Heroic fate

Heroes has hints of the supernatural | Mary Hopkins

Heroes, NBC's new hit drama about ordinary people who learn that they possess superhuman abilities, could become the next X-Files or Lost. The show's believable and quirky characters, fascinating dialogue, dreamlike filming, and short story arcs make it addictive television, although its penchant for mild gore and violence could turn away some viewers.

The characters—a cop who can read minds, an indestructible cheerleader, a politician who can fly, a Japanese man who can stop time, and others—are products of evolution, but Heroes (Mondays, 9 p.m. ET) also hints that something supernatural may be at work. A narrator at the close of every episode tries to put the comic-book action into context—as if the show might have a theologically driven sensibility, or at least theological terminology thrown in just to create intrigue.