Heroes is in its 4th Season with ratings lower than ever. Its season premiere was the lowest rated show that night with Dancing with the Stars rating higher than Heroes . All I can ask is, "How the hell did this happen?"

I think most all Heroes fans can agree that the first season was the best." Save the Cheerleader, Save the World" was echoed throughout that entire first season and was seen everywhere on TV. The character's stories were cohesive and melded together nicely and they were all given ample screen time to develop. The series was nothing but on the high road. So what then happened?

I think a large part of what happened to the show was triggered by the writer's strike back in 2007/2008 while the second season of Heroes was airing. That season ended very abruptly with only 11 episodes compared to the previous season ending with 23, essentially leaving off half of a season's worth of episodes. The second season was supposed to end, according to Tim Kring in extra content on the Season Two DVD, with the Shanti Virus being released and the town of Odessa is quarantined with Peter doing his job of blocking off the town with his powers. Nathan is also shown being affected by the virus and supposedly dies. The Virus is then stopped by Maya (girl who bleeds out of her eyes) with her power and saves the world. Compared to what actually happened, this sounds way cooler.

Writer's strike or not, the second season of Heroes began to veer off course. Take Hiro's story for instance. I thought that when he went to Japan back in the Feudal days we would get to see him become a major bad ass and learn Bushido like his future self is shown to have. I really thought that Hiro would become Takezo Kensai, but instead it turns out to be some hopeless Englishman by the name of Adam who happens to have the same power as Claire. After the feudal Japan scenario, Hiro's character never really grows, and still seems to be the same geeky, hopeless guy we've known since Season One. This trend to fumble character development marks a downturn in the strength of the series.

What else has caused this downfall in the series? I honestly think there are too many to list. The writers had a really good thing going for them in the first season and could have done so much more with the story. Arthur Petrelli is a good example. At the time he was THE ultimate villain. He made Sylar look like a spoiled brat. Heck, he was planning on making his own army full of people with powers - how awesome would that have been?

Instead of turning Arthur into something climactic and exciting, the writers fumble again with a weak showdown between Nathan, Peter, Sylar, and the Haitian fighting Arthur. Arthur died from a gun-shot wound. A GUN! Yes the bullet hit his brain and he can't revive - but how anticlimactic is that? We have all these characters with amazing abilities yet he dies from a gun. No epic fight, nothing.

By the time Season 3 was in its prime many felt that the series lost its way and I agree. The series felt like it couldn't focus on one plot; it was like the writer's had A.D.D. and had to keep changing the story. The Eclipse episodes for instance, so the eclipse makes them lose powers and it's a sudden mystery to them? An eclipse isn't an extremely rare event, people. Wouldn't some of the older heroes know about this, or am I asking for too much here?

So by the time Arthur had died the writers felt the series needed a reboot. Enter the second half of Season 3 dubbed Fugitives. The Fugitives volume was about the heroes trying to live normal lives yet they are hunted by the government. The lead on the hunt is none other than good old' Nathan Petrelli teamed up with Danko and HRG aka Noah. Though I must admit when I first saw the previews of the Fugitives volume it really reminded me of Lost. They kept showing them on a plane and the plane crashing with some of the surviving. They almost played it off they were stranded on some island or faraway place. Of course that only lasted like 2 or 3 episodes. Big deal.

The rest of the season felt very lackluster, with Peter never gaining his powers back. Sure he could steal a power but I miss him being a badass and having a ton of powers. Sylar's story was a bit interesting with him finding out who his real parents were and how his father is just like him. Yet what I was excited about the most was when Sylar became a shape shifter and took Nathan's identity. I really thought, finally! Just like in Season One when Hiro went into the future and Sylar was actually Nathan, the series is coming together! After awhile you learn not to get your hopes up with Heroes as it always tends to disappoint. Peter and Nathan learn what Sylar's plan is, to kill the President and take his form, in order to achieve domination of the USA. The two try and stop him but we never get to see the fight - surprised? And as most of you know, Nathan dies and Sylar becomes Nathan.

Now that we are in Season 4, what else can be in store for Heroes? There's some Carnival with a bunch of people with abilities with a leader who will sometimes never shut up and must be crazy because you are so unsure what he is really after. Claire is doing the same thing that she was doing in Season One: revealing her invincibility to everyone. Hiro and Ando are not doing anything different. The part with Matt Parkman and Sylar in his head was interesting at first but quickly got old. It's getting really hard lately to care what is going to happen to these characters. I was hoping Hiro would already die a few episodes ago but of course not. A brain tumor can be cured by your mother's kiss - even though she no longer has that power anymore if anyone cares to remember.

Sylar is getting emotional now that he wants to regain his humanity and not be an awesome serial killer anymore. It's just getting tiring when we're not even seeing what these heroes are really capable of. Let's see some carnage and destruction! Let's see something similar to Will Smith's Hancock where some heroes get into an epic fight and destroy a bunch of buildings in the process! Stop making them all whiners about how they want to live normal lives, that's not what we want to watch! If we did we'd be watching Days of our Lives or General Hospital!

So, in summary, if the writers want to save this show, write something worth watching. Make our Heroes actual heroes and not so melancholy and lame. Develop characters, and stick to a storyline. Let's go back to what made Heroes great in the first place and have them fighting for something! Heroes is on NBC and airs every Monday at 9 PM. The season finale is this evening, but will it be worth watching? You'll have to find out.