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One of NBC鈥檚 biggest new programs this fall is 鈥淗eroes Reborn,鈥� a continuation of the network's mid-2000s hit program 鈥淗eroes.鈥�

鈥淗eroes鈥� debuted in 2006 and centered on people living in our world who discovered they had superpowers. The show was a hit critically and in viewership for the first season, but reviewers were less won over by subsequent seasons (it lasted for four) and viewership dropped as well.聽

Now the creator, Tim Kring, and some of the original cast members are coming back for 鈥淩eborn,鈥� which NBC is airing for 13 episodes and which has been called an 鈥渆vent series鈥� or 鈥渓imited series.鈥澛�

At a recent Television Critics Association panel, Kring that one character from the original show will definitely not be part of the narrative: he says that the character of Claire Bennet (Hayden Panettiere), a cheerleader who has the ability to heal, died before 鈥淩eborn鈥� begins.

Cast members from the original 鈥淗eroes鈥� that will return include Masi Oka, Jack Coleman, and Sendhil Ramamurthy.聽

Another revival of a popular sci-fi show that will be airing soon is a new version of Fox鈥檚 hit 鈥淭he X-Files.鈥� The new 鈥淴-Files鈥� episodes will reportedly consist of six installments.聽

Giving the number of episodes up front may be a way for networks to fight viewer apathy. There were few fans who were happy with 鈥淗eroes鈥� when it went off the air in 2010, and the seemingly meandering later seasons of 鈥淴-Files鈥� left some dissatisfied as well. Kring himself recently of the 13-episode order, 鈥淲hat you're getting is a beginning, middle, and an end which will allow us to do a very aggressive kind of storytelling.鈥澛�

But what if that end is 鈥� pushed back a bit? Some reviewers have raised eyebrows at the CBS program 鈥淯nder the Dome,鈥� which is based on the Stephen King novel of the same name. It may have brought confusion to viewers when CBS originally called the show a limited series, reportedly because it had 13 episodes rather than a more normal number for a network like 22. From the beginning, CBS Entertainment president Nina Tassler said the network has 鈥渟uch a clear vision of where this show is going. We're prepared for success鈥� and that a second summer season and/or episodes during the winter were possible.

Similarly, despite the terms 鈥渓imited鈥� or 鈥渆vent鈥� series being tossed around for 鈥淗eroes鈥� and 鈥淴-Files,鈥� it seems hard to believe either of the programs鈥� networks would end the shows if they鈥檙e hits. The problem is how viewers who were told there were a certain number of episodes would respond to that. One wrote of the extension of 鈥淒ome,鈥� 鈥淭hat bait-and-switch was frustrating for viewers who hung in for the increasingly erratic first 13 episodes, expecting tidy answers,鈥� while wrote of the extra episodes, 鈥淟et the 鈥楧ome鈥� experience be a warning to anyone who really thinks any of these limited series will truly be limited and provide closure if they happen to work.鈥�

noted of the show, 鈥淏eing stuck under a dome, as a story of limited length, has a certain simple appeal 鈥� To turn that around and say it can be like 'Northern Exposure,' with continuing stories that happen to be inside a giant glass dome instead of in Alaska, makes for a very different kind of show. And that's fine 鈥� perhaps they can sell it, as [CBS鈥檚 Les] Moonves says, like a soap 鈥� But when you start with an emergency as your premise, whether it's being held hostage or being under a dome, every time you slacken the tension, you risk making audiences feel cheated."聽

The new 鈥淗eroes鈥� episodes premiere this September.