I rarely root for a series I once loved to end, but an exception could certainly be made for Heroes.

Looks like I could easily get my wish, as Airlock Alpha (once syfy.com, before the SciFi Channel became SyFy) reports that NBC sources say Heroes is being asked to wrap up its entire story by season’s end.

An unidentified source was quoted as saying:

There isn’t much happening with this show in terms of audience, and giving it a ‘final chapter’ feel is something the network is considering to help allow the show to go out with a bang.

As I wrote earlier this season, even the most die-hard fans have been having a hard time staying interested. It’s all unfocused – the storyline’s all over the place, the characters are no longer interesting and they don’t seem to be working toward anything.

Even the disjointed, strike-impaired second season seemed to be working toward something. And last season had a good start before trailing off into “who the hell cares” anymore land.

I would love for Heroes to wrap up at the end of this season and answer these questions/resolve these plotlines:

• Who’s the third Nikki/Tracy triplet and what’s her power. And what’s the story behind their creation?
• Adam Monroe – what time is he REALLY from and how long has he actually lived?
• How far back to the heroes go? How many generations? Why do some of their children have powers and some don’t?
• Why has Peter’s ability to keep previous powers he absorbs gone away? (Or was that just a side effect of his father’s “hug”?)
• What happened to Peter’s Irish girlfriend in the plague-inflicted future that was prevented?
• When is Sylar going to actually figure out who he is, already, and is Matt just crazy and imagining Sylar in his head or did Sylar actually manage to crawl up in there?
• Where is Micah?
• Seriously, where is Micah? And what about his cousin? And the Haitian?
• What about future Hiro with the goatee. If you can’t change the future, as Hiro is finding out, where is Goatee Hiro?
• What is WITH this carnival? They obviously are aware of HRG and Primatech. How many generations do these carnies go back? Actually, you know what? I don’t even care that much about the carnie folk. I kind of wish they hadn’t been introduced, though there were a couple of cool scenes with them, because that just adds a whole new thing they need to answer and I find that to be obnoxious.

I know I’m forgetting some. Please leave your questions you want resolved in the comments. We should send them a letter or something and say, “THESE ARE THE THINGS YOU MUST RESOLVE BEFORE GOING OFF THE AIR. kthanxbai”

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In Heroes’ first season, I enjoyed the roller coaster ride of “Save the Cheerleader, Save the World” and Hiro’s adorable embrace of his superhero-ness.

The Petrelli brothers and their twisted family.

Claire Bear and HRG and the hapless Mrs. Bennett.

Sylar torn between being good and evil.

Matt Parkman struggling to understand and use his powers.

Then there was the bizarre, strike-shortened Season 2 that had potential but just left everyone wondering what the hell happened to Peter’s Irish lass, stuck in some screwed-up, plague-infested alternate future.

Season 3 had its moments but took a left turn to weirdoland with a whole plot where we got to see Angela Petrelli as a little girl in a U.S. internment camp for people with powers. And, of course, Mohinder’s father was there.

And don’t even get me started on Mohinder doing his best Jeff Goldblum impression from The Fly.

I still watch; I can’t seem to help myself.

But the completely insane Sylar-as-Nathan (or is that really Nathan-as-Sylar?) storyline that has finally given Nathan a conscience – oddly enough – and Matt’s struggle against the Sylar inside him is getting on my nerves. And what about the depressed deaf woman who sees music as color?

And don’t get me started on the Carnivale storyline.

We’re no closer to understanding any of the big questions the show has raised, such as:
• Was Adam Monroe really from the past, or was he somehow thrust back into the past and forced to live through hundreds of years with none of his kind?
• How did Angela Petrelli’s generation of mutants find each other?
• What about the generation before Angela Petrelli’s? Were her and the others’ parents also mutants of some sort?
• Where’s Christopher Eccleston?
• Does Hiro’s sister also have a power?
• Why am I still watching?

Seriously, if things don’t start to change soon, I’m just gonna have to give up. And that’s even with tonight’s (SPOILER ALERT!) zombie Sylar coming out of the ground at the end.

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I have to tell you, ABC totally has learned how to do the viral thing with Lost in its roster.

To commemorate the final season, there’s 16 “top designers and artists” who also are fans of the show who have been commissioned “to create artwork celebrating one of the series’ most memorable, and unforgettable, ‘water cooler’ moments.” They are made in series of 300, all are hand-signed and numbered and measure 18×24. Look to cost $50.

