Are the writers of Heroes completely retarded or do they just have access to the best drugs in the world?

Honestly, how many of you haven't been screaming "Why doesn't Peter just TAKE his mother's power?!" since season one? I assumed that the writers were smart enough to think that Peter was respectful (or fearful) enough of either his mother or her ability to have never done this before. Seriously, Peter and his family have faced threats a bajillion times worse then scary, dirt-throwing, Irish carny. Why would he choose now of all times to become a prophet??

As if Peter wasn't a big enough douchebag and a pain in the @ss for the writers with his variable ability (when he's not being an obvious plot device) now he has to be even more tortured then he already was with dreams of the future.

I didn't think it was possible to hate him even more then I already did ... and then I saw him smash a deaf woman's cello as if that would help him convince her that dirt-throwing carny is trying to use her for evil and he, Peter, is not just a cello-smashing @sshole. Oh, and she can't just go to any of the hundreds of music stores in NYC and BUY another god damn cello!

I say its about time for Peter to finally realize how much evil there is in the world and just how powerless he really is to stop it and TURN EVIL himself. Heroes is only one more amnesia and/or demon possession storyline away from being "Days of our Lives" with super powers, all they have to do is bring Nathan or anyone else who has died back from the dead and it will be official!

The question, in case you missed it, is: What are the writers of Heroes smoking???