First things first: I am, in general, a fan of instant communication. I am as addicted to my BlackBerry as any U.S. president. But, I am constantly astonished by the lack of context that comes with this instant accessibility. Even with something as simple as a text or an e-mail, it seems to me that most people either don't take the time to put their thoughts into context, or they simply don't know how.

I get messages all the time from friends or family that either answer questions I asked last month, so now I have no idea what they are talking about, or that refer to some random thought or opinion they have just formulated in their heads which is apropos of nothing. I'm not in your heads, people! You have to frame your thoughts so that a person has some idea what you're on about!

This is the part of modern communication that drives me batty. I can tell you in 140 characters what I had for lunch, but do you care? Should you care? I don't know, I honestly don't. I feel I have a harder and harder time doing nothing and I know it is partly a result of the perpetual mental distraction a PDA provides.

Add to that Twitter, or a blog, or texting every mundane thought that pops into your head, and pretty soon you are not really in your life -- you are helplessly clinging to a wireless meteor hurtling out-of-control, fingers in constant motion to ward off boredom, ears ever vigilant for the tell-tale bleep alerting you that you have... spam.

I do not mean to be judgmental, archaic or a Luddite. Though I am technologically limited in ways a 10-year-old would find hysterical, I am utterly addicted to my laptop and my PDA. I love a funny remark out of the blue from a friend, a link to a fantastic editorial or a picture taken on set by a maniacally wired make-up artist. (Yeah, Wendi, I'm calling you out!) Google and other search engines are sent from God, though perhaps He could eliminate some of the redundancies.

But no matter how many times I unsubscribe, I still get at least ten emails a day that annoy the heck out of me. People I don't know who want me to attend something I could care less about. Online catalogues that I used five years ago and from which I have been trying to escape ever since -- including a gift basket I sent to my mother just before she died. Now every time I hear from them I am reminded of that. OK, that may be a bit overly sensitive, but you get me.

We spend so much of our lives consumed with stuff that does nothing but waste our time and most of it comes to us online. We have replaced real friendships with virtual ones, real conversations with texts and tweets, and we hide behind anonymous or false names to attack people we wouldn't have the guts to confront in person.

In other words, the reason I'm not on Twitter comes down to this: I could never compete with Grunny's 25,000 followers.

Now then, about the fate of Heroes. The other day I mentioned to Adrian and Sendhil that I thought the show should go on a publicity offensive about how many different ways Heroes gets to its audience. My point was that, although we have undeniably lost significant numbers of viewers on Monday nights from the halcyon days of Season 1, we are always at the top of every list of downloaded, iTuned, pirated or DVR'd shows on television. We are in 230 territories around the world, and the DVDs generate enormous sums of money. This is as true today as when the show was white hot in the first season.

My point, I argued to Adrian and Sendhil, is that the perception that Heroes has fallen off the face of the earth could be effectively countered with focused publicity that points out the new paradigm of television viewing, particularly as it applies to Heroes, which has such a young, tech-savvy audience that is increasingly unlikely to sit at home and watch at the specified hour.

They both argued that it sounded defensive and would prove to be counter-productive. I'm sure they're right. But Heroes is still a profitable show for NBC Universal. If it were not, we would be gone. So in my own tiny little fiefdom, I am telling you, dear reader, that Heroes is not yet dead. Damn, I could reach so many more people if only I were on Twitter...

Speaking of the show that I am ostensibly writing about, we are shooting the season finale right now. It is Tuesday as I type this, and we will finish for the season on Friday. It has been a long one, ten and a half months. Having lived March after March trying to claw my way into a pilot, I can't tell you how grateful I am to have a show that I love, a cast I adore and I crew I am proud to work with.

We worked the other night out in Polsa Rosa, in the high desert, until 7 AM. It was 28 degrees, which, adjusted for California, equals zero East Coast degrees. Around 4 AM, I started looking around at the crew's faces. I can't describe the fatigue. I hadn't worked the day before but every one of them had -- as they had every day before that. Now, here we were on another Fraturday - Friday becoming Saturday -- and I just wished that all of them could go home, get into a hot bath and then sleep for twelve hours. After Friday, they can. But many of them will go on to other jobs during the hiatus. Some will come back and some won't. This is what Grunny was talking about on Twitter.

Watching episode 19, "Shades of Gray," on a new television was a revelation. Had I missed all that color before? The show looked amazing. Beaming Beeman directed the hell out of it and Charlie Lieberman shot it superbly. (He and Nate Goodman are directors of photography on every other episode.) I couldn't get over how beautiful it looked. I think I like my new TV.

I particularly liked the scene in the restaurant with Cris Rose and Zeljko Ivanek. I loved her bravado and her oyster slurping. And Zeljko's silent recognition of Angela's preparation for their meeting (he finally remarks how resourceful she is) was a lesson in active listening for all you young actors out there. Listening should never be about waiting to say your next line (in acting or in real life). It is what makes you say your next line.

Watching John Glover is always a treat. No matter how seasoned an actor is, being on an unfamiliar set is daunting. To come onto a new set and just own your scenes is quite remarkable. I did a miniseries with John years ago (Medusa's Child). He played a demented scientist with a grudge (I know, go figure). We had a few scenes together. A nicer man and a better actor you won't find. I hope he can come back.

Next up is Bryan Fuller's first episode back, "Cold Snap." The previews look amazing. The hyperbole is full-throated ("A classic!") and the expectations are high. I haven't seen it yet, but shooting it was fun. Bryan always infuses scenes with irony and humor and never loses sight of the human relationships that underpin every storyline.

I had my first real scene in three years with Ali Larter. I loved working with her. The scene was fraught with danger for both of our characters, yet it was funny, and had maybe a hint of sexual tension. Ali, poor plain thing, just naturally brings the heat. As Jack Nicholson said after doing The Postman Always Rings Twice with Jessica Lange: "She's so sexy, she makes me look sexy."

Oh, cut it out! I'm just paying Ali a compliment. See? 140 characters or 140,000, you can still be taken out of context.

See you all in a couple of weeks.

Got a question or comment for Jack. Send it in here. And you can watch full episodes of Heroes (for free!) at NBC.com.