save the cheerleader save the world

First we had the lawsuit that claimed the idea for Heroes was stolen, then we had the controversial comments from ex-Zach, Thomas Dekker. Now comes what could be the most intriguing Heroes controversy of them all.

Was the first season tag line "Save the cheerleader, save the world" borrowed from a short-lived NBC show from the mid-80s?

That's the news from the B-Side blog, which discloses that the classic, campy NBC sci-fi show Misfits of Science (which starred Courteney Cox and ALF's Max Wright) had the catch phrase "Save Adele, Save The World." Now, this would be just a cute coincidence if it wasn't for the fact that Heroes creator Tim Kring was one of the writers on the show! Of course, since he was a writer on the show, maybe it's not a controversy at all.

After the jump, video from the show, which includes the tag line.

Note: the B-Side Blog seems to be down right now, so here's the story on Defamer.

I was thinking about this the other day. Even though I named Heroes as the best show of the year, I've been worried lately that season two might turn out to be an over-hyped, overdone disaster that will make me tire of it really quickly. I mean, they're adding cast members at an astonishing rate (Kristin Bell, Nichelle Nichols, David Anders, Stephen Tobolowsky, Janel Parrish, Jessica Collins). They're going to have a storyline in another time (Hiro), produced a spinoff mini-series to be directed by Kevin Smith, produced online stories and comics to keep fans entertained and well-fed and gone on a world tour to promote the show. It's really overwhelming, and I hope they're not doing too much, too soon.

The Boston Globe's Matthew Gilbert is worried too.

First they saved the cheerleader, now they've given her a boyfriend.

Nick D'Agosto will join NBC's Heroes this fall as West, Claire's boyfriend. The show says he will have a "cool" super power. I don't know if that means the super power is interesting and neat, or if he can turn himself into a giant ice cube tray and make ice cubes for when the other heroes are hot and thirsty from fighting the bad guys.

D'Agosto has guest starred on several TV shows, including House, ER, Cold Case, Six Feet Under, Big Day, Without A Trace, and Boston Public.

I guess this means that we won't be seeing the gay/not gay Zach back on the show as Claire's boyfriend. He's too busy on another show anyway.