What follows is a detailed list of only five ways in which Heroes has failed its viewers. A full list would take too long and so this purely is the fist five that come to mind in no particular order.

Tracy Strauss

Ali Larter's contract with Heroes was a three season deal and therefore when they killed off Nikki/Jessica at the end of season two the writers had to figure out a way to bring her back. Enter Tracy, who apparently is some kind of manufactured triplet or clone, which the writers failed to fully explain presumably because they couldn't be arsed.

What the highly paid writing staff did do however was name Tracy's sisters. Of course there was Nikki, who we know, but the third sister was named Barbara. Hang on… wasn't Jessica Nikki's sister? The answer can be found here or if you want to do it the quick way I can simply confirm; yes she was.

Now there are two scenarios in which I can think that the highly paid writing staff made this error. One way is to presume that they knew exactly what they were doing and took care in inducing a character that totally contradicts another character's (played by the same actress) back story, all the while planning some elaborate end game as, say the writers of Lost, might do. Alternatively, and far more likely, the writers killed off a character two seasons into the actress who played said character's three year contract and had to think of a way to bring said actress back into the show. Being the highly paid professionals that they are they then half arsed some triplet/clone nonsense together and throw it on the screen giving absolutely no thought as to how this new character erases part of the old characters fully explored history.

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Sylar/Elle relationship

The first time Elle and Sylar encounter one another is in episode 2.11 - Powerless and here they give no indication of having ever met. The second time they are together is in episode 3.02 – The Butterfly Effect again they give no indication of having met before and it is also noteworthy that in this episode Sylar kills Elle's father and tries to kill her. Then comes episode 3.08 - Villains. In this episode we learn that Elle went undercover and had a relationship with Sylar or, using his 'good guy' name Gabriel, pre the events of season one. After this they get all lovey-dovey in present time, in what I think of as a super powered version of this, and Sylar/Gabriel learns that he doesn't need to kill folks to get their powers after all. Sadly, three episodes later, he cuts her head off and sets her body on fire taking the old "treat'em mean" adage a tad too far.

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Sylar's Morality

In the shows first season Sylar is the ultimate boogieman loping off the tops of heads and removing parts of their brain with frightening efficiency giving the heroes a much needed and highly effective villain. By season two Sylar is relegated to a powerless border hopping bastard who cons a ride with nubile Maya and her red shirt brother. However, at the end of this season we given allusions to the return of the terrifying serial murderer we all knew and loved. Enter season three it's looking like he's back to him old self, attacking Claire at her home. But then he catches her.

At this point the highly paid writing staff take time to explain that Sylar does not eat the parts of the brain he removes (as was the popular assumption) and that, in fact, he does not apparently remove parts of the brain at all. Rather he just kind of looks and softly pokes at it until he sees how it works. Fair enough I suppose, except that season one clearly established that he did remove parts of the brain. And to this the fact that he replaces the top of Claire's head and lets her live and suddenly he's not as bad as you thought he was. Except you didn't think he was bad, this was a fact shown time and time again throughout season one as he butchered nearly everyone he came in contact with.

As volume three progresses Sylar is made out to be a guilt ridden vampire type akin to Angel until near the end of the chapter where he more or less says "sod that", cuts Elle's head off and kills a whole bunch of people without giving any indication that he gives a toss about any of it.

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Save the Cheerleader

At the time of its printing Watchmen, a twelve issue miniseries (it was not a "graphic novel" as it is called today) was a dissection of the superhero comic book and asked the question for the first time – what if superheroes were real? That being the case it seems that at this time, when comic book movies are at fever pitch, is the right time for a movie adaptation to hit the big screen.

Coming from the man who brought 300 to our screens you won't be surprised to hear that this is a film not for the faint of heart. The sex and violence are extremely gratuitous and, while I can see the need for the latter, some of the sex scenes seems a little out of place and unnecessary (just as it did in 300). The violence you will see is crucial to the narrative, it needs to be so harsh and unrelenting to show that, should extra ordinary human beings choose to don costumes and take to fighting crime, it would not be the simple SLAM, BANG, POW that your favourite comic book would have you believe. Rorschach is an example of the 'Batman' figure seen in the extreme. Even in the excellent Batman Begins and The Dark Knight, the square jawed handsome hero gives the bad guys a few hard knocks and sends them off to the pokey before heading home to his mansion/penthouse. Rorschach shows that to have the kind of commitment to fighting crime that Batman exhibits you would truly have to be a deeply disturbed individual with serious anger issues.

