HEROES

No, not the fireman or police or soldiers... but HEROES the NBC dramatic series. I started watching Heroes at the first episode. The show's creator and Executive Producer, Tim Kring, threw viewers a curveball right from the first moment. These heroes are NOT superheroes in the image of Batman, Flash Gordon or Wonder Woman. They are ordinary people who have, unbeknownst to them, developed extraordinary powers that can be used for good or evil.
A high school cheerleader has the ability to regenerate. Break an arm, it heals completely in 15 seconds. A heroin attack paints torturous dreams from his fix. The paintings show real life future events. A beat cop can hear the thoughts others around him are thinking. A young Japanese office worker can stop time or travel within time. Each "hero" is struggling -- from the very outset -- with their newfound abilities.
Even though only nine episodes have aired, Heroes has a HUGE cult following on the Internet. Fansites have popped up everywhere -- and a large gathering chats on the NBC site after each episode. Oddly enough, the SciFi Channel rebroadcasts every Heroes episode on Friday following the original airing Monday nights at 9:00pm EST.
If you're reading this far into the post, you might be a Heroes fan, too. SO, here are some of the questions I'm pondering, along with some conclusions I've drawn on what's happening in the storyline...

• I haven't heard anyone mentioning the "dark side" in relation to Linderman. Who is he? It seems that he has connections to Hiro & Ando, Niki, Nathan, Peter, Isaac and Simone. Did I leave anyone out?
• What about a theory of Linderman being Sylar... or Mr. Bennet's partner gone awry?
• BTW, Mr. Bennet has LOTS of power -- even if he doesn't have "hero powers". How would he be able to command "the precog", Eden, the Haitian and others?
• What significance will Shanti (Mohinder's deceased sister) play in explaining why Dr. Suresh devoted his life's work to locating the "heroes"?
• How does the Haitian figure in to the storyline? He has been seen taking down Sylar; fighting with Nathan; hanging around Ted Sprague and in proximity of Matt.

As for which side (good or evil) the heroes are on...
I don't want to "define" them too early, but here's the way I see the breakdown so far:

• Good guys: D.L., Claire, Hiro, Charlie, Peter, Matt, Micah, Isaac
• Bad guys: Sylar, Nathan, Jessica (aka Niki), Linderman (not sure of power)
• Unknown Quantities: Eden, the Haitian, Ted Sprague, Mohinder Suresh, Soccer boy
• NO "hero" powers: Simone, Ando

And the all-important, yet unanswered, question regarding which side, if any, HRG (aka horned rimmed glasses or Mr. Bennet) is on -- I think that Bennet knows what Claire (his daughter) can do because he was studying the "heroes" group 14-18 years ago. Her parents were killed (possibly by Sylar) -- leaving her behind. Bennet adopted Claire at that time -- so he knew she had powers (even if he didn't know what kind).
My theory is that Mr. Bennet has been tracking "heroes" trying to find some sort of key information that will help him either control them OR possibly save Claire from certain death (at some point not related to the "save the world" mantra).
I'm starting to think that Bennet and Linderman (the gangster) were on the same "research" team -- once upon a time; and that Linderman went bad. I haven't heard anyone mentioning the "dark side" in relation to Linderman. Who is he? It seems that Linderman has connections to or has crossed paths with: Hiro & Ando, Niki, D.L., Micah, Nathan, Peter, Isaac and Simone. Did I leave anyone out?

Check out "the list" I copied from Mohinder's discovery in Dr. Suresh's secret computer files:
Felipe Acorra *
D.L. Hawkins #
Byron Bevington
Niki Sanders #
Daniel Buzzetti
Isaac Mendez #
Tracy Chobham
Nicholas Datre *
Paula Gramble
Curtis Hovsepian
Nathan Petrelli #
Noel Menzies *
Penkala Burton
Teresa Hue Pham
Matthew Parkman #
Hiro Nakamura #
Partial Names:
... Andrews (Midland, TX)
David Bera...
Leonie Pin...*
Adam Soo H...
Linda Tava...*
Norman Ven...*
Sparrow Re...
Amid Haleb...
Michelle V...
Candace Wi...
Harry Flet...
Ethan Kint...*
Abu Aswan
Frank Cava...* [Assumed as Cavanuagh]
Diego Vel...*
Jess Murph...* [Assumed as Murphy]
Sue Lander...
Pam Green...
++ Names marked with " * " where shown as "Deceased". Names marked with " # " are "heroes" we have met.

Whew! Have I mentioned that you can click over to NBC.com and watch snippets or browse the boards, or read the Heroes online comic book? Two other excellent Heroes blogs are Heroes Among Us, Heroes: The Forum and Heroes: The Series. Better get going...

You still here?!?
In case you're looking for information on upcoming episodes, here's a plot line for the season ending Chapter 11 "Fallout":

“The tragic events in Texas have sad, serious repercussions for many of the “heroes,” their families and friends. Meanwhile, shocking details about the moments leading up to Issac’s (Santiago Cabrera) predicted New York City nuclear bombing are revealed. Later, Issac’s newest painting has fascinating future implications for a hero in crisis. Suresh (Sendhil Ramamurthy) takes the first steps along his new path. Matt (Greg Grunberg) and F.B.I. Agent Audrey Hanson (guest star Clea DuVall) pursue a break in the Sylar case. Horrified by Jessica’s recent actions, Niki (Ali Larter) makes a tough decision to protect her family."