Michael Muller Sendhil Ramamurthy as Mohinder Suresh. Click photo for larger image. "Heroes" When: Rerun marathon 8 to 11 tonight; new episode at 9 p.m. tomorrow, NBC. Starring: Adrian Pasdar. Related coverage: Q&A With Masi Oka Tuned In Journal: More 'Heroes' worship

For the broadcast networks, the 2006-07 TV season, which began last month with the promise of an unusually high number of positive reviews for new series, has dissolved into a bad case of dashed expectations. Cancellations are mounting, expected hits have not lived up to advance hype (NBC's "Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip"), and critical darlings bleed viewers (NBC's "Friday Night Lights").

Sparing NBC from abject humiliation are a cadre of "Heroes," the season's best-rated new series among the young viewers advertisers crave. Already renewed for a full season, NBC is looking to spread the word about the show by airing three reruns tonight, 8 to 11 p.m., while "Sunday Night Football" sits out the week rather than air opposite the World Series. A new "Heroes" episode airs at 9 p.m. tomorrow.

"Heroes" follows the lives of assorted characters around the globe as they each begin to discover superhuman abilities. New York politician Nathan Petrelli (Adrian Pasdar) can fly; Texas cheerleader Claire (Hayden Panettiere) heals herself; Japanese geek Hiro (Masi Oka) can stop time. Since the show's premiere in late September, the characters have begun to cross paths, but series creator Tim Kring said they won't form a league of superheroes.

"The difference between them and other superheroes is the idea that this started at the very beginning [as they first acquire their powers]," Kring said this month. "There's no sense of forming a Justice League, of putting on a uniform to fight crime. These are people trying to lead their lives as they always have led their lives, knowing and discovering that they're changing."

Greg Grunberg ("Alias"), who plays a Los Angeles cop who can hear what others are thinking, said "Heroes" takes a grounded, realistic approach to a comic book story.

"Tim is writing these characters in a real and personal way about what would happen if you woke up and you had this superpower," he said. "It's not so simple to just tell people, 'Hey, this is what's happened.' People aren't going to believe you, they're going to think you're nuts. How do you handle it?"

Those emerging powers will continue to affect characters as some move in darker directions. Already viewers have seen Claire drive a car into a wall with her would-be killer/rapist in the passenger's seat, meting out her own form of justice.

"Powers are just that, powers," Kring said. "What you do with them depends on your circumstances. If you are predisposed to do evil, you will do evil. If you are predisposed to do good, you will do good."

	A 'Heroes' Who's Who 1: Hiro Nakamura (Masi Oka), a Japanese office drone, can teleport through space and time. He enthusiastically travels to America to fulfill his destiny, taking along buddy Ando (James Kyson Lee), who has the hots for Las Vegas Internet stripper ... 2: Niki Sanders (Ali Larter), who displays a Jekyll-and-Hyde personality that she hides from her son, Micah (Noah Gray-Cabey). She owes money to loan sharks and tries to make good by bedding ... 3: Nathan Petrelli (Adrian Pasdar), a slimy New York politician who's running for office. He has the ability to fly but wants to keep it secret. His brother, ... 4: Peter Petrelli (Milo Ventimiglia), is a sensitive good guy who can temporarily assume the powers of those he's near. He has a crush on Simone Deveaux (Tawny Cypress), the former love interest of ... 5: Isaac Mendez (Santiago Cabrera), a drug addict and gifted artist who can paint the future. In tomorrow's episode his painting reveals a connection to ... 6: Claire Bennet (Hayden Panettiere), a seemingly indestructible Texas cheerleader. Claire doesn't know it, but her father, known only as Horn-Rimmed Glasses (Jack Coleman), seems to be a bad guy who abducted ... 7: Matt Parkman (Greg Grunberg), an L.A. cop with the ability to hear what others are thinking. He partners with an FBI agent (Clea Duvall) to track down the serial killer Sylar, who also turns up in journals written by the murdered father of... 8: Mohinder Suresh (Sendhil Ramamurthy), an Indian professor. Mohinder travels to New York to investigate why his father was killed. Although he has no powers, Mohinder appears to be the unifying force who will bring the heroes together. -- Rob Owen, Post-Gazette TV editor

As their destinies become more intermingled, Kring said some characters will form alliances with others, each character bearing a tiny piece of an overall puzzle that draws them together for "one unifying event."

Some of those pieces have been bloodier than some viewers might prefer. After toning down the pilot (originally drug-addicted artist Isaac chopped off his own hand; in what aired, he just overdosed), subsequent episodes featured murder victims with their brains scooped out, the work of little-seen serial killer Sylar, who's poised to become the show's primary Season One villain.

"Basically we're trying to use the comic book or graphic novel nature of visuals to allow us to push a little bit," Kring said. "The truth is, we have found the limit there, and we're backing off of that. ... It does feel like there are families who are watching the show, and it's not our intention to push them away with this stuff."

As for the brain-swiping Sylar, Kring said fans might want to consider that the powers at least some of the characters are developing emanate from "some region of the brain, and maybe it could be turned on or off by a switch.

"There's a clue there why the major villain in the show is interested in brains," he said. "I know there is speculation [Sylar] is somebody among the characters we've met already, and I'm comfortable with that speculation and I don't want to give it away."

Despite the show's comic book-inspired themes -- there's even a weekly online comic at www.nbc.com/heroes) -- Kring said he doesn't want to be limited by the "comic book series" label.

"It's very much a character piece about people struggling with these special abilities, how they're impacting their lives and leading them to their destiny," he said. "The comic book elements are candy and icing. We do lean into that occasionally, but at its heart, it's a character drama."