recess guides you through this fall's hottest shows

To butcher a line from Ricky Ricardo.

"Heroes, you got a lot of explaining to do."

The first season finale of NBC's epic sci-fi drama was disappointing to say the least. To be honest, it was a disaster. Over 20 hours of tension and excitement was blown on a lackadaisical fight scene and a cop out ending. The sophomore premiere had to make up for the sins of the finale and restore the faith of thousands of fan boys-and the occasional fan girl.

"Four Months Later" hardly wipes the slate clean, but it does tap into the intrigue and suspense that made us fall in love with Heroes in the first place.

In the second season we are introduced to new superhumans Maya and Alejandro, Spanish-speaking twins that add the international flair that Ando and Hiro used to provide. They are searching for someone who can help them control Maya's uncontrollable lethal abilities. This alone could make for an interesting story, but Heroes would not be Heroes if we had only one story to follow-unnecessary complexity is part of the joy and the frustration.

We catch up with The Bennetts living undercover in California. The once scary Horn-Rimmed Glasses has been reduced to a day job at the Copy Kingdom. Mohinder is trying to infiltrate the mysterious Company, Parkman is trying to make it as a cop and Nathan Petrelli is busy trying to drink himself to death. Luckily, far from the murky swamp of the multiple plot lines, we still have Hiro. Mr. Nakamura's story of Takezo Kensei in 1600s Japan is the fresh boost Heroes needed to keep viewers from ripping their hair out.

The show is as exciting to watch now as it was when we were first meeting the heroes, but it runs the risk of turning into another Lost-all tension, no progression. The writers need to give the plot a clear direction before a show with great potential becomes as stale as reruns of I Love Lucy.