Heroes 3x14: A Clear and Present Danger

Heroes returns with Volume Four, Fugitives. Why not just call it Season Four, hm? Bloody US TV silliness.

Still, the main thing is, it's a helluva lot better than before! This episode contained as much incident as half a dozen episodes would've in the old-style Heroes and, with the exception of the odd unsubtle misstep (orange jumpsuits), it was all good, exciting, intriguing stuff.

But it's probably come too late -- the show's phenomenon status is well and truly shot on both sides of the Atlantic, with falling ratings over there and very little promotion for this new run over here (so little, in fact, that I skipped this ep on broadcast to watch L&O:UK, and only remembered the show was even on when I checked this evening's listings); plus tie-in making-of series Heroes Unmasked has apparently been cancelled.

It's all a shame, because if they'd pulled this kinda quality out of the bag for season two -- or even the start of season three -- it might've been enough to save the show's status. Now it's got to rebuild its popularity, and that's a big ask.