blasphemy to say but the dialogue is obnoxious at points
2
LifeOfHi Mar 24, 2026 +5
I remember it’s all people could talk about. Hype so strong it even got me to watch a couple eps just to stay socially relevant. Then again with Game of Thrones.
5
Mister_Acula Mar 24, 2026 +2
I only started needing glasses a couple years ago, but when I got them you better believe I got Horn-Rimmed Glasses.
2
froggyc19 Mar 25, 2026 +2
You mean the only season? Man oh man, such a shame it never got a second season... yup... real shame.
2
userhwon Mar 24, 2026 +3
The people writing it knew how to make a mess. They had no idea how to clean it up. Same thing affected The Umbrella Academy and Stranger Things.
3
HotBrownFun Mar 24, 2026 +1046
we should have saved the cheerleader
1046
egnards Mar 24, 2026 +856
I think what really made this cool in 2006 was that not only was it Superheroes [remember Iron Man didn’t come out until 2008, and although Spider Man came out in 2002 it wasn’t really until Iron Man that the Superhero *craze* started] but it was also Superheroes that weren’t attached to known properties. This wasn’t another Batman story or Fantastic Four, or another X-Men cartoon [or movie]. This was a story involving totally unique characters struggling with the idea that they even had powers at all. It made it super cool overall. Especially in a time that was sort of still on the precipice of “wait are nerds cool now?”
856
jonfitt Mar 24, 2026 +311
It was so cool seeing an episode with a new character and wondering what their power would turn out to be. With it not being based on existing stories everything was a mystery.
311
JrdnRgrs Mar 24, 2026 +60
This has gotta be why i like the boys/gen v so much
60
NeuroPalooza Mar 24, 2026 +96
'What depraved sex power does this one have?'
96
pubesforhire Mar 24, 2026 +51
Misfits also ticks this box.
51
hawkeyejoes Mar 24, 2026 +45
Yeah, I feel like Misfits looked at Heroes and went "Cool, but what if they were all shitbags?" (In the best way possible)
45
m_b_gill Mar 24, 2026 +12
I watched this whole show, and what I remember most is the old lady who makes herself look young and then fucks the umbrella academy dude, and then the episode where some chick makes the vampire from Preachers d*** start to fall off.
12
jlthomas444 Mar 25, 2026 +2
Don’t forget Nathalie Emmanuel was in Misfits. I do love her so… And Antonia Thomas’ character with her “touch me and I turn you on” powers.
2
ikeif Mar 24, 2026 +11
It's what sent me down the road of indie comics - I was tired of a rehashed, retconed comic character, where what I liked about them is now a footnote in another plot line. Just finding out, as a kid, that there were more than DC and Marvel (the downfalls of growing up in a small rural town - you only get what's super popular).
11
RyanB_ Mar 24, 2026 +2
Very tangential but just using this mention of indie comics to shout out The Power Fantasy. Really goes to show what can be done with the superhero concept when not held back by a larger world that always needs to keep going. And yeah, very fun learning the ins and outs of all the characters throughout.
2
ImTellingTheEmperor Mar 24, 2026 +87
Most importantly to me that meant there were actual stakes, people could actually die. I miss reading Marvel and DC so much, but after the 3rd crossover event where everyone died and were either resurrected, went back in time, memory wiped etc, I had to drop them. Shit started to just feel fake compared to like your average manga that's just one continuous story that doesn't just reset every decade. If anything I feel like that's why manga sales have surpassed comics, and why the MCU has done so well. And I could even expand it further, like it's not a coincidence 40k is starting to pickup steam in the mainstream right as the plot has actually started really moving forward for the first time. The people have spoken. The average consumer of these things aren't 12 year olds in the 80's anymore, we wanna see shit actually happen. Not just villians of the week. That's why Heroes was ahead of it's time.
87
TheWalkinFrood Mar 24, 2026 +52
"Most importantly to me that meant there were actual stakes, people could actually die." But when they do we'll just bring back the same actress as their identical sister....TWICE. XD
52
ShibaBvck Mar 24, 2026 +29
Or, in the case of Nathan, just shrug their shoulders and go "Ehh he's still alive." TWICE
29
CrazyDaimondDaze Mar 24, 2026 +12
Still alive in Sylar's head as another personality of his, that is.
