There's a lot wrong with this season of Heroes: Hiro is a misused, bubbling idiot; Claire and HRG continue to have the same arguments; and Mohinder is still alive.

But there's one overriding issue that plagues the series: Absolutely nothing is at stake.

Think about it. What's the big danger this season? What are viewers and/or characters supposed to be afraid of? Samuel isn't the nicest guy in the world, but does his (VERY) slowly-evolving plan seem to be a threat to the world?

Peter is mourning his brother and saving random people; Claire is confused and in college; Hiro is sick and wants to save Mohinder; HRG wants to get inside the carnival; but, simply put: SO WHAT? Why should viewers be invested in any of these storylines, considering the lack of danger to... well, anyone?

It's indefensible that a show about super heroes could fail to actually set up a true battle between good and evil. Samuel is moving a few pieces around, but there's been no movement at all on the other side. Every episode just focuses on a disconnected set of events regarding "good" guys such as Hiro, Ando and Peter.

Would it really be so difficult to go the 24 route and present the world with a clear threat each season? From there, as we've said before, have the characters unite and fight against a common cause.

In a recent interview with Fancast.com, Tim Kring actually responded to the question of why the Heroes don't band together. He nonsensically said:

"Logistically it becomes very hard to get everybody into one place. It’s a nightmare for shooting, the jigsaw puzzle of it all. Most television tries to avoid more than two people in a scene, for just that reason. It takes a third longer to a shoot a scene with three people, so when you get eight people in a scene, you really start to stretch things."

Ummm, Mr. Kring: You must be a smart individual in order to have created a TV show that's lasted for four seasons. But this response makes zero sense. If you were to unite the heroes, X-Men style, that doesn't mean they'd LITERALLY be in the same room all the time.

Do you disagree with our simple assessment above? Is there any sense of urgency at all this season? And, if not, isn't that a depressing state of affairs for a show based around super heroes?

Comment away!

Matt Richenthal is the Editor in Chief of TV Fanatic. Follow him on Twitter and on Google+.