More than 13 million people in America are hooked on Heroes, Tim Kring's addictive TV sci-fi drama. And when the first season was broadcast on BBC Two last year more than four million people tuned in. It's easy to see why. Heroes, the saga of ordinary people possessed of extraordinary powers, is cleverly pitched at everyone, from comic book addicts to those who love a good thriller.

This is a series that revels in time-travel and globe-trotting, as well as trading in imminent catastrophes and high body counts (those superpowers can be a dangerous thing). But there are so many engaging characters that it's just as much fun as soap opera as science fiction. We lost a big hero last season - the prescient painter Isaac Mendez - but there are more on the way to take his place. Honduras here we come.

1 NOAH BENNET (Jack Coleman)

The fascinating one. A normal mortal who knows all about heroes. He's the loyal company man who discovers the sinister truth about his employers; that they want to get their hands on his adoptive daughter Claire because she's “special”. So now he's in hiding with his family, while plotting to defeat the international organisation known simply as The Company. Oh, and he wears really cool glasses.

2 NATHAN PETRELLI (Adrian Pasdar)

The shifty politician. Nathan has two big secrets. The first is that he can fly, the second is that he's the biological father of the cheerleader Claire. At the end of last season, the newly elected congressman flew his “human bomb” brother Peter out into space in order to save New York from the blast. The question is: how did Nathan survive the explosion?

3 HIRO NAKAMURA (Masi Oka)

The sweet one. A comic-book mad Japanese office worker who dreams of superheroes and then one day discovers that, thanks to his ability to manipulate the space-time continuum, he is one. The only problem? His powers sometimes lead him astray. The last time we saw him he was stranded in 17th-century Japan surrounded by samurai warriors. But one thing you can say for Hiro - his naive enthusiasm always wins the day.

4 GABRIEL “SYLAR” GRAY (Zachary Quinto)

Evil incarnate. He is incredibly creepy and alarmingly omnipotent, thanks to his talent for stealing superhuman powers from everyone who possesses them. A serial killer, he uses his skills as a watchmaker to dissect people's brains and access their special abilities. The last time we saw Sylar he had gone down the drain (a sewer manhole, to be precise), but you can be sure that wasn't the end of him.

5 CLAIRE BENNET (Hayden Panettiere)

The high school hottie. Her speciality is self-healing - no matter how much abuse her body takes, including death, it will regenerate. A pert cheerleader from Texas, Claire is the adopted daughter of the mysterious Mr Bennet, with whom she was finally reunited at the end of season one. The father-daughter thing they've got going is the show's most touching aspect.

6 PETER PETRELLI (Milo Ventimiglia)

The human bomb. At the end of season one he did blow up, thanks to his ability to absorb other heroes' powers. The only reason New York was spared the destructive force of his blast was that his brother Nathan managed to get him off the premises in time. But it takes more than an explosion to kill this hero.

7 MATT PARKMAN (Greg Grunberg)

The loser. Parkman is able to read minds, but it hasn't helped him to sort out his messy life. He lost his job as a cop after failing to track down the evil killer Sylar; he lost his wife and is frantic to get her back. When last we saw him he was in critical condition after being shot in the chest. But hey, he's a truly caring guy.

8 MOHINDER SURESH (Sendhil Ramamurthy)

The science guy. Suresh has no superpowers, but wants to save heroes. An Indian geneticist living in Brooklyn, he has no special powers but he does have his murdered father's notes, which are leading him on a quest to track down everyone who does. He made one fatal mistake: he didn't take Sylar seriously when he had the chance. Suresh is also the show's velvet-voiced narrator.

9 NIKI SANDERS (Ali Larter)

The sexy one. Not one character but two, incorporating her deadly sister personality Jessica, with whom you don't want to mess. Jessica's seriously superhuman strength has been used to murder people, much to Niki's horror. But that's the thing with split personalities - they have a way of taking over. When she isn't killing people, Niki is a loving mother to Micah.

10 MICAH SANDERS (Noah Gray-Cabey)

The child prodigy. He's the son of Niki and her husband D. L. Hawkins (who can walk through walls), so it's not surprising that Micah has a superhuman ability of his own. It involves manipulating technology with his mind, quite useful when it comes to accessing bank machines or ballot counters. Indeed, he was responsible for Nathan Petrelli's landslide victory in the election.

Heroes, Thur, BBC Two, 9pm

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