12
Coatillion Mar 24, 2026 +11
I actually liked that bit. They let the character's death have weight and set up an interesting mystery with the doppelgangers. Sadly with no payoff though
11
TheWalkinFrood Mar 24, 2026 +7
It wouldn't have been so bad except that she was by far the weakest actor in the show. 
7
Lord_Valour Mar 24, 2026 +48
Stakes to a point. Let's not forget about what they did with Sylar
48
verrius Mar 24, 2026 +54
The original plan was also to just reset every season, which absolutely would have let them kill anyone. But then the network execs chickened out, the exact same way that the Big 2 comic makers have, and started falling into the same bullshit patterns that eventually tends to turn people off American comics.
54
ImTellingTheEmperor Mar 24, 2026 +9
True. As a whole I tend to judge it less harshly in retrosepect as idk what directions they would've gone had the strike never happened.
9
OisforOwesome Mar 25, 2026 +12
I ragequit the entire show when >!Sylar and Whatsisface the walking Marty Stu!< were brought back S02e01. That very quickly established that, no, there were no stakes and it was just network TV being network TV. The famous samurai being a white dude was just insult to injury at that point.
12
stacecom Mar 24, 2026 +28
I disagree with the pretext that Iron Man is when the superhero craze started. I believe it started with X-Men in 2000. Before Iron Man, we had over the course of 7 years at least 7 super hero movies. * X-Men (2000) * Spider-Man (2002) * X2 (2003) * Spider-Man 2 (2004) * Batman Begins (2005) * X-Men: The Last Stand (2006) * Spider-Man 3 (2007) Edit: I stopped at 2000. Otherwise I’d list Blade and some of the Batman movies.
28
jumjimbo Mar 24, 2026 +15
Yeah old heads know that the comic book movies gained traction during these years. Don't forget Blade and Blade 2, the second was very popular and without it, these movies would be ice skating up hill.
15
benjog88 Mar 25, 2026 +6
I just don't think people associate Blade as a superhero Movie, its more seen as a Vampire movie. It feels closer to Underworld than it does to Spiderman
6
egnards Mar 24, 2026 +13
I grew up with all these movies \[the person he's replying to\] and while people liked all of them. . Iron Man is where popularity really exploded. Of those movies I think Spider Man and Batman Begins got the most fanfare, but it was still largely a nerd culture thing with "oh these are the most relevant heroes that everybody and their mother knows, even if they aren't part of the culture." Iron Man was different. . .Because Iron Man was a B List character at this point, he wasn't well known outside of fandoms, and it paved the way for other characters like that.
13
HotBrownFun Mar 24, 2026 +57
oh yeah, nerd culture was still beginning its mainstreaming (LOTR movie came out 2002 for example)
57
ryantendo Mar 24, 2026 +5
"Um actually" it was December 2001 for Fellowship.
5
Mattyzooks Mar 24, 2026 +24
Fair points but shows like Buffy and Angel were basically doing superhero adjacent stories on TV for the years prior. Angel itself was heavily influenced by Batman comics. Plus Smallville was decently popular and had been on for 5 seasons by then. But 06 was fun. We were still feeling good after finally getting a serious Batman movie in Batman Begins. Heroes probably played a pretty sizable role in helping mainstreamify the genre. They basically told superhero stories from a more 'realistic/real worldy' way, mainly due to budget issues. But when the show wanted to show some superpower fun, it would.
24
yaboonabi Mar 24, 2026 +11
It helped they skipped the normal trappings of a supes franchise. No costumes or secret identities, government conspiracies, serial killers 
11
Soy_ThomCat Mar 24, 2026 +4
I mean....it directly did have to do with a serial killer, though.
4
yaboonabi Mar 24, 2026 +3
Sorry, I meant it had a serial killer instead of your normal comic villain. My bad phrasing. 
3
KimJongEeeeeew Mar 24, 2026 +7
That’s kinda where Misfits fell down. And Heroes S02+
7
themoslucius Mar 24, 2026 +21
Marty McFly is lying in a gutter somewhere and Biff tannen is president for life.
