Every now and then television stations break the mold of the tired old sitcoms and soap opera-like melodramas and come up with fresh ideas for a series.  Trying to cash in on the comic book craze of summer blockbusters like "Spiderman" and "Fantastic Four," Tim Kring and CBS came up with a superhero-based show adequately named "Heroes" for the 2006-2007 season.

   Reaching a new stage in human evolution, ordinary people find extraordinary abilities on a day the entire world is connected in a global event, a solar eclipse.

   A cheerleader realizes she’s invincible as she breaks every bone in her body doing stunts to prove to her parents she is different. A cop hears people’s thoughts at a murder scene where a family is killed by a deranged serial killer named Sylar, who slices his victims' heads open and steals their brains.

   A Hospice nurse dreams of flying, while his politician brother, who is running for Congress in New York, actually does fly.

   Gaining the gift to see the future, a heroin-addicted painter paints pictures he doesn’t remember, of a scene he can’t stop from coming true. While over-dosing, he paints a gigantic scene of a nuclear bomb destroying New York City.

   The quest to stop the bomb begins.

   As the earth turns to make the solar eclipse a global event, a Japanese businessman plays with his gift on bending space and time.

   Following the human genome research his father died for, a professor from India embarks on a quest to find people with the special gifts and prove humans are going through the next chapter in evolution.  Along the way, he finds out the mysterious Sylar is targeting those with special abilities and races to find others to warn them.

   As circumstances connect, the gifted and new characters are introduced and the journey to stop the bomb in New York becomes dire as new prophecies are revealed. Along the way they realize they have all been connected for their entire lives.

   Kring, "Heroes" creator and writer, does a masterful job in creating a world and characters the audience cannot help but have affection for. Not having to deal with the same time restraints of motion pictures, "Heroes" moves in a more comic book arc while developing its characters.

   Despite having super powers and a mission to save millions of lives, all characters deal with every day problems, be it overcoming a drug addiction, dealing with marital problems or finding a date to prom. Kring develops each main character as if it’s the only leading role.

   The show contains obvious flaws, like a character traveling from Texas to New York in a span of a scene, but Kring throws in subplots and plot twist in a way that masks the unreality of it all.

   Although the special effects are well made, it lacks the production of the typical blockbuster. The first flying scene comes across as almost cheesy, but for the most part it’s not distracting.

   While Kring did not break the budget competing with motion pictures on special effects, he looked at the big screen when deciding on his cast.

   Among others with small roles in movies, Kring cast Hayden Panettiere ("Remember the Titans") as Claire Bennet, the invincible cheerleader. Ali Larter ("Final Destination") plays Niki Sanders, a single mom with multiple personalities and super strength.

   With the fluctuating schedules of most college students, one might find it impossible to set aside one night a week to follow along with a series that has a continuing story line. "Heroes: Season One" on DVD gives people the opportunity to watch the show at their convenience without commercial interruptions.

   One obvious perk of owning the entire series is not having to deal with the annoying cliff hangers or forgetting the story angle due to a week’s wait. Although it is a perk, the fast pace of "Heroes" makes it tempting to try watching the entire 23-hour long episodes in one sitting.

   Buying an entire season of a television series on DVD costs between double or triple the price of a normal newly-released movie. When weighing in the hours of entertainment it provides, "Heroes" is well worth the money.