Heroes season 3 first impression

The second season of Heroes was divisive. Like many series it was impacted by the writers strike, and felt abbreviated. A lot of fans didn't like it. Overall I thought it was good, though lacking the greatness of the first season.

I think NBC was wise to air the first 2 episodes of this new season in a row, because at the end of the first episode I was left feeling underwhelmed. Evil future Claire was totally unconvincing. Semi-evil future Peter was bland. The usually amusing Hiro and Ando seemed to simply be going through the motions, Sylar isn't even scary anymore, and I am not at all sold on Mohinder's reenactment of The Fly. By the end of the second episode I was engaged though.

I think this season has potential, but they really need to pull out some new tricks.