“Heroes:� On saving the cheerleader

When “Heroes� returns with new episodes on Jan. 22, it will have already moved on to a new tagline: “Are you on the list?�, referring to a genetics professor’s (Sendhil Ramamurthy) discovery of his late father’s secret collection of names of humans with extraordinary abilities. But the series became the hottest new hit of the season thanks in part to the year’s catchiest catchphrase: “Save the cheerleader, save the world.�

In the series, Hiro (Golden-Globe nominee Masi Oka), a Tokyo office worker who can bend the time-space continuum, traveled from the future to warn Peter (Milo Ventimiglia), a New York hospice worker who had yet to discover what his special powers were, with the cryptic message. Eventually, Peter realized the cheerleader in question was Claire (Hayden Panettiere), a Texas high-school student whose physical indestructibility was about to meet its match. The line soon became an oft-quoted slogan for the show’s fans.

“I still don’t get it,� Panettiere says of being at the center of the phenomenon her show has become. (This day on the “Heroes� set finds Panettiere in a rare costume that’s not her cheerleading outfit.) “I’m like, caught in the middle of this craziness. I don’t think you ever really expect that kind of success.�

Series creator Tim Kring seems a little sheepish about the line’s instant leap into the pop-culture pantheon.

“It did become very iconic, and we had no plan of that,� he insists. “That phrase was in the script, and in the show, and it was simply the promo department that grabbed it and used it. It was never intended for that. I’m feeling a little bit of a burden – we have to come up with another one? We really caught lightning in a jar, and I don’t know how often you do that. To be honest, it gives me some pause that we would be associated with these catchphrases.�

Oka, who first delivered the line, admits he had no inkling that it would become such a rallying cry.

“I didn’t know what the impact of it would be,� he says. “I knew it would be part of the promo, that it was that important a phrase. But it started a whole movement going. I’m just glad I didn’t say it completely cheesily.

“The ‘Save the Cheerleader, Save the World’ T-shirts are already gone,� he jokes. “It’s just a way of selling T-shirts. Here comes ‘Are you on the list?’!