Sneak peeks of "Heroes" and "Supernatural" season premieres; but what's the deal with the women?

Here's a little tip for actresses -- or in the politically correct-speak of Hollywood, actors who happen to be women -- looking to advance their careers with some meaningful on-screen parts on television.

If your agent calls with a role on the CW series "Supernatural," hang up! Step away from the phone! Take that hand modeling job instead!

OK, perhaps I'm overreacting to the "Supernatural" season starter that airs at 8 p.m. CT Thursday on the CW. And full disclosure, I can't say I have ever been a fan of this show. But because it follows in the great tradition of CW/WB programs that use Kansas as a touchstone for all things decent and middle-American ("90210," "Smallville," "Summerland"), and because the fourth season screener was accompanied by a vest-pocket edition of the Holy Bible with a bookmark stuck in Revelation -- the King James version, which I always read in a loud, British-sounding voice -- I was intrigued enough to give it a whirl.

Forty-two minutes and three expendable females later, I had to go watch something on Oxygen.

Take a look at the above clip reel (with mild spoilers and mild NSFW horror) showing women being used for sex and violence. These scenes don't even rise to the level of prepubescent boy fantasy. "The girl" in the first part is in skimpy underwear only because this isn't HBO. The psychic in the second part shows us her butt crack before being punished for being too nosy. Nice implied cause-and-effect, guys!

And bear in mind, the CW is the only broadcast network on TV currently run by a woman.

Yeah, I know, demon violence isn't real violence, lots of women kick butt on TV these days ... I know all that. Except that I also have just watched, for the third time, the season premiere of "Heroes," which is happening at 8 p.m. Monday on NBC (KSHB). It also features an example of this same kind of gruesome "fake" mayhem unleashed on one of the show's estrogen heroes.

I don't know if it's the Sarah Palin effect or what, but I am feeling like hate toward women is a meme in popular culture that I would just as soon see go away. That's all.

Actually, there's a much larger connection than occasional misogyny running through these shows. Both are starting new seasons by upping the ante considerably. Namely, the end of the world (which has been a constant threat on "Heroes" from the first episode) will start to seem a lot more imminent this season.

But it's also happening on "Supernatural," the mirthless buddy horror show starring Jensen Ackles and Jared Padalecki as brothers who drive around in a '67 Chevy (with Sedgwick County, Kansas, plates) battling demons. Season three season ended with Dean (Ackles) being dragged to the pit of hell while Sam (Padalecki) watched helplessly.

Things will only get more biblical this season. I'm not spoiling much when I tell you Dean gets sprung from hell. By the end of the hour, it's clear that somebody way up the chain of command issued the order to get him out. Wayyyy up.

Well, maybe the kids will buy it. Still, while I was watching the final scene of Thursday's "Supernatural" episode, I thought of that episode of "South Park" where Kenny is chosen to lead the battle against Satan because he can achieve Level 60 on his "Heaven and Hell" PSP video game. Maybe that's because it was the last time I saw an archangel, the end times and perdition all depicted on a prime-time TV show. Sadly, "South Park" was way more entertaining.

"Heroes," on the other hand, returns in top form (setting aside my gender issue). It's well worth the nine-month wait NBC put us through after deciding not to bring it back last spring following the end of the writers' strike. Here's the clip:

As you may have seen from the promotional ads, this season will be all about "good versus evil," which begs the question of what the last two seasons were about. Wasn't good embodied by our wholesome high school heroine, Claire Bennet (Hayden Panettiere), and didn't she grapple with evil, serial-killing supercreep Sylar (Zachary Quinto)?

Well, that will seem like small potatoes compared to the revelations, so to speak, in Monday's episode, which is preceded by a one-hour recap of last season at 7 p.m. CT on KSHB.

Without spoiling anything, it's clear that the fight for the future has only just begun, that Claire and Peter Petrelli (Milo Ventimiglia) and Sylar and Hiro (Masi Oka) and the whole "Hee Haw" gang are gearing up for an even bigger showdown at the End Times Corral, and that a race is on to avert a mammoth explosion that will return the world to its pre-human, book-of-Genesis state.