21
paggo_diablo Mar 24, 2026 +5
“Save harambe save the world”
5
Electronic-Cicada352 Mar 24, 2026 +3
If only he would have literally just told him the name and location of the cheerleader
3
burritoman88 Mar 24, 2026 +125
And then it ultimately never mattered 🤣
125
LettersWords Mar 24, 2026 +52
I kind of wish they committed more to that idea (saving Claire not actually preventing what future Hiro hoped it would) instead of getting to it in a roundabout way. Many of the events of the dark future they depict in S1 still happen in the future seasons: Sylar gaining shapeshifting powers and using them to impersonate Nathan, getting Claire’s powers, Future Peter still having a scar.  But if they wanted to stick with the same characters, the idea of elements of the dark future being “set in stone” and resistant to change despite preventing the nuclear explosion in NYC should have been more of the focus. 
52
imdwalrus Mar 25, 2026 +13
>Many of the events of the dark future they depict in S1 still happen in the future seasons That was never the intent, though. Heroes was *supposed* to be an anthology series with new characters each season but they abandoned that when people liked the first season. Which meant they were *immediately* written into a corner given how powerful some of the characters (Sylar in particular) were.
13
LettersWords Mar 25, 2026 +6
I agree, the original intent was not to continue with the characters. I'm more saying that what I described is the more logical direction to go if you do stick to the same cast rather than...whatever the hell they actually were doing.
6
vercertorix Mar 25, 2026 +4
Sylar was such a pathetic character though. He wanted power but never for a reason, it was just: Power > ????? > Profit (Happiness), and he was so suggestible he’d go with whatever someone told him ???? was until he resents them and murders them. Kinda wish they’d just killed him season 1.
4
Instigator187 Mar 24, 2026 +401
One of the many victims of the writers strike. The first season was so good, and then went down hill quickly after.
401
Silverward Mar 24, 2026 +235
Honestly, it didn’t have staying power even before the strike. Peter and Sylar were maxed out at the end of season one, and it should have stayed as an anthology series rather than becoming a parade of momentum killing nerfs
235
Doctor_Doomjazz Mar 24, 2026 +64
Agree big time. I think this show is less a victim of the strike (thought not saying it wasn't) and rather benefits from the "what could have been" effect of a popular show canceled early. Also see: Firefly, Pushing Daisies.
64
mjs1n15 Mar 24, 2026 +25
I rewatched it last year and couldn’t believe how underwhelming that final fight was. It should have been an Avengers esq boss battle, but it just ends up being Matt getting shot with his own bullets, Nikki hitting Sylar with a metal pole once (she was shown to literally rip people apart with her strength but somehow this just wobbles Sylar), Peter punching him a bunch, and then Hiro announcing himself and running at him with a sword while Sylar - previously quick enough to stop bullets in mid air - just stares at him gormlessly before getting stabbed. I know they were on a budget and it was 2006 but damn. Unrelated, but I also hate how they backtracked on implying Sylar eats the brains. It was so insanely horrific, but then they were just like “oh he actually just needs to stare at it a bit and then make his O face and he’s done”. If that’s the case why were all the other brains completely missing?!?!?!?
25
Soy_ThomCat Mar 24, 2026 +14
Yeah the backpedaling on the eating the brain was pretty dumb, I agree. I think it boiled down to either 1) studio execs thought that was too gross for network TV, but also 2) they wanted to make Sylar a more "s*** villain" and that wouldn't happen if he was just some cannibal psycho. It's a lot more presentable if he's more of an intellectual who needs to look at brains.
14
mjs1n15 Mar 24, 2026 +5
Yeah it’s a shame. It scared the c*** out of me as a teenager. It was so unsettling. The show did generally do villains really well though. Even as the quality declined Syler, Adam, Arthur, Danko, and Circus T-Bag were all either scary, fun, and/or interesting
5
AssCrackBanditHunter Mar 25, 2026 +3
I remember being disappointed at the time, but looking back there was simply no way some show runners for a low budget basic cable show were gonna make a better fight lmao.
3
Winter_Body4794 Mar 24, 2026 +41
Pushing Daisies is one of the best things to come out of a TV
41
steveatari Mar 24, 2026 +5
I got to visit the set years after and the OG Scream back lot. Shame that show wasn't saved
5
Horknut1 Mar 24, 2026 +6
God i love that show.
6
Stock_College_8108 Mar 24, 2026 +23
It didn’t get cancelled early. It went on for four seasons. They were given a decent amount of time to recover, just like Friday Night Lights, but they didn’t.
