Strega's got the key's to the "Heroes" success story in one. And there were a lot of other reasons why it worked, too - not the least of which is it got to ride the "superhero zeitgeist," what with the popularity of the Spidey and X-Men films, but it was carefully designed to be accesible to someone who's never read a comic before. (I didn't really know HOW much so until I read the interview with Tim Kring over in the Heroes thread.

And make no mistake, NBC got lucky -- they needed a hit bad and were willing to take a gamble on a show, and go for broke. That could have easily gone the other direction.

No matter how cool "Drive" looked going in, I think there's a lot of people who reacted the way my friend Elmo did when I was talking about it: "It's the 'Cannonball Run?'" There was an element where you had to really look at the show, at the creative team and the actors, and have some knowledge of what was going on to have a sense of just how cool the show could be, and Joe Q. America doesn't really bother with any of that.

Superheroes == cool. (Now).

That pilot got leaked onto the web MONTHS in advance. It got, like, a lot of ILLEGAL downloads back then. Buzz was everywhere. Real life, the interweb. So was the advertising.

Contrast Drive. A few weeks before launch, nobody online was talkin' about it. Those that were, were often saying 'Gee, that promo looks like Fastlane'. I think, looking back now, driving is a universal thing everybody can understand, but I don't think it's something people normally equate to interesting, or done well. When people think of superheroes now, what do they think of? Likely, well done Hollywood big budget movies. Cars? Rat race. Cannonball run.

I think Heroes worked because it was pretty distinct. It's not like you could compare it to anything else on TV at the time. The advertising, the concept and the timing all clicked together.

When people think of superheroes now, what do they think of? Likely, well done Hollywood big budget movies

I dunno--although the latest Batman was good, and people seem to like the Spiderman movies, I still feel they're fringe. Now, it might be all those fringe people sighing in relief and tuning in to their fringe writ large. But as long as the Fantastic Four movies are also coming out, there's a taint to the genre.

I agree the FF movies are basically pap, but X-Men, Spiderman and Batman were all amazing financial successes. A lot of people saw them. Familys. Nerds. It spanned, which has gotta be good for Nielsen figures.

To be fair, FF was also a financial success. It was a crap movie, but it had a bigger opening weekend than Batman Begins, and is getting a sequel first despite opening later.

Huh, I didn't even realise - thanks Jessica.

It was crap that featured Chris Evans burning his way out of his clothes. A lot. They found my price.

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

raises hand I may be the sole voice of dissent, but I merely tolerated Hiro because Ando likes him. And still do. I have not warmed to the character at all. Ando, Matt, and Mama Petrelli were my early faves.

Well, crappity, crap, crap, crap!

Tim, step away from Fox. For all our sakes.

Crap!

While I watched Drive and enjoyed it, I also wondered from the first episode how they could sustain it. Knowing Tim show I figured something good was planned, but the average public viewer may not have felt that way. Also, even by the second episode the amount of the show that was just effects shots of cars racing down the highway was old. I feared that 25% of each episode was going to be swoopy shots of cars on the road.

I was looking forward to seeing more of Drive, but I think I can see how Joe Public didn't come along for the ride.

I also wondered from the first episode how they could sustain it. Knowing Tim show I figured something good was planned, but the average public viewer may not have felt that way.

I wondered how they could sustain it, too, but to be honest, I don't think Joe Public thinks that far in advance. I think the vast majority of TV watchers are of the "be here now" persuasion.