I am – Hercules!! Tonight Claire meets her biological mom! And it turns out Claire’s mom was also … a cheerleader!! Or not. We don’t know. Claire really does meet her birth mom (former “Boston Public” hot-teacher Jessalyn Gilsig) tonight, but TV Guide has learned from series mastermind Tim Kring that “the identity of Claire's father will be a bigger shock.” Could it be that Hiro and Claire share the same daddy?? I’m guessing not, but Howard Stern Show announcer George Takei also joins the cast tonight as Hiro’s concerned pop. Some of the questions Michael Logan poses to series mastermind Tim Kring in this week’s TV Guide cover story: * Who's dying? * You're using the word "regular" as opposed to "hero." Is that a clue? * We'll see Claire's biological mom — played by Nip/Tuck's Jessalyn Gilsig — on Jan. 29. How will that unfold? * There's a rumor that this will be a highly soapy revelation and that viewers are already familiar with the dad. True? * Will H.R.G. know about these meetings? * So after riding the fence with H.R.G., you're making him a true villain? * After Eden shot herself in the head, why did you have H.R.G. go to such drastic lengths to get rid of her body? * Will Hiro regain control of his powers? * The mysterious, unseen mobster Linderman is growing in importance. Hiro and Ando are headed to Las Vegas to find him, and we know he has connections to Niki, D.L., Simone and Nathan. Will we see him soon? Find all of Kring’s answers to these questions here.
And for those willing to fork over $2.49 to their newdealers, Kring answers a few more questions in the print edition of TV Guide, including: * Are we headed for a Niki-Jessica smackdown? * With so many of the heroes starting to connect with each other, isn’t poor Matt seeming like the odd man out? * Two series regulars don’t seem to possess a superpower. Does Simone have one we don’t yet know about? * Does Mohinder have a secret power? * In Peter’s dream, the nuclear blast goes off outside Nathan’s campaign headquarters the day after he wins the election.. Will Nathan pull out of the race in order to stop Armageddon? * The Heroes graphic novels at nbc.com reveal backstories on the characters, but you recently used them to introduce a new hero, Hana, weeks before she hits the air. Will you continue to use the site to preview plots in this way? * Your cast is already so huge. Why add two more heroes so soon?