NBC's "Heroes" a surprise hit

Success has turned "Heroes" creator Tim Kring into something of a softie. Initially he intended to kill off characters helter-skelter, but as the show — about far-flung ordinary people who discover they have bizarre super-powers, and a global conspiracy enveloping them — has been clicking so well, it's made his trigger finger not so itchy.

"I thought it'd be every few weeks one of these will go by the wayside, and it hasn't turned into that," Kring admits in his office, where a pipe collection and a bottle of red wine sits on his desk.

"It's a testament to the cast that everybody has popped in their roles so well that we have had a lot of trouble with the idea of killing people off. The audience has gotten used to them, so when and if they depart, it's going to be a much bigger deal.