Why I'll Miss the TV Show Heroes

NBC's Heroes is one of those shows that you wish had a new episode every week. How many of you Heroes fans couldn't stand the break after episode 11, Fallout? And don't even mention the hiatus after one of my favorite episodes, Parasite.

With Heroes being off the air until September, it's gonna be a long summer for Heroes fans. Here's a couple reasons why I'll miss Heroes.

1. Streamlined Scripts

I think what made Heroes such a remarkable show was the writers' skill to keep the show moving at a fast pace. The NBC Heroes writers did a great job cutting out unnecessary scenes and dialogue.

There were not many filler scenes. The speaking parts were not long and drawn out. The scripts jumped right into the action. The background of the plot took back seat to the actual plot. For a show that used an ensemble cast, this was important because the viewers needed to see many characters over the course of the hour-long episodes.

When I watched Heroes, it felt like a 25 minute show instead of an hour.

2. Balance Between Ordinary Humans And Extraordinary Powers

This was a novel idea that worked out well. Heroes balanced the special abilities with realistic characters we could identify with. Whether it was geeky Hiro, power hungry Nathan, or single mom Niki, we saw personalities we could relate to. If Heroes focused too much on the powers, it might have ended up with everyone wearing tights, flying, and totally ruling the world. That would've been too cliche, too predictable.

Tim Kring, Heroes creator, added the human element. That drove the plot and made the show interesting.

3. Plot Twists

Plot twists. Surprises. Unexpected scenes. Whatever you want to call it, Heroes kept us guessing.

How many of us were floored with the ending of Company Man? I never saw it coming.

What about Five Years Gone? That whole episode was unpredictable. Even if you saw the promo videos and read the spoilers, it was still shocking to see the new personalities of the heroes. Hiro was a dark terrorist. Parkman was a ruthless government official. HRG was an underground protector of the heroes.

In the earlier episodes, there's that plot twist of Nathan being the one with the flying ability instead of Peter. And Homecoming had one of the most surprising scenes: Sylar kills the wrong cheerleader and Claire gets away.

4. Character Development

Even though Heroes had plot that advanced quickly, the writers didn't skimp on character development. Whether it's HRG complete transformation by choosing his family over the company, Mohinder developing courage, Peter gaining more powers, or Claire accepting her ability, many of the Heroes characters changed significantly over the course of the season.

5. Sylar

He was one of the best villains on TV in a long time. What made him so intriguing was his ruthlessness, large number of victims, and pure power. His unquenchable greed for more abilities caused him to be heartless in his killings. Between the graphic novels and the TV show, he killed almost 20 people. And he grew more and more powerful as season one progressed.

6. Grand Scope

Just consider the grand scope of Heroes. Heroes had varied locations from all over the world: a small town in Texas, Manhattan, Los Angeles, Tokyo, Las Vegas, and India. It had different kinds of people from all walks of life: a single mom, a smart kid, an RPG loving geek, a cop, a professor, a politician, a nurse, an artist, a high school cheerleader, and an art dealer. And somehow the heroes start meeting each other and their destinies begin to intersect until the climax in New York.

Simply put, season one of NBC Heroes was an epic story.