So, you can leap tall buildings in a single bound and outrun a speeding locomotive. Good for you. Try emerging as a new hit show in this dismal fall season. Now that's impressive.

Only five of the 23 rookie network series qualify as runaway successes, the most unlikely of which is "Heroes," the Monday-night drama about a group of mutants who have the daunting task of saving the cheerleader, saving the world and saving NBC, not necessarily in that order.

The series averages 14.3 million viewers a week, roughly the same as ABC's "Ugly Betty," and more than the other early winners, "Shark," "Jericho" and "Brothers & Sisters."

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