I'm curious! What do you mean about Mohinder and race? It could be that I'm oblivious and missing something obvious, but I couldn't think of anything! Actually, one thing I did notice about Heroes was that there were at least three interracial couples and nobody in the show makes a big deal about them, which I thought was pretty cool.

Mohinder really rubbed him the wrong way because he's not so much an Indian as a white guy with a dark tan (comment made by an Indian guy friend who's, um, rather height challenged, but that really stuck with me).

Hee! Well, I guess I never really noticed! The only thing I really mocked with Mohinder was his accent, which sounded like a British-educated Indian accent imitated by someone who knew what it should sound like but didn't actually *have* it themselves because they grew up here - so, basically what I'd sound like trying to do that accent. XD; (It's subtle; maybe you only notice it if you've been around the real deal all your life.)

I don't think I ever consciously noticed Mohinder acting particularly "white" - what's he supposed to act like, an inscrutable easterner or something? I thought he was one of those almost totally Westernized twenty-somethings that you see nowadays in big cities like Madras, so I never thought it was odd.

And that makes me go 'Hmm.' because we have Nathan who is a politician, Peter who is a nurse, Mr. Bennett who is living the Stepford's dream, and then there's Nikki's husband.

...but then you have Simone and her dad, though! So I guess it balanced out in my mind. I remember reading that initially Simone's actress had auditioned for Jessica/Niki, but they put a white woman in that role and made the black actress be Nathan's upper-class art dealer love interest.

So I dunno! I guess I wasn't noticing, but then I tend to be pretty oblivious.

I don't know what it means, that Mohinder is a white guy with a tan. The actor's name is Sendhil Ramamurthy, so it's not like they cast a white guy to pretend to be indian. Or is it that he's too westernized? But they had him participating in religious rituals, which is of course a shortcut but how else his cultural heritage could be handled, I'm not sure. But yeah. DUMB. Maybe it's supposed to be a scientist thing.

And yes, there is Nikki's husband, but there is also Nikki. And there is Simone. Also, Petrellis are technically white I suppose, but not WASP, which probably counts? I'm very dense about race issues! I'm not even sure if Isaak counts as a racial minority.

Nikki is an awful character I think, very old skool comic book, as is that girl, Mohinder's neighbourg. But I think Claire is awesome, even as a role model.

Aw, I'd watch it just for Hero.

I understand your detachment from this series, but some people have gotten more "involved" further along. It takes a very long time to like the characters (other than Hiro), but the mystery of what happens does hook you... to a point.

- Mohinder -
The problem I find with the character is that the Western educated stereotype it simply portrays without a proper language background. The character sprouts "East vs West" type jargon without proper context.

For a Western educated individual, his logic/reasoning and problem solving skills are below the norm stereotype. Especially in view of the fact that he's suppose to be a "teaching professor".

I think basicly his too 2-dimensional and does not wise-up enough throughout the first 17 eps.

- Inter-racial couples -
On this issue, I think the fact that there is no commentary is not necessarily positive. Visual evidence of these relationships are more compelling. For example, Nikki+D.L. = bad relationship / stereotype criminals; Isaac+Simone = he's a racial minority (Jewish?) but is an artist, therefore does drugs. Relationship doesn't work out, she bails on him, he shoots her (accidentally); Peter+Simone = American values, she sleeps with him, get dead; Eden+Mohinder (doesn't really count) but she dies, just as her emotional attachment forms for a non-caucasian individual; Hiro+Charlie - she dies... see prev;

But this could be reading far too much into gender relations.

- Role Model Women -
I agree with naanima that there really isn't a real role model here. Classic/cheesey/co(s)mic one-liners, scenes and dialogue, yes. Real role model, no. The females are highly sexualized in this series.

Claire's lack of solid grounding makes her a more "real" character than others, but she is not exactly who we want today's teens to grow into. Cheerleader - hello?

Nikki's bi-polar MPD psycho, so not her. Kinky bitch Jessica-persona + innocent I can't do anything-Nikki are both visually presented as sex symbols.

Simone's lack of open-mindedness/participation and lack of screen time leaves her out of the running.

Janice Parkman - Matt's wife, adulteress. Hmm, not a contender.

Heidi Petrelli - not enough of her to show if she merits role model-ship.

Audrey Hasson - too close minded, dispassionate, no reasoning capabilities and huge trust issues.