"Grey's Anatomy"
One of the most uneven shows on television, "Grey's" tends to seesaw wildly between affecting (if soapy) plotlines and poorly conceived whinefests. Last season was no exception. The George/Izzie romance was a total bust and wrecked several formerly likable characters, while the loss of Addison to her own show — where she inexplicably turned into a buffoon — hurt the show's delicate balance between moping and straight talk.

ABC Callie and Hahn's kiss shocked many "Grey's Anatomy" viewers.

But by the end of the season, things seemed to be righting themselves. George and Izzie mercifully put an end to their romance, Izzie stopped fretting long enough to take the helm at the clinic, Richard wised up and got his wife back, and Meredith and Derek finally got it together, not that this was preceded by her learning to shut up, which will never, ever happen. All indications are that Derek and Meredith will, at least for a while, be together rather than eternally apart, or apart-and-together, or whatever it is they've been.

Lesbian kisses on network TV are notoriously exploitative in tone, but the one between Callie and Hahn in the finale was actually fairly convincing. It grew out of an actual relationship rather than out of a desire to have two girls smooch for sweeps. It'll be interesting to see where that relationship goes.

Kevin McKidd, most recently of NBC's failed "Journeyman," is playing the hospital's newest hot doctor, and rumors connect him to Cristina, so perhaps she's ready for her first big personal story since the departure of Burke. All in all, the show seems to be set for a season in which some of the central female characters do more than blow up their relationships and gripe at each other about men, which would be a welcome change.

"Heroes"
Remember this show? About people with special powers? It was huge in its 2006-2007 premiere season, but there hasn't been a new episode since December 2007.

AP Who are you again" Hiro, and "Heroes," have been MIA for almost a year.

Rather than try to pack in a mini-season after the writers' strike, "Heroes" simply never returned at all, meaning that the cliffhanger from last December is the cliffhanger where we find ourselves when the show returns almost ten months later for "Volume Three," which the show is calling, "Villains."

Specifically, at last check-in, viewers saw the revival of big-time villain Sylar, who regained at least some of his powers and started moving things around with his mind. Not good news. Meanwhile, Nathan Petrelli was shot during a press conference, the outbreak of a killer virus was barely avoided, and bad-guy Adam was buried alive.

The premiere of the "Villains" chapter was screened at Comic-Con, so a fair amount is known about what's coming. Without spoiling any specifics, expect to see more time-bending between past and future, the surprising answer to who shot Nathan, and efforts on Sylar's part to continue the healing process. Kristen Bell will be back as the electricity-producing Elle, as will David Anders as the supposedly-buried-alive Adam. (This is a show where death is as temporary as a magazine subscription.)

Linda Holmes is a writer in Washington, D.C.

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