Here’s a conversation, which may, or may not have actually taken place:

My sister: I’ve stopped watching Heroes.

Me: What? Why? We love that show!

My sister: The story’s gone all wobbly. I’ve lost interest.

Me: Okay. I’ll give you that. But listen! Season Four’s got a creepy travelling carnival, a shape-shifting supervillain, a synaesthetic intervention, a murder mystery, a sweet teenage romance, a-

My sister: Nah. Boring! (*Returns to The Sopranos instead*)

Not enough happening there for you either, gentle reader?

I count myself among the legions of viewers who deserted Heroes well before the writer’s strike, frustrated by the ill-conceived time-bending plots that made no sense in the context of the show, or the characters’ previous actions. Now, I love a good time-space-continuum-conundrum as much as the next girl, and I’ll always make time for Zachary Quinto and his mesmerising eyebrows. But I’d just about reached my limit.

Like many a fantasy and sci-fi series, Heroes forgets that while playing in a universe where almost anything is possible, rules must be set in order to achieve jeopardy and drama – if no character can ever truly die, each resurrection becomes less dramatic, each fight less important, so the viewer needs something else to worry about.

In addition, by neutering its most charismatic villain for an entire season, Tim Kring et al sliced themselves off at the knees, resulting in aforementioned time-bending plots. Persisting with this, endeavouring to persuade long-suffering fans that this was all part of a profound we’re-saying-something-big-‘bout-the human-condition plan met with limited success.

The woolly plotting emphasised further by the vague, quasi-cosmic voice-overs delivered by Dr. Suresh (Sendhil Ramamurthy), which have been ditched as part of the redux. The new and improved Heroes also returns to some of the original central characters, finding them the same in essentials as in series one, but a little changed.

Hiro’s (Masi Oka) original boyish charm and the pleasure he took in his abilities is back, but his character matures as he faces his own mortality. Watch out for a cheeky exchange in which Hiro acknowledges this and literally dismisses his former self.  

Peter Petrelli (Milo Ventimiglia) is re-established as the moral centre of the show – he’s dropped the tough-guy stuff for earnest and sensitive, as the universe’s avenging paramedic. The cheerleader (a glowing Hayden Panettiere, Ally McBeal) might have been saved, and finding new ways to save herself, but the world dangles in constant peril.

Not least from the constant scheming of the elder generation, which is near impossible to follow. Noah Bennett, or HRG as he was better known for the early seasons, plays the morally ambiguous family man, this time attempting to escape his violent past, and protect his daughter’s attempts at a normal life. His father-daughter interaction with Claire (Panettiere) as deft and affecting as any amount of effects wizardry, thanks to dry underplaying by Jack Coleman. Through them, Heroes gropes for a sense of humour, parodying the all-American family ideal, and its recurring theme of belonging during a caustic thanksgiving with the Bennetts’ newly expanded family.

Watch out for the Sullivan brothers and their extended family of gifted itinerants, especially the glittery steampunk aesthetic that provides the effects team ample opportunity to soar. 

That said, some of Heroes’ irritations of old remain – the paucity of characters living outside of the US and the occasionally clunky, sanctimonious dialogue. Let’s not dwell on the currently not-quite undead Nathan Petrelli (Adrian Pasdar, Top Gun), and his headache inducing story-arc. For now, I’m content to enjoy the beginnings of a purpose for the main cast, intriguing new characters like Gretchen (Madeleine Zima, Californication) and Emma (Deanne Bray, The L Word). Best of all, Sylar (Zachary Quinto, Star Trek) rediscovering his evil mojo, even if setting his identity crisis in a hall of mirrors is foghorn subtle.

Seems I’m a glutton for punishment, as I’ll keep watching Heroes.  I’ll forgive this time, for its ambition to be more than a niche sci-fi series expressed in those great Acme-anvils of symbolism that sit awkwardly alongside fantastic set pieces, and moments of joyous imagination.