The following story contains MODERATE SPOILERS for the series premiere of "Heroes."

You know, I meant to write a column for the 40th anniversary of "Star Trek." The anniversary of its premiere was just a few weeks ago, and to me, it was the first time that someone who believed television audiences were smarter than the same old sitcoms, the same old family dramas, the same old mystery shows.

Smart television wouldn't really pick up until the advent of cable series, especially those on premium channels like HBO and Showtime. And even as those shows won Emmy after Emmy, the major networks (and those that wish they were) continued to pump out garbage like "Charmed" and most of what ABC considered television.

Finally, however, the times are changing. My DVR is overloaded with some great new and returning shows this season, like NBC's "Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip," CBS' "Smith" and my returning favorites like "House" and "Boston Legal."

But I have a new show to add to the list, and I'll be honest, I really didn't expect it to be there. It premiered Monday night on NBC as a cross between "The X-Men" and "The 4400." It's called "Heroes."

All around the world, teens and twentysomethings are noticing something different about themselves, but they can't quite put their finger on it. A nurse thinks he can fly. A Japanese cubicle-warmer celebrates over reversing the second hand on a clock. A mother with a gifted son sees a reflection that just isn't hers. A cheerleader can walk through fire.

They are calling it a genetic mutation, but who knows what's really going on, that is outside of the strange man with the glasses.

Tim Kring might have an empty space on his awards shelf for the work he did on "Teen Wolf Too," but he has brought up some of television's better series over the years, including "Strange World" and "Crossing Jordan." This show, however, has grabbed my attention. And not just for its amazing writing, and interesting (if familiar) premise.

It's nice to see a show where we don't have to have everything introduced to us, as if we needed to connect the dots. Pilots tend to do just that, working so hard to give us all the backstory in the first 30 minutes, and then blowing us away in the final 30. While many shows have broken the mold before, I don't think television got too daring with it until "Lost" did it successfully on ABC just a couple years ago. We knew nothing of these characters, barely knew their names, but yet we already were on the island with them. We already were being called to duty.

I love the twists and turns that just the pilot had. Who flies, who doesn't fly? Who can do things, who can't? And what the hell does that creepy guy with the glasses want?

I don't really know, but I can say that I'm excited to see such good television on the air. I don't know what I'm going to do with all the free time I just lost thanks to shows like "Heroes," but I couldn't have lost it for a bette cause.

"Genesis," the pilot episode of "Heroes," was written by Tim Kring and directed by David Semel. The ensemble cast includes Santiago Cabrera, Noah Gray-Cabey, Greg Grunberg, Masi Oka, Adrian Pasdar, Sendhil Ramamurthy, Milo Ventimiglia and Jack Coleman.