23
Salarian_American Mar 24, 2026 +5
I started to suspect they'd run out of good ideas when they had an accidental visit to a dystopian future, and then preventing that future forms the A-plot of the entire season two seasons in a row.
5
Salarian_American Mar 24, 2026 +27
Keeping Sylar around just because Zachary Quinto became really popular on the show really jacked things up, I think. Also, allowing Peter to keep his copied powers permanently was a HUGE mistake. It was like a rookie Dungeon Master giving one of his players a special artifact or ability that's SO powerful that it makes it impossible to present them with any kind of challenge. But what really killed it for me was when the season premiere had someone accidentally travel to the future, and everything is wrecked, and then the A-plot of the season becomes preventing that future from coming to pass for the second season in a row I already started to think they might be out of ideas.
27
RedditUser123234 Mar 24, 2026 +9
Season 1 also had a ton more filler episodes than I think people remember. When the various characters had storylines that intersected, the episodes were good, but for much of the first season, the characters were all separated and the plot moved forward at a snail's pace.
9
lance777 Mar 24, 2026 +3
That's because of the 24 episode format. A show like this would have gone to a streaming site these days and that would have removed the filler episodes and we would have had a shorter season
3
Barachiel1976 Mar 24, 2026 +2
The creator wanted it to, but the network insisted it was such a big hit, it needed to carry on with the cast and current story. It wasn't his fault.
2
BatDubb Mar 24, 2026 +63
This is often repeated, but not true. The second season sucked before it was ever affected by the strike.
63
muad_dibs Mar 24, 2026 +14
I’ll never forget them not resolving Peter leaving that girl in that dystopian future.
14
rockhammersmash Mar 24, 2026 +2
If Peter managed to forget, so should you ;)
2
Stock_College_8108 Mar 24, 2026 +27
Season 3 and 4 were also even worse than season 2.
27
Salarian_American Mar 24, 2026 +11
But, as it turns out, better than Heroes Reborn.
11
Horknut1 Mar 24, 2026 +3
As bad as Heroes Reborn was, how hyped was I when I heard that angelic music again?
3
ChaseballBat Mar 24, 2026 +3
Season two was half the length it should have been ...
3
BatDubb Mar 24, 2026 +7
It ended sooner because the strike, but the season was bad from the start.
7
chimatt767 Mar 24, 2026 +6
It was a show that would have been better with the shorter seasons and set ending point that exists now. Season 1 was 23 episodes which is like 3 seasons of a show now.
6
cudipi Mar 24, 2026 +5
I remember it being so good that half the parents in my high school orientation night left as soon as they could because it was the night of the season 1 finale and they were pissed they were about to miss it
5
unndunn Mar 24, 2026 +37
"Did we save the world?" "... I'm just a cheerleader." Yeah, f*** off NBC. Such a letdown. 😞
37
Stumpyz Mar 24, 2026 +37
My wife and I just got through the series (minus Reborn). I watched the first 2 seasons when they aired. Honestly, they kinda were coming back in the second half of season 3. Then they had The Carnival for the last season. Wild note to end on. Not in a good way.
37
banduzo Mar 24, 2026 +9
Heroes Reborn: watch Zachary Levi cry for 13 episodes.
9
jburtson Mar 24, 2026 +8
I loved the show, but god, the carnival season was so bad I couldn't finish it, still never have. As I understand, that was during the writers strike, so it was that bad because they had no writers.
8
Fancy-Box198 Mar 24, 2026 +31
That first season was magic. A lot of things contributed to the show jumping the shark, but Bryan Fuller leaving really didn't help. It even got really good again for a few episodes later on when he came back for a bit!
31
nacholibre711 Mar 24, 2026 +52
This show was hype when it was first coming it. There were a bunch of networks trying to create "the next Lost" at the time, and I remember thinking that Heroes could be what they had been looking for. And then season 2 came out.
52
juicybot Mar 24, 2026 +6
it kinda was the next lost in the sense that they set up the characters and universe brilliantly in the first season and never managed to tie things together.
6
GlitteryCakeHuman Mar 24, 2026 +34
season one is one of the best seasons a tv-show would have had. It was brilliant.