Seems as if they’re being rolled out one a week and the first one was Hurley-centric, including nods to the meteor hitting Mr. Cluck’s, Connect 4 and Leonard and the car chase that ended in his capture. It has glow-in-the-dark elements on it, too.

The second was Locke-centric, “Just don’t tell him what he can’t do,” and designed very much in a classic movie-poster style. It’s already sold out.

The most recent one unveiled is the Dharma VW van, made out of flowers.

All the others just have a big ? on them.

Oh, and as io9 pointed out, they’re all being sold by “Ronie Midfew Arts,” which is “likely an anagram for “Widmore Fine Arts.”

Have I mentioned how much I love this show yet how crazy it makes me?

And speaking of Lost:
• TVOvermind has the news that the puppetmaster from Heroes has signed on for Lost’s final season. Not much known about who Eric Doyle will play, though it’s supposed he’ll either be Melky or Russell (see the next bullet point for explanation.
• Dark UFO had some casting info:

[MELKY] Male, 30s to 40s, any ethnicity. Dangerous looking guy that can be surprisingly calm. Runs a seedy chop shop and not someone to be messed with; has handled many dicey situations and is not thrown by anything…NICE CO-STAR

[JENNY] Female, early 30s, any ethnicity. Yuppie, sweet, happy and well off. Never had any problems until she receives heart-breaking news that tears her world apart. While dealing with her personal crisis, she then has to deliver bad news to someone else knowing it will hurt them, too…CO-STAR

[RUSSELL] Male, late 20s to early 40s, any ethnicity. Tough guy who takes no gruff from anyone. Executes orders efficiently but has a nice, compassionate streak that surfaces from time to time…CO-STAR

Now, what “NICE CO-STAR” means as opposed to “CO-STAR,” one can only guess. I keep going back and forth between thinking it means he’s a good guy and thinking it just means it’s a big role or has the potential to come back for more.

Or, of course, none of the above, and Cuse and Darlton knew this would get out, so they’re screwing with us by saying something like that. They’re for the third episode of the season

All this just makes me want Season 6 to come soooo much sooner than January. But knowing it’s the end, I don’t want it to start too soon, because that means it’ll come to an end that much earlier.

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Confirming what most TV hounds already knew, 24 and Lost topped the list of LoveFilm.com’s most addictive television shows of all time.

Now, some might say that Lost is more addictive, and I can see that point to a degree. After all, 24 and Lost are my two favorite shows, now that Battlestar Galactica‘s off the air (still looking forward to The Plan this fall, though!)

But where Lost is addictive for that hugely mystifying secret that lies beneath it all, carrying its fans from season to season, with the promise of wrapping it all up next year, 24 is more or less a big blast of televised heroin (a drug that, coincidentally, Jack Bauer was addicted to briefly in Season 3). No matter how much you tell yourself you’re going to stop watching, you just have to check it out one more time, just one more time. (See also: Lays Potato Chips.)

Here’s the list from LoveFilm.com, which I got via The Hollywood Reporter:

1. 24 – 19%
2. Lost – 17%
3. Friends – 10%
4. Heroes – 9%
5. The Wire – 7%
6. Dr Who – 6%
7. CSI – 5%
8. Prison Break – 4%
9. The Sopranos – 3%
10. Sex and the City – 2%

Why did I get it via THR? Well, I can’t find the freakin’ poll on the LoveFilm.com website, so, whatevs.

Darren Bignell, the communications manager for the UK site, had this to say, according to the Telegraph:

We’re a nation of comfort lovers and the thought of curling up on the sofa with our favourite programmes is a very tempting one. Although crime doesn’t pay, as our list reveals, it most certainly pulls in the viewers, and shows like 24 have clearly found the right mix of suspense, drama and action to keep us coming back for more.

So, how do I feel about the list? Obviously, I’m right there with Nos. 1 & 2. Friends was an addictive favorite, and I feel it stands up. Heroes was great in season 1, which I’d rewatch. But I wouldn’t want to rewatch Seasons 2 or 3, even though I didn’t think they were as bad as most people were saying.

The Wire? AMAZING. It’d be higher on the list if more people had watched it. Doctor Who? Love it. Never seen a single episode of CSI (any flavor) or Prison Break, and I say that with a mark of pride. The Sopranos and Sex and the City were staples when they were on TV, and I’d say Sopranos was pretty damn addictive. While I enjoyed SATC, I don’t know that I considered it an addictive show I needed to watch.

I mean, I figured that in the end Carrie would end up with Big and their dance around it grew tiresome sometimes.

So, what do you think of this list? And what shows aren’t on it that you think should be?

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