Heroes has plenty of characters that buck that description. HRG, Claude, even Niki & Linderman really.

Didn't out of the gate, though. HRG was bad, Niki was good, and the other two weren't really around.

I love how Heroes developed a complexity with many of its characters which flips you around on your opinion of them, but it was clearly something they knew ahead of time because they didn't contradict themselves or ask you to make large leaps.

Which is neither here nor there, I guess, but that's how the characters that appeared black and white became less easy to pin down.

why do you think Heroes worked and found an audience, but Drive did not?

My answer is much shorter than the others:

Hiro

I think Lee is right: there were alot of characters but everyone loved Hiro. (Even if you think he became irritating later on.)

It's a good point. Drive had no woobie. Hotties, of both genders, for many, but no woobie.

I think that Winston had woobie potential.

Only potential though-- Hiro was adorkable right off the bat, and it gave the show a focus while the other characters were developing.

On Drive, I think the characters might have ended up more interesting, but they were all developing, and there wasn't a focus, which made it more challenging and scattershot.

Not everyone likes that.

I think that Winston had woobie potential.

Especially now that he made it home to Queens and [Ugly Betty spoiler]!

Hey, there's a pretty good review of Drive in the April 20 EW, giving it a B.

NBC went all-out to launch Heroes. They gave away free downloads of the premiere, plugged it in movie theaters, and hyped it all summer. It aired with limited ads, had Deal or No Deal as a lead-in, and was competing against some sitcoms, Supernanny, and Vanished. And 14 million people tuned in. It dropped for a few weeks after that before rebounding, but that's a pretty good base upon which to build, to put it mildly.

But you can't make every show into a must-see event, and even if you try, it doesn't necessarily work. Studio 60 started with numbers similar to Heroes but hemorrhaged viewers till half the audience was gone. However, if Drive had premiered to 14 million, it would have had a bit of breathing room, at the very least.

Tim, Kristen, I'm also sorry to hear this news. I don't understand FOX, if they really believe in a show why don't they slide it over to MyNetwork or F/X?

Are there shows being developed for the web or any sites showing web only serial content yet? I have network shows I like and watch online or via iTunes, but so many things I have liked in the past 3 - 5 years get cancelled that it seems like less expensive production and then distribution via web could be profitable with a smaller audience. right?

I'm very into this. Drive actually has very strong ARG elements that I think would really be a hit on the web. I'm going to ramble so bear with. Youtube started this all but in fact all they did was put existing technology behind a unique concept. Now they're stalled because they don't know how to take the next step. The big problem has been in getting advertisers and sponsors but recently the UK Times wrote "The internet will overtake radio by next year and become the world’s fourth-largest advertising medium, a year earlier than forecast." Quietly Hollywood has been dipping their toes in the water. There is the "24" spinoff "The Rookie" airing online and in addition to rebroadcasting series episodes networks have been offering original programming online. Recently Newscorp and NBC agreed to basically put a network online. Like Youtube-it's technology that is already available, any one of us can do it, but they are going to load it with their content. Personally I don't think putting TV quality content online is going to explode the medium but that's a story for a different day. I can go on and on. It's going to happen it's just a matter of when.