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NBC鈥檚 new show 鈥淗eroes Reborn,鈥� dipping back into a world peopled with unlikely superheroes, debuts tonight. Can it recapture the creativity of the original show鈥檚 early run?

The original show 鈥淗eroes鈥� ran from 2006 to 2010 and starred Hayden Panettiere, Milo Ventomigli, Masi Oka, Ali Larter, and many others. It centered on people all over the world who suddenly discovered they had superpowers.聽

鈥淗eroes鈥� became a ratings hit for NBC in its first season and was critically well-reviewed then as well. The early episodes of the show were full of enigmatic hints about what would happen when the heroes faced off with a mysterious villain (Zachary Quinto in a breakout role). But many viewers were underwhelmed by the season one finale, featuring the built-up battle, and many believed the show never recovered, though it continued to air for another three seasons. By the end, ratings were much lower than they were originally.

Now 鈥淗eroes Reborn鈥� is NBC鈥檚 13-episode (for now, one presumes) new take on the show. Actors including Mr. Oka and Jack Coleman have returned, along with some fresh characters.聽

But critics so far aren鈥檛 won over, with it 鈥渄oesn鈥檛 make an airtight case for its revival,鈥� is 鈥渁wkward 鈥� muddled,鈥� or is simply 鈥渁 big hot mess.鈥澛�

Other reboots of old shows are in the pipeline, like Netflix鈥檚 鈥淔uller House鈥� and Fox鈥檚 鈥淭he X-Files,鈥� coming soon (鈥淴-Files鈥� arrives in January, while 鈥淔uller鈥� will stream sometime in 2016). If 鈥淗eroes Reborn鈥� can鈥檛 recover, what can these other pending reboots learn from its stumbles?

Some critics are complaining that 鈥淩eborn鈥� has too many of the same themes as the original show 鈥� lots of mysterious people working behind the scenes and those who think they know what鈥檚 going on but aren鈥檛 believed by anybody. Judging by the lukewarm reaction, it seems reboots need to bring something new to the table. Why are they being brought back? What鈥檚 different from the original episodes?

Some reviewers are also complaining about the overwhelming number of characters and plotlines. Future reboots would be wise to keep their stories simple (鈥淴-Files鈥� in particular would probably benefit from this) and provide support for viewers who haven鈥檛 seen the original program, or who have forgotten key details over the intervening decade.

鈥淗eroes鈥� fans will no doubt tune in tonight, as will people who never watched a minute of the original NBC show. Too many assumptions about how much viewers already know (and remember) of old characters or plotlines could well alienate new potential fans.