On the issue of sex, as I said before, some of it seems unnecessary – such as the length of Nite-Owl and Silk Spectre's love scene for example. What I do have to say is this: let's be grown ups. Yes you can see Dr. Manhattan's penis, but even if you were unaware of his nudity before entering the theatre, surely, one snigger is enough. On the flip side of that issue it does have to be said that I could have lived without the shot which comes from the ass-crack of a floating Dr. Manhattan while he sits in the lotus position.

The films soundtrack features great music though I did feel that some of the choices were a little off. The best example of this would be The Ride of the Valkyries, doubtlessly played in homage to Apocalypse Now during a Vietnam scene. As effective as the music is in the classic war movie's helicopter scene, played against the backdrop of a giant blue man blowing up the VC, it makes the scene play a little comically.

A sore point for many of the die hard fans of the comic book will be the ending, but at the risk of being unpopular, I would have to say that the films ending makes much more sense than that of the comic book. Just to be clear: I am saying Alan Moore is not infallible.

Overall the film is excellent and has come at the correct time in order to make sense to people who are not comic book readers. That being said I could not recommend this to everyone. Probably best to send mum and dad off to see Slumdog Millionaire. I would also warn that if you find the entire concept of superheroes unacceptable then, obviously, this is not the film for you. In closing, if you want to see a slick, stylish, adult superhero movie then you will enjoy this. However, even if all this is true but you don't think you can get over the sight of a male penis, do the rest of us a favour and wait for the DVD.

Seven episodes into the fifth season the veteran show still proves itself to be the most original and compelling drama on television. With the seasons now shortened (this years run is only seventeen episodes) the drama nips along at a quick pace, clearing up some mysteries, teasing at others and as always raising new questions in the build up to the sixth and final season.

So far this season we've seen Locke's journey back to the real world, the Oceanic Six take to the skys together again, discovered the enigmatic Ms Hawking from Desmond's time travel/flashback is Daniel Faraday's mother and, thanks to the island's quantum leaping through time, we've seen glimpses of "The Others" in their early day, a young Charles Widmore on the island, the French shipwreck survivors arrival and death at the hands(?) of the monster, and we have seen Daniel and Jin wearing the uniforms of the mysterious Dharma Initiative circa 1970. Yet despite all this and much more you'll still find plenty of people who regard the drama poorly.

Part of the reason for this is negative press. The British tabloids, desperately furrowing their caveman brows struggle to understand where the drama is going and despise it for asking it's viewers to think. The show's other detractors are frustrated, paradoxically, by what makes the show so gripping: The questions. The viewing public seem to hate the show constant cycle of questions and answers, seemingly wanting to know the answers to all the big questions all at once.

Way back when season one ended I remember the general consensus being one of anger that the protagonists were not off the islands and that it was not explained what the island was. This general feeling is the same today, only with new questions being the source of the viewers (or, more often than not, no viewers) irritation. The excellent writers and creators of the show have proved time and time again that they do have the answers and will reveal them when they feel the time is right, and still this does not sate said detractors.

The issue people have seems to be that they do not seem to appreciate that what they are watching is science fiction. To be fair the drama may have been misleading at first, seeming to be about the survivors of a plane crash. However, even if you started watching the drama on this small pretence, the appearance of 'The Monster' in the first episode should have clued you in that this wasn't going to be a modern day Robinson Crusoe. What people also do not seem to realise is that without the questions there would be no show. Lost is not suitable for the episodic formula of wrapping things up neatly at the end of each 45 minute chapter and does require that you invest yourself into its viewing. If you are the type of person who simply wishes to tune in and drop out this is not the show for you.

In fairness, the show is not for everyone, though if you do watch it then you must, especially at this stage of five years in, be prepared to accept the fantastic. Most importantly, if you do not want your entertainment to make you think, switch to another channel (X Factor or American Idol may be more your speed). I, for one, am loving every minute of Lost just I always have and have complete faith in the produces, writers and actors to keep me on the edge of my seat until the last frame.