3rd Season (Heroes)

The NBC science fiction serial drama series Heroes follows the lives of people across the globe who possess various superhuman powers as they struggle to cope with their everyday lives and prevent foreseen disasters from occurring. The third season premiered on September 22, 2008, and was released on DVD on September 1, 2009.

Within the seasons of Heroes are "volumes", which allow the writers to focus on shorter story arcs. The third season comprised 26 episodes that aired in two blocks generally without reruns. The first 14 episodes of the season made up the third volume, Villains, and the final 12 comprise the fourth volume, Fugitives. The season premiered on September 22, 2008 in the United States on NBC and on Global in Canada, with a one-hour clip-show and two regular episodes. The DVD and Blu-ray were released on September 1, 2009 in the United States and Canada.

Production Companies: Amigos de Garcia Productions, Shore Z Productions and Universal Media Studios

Plot
"Villains", the season's first volume, began with the assassination attempt on Nathan Petrelli (Adrian Pasdar) by Peter Petrelli (Milo Ventimiglia) from the future, and explores its consequences. In addition, several villains with abilities escape from the Company's prisons. Some of them join forces with Arthur Petrelli (Robert Forster) (Peter's and Nathan's father) at Pinehearst Company, who wants to find a formula that gives ordinary people abilities in order to make the world a better place. Character arcs involve Tracy Strauss (Ali Larter) discovering her origins, Sylar (Zachary Quinto) trying to decide his loyalties, Peter losing his ability, Mohinder Suresh (Sendhil Ramamurthy) giving himself an ability, and Hiro Nakamura's (Masi Oka) discovery of a family secret.

The second part of season three, titled "Fugitives", involves what happens after Nathan fails to produce the formula. After the destruction of Primatech and Pinehearst, the heroes attempt to lead normal lives until Nathan tells the President of the United States (Michael Dorn) about people with abilities, and runs a government force, headed by Emile Danko (Željko Ivanek), to round them up. Micah Sanders (Noah Gray-Cabey), posing as "Rebel", starts to help people with abilities hide from the government. Meanwhile, Sylar searches for his father (John Glover). In the season finale, Sylar kills Nathan in an intense duel; however, Matt Parkman (Greg Grunberg) is instructed to alter Sylar's mind so that he believes that he is Nathan.

Main Characters

 * Milo Ventimiglia as Peter Petrelli
 * Adrian Pasdar as Nathan Petrelli
 * Jack Coleman as Noah Bennet
 * Sendhil Ramamurthy as Mohinder Suresh
 * Cristine Rose as Angela Petrelli
 * Zachary Quinto as Sylar
 * Hayden Panettiere as Claire Bennet
 * James Kyson Lee as Ando Masahashi
 * Masi Oka as Hiro Nakamura
 * Greg Grunberg as Matt Parkman
 * Ali Larter as Tracy Strauss
 * Dania Ramirez as Maya Herrera

Recurring Characters

 * Brea Grant as Daphne Millbrook
 * Ashley Crow as Sandra Bennet
 * Željko Ivanek as Emile Danko
 * Jamie Hector as Benjamin "Knox" Washington
 * Ntare Mwine as Usutu
 * Blake Shields as Flint Gordon, Jr.
 * Robert Forster as Arthur Petrelli
 * David H. Lawrence XVII as Eric Doyle
 * Kristen Bell as Elle Bishop
 * Randall Bentley as Lyle Bennet
 * Jessalyn Gilsig as Meredith Gordon
 * Jimmy Jean-Louis as the Haitian
 * Malcolm McDowell as Daniel Linderman
 * David Anders as Adam Monroe
 * Alan Blumenfeld as Maury Parkman
 * George Takei as Kaito Nakamura
 * Dan Byrd as Luke Campbell
 * Francis Capra as Jesse Murphy
 * Noah Gray-Cabey as Micah Sanders
 * Demetrius Grosse as Baron Samedi
 * Lisa Lackey as Janice Parkman
 * Eric Roberts as Eric Thompson
 * Adair Tishler as Molly Walker
 * Stephen Tobolowsky as Bob Bishop

