Heroes: Season 2

Heroes, NBC’s once buzzy drama, made some egregious errors in its sophomore season: Suresh (Sendhil Ramamurthy) and Claire (Hayden Panettiere) crossed into out-of-character territory; one-note twins added little to the Heroes universe; Hiro (Masi Oka) toiled in feudal Japan far too long. But who knew the writers’ strike was a blessing in disguise? A featurette shows that without the season-killing walkout, the sinful story lines would have continued: Peter (Milo Ventimiglia) wasn’t meant to catch the deadly Shanti virus-filled vial, cuing several even bleaker (fortunately unmade) episodes. A season 3 teaser hints that Heroes may be returning to its heart…you know, saving the world. Please, and thank you. C+