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Episode 3-01 ‘A second coming’
premiered at the 2008 San Diego ComicCon.

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On Sci Fi Wire Milo is quoted saying: As for Nathan’s apparent death at the end of last season? Doesn’t everyone always come back? “I know that the beginning of this year, [series creator and executive producer] Tim [Kring] said to me–I don’t know what he said to anybody else–but he said, ‘If you die this year, you’re dead.’ So. I mean, those of us who do have that ability [to resurrect]–myself and Claire and who else? I guess the two of them. Those are the two that really can’t [die]. There could be more.”
Read the whole article at Sci Fi Wire

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The third season of Heroes will play out on BBC Two and BBC Three (and BBC HD) from the end of September, with a delay of just eight days on the original US broadcast. The season will comprise two “volumes”, each containing 13 and 12 episodes respectively.

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A new recurring cast member is joining Heroes, says The Hollywood Reporter. Ntare Mwine will play a character described by the Reporter as, "an African who is artistic and close to many of the original heroes." Mwine's character's abilities will develop over the course of a nine-episode arc he'll appear in.

Mwine, whose credits include The Riches, Blood Diamond and CSI, actually has a history with Heroes - he had a role in the original version of the pilot, before portions of it were drastically retooled.

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September 16, 2008 - Heroes: Season 3 debuts this coming Monday with a new storyline called "Villains."

IGN recently had the chance to speak with Sendhil Ramamurthy, to find out what's in store for his character Mohinder Suresh this fall.


Question: Your character flirted with the dark side a bit in Season 2. Was that fun for you?

Sendhil Ramamurthy: Yeah, absolutely. I kind of thought I got the darkness out of me until I found out what they were doing for me this season. It's kind of deeply dark and twisted and completely messed up. I love it. It's fantastic. It's really, really dark in a comic book sense. It's very comic book like.

Q: So the title "Villains" is not only about new characters, but exploring the darkness inside those we already know?

Ramamurthy: It is. Yeah, it's exploring the good and the bad in everybody. A lot of the characters I think are kind of turned on their heads. They will still fundamentally be the same people that you know, but they will be in certain circumstances that cause them to behave differently than they have before.

Q: Even Sylar?

Ramamurthy: Everybody. Everybody, in some way. And a lot of them will not be ways that are very linear. You're not expecting them, which is what makes good television.

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- NBC
Sendhil Ramamurthy as Mohinder Suresh in Heroes

Q: What was it like having such a long break, thanks to the writers' strike?

Ramamurthy: As an actor, I could have done with a three week break. I didn't necessarily need it to be this long, but I think ultimately, to be honest, it was very good for the show. The writers went back and were kind of reenergized and had re-tooled, and I knew they'd come up with something really extraordinary. Something that will equal or hopefully surpass the first season.

Q: Do you think your character will finally get a superpower?

Ramamurthy: Listen, anything is possible on this show. This character's always been on the outside looking in at these characters and their abilities and trying to help them. It's ultimately proved to be kind of fruitless endeavor. He keeps coming at it from different angles and he can't quite find a way in to help these people. And this season he does – he finds a way in. But it has severe consequences. The way that he goes about things and the changes that he endures, because of how he does this. It's kind of like this journey through this whole season so far. He will have to deal with the repercussions of his actions and it's the most challenging thing I've ever done and it's the most fun I've ever had.

Q: Who have you worked with this season?

Ramamurthy: I have so far worked with Dania Ramirez, Ali Larter, Adrian Pasdar, Robert Forster, who's joining the show… I'm sure there's more, but I'm spacing out a little bit.

Q: I liked the Chinatown thing you had going last season, with the bandaged up nose.

Ramamurthy: Did you really?

Q: Yeah, it was a fun little touch.

Ramamurthy: I was into it, except that it took like 45 minutes to put the makeup on and everything.

