Why NBC's Heroes Was Sued Over A Bloody Garbage Disposal Scene

"Heroes" and its brief pop cultural juggernaut of a first season was a harbinger of how obsessed we'd all become with superheroes over the next two decades — even if the show itself was too self-conscious for capes and secret identities. 

Though "Heroes" still has some defenders, it's generally agreed that the show went off the tracks with its second season. (The 2007 writers strike didn't help.) Not everyone loved the first season, though, including the folks at Emerson Electric, who sued NBC — which aired "Heroes" throughout its run — over a scene in its pilot episode, "Genesis," involving one of their products.

One of the primary characters in the "Heroes" ensemble is Claire Bennet (Hayden Panettiere, though a young Emma Stone auditioned for the role). A high school cheerleader from Odessa, Texas, Claire possesses the power of rapid healing, a la the X-Men's Wolverine. In "Genesis," she's introduced jumping about two to three stories off of an abandoned industrial tower. For a normal person, that fall would probably break some of your bones, but Claire gets back up and walks it off, as filmed by her friend Zach (Thomas Dekker).

Later in "Genesis," Claire tests how far her powers go with much nastier results. While washing some dishes, Claire accidentally drops a ring down her family's kitchen sink drain while the garbage disposal is running. She instinctively reaches her hand into the drain, without bothering to turn the disposal off first. She retrieves the ring and mangles her hand, but by the time her mom (Ashley Crow) turns back to her, Claire's hand has healed. 

Emerson, the manufacturer of the InSinkErator disposal featured in this scene (with the brand label barely visible), filed a lawsuit against NBC in early October 2006, mere days after "Genesis" premiered on September 25.

Emerson claimed that NBC had used the InSinkErator brand without permission and that the episode's portrayal of the product, where it slices up someone's hand, was negative. For its part, NBC quickly agreed to edit the episode to remove the InSinkErator branding. The lawsuit was subsequently settled out of court by February the following year, with details undisclosed. It might've been in both parties' interest to not set precedent on product placement and its limits.

A contemporary report on the lawsuit from MediaPost cited comments by law professor Mark McKenna (currently a professor of law at Notre Dame). McKenna claimed that Emerson's lawsuit was "very unlikely to succeed," as there was no precedent for "use of a branded product in a creative work" as constituting a trademark violation. From a layman's eyes, the lawsuit also seems like a huge overreaction on Emerson's part, and there's a fair chance a judge could've agreed. Brands are image sensitive, yes, but the average person knows not to stick their hand in an active garbage disposal. "Heroes" doesn't suggest otherwise, nor was it aimed at kids young enough to think they could imitate Claire.

However, as McKenna explained, "NBC's interests really [were] on both sides of this issue." At the time, NBC was owned by "major advertiser" General Electric (GE). McKenna continued:

"If [NBC] fight hard for the integrity of their communicative work, they might establish a principle that the GE folks don't much like with respect to uses of their products or trademarks. So, this is, in part, a story about the conflicts of interests many media entities have."

Sticking your hand in that legal can of worms could leave it as messed up as Claire's after she stuck it in the garbage disposal.