34
ZombieQueen666 Mar 24, 2026 +11
Season 1 is all time
11
TheBr0fessor Mar 24, 2026 +16
Yooooooooooo I used to work 3p-Midnight when this show was on tv. I stayed home random Thursday night and this new show “Heroes” happened to be on and as a huge comic book nerd I figured I’d give it a shot. THIS WAS THE FIRST EPISODE I SAW. This shit blew my mind. F****** Days of Future Past storyline with characters I had no backstory on, no preconceived notions, all gas - no brake. I knew I had to stop right then and there and wait for the whole series to come out since I already got a crazy glimpse at what could potentially become their future. The wait for this to come out on dvd was like the longest 6 months of my life. Obligatory: that first season fucked so hard.
16
dcsmith707 Mar 24, 2026 +7
I loved season 1
7
Big_Kahuna_69 Mar 24, 2026 +7
Yatta!
7
jhova96 Mar 25, 2026 +6
Such a good show for the first 2 seasons
6
Jlx_27 Mar 25, 2026 +8
Season one is so good, the writers strike really killed this show.
8
blatanthyp0crisy Mar 24, 2026 +9
I want a Heroes reboot so bad
9
afeitarse Mar 24, 2026 +10
They had one and it was not good.
10
goatjugsoup Mar 24, 2026 +7
Continuation not reboot
7
pfak Mar 24, 2026 +3
It had such promise and somehow they managed to completely drop the ball.
3
bomilk19 Mar 24, 2026 +4
That was such a good show the first year or two. And Sylar was frightening. It’s a shame it fell apart so quickly.
4
Lemesplain Mar 24, 2026 +4
Context for those who weren’t there … at this point, Hiro was an existing character in the series, but he didn’t speak any English. He was a shy little nerd who was just starting to figure out his powers.  Having him just show up, confident, fully fluent in English, having control of his powers, and with a sword on his back was crazy enough. But then dropping that line, “save the cheerleader, save the world,” … absolutely mind blowing. 
4
Winter_Body4794 Mar 24, 2026 +35
That show was ok for a season.
35
HotBrownFun Mar 24, 2026 +40
they should have killed sylar
40
somewhatboxes Mar 24, 2026 +25
they did. unfortunately they did like a dozen other things after that lol
25
Worthyness Mar 24, 2026 +3
Zach Quinto was too good to kill off unfortunately.
3
USCanuck Mar 24, 2026 +24
The show was excellent for exactly one season. Then it was hot miserable garbage.
24
suicidekingdom Mar 24, 2026 +15
That one episode where Peter left that poor girl in the hopeless future and then totally forgot about her 😂
15
WintersDoomsday Mar 24, 2026 +11
OK? It was phenomenal that first season....the drop off was really wild, writers strike or not.
11
CiriOh Mar 24, 2026 +3
Is that you, Zorg?
3
megafresshh Mar 24, 2026 +3
I was absolutely obsessed with this show when it came out. The first season is one of the best individual seasons of TV. It was just so interesting with everyone’s weaving plot lines. Good times
3
aarstar Mar 24, 2026 +3
Writers strike killed this show. Started off so promising.
3
Dalmahr Mar 25, 2026 +3
Idc what people say... I enjoyed most of the seasons.i just wish they did a better continuation after season 2... Peter just left that person stuck in an unrealized future lol
3
jackyLAD Mar 24, 2026 +2
Man, LOST really ushered in some wild 1 season hype job gimmick shows that couldn't sustain the gimmick long... this, Prison Break....that one I can't remember what it was called but it had the classic "Because I was loaded yo!!"
2
Goonchar Mar 24, 2026 +2
I always felt Prison Break was best when they were trying to, you know, break out of a prison. Season 1 >> Season 3 >>> Season 2 and 4 for me
2
Petrichor02 Mar 24, 2026 +2
The show you’re referencing in your last sentence was called Flashforward.
2
Obsidian_409 Mar 24, 2026 +2
this show was really good until it wasnt.
2
ocular__patdown Mar 24, 2026 +2
Season one was the shit! Then they kinda didn't know what to do with some of the characters because they were too OP
2
Rogue100 Mar 24, 2026 +2
Man, that first season was so good. The second season had promise until it got cut off by the Writer's Strike. Show was never the same after that.
