I’ll save the ranting about how much I love Heroes for another post. For now, this is my episode guide for the first installment of Heroes.

In this introductory episode, we meet Mohinder as he teaches a class at the University of Madras in India. During the class, he muses as to whether “Mankind is standing at the threshold of true human potential”. He is told later that hs father has died. Although Mohinder is estranged from his father, he decides to travel to New York to finish his father’s work.

The next scene opens on on Niki Sanders writhing on a bed in front of a webcam. As she passes her reflection, she sees something weird and pauses. We discover her son is a child prodigy, but he’s being kicked out of school because Niki can’t afford the tuition fees. It turns out Niki is up to her eyeballs in debt, and as she leaves the house (via the back door) with her son, two heavies break down the front door.

Next, we meet Claire Bennett, the all-American cheerleader. But she’s got a secret (as you might expect). She’s unbreakable. She can survive any type of injury and tests this ‘gift’ to the limit. She throws herself off steel bridge and dislocates arm but miraculously the damages repairs itself.

Peter Petrelli dreams that he can fly. But can he? He’s an otherwise normal guy – his brother Nathan is running for office and Peter is a nurse. As he quizzes Nathan about the ability to fly, they get word their mother has been arrested.

Hiro is next. He’s a cubicle monkey in a large Japanese corporation. He also an avid Trekkie and believes he can stop time. And as we watch, he slows down the hands of a clock. You can tell instantly that Hiro is one of the key characters in Heroes: his comedy value, his geek credentials and his acceptance of his er…heroic destiny.

Peter and Nathan visit their mother in the police station. Nathan is angry that his mother’s behavour might affect his political aspirations, though she says since their father died she “Just wanted to feel alive again”.

The action returns to Claire Bennett and her friend, who come across a train derailment. She decides to test her abilites and walks straight into the fire to see how much she can handle. She sees an injured man, helps him escape. Although he is badly burned, Claire is unscathed.

Peter meets Mohinder in his taxi as the solar eclipse takes place. We see all the characters watch the sky as the eclipse passes. Niki watches through her son’s pinhole camera, but the mobsters are still in her house.

Niki wakes up after having been captured by the mobsters. She turns to face the grotesque corpses – one beside her and the other on the floor. All evidence suggests that she killed both of them.

Claire is at home. She drops her ring in the trash compacter and mangles her hand retrieving it. We see she has a strange relationship with her parents, although it’s seemingly perfect. Her father turns out to be the sinister guy who was following Mohinder.

Hiro finally manages to teleport through space and time from Japan to New York.

Isaac is the clairvoyant artist whose paintings reflect future events. Peter and Isacs girlfriend come across him unconscious on the balcony. Peter sees himself in one of Isaacs paintings – flying. Calls Nathan who arrives at the building. As Peter plummets from the building, Nathan flies to catch him. Fade to black…

Opinion: Having seen a couple of episodes of Heroes already, this is one of the strongest television shows available. Spreading the story out over 20-something episodes allows for more intricate plot and character development. ‘Genesis’, as the pilot show introduces the main characters, gives us insight into their lives, their powers and their histories, as well as leaving many questions open for the next episode.

Looking forward to Chapter 2….are you?