Claude, an invisible man played by British actor Christopher Eccleston (Doctor Who), appears January 22. ?He?s been living with his invisibility for many years and has come to grips with it, so he?ll give us a different view into this hero world,? [Heroes creator Tim] Kring explains. ?He?s big, imposing and charismatic, and will become a mentor to Peter - albeit a tough, reluctant and stern one. He?ll help Peter learn to use and control his powers.?

1. People with secret powers are cool, and they can do amazing things at any time that make you go wow. Lost always relied on its once-in-a-while ?wow? moments, but they?re both hard to predict, hard to understand, and increasingly few and far between. A flying politician is just inherently more interesting than a formerly wheelchair-bound man in a sweat lodge.

2. Lost: Too many plots. Maybe this?ll happen to Heroes someday, but right now the NBC hit show?s storyline is interlinked, exciting, and every episode carries us further into the mystery of why so many bizarre mutants are appearing. Lost already had a fractured plot?and now that folks are living with The Others, the show?s suffered an unfortunate split-brain between the Others? world and the old familiar Beach World. Leaping back and forth to check on people has only slowed down the story further, which is sad, because the show?s been slower than molasses since the end of last season anyway.

3. Heroes doesn?t load you down with incredibly annoying, highly predictable flashbacks every episode that inevitably end in heartbreak, disappointment, cuckoldry or death. We know these folks are a sad bunch, but you can?t repeat a frickin? formula for three seasons without more of a payoff than ?this island is magic!?

4. Heroes doesn?t have polar bears. By which we mean, there aren?t completely random story bits that make no sense that we have to wait for an answer to for years. Yes, Hiro has a sword?but we know that?s because he time-travels. At least he doesn?t have a foot with four toes.

5. Sexy lady factor. Kate loses out to a split-personality stripper and a regenerating cheerleader. They?re dirtier and cuter.

6. The Others are becoming too much like Alias? SD-6 organization. Are they good? Are they bad? What do they want? Too much backstabbing, too little substance, and the smoke and mirrors are starting to show.

7. Last year, Lost made us wait through repeats and multiple sets of bye weeks. This year, they?re going on hiatus through February after a ?pre season? that so far has blown. Heroes is going on hold through the holidays, too?but so far, the journey has been more than worth the wait.

8. Being stuck on an island is becoming mighty boring.

9. ?Save the cheerleader, save the world? is as stupid a catchphrase as they come, but at least it?s something to follow. What is Lost?s purpose, now, anyway? There isn?t one?everyone?s just waiting to get off the island, and that?s just not a good enough hook. The Others have been unmasked, and they?re thoroughly unsurprising.

10. And finally?Heroes has so far developed a way of introducing new characters naturally, not stupidly. The ?new island people? who have started to appear in Lost?s third season weren?t there before, and it?s unclear why they?re there now?other than to fill in newcomers with the storyline thus far. The blonde and the guy in the soccer jersey, you know who you are: you?re fake, you were inserted by suits who were concerned about people getting into the story, and from now on we?re calling you Mr. and Mrs. ABC.

Masi Oka shot to fame playing Hiro Nakamura on the NBC hit "Heroes," but the 31-year-old landed his first magazine cover when he was just 12.

Oka was on the cover of Time magazine in 1987 (he's the one in blue on the left) with the banner, "Those Asian-American Whiz Kids." He told Conan O'Brien that a parent of one of his childhood friends was the photographer, and "She was looking for smart Asian kids." Oka wasn't featured in the article, but he is something of a genius.

Masi worked for George Lucas' special effects company, Industrial Light & Magic, toiling on special effects for films like "Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest," "War of the Worlds" and the three "Star Wars" prequels. Oka says he still works for the company a couple of days a week.