2
dinosaurclaws Mar 24, 2026 +2
I really loved the “character of the week” concept in season 1 where they basically just tell individual anthology stories that later intersect. LOST and Once Upon a Time did the same. But they all kinda fizzled out introducing too many characters and being unable to stick the landing. Are there any shows that do this concept well?
2
Simpicity Mar 24, 2026 +2
I loved watching the growth of these characters.  Them going from zeros to powerful heros.  And they had the absolute perfectly evil enemy.  And then they couldn't figure out what came next.  They decided that really the villain needed to be the protagonist.  And wait ... What?
2
Minecraftfinn Mar 24, 2026 +2
This show went downhill soo fast it started put fun but after a few episodes it got worse and worse with each episode. Tried rewatching it a couple of months ago and I just could not go onbthe writing was so terrible. Like when they found out they were being tracked because they all had been implanted with something and then later it was a chemical injected into them but then when they had to break in to "destroy the tracking system" the tracking system was a little girl with the superpower to think about a person and then know where they were exactly on a map, but there was a side story about how she was very sick so her powers were not working but I guess the guy with the glasses didn't know the power didn't work but he knew it was this girl and wanted to kill this 10 year old girl even though he wanted to protect his 16 year old daughter who was innocent, but it's fine to shoot a 10 year old in the face and he led this cop guy there hinking he would agree to kill the child. The writing was so bad and just got worse with every episode
2
ambientocclusion Mar 24, 2026 +2
Remember watching the first few episodes and thinking this would be a great show? ☹️
2
hashtaglurking Mar 24, 2026 +2
Season 1 and 2: 👍 But then...
2
stalewafers Mar 24, 2026 +2
So in hindsight: Future Hiro went back in time to convey critical info that would save "everyone" but of course was vague about it. Peter had no context at this juncture, why not say save a teenager named Claire Bennet from Odessa, Texas, and also talk to a comic book writer named Isaac from Lower Manhattan?
2
Trevor03 Mar 24, 2026 +2
I really want someone to reboot the show from the beginning, with a good budget and writers behind it. Show had so much damn potential. I even tried watching Heroes Reborn or whatever it was, couldn't even finish the season.
2
IEatThyme Mar 24, 2026 +2
I rode this series all the way out. Friends were watching LOST and I was watching 4 seasons of a terrible show where time travel saved everything
2
eat_a_burrito Mar 24, 2026 +2
I want a reboot with good writing on Netflix and Hiro back as a bad ass old as f*** samurai who has to give up his life to save the world or something.
2
GoonieMcflyguy Mar 24, 2026 +2
You know who is a hero? Hiro from Heroes...
2
Complete-Thought-375 Mar 24, 2026 +2
I remember being obsessed with the show and the online comic book that would give you clues about the next episode. The show was great until the last season.
2
nopeitsadog Mar 24, 2026 +2
One of the greatest first seasons in tv history, Then not so much
2
3oogerEater Mar 24, 2026 +2
This show started off awesome, had a ton of potential. But it never recovered after the writer’s strike.
2
JimTheSaint Mar 25, 2026 +2
Loved that show in the first season- unlike anything else at the time 
2
Madman_1992 Mar 25, 2026 +2
Heroes seasons 1 and 2 are great fun after that turn it off.
2
Upward_Fail Mar 25, 2026 +2
Season one was epic
2
jcrestor Mar 25, 2026 +2
This show was such a huge nothingburger. All the Epic ramp-up of the first season, and then this super trivial season ending, basically nothing happened.
2
Chonky_D_Floofy Mar 25, 2026 +2
First season of Heroes was peak television
2
fraghead5 Mar 25, 2026 +2
This show had 1 great season, then it just went straight into the toilet
2
MonkeyTheSpank Mar 25, 2026 +2
I am going to have to give this another rewatch after seeing this post!
2
TehErk Mar 25, 2026 +2
The greatest show, until it wasn't.
2
Ash_Killem Mar 24, 2026 +5
Surprised they have tried rebooting this again. Cool concept just need some good writers.
5
VrinTheTerrible Mar 24, 2026 +13
They did bring it back with Heroes Reborn. It wasn't great.
13
ryantyrant Mar 24, 2026 +3
The best thing about heroes reborn was going to the av club recap articles and laughing about how bad it was in the comment section
3
USCanuck Mar 24, 2026 +5
The franchise is nothing special. There have been dozens of superhero shows. It would be easier and better to make a new franchise than to try to save this one.
