The Trail

Issue date: 3/23/07 Section: A&E

NBC scored big-time when it introduced "Heroes," a primetime program about everyday people waking up with supernatural abilities. The show is incredibly popular, earning NBC its highest drama ratings in five years, and it is easy to see why. "Heroes" draws on the success of similar on-going dramas "Lost" and "24," ending each episode with a cliffhanger and an abundance of new questions. The apparently inquisitive nature of American audiences makes "Heroes" the latest addiction. It is, more or less, televised crack.

Despite the presence of its supernatural qualities, "Heroes" is not a science fiction series. While the plot is stimulated by the development of unexplained superhuman powers, the show appears uninterested in advocating a Spider-Man-esque morality tale. Instead, the conflicts of the story revolve around the internal struggle of its characters. "Heroes" is out to save American family values.

Almost every character in the show has a familial connection to another character in the program. (The sole exception to this is the prognosticating painter Isaac, who we kind of lose sympathy for once he shoots his girlfriend in the chest.) In fact, "Heroes" sets out to tackle every single example of familial conflict. There is the overprotective parent (exhibited by the invincible cheerleading jailbait Claire Bennet and her ambivalently motivated stepfather), volatile sibling dynamic (brothers Peter and Nathan Petrelli, whose outlooks on heroism could not clash more), and struggling single parent (the super-powered Sanders clan - constantly troubled by every facet of the law). Chubby space-time continuum bending Hiro Nakamura is kidnapped by his newly introduced father. Even the show's powerless middleman, Mohinder Suresh, is drawn to New York City in order to follow the footsteps of his deceased father.

The show forces the notion of a full family unit, kids and all. When psychic cop Matt Parkman faces a six-month suspension from the police force, his marriage is saved when he finds out that his wife is pregnant via telepathy.

And let us not forget that special talents are hereditary in the "Heroes" universe. Claire's biological mother is a fire starter, and her real father is the flight-enabled Nathan Petrelli.
On the other end, there is the show's all-consuming super villain, Sylar. He explains in the flashback episode, "Six Months Ago," that his lust for power comes from a want to escape the tedium of the family business - a need to feel special. Naturally, Sylar decides that going on a killing spree and absorbing other superpowers is the only way to feed that craving. The less than subtle insinuation here is that turning your back on family will lead you down the wrong path or, at the very least, turn you into a serial killer.

Ted Sprague, the Exploding Man, is an even more concrete example. After accidentally killing his wife from the uncontrolled radiation he emits, Sprague escapes police custody and vows to avenge his wife. His powers will no doubt be the cause of the nuclear explosion in New York, although it is still unclear how.

Still, much of the struggle comes from the conflict of interest between family members.

Mr. Bennet continues to hide the facts from his daughter, even resorting to erasing her memory (which, luckily, does not get carried through by the Haitian). Nathan is constantly thwarting Peter's attempt to understand the reason behind their gifts, pretending the situation does not exist, destroying Isaac's revealing paintings, et cetera. While Mr. Bennet and Nathan Petrelli's motivations are, to them, in the best interest of their loved ones, it is this very notion of protection that prevents Claire and Peter from discovering the reasoning and potential behind their powers.

In the most recent episode, "Parasite," Claire runs off to New York City to find Peter, but instead finds his mother. As it turns out, Mrs. Petrelli, previously introduced as a background character, has a central role in the plot's orchestration.
I will admit some of the show's storylines are weaker than others, and often times, the writing feels forced and overdramatic, but "Heroes" formidably enforces themes that illustrate the relationship between the American hero and American family.

Always solitary, the traditional American hero stands up for good in the face of evil. The show sets out to reconstruct this notion of heroism. "Heroes'" characters are flawed and relatable. It is when they have the support of friends and, more importantly, family that these heroes are able to overcome the supernatural adversities they face. It is in this way that "Heroes" exchanges our ideas of the traditional American hero for the importance of the American family.

I challenge "Lost" or "24" to tackle a moral like that.

"Heroes" is currently on a post-sweeps hiatus and will return with new episodes on April 23.

• Kevin Nguyen urges you to catch up oh all the episodes of "Heroes," which can be streamed for free on the NBC website.

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