Trivia: In episode 18, "Parasite", Hiro finds the sword listed on the computer with the ID "CRM-114". This tag crops up in many Stanley Kubrick films, including A Clockwork Orange (as "serum 114") starring Malcolm McDowell, who also features in this episode.
Trivia: On the floor of Isaac's loft, the painting of the New York explosion was originally done in black and white. The pilot episode and a couple others were shot with the black and white floor. The color was added in post-production. After a couple of episodes of them having to digitally add color, and realizing they would be shooting in Isaac's loft a lot, the producers finally decided to have the floor painted to save time and production costs.
Chosen answer: Because he's an idiot. From the story point of view, they needed the vault to actually be physically open so that the release of the virus would be a credible threat. Unfortunately, this required that Peter conveniently forget that he could simply walk through The Wall and use his telekinesis to tear the door open instead. Peter's increasingly large arsenal of abilities, where he ended up having pretty much any ability required for any situation, led to a situation where it became necessary to either have Peter apparently forget that he had a given power, as with the vault door scene, or become naively trusting, as with his refusal to scan Adam's mind to confirm his good intent. This problem, which simply made Peter look increasingly dumb as the show progressed, may well have been a key factor in the decision to severely reduce his ability during season three.
Tailkinker ★