This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2015, and information in the article may be outdated. It is provided only for personal research purposes and may not be reprinted.

When "Heroes" premiered on nine years ago, I was completely on board. Effusive, even, writing that the show had all the makings of a really great new series — including the absolute best new character on any new show that fall.

That character was Hiro (Masi Oka), who provided a much-needed ray of sunshine to an otherwise very dark shows. Most of the characters in "Heroes" who discovered they had super-powers weren't happy about it, and their lives were greatly complicated by their new realities.

Hiro, on the other hand, was excited and enthusiastic. And his joy translated to the audience.

Hiro, unfortunately, is nowhere to be seen as "Heroes Reborn" comes to NBC (Thursday, 7 p.m., Ch. 5).

After a very good first season, "Heroes" lost its way. It went out with a whimper after four seasons, and — to be perfectly honest — I can't remember how it ended. Because by that point, I couldn't possibly have cared less.

And yet … I'm cautiously optimistic about "Heroes Reborn." Because NBC and producer Tim Kring are treating it as a miniseries of sorts — 13 episodes, and we're promised a satisfying conclusion.

And because Hiro is going to show up at some point during the season.

"Heroes Reborn" picks up five years after the end of "Heroes." And we've missed everything that happened in that time.

The relaunched series opens with a flashback to a year ago when a terrorist attack decimated Odessa, Texas — the home of cheerleader Claire (Hayden Panetierre), you may recall. Claire is dead (and Panetierre is busy starring in "Nashville" over on ABC).

(That whole "save the cheerleader, save the world" no longer applies, clearly.)

The terrorist attack is blamed on the heroes — or Evos — and things aren't going well for people with powers. And, while some of the original characters are referenced, the only one we see as "Heroes Reborn" begins is Claire's father, Noah/Horned-Rimmed Glasses guy (Jack Coleman).

Others will show up later, including Hiro, Moninder Suresh (Sendhil Ramamurthy), the Hatian (Jimmy Jean-Louis) and Matt Parkman (Greg Grunberg).

HRG is the audience's entry point into the new narrative. He's lost big chunks of his memory, so as he figures out what's happening, so do we.

Let's just say — there was an Evil Corporation in the original "Heroes"; there's and Even More Evil Corporation in "Heroes Reborn."

If we were faced with the prospect of 78 more episodes of "Heroes" — the number of episodes in Season 1-4 — I would be completely unenthusiastic. But with the prospect of 13 episodes with a definitive ending, I'm back on board.

"The contract that we are making with the audience is that it is 13 episodes," Kring said. "And that's what you're going to get with 'Heroes Reborn,' is this beginning and a middle and an end, which will allow us to do a very aggressive kind of storytelling."

Of course, I'll be REALLY unhappy if we don't get the definitive ending we're promised.