Villains
Written by: Jesse Alexander, Directed by: Adam Kane Written by: Joe Pokaski, Directed by: Greg Yaitanes Written by: Tim Kring, Directed by: Allan Arkush Written by: Joe Pokaski, Directed by: Sergio Mimica-Gezzan Written by: Adam Armus and Kay Foster, Directed by: Anthony Hemingway Written by: Aron Eli Coliete, Directed by: David Von Ancken Written by: Chuck Kim and Christopher Zatta, Directed by: Daniel Attias Written by: Jesse Alexander, Directed by: Jeannot Szwarc Written by: Tim Kring, Directed by: Greg Yaitanes Written by: Rob Fresco, Directed by: Allan Arkush Written by: Aron Eli Coleite and Joe Pokaski, Directed by: Greg Beeman Written by: Aron Eli Coleite and Joe Pokaski, Directed by: Holly Dale Written by: Adam Armus and Kay Foster, Directed by: Jeannot Szwarc Written by: Jeph Loeb, Directed by: Greg Beeman
 * 1) Episode 1 (35): Truth and Consequences - September 22, 2008
 * 1) Episode 2 (36): Cautionary Tales - September 22, 2008
 * 1) Episode 3 (37): The Second Coming - September 29, 2008
 * 1) Episode 4 (38): One of Us, One of Them - October 6, 2008
 * 1) Episode 5 (39): Angels and Monsters - October 13, 2008
 * 1) Episode 6 (40): I Am Become Death - October 20, 2008
 * 1) Episode 7 (41): Dying of the Light - October 27, 2008
 * 1) Episode 8 (42): Eris Quod Sum - November 3, 2008
 * 1) Episode 9 (43): It's Coming - November 10, 2008
 * 1) Episode 10 (44): Villains - November 17, 2008
 * 1) Episode 11 (45): The Eclipse: Part I - November 24, 2008
 * 1) Episode 12 (46): The Eclipse: Part II - November 24, 2008
 * 1) Episode 13 (47): Our Father - December 1, 2008
 * 1) Episode 14 (48): Dual - December 8, 2008

Fugitives
Written by: Mark Verheiden, Directed by: Allan Arkush Written by: Tim Kring, Directed by: Greg Yaitanes Written by: Rob Fresco, Directed by: Sergio Mimica-Gezzan Written by: Aron Eli Coliete, Joe Pokaszki and Christopher Zatta, Directed by: Seith Mann Written by: Oliver Grigsby, Directed by: Greg Beeman Written by: Adam Armus and Kay Foster, Directed by: Eric Laneuville Written by: Bryan Fuller, Directed by: Greg Yaitanes Written by: Joe Pokaski, Directed by: Jim Chory Written by: Rob Fresco and Mark Verheiden, Directed by: Jeannot Szwarc Written by: Aron Eli Coleite, Directed by: Adam Kane Written by: Adam Armus and Kay Foster, Directed by: Allan Arkush Written by: Tim Kring, Directed by: Greg Beeman
 * 1) Episode 15 (49): Trust and Blood - February 2, 2009
 * 1) Episode 16 (50): A Clear and Present Danger - February 9, 2009
 * 1) Episode 17 (51): Building 26 - February 16, 2009
 * 1) Episode 18 (52): Cold Wars - February 23, 2009
 * 1) Episode 19 (53): Shades of Grey - March 2, 2009
 * 1) Episode 20 (54): Exposed - March 9, 2009
 * 1) Episode 21 (55): Cold Snap - March 16, 2009
 * 1) Episode 22 (56): Into Asylum - March 23, 2009
 * 1) Episode 23 (57): Turn and Face the Strange - March 30, 2009
 * 1) Episode 24 (58): 1961 - April 6, 2009
 * 1) Episode 25 (59): I Am Sylar - April 13, 2009
 * 1) Episode 26 (60): An Invisible Thread - April 20, 2009

Reception
Season three of Heroes started with strong ratings that dropped steadily throughout the season. The season's finale placed last in its timeslot.

Home Media
The Season 3 DVD Box set was released in North America on September 1, 2009, and in Australia on September 2, 2009 with an alternative cover, and in the UK on October 12, 2009.