5
VrinTheTerrible Mar 24, 2026 +3
Agreed. Heroes became incredibly convoluted. It had no idea where it was headed. The only way they could go forward is to scrap it and start from scratch with only a vague mention of what happened "in the past". But you know if they did that, eventually the older characters would start showing up. The writers couldn't possibly resist that. And when they do, they're right back into the same convoluted story problems.
3
uncheckablefilms Mar 24, 2026 +2
They never should have let Bryan Fuller go. The moment he left the writing went downhill.
2
humanoideric Mar 24, 2026 +6
see also, American Gods s01 You can tell he stayed on Hannibal cause it's good lol
6
nigevellie Mar 24, 2026 +3
This and Westworld. Epic first seasons. Don't bother with the rest.
3
misterboo84 Mar 24, 2026 +2
I still remember when Heroes won some award and the guy accepting the award said he saw the future and the it was still airing 20 years later and that the only character that was still around was the little kid that had computer powers. He was very wrong.
2
Mister_Acula Mar 24, 2026 +2
There's still time to reboot the show and put that kid in it.
2
Derpykins666 Mar 24, 2026 +3
Heroes is literally one of the best worst shows ever made, and I stand by that. It has such great moments sprinkled in with meandering nothingness that just drags on and on, but the highs of the series are memorable, I will give it that.
3
BobbyP27 Mar 24, 2026 +3
Heroes was an excellent single season TV show. It has so much potential, and I'm sure it would have been possible to make a second season of it. I'm very glad they didn't try, though, because there was a writers strike that year, and if they had tried to make a second season there is a risk they might have screwed it up. Thank goodness they didn't do that, though, and we have a single solitary season of a great TV show to remember, with no further content from that IP.
3
mongobob666 Mar 24, 2026 +4
Sad there was just one season. THERE WAS JUST ONE SEASON.
4
MeaninglessGuy Mar 24, 2026 +8
2006: “Hey, superheroes are cool, right?” 2026: “… I am so tired…”
8
cookedart Mar 24, 2026 +2
I will never forget about the Ireland subplot in s2. A woman named Caitlin ends up getting swept up by Peter Petrelli in the future. She gets captured and put in a deportation line but Peter gets away. Despite spending over 7 episodes building up a relationship with this character, we never see her again. I remember being at comic con when someone asked the writers about Caitlin and they agreed they "fucked up" with her because they forgot about her. Very alarming considering they were writing a show heavily involving time travel.
2
D-Rich-88 Mar 24, 2026 +2
Such a shame this got killed because of the writers’ strike. Seasons 1 & 2 were great!
2
Anomuumi Mar 24, 2026 +1
They did a real superhero power creep speed run with the series. Shows like this are interesting to a point, but the classic mistake of introducing ever bigger powers until it's just boring.
1
rotunderthunder Mar 24, 2026 +1
Forgot about Isaac, with the power of can paint the future but only when I'm on skag.
1
saucisse Mar 24, 2026 +1
This show shot out of the gate like a f****** rocket, then the writers' strike happened, and it never recovered. That first season was incredible.
1
Jazs1994 Mar 24, 2026 +1
I don't remember much about this series as I was 13/14 when s1 aired, wasn't the Asian guy the most powerful early on too? Like a ridiculous power of some kind?
1
shadowdra126 Mar 24, 2026 +1
Season one of this show was so good. It had so much potential… Oh well…
1
Eayragt Mar 24, 2026 +1
Loved season one. Season two suffered from the writers strike. Got part way through season three and have up. Bought the DVDs. Loved season one. Tolerated season two. Got part way through season three and gave up. Is it worth me going back and trying to get to season four, our should I just just remember season one as a great season and leave it at that?
1
Wants-NotNeeds Mar 24, 2026 +1
I had to stop watching the series when one too many episodes kept me hanging.
1
DefinitelyIncorrect Mar 24, 2026 +1
Biggest writers strike "what if" ever... This show got dukes of hazard yeeted by that.
1
BleachedUnicornBHole Mar 24, 2026 +1
Another show ruined by the execs not trusting their writers (the strike didn’t help, but I think being forced to keep the characters hurt it more). It would’ve been so much better if they kept the anthology format as originally planned.
1
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