A year ago, a hospice nurse and an office worker both took leaps of faith -- one jumped off the top of a tall building, the other traveled through time and space from Tokyo to New York.

By May, the adventures of Peter Petrelli, Hiro Nakamura and every other character in NBC's "Heroes" were all some viewers could talk about.

"Heroes," which returns for its second-season premiere 9 p.m. Monday on KING/5, would go on to be nominated for an Emmy for outstanding drama, and Masi Oka, who plays Hiro, received a nod in the drama actor category.

They were long shots to win, but the nominations speak much more about the way the show connects to viewers than whether it deserves a statue.

Scan the headlines: Our faith in the nation's leadership is low. We're in the midst of an unpopular war, fretting over a sagging economy and a mortgage crisis. For many, the American Dream is as attainable as, well, flight or X-ray vision or super strength.

While we can't be blamed for giving into the malaise, a hard-wired trait of American culture is the perpetual belief in the possibility of rising, of achieving the extraordinary. "Heroes" plays into the undying hope that the individual can triumph over the impossible.

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The arrows are flying. A dozen of them, launched from the bows of 17th-century samurai warriors assembled on a watercolor green field and about to rain down upon the head of one Hiro Nakamura. But they don't. Instead, the squall of pointy death screeches to a cartoonish halt, frozen in space by the time-traveling/time-stopping supernerd with a clench of his bespectacled eyes. It's a surreal image, though for now it exists only in the mind of Masi Oka, the Emmy-nominated star of NBC's Emmy-nominated sensation Heroes, who actually finds himself sneaker-deep in farm grass, trying to bring this comic-booky moment to life. In this scene from the show's second-season premiere (airing Sept. 24), Oka is supposed to execute his character's trademark reality-pausing maneuver — they call it ''the squishy-blinky'' around here — yet he is being thwarted by the most insidious of bad guys: a breeze. See, when time stands still, wind shouldn't be rippling through the grass. The solution is simple — throw down a bluescreen, manufacture some lawn with F/X — but it's slow in coming, as the on-set producers are currently sipping smoothies and joking with Oka's dialogue coach about turning U.S. states into Japanese-sounding words. ''Or-ee-GON!'' ''Wash-ing-TON!''

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The integration of automakers and TV networks is getting deeper and deeper. With the 30-second ad going the way of the dodo bird, we now get characters driving the latest and greatest car or SUV during the shows themselves. It seems NBC’s hit “Heroes” will debut Monday with an extra reason to tune in. Nissan will be giving away one of its Rogue compact SUVs after the show — if you answer a question about that night’s show correctly. Then, for the next four nights, Nissan will do it all over again for other new shows.

You’ll probably remember a few weeks ago when Apple and NBC had a big showdown, resulting in the pulling of NBC content from iTunes for the upcoming season. Today, NBC answered with their own download service.

The upside? It’s free. The downside? It’s severely crippled.

Starting in October, Heroes, The Office, Life, Bionic Woman, 30 Rock, Friday Night Lights, Late Night with Conan O’Brien and The Tonight Show with Jay Leno will all be available for download from ”NBC Direct”. From the time a program comes available, the viewer has one week to watch before the show disappears. In the coming months, NBC will add other features, such as the ability to use on portable devices, HD content, and “expanded platform functionality”…non-Windows computers, to be sure.

Source: tvjab

“With the creation of this new service, we are acknowledging that now, more than ever, viewers want to be in control of how, when and where they consumer their favorite entertainment[…]Not only does this feature give them more control, but it also gives them a higher quality video experience.”

On 9/24 Gameloft, the developer of the Heroes: The Official Mobile Game will be unveiling the much anticipated Heroes: The Official Mobile Game timed to the debut of the TVs most anticipated premiere this fall: Heroes Season 2. We hope you can join us for a sneak-preview of Heroes: The Official Mobile Game as we usher in an evening of amazing television when Heroes returns to fans this coming Monday.

As the second volume of Heroes begins, the fates of Peter, Nathan and Matt are revealed, following the horrible showdown with Sylar and Peter's uncontrolled nuclear detonation miles above New York City. As everyone attempts to move on, a new sinister force begins stalking and murdering Heroes. With the family hiding in Southern California, H.R.G. and Claire attempt to live as inconspicuously as possible. which proves to be easier said than done. Meanwhile, after landing in feudal Japan, Hiro meets his hero Takezo Kensei. Twins Maya and Alejandro Herrera hope to make the crossing into the U.S. from Mexico, in hopes of finding help with their deadly abilities. Dana Davis, Noah Gray-Cabey, James Kyson Lee, Ali Larter, Sendhil Ramamurthy also star. Nick D'Agosto, Lyndsy Fonseca, Cristine Rose, Barry Shabaka Henley, George Takei, Eriko Tamura and Adair Tishler guest star

On November 7, DC Comics will publish HEROES, a hardcover graphic novel collection based on NBC’s Emmy and Golden Globe® nominated television series “Heroes,” featuring covers by comic book superstars Alex Ross and Jim Lee and an introduction by “Heroes” star Masi Oka (Hiro). The stories, which mark the first printed graphic novel adaptation of the show, were originally created for the “Heroes” website at NBC.com (www.NBC.com/Heroes) where new chapters continue to be exclusively available. The collection spotlights the fluid artwork of legendary comic book artist Tim Sale (BATMAN: THE LONG HALLOWEEN), whose work was featured prominently during the first season of the series through the visuals created by a drug-addled painter with apocalyptic visions of the future. In addition, the hardcover collects the work of an all-star cast of television and comic book creators, including Michael Turner, Phil Jimenez, Koi Turnbull, Marcus To and more.

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"We're thrilled that Wildstorm is bringing the online comics to the printed page for the very first time. They've worked painstakingly with every aspect of the publication — from the color to the paper, to the printing itself — to make sure this is a spectacularly handsome collection. The Alex Ross and Jim Lee variant covers as well as The Tim Sale Gallery are wonderful bonuses. If you're a fan of the show, we're sure that you'll want to share in this amazing experience," said Tim Kring, creator-executive producer, “Heroes.”

Source: comiclist

Here's a quick recap of the NBC/Apple tussle, for those who are tuning in late:

NBC says Apple is mean and won't renew their contract ('These shows are my toys and I'm going home!').
Apple says NBC is a stupidhead, and NBC's shiny new shows won't be available in iTunes ('How are those toys now? Taste a little better with the salt from your tears, NBC?').
NBC and Amazon become BFF's. NBC no longer makes eye contact with Apple when they meet in the hallway between classes.

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NBC went with Amazon, reports the New York Times, because Amazon agreed to be flexible with pricing. This translates to higher prices for more recent shows, with the back catalog being cheaper (which is what I assume NBC wanted Apple to do all along).

Many American broadcasters take advantage of this climate by courting both carriers, leaving consumers to wait nervously to find out if their favorite show will be coming to their provider. NBC's deal with BBC Two is a bold move that seems more targeted towards doing what is best for Heroes as a brand, rather then as a television show. Since Heroes will be available for free as long as BBC is interested in it, NBC is assured plenty of viewers will be subject to its cross-over marketing deals.

DETROIT (AdAge.com) -- Nissan North America will have an encore performance on NBC's hit "Heroes," acting again as the sole TV advertiser, with limited interruption, during the show's sophomore season premiere Sept. 24. But that's just the beginning, as the automaker will ride along with "Heroes" wherever consumers encounter the show.

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The automaker was pleased with the results for last season's "Heroes" partnership; the show's viewers were twice as likely to recall the Nissan model spots compared to ads from rival automakers and the brand's click-through rate from NBC.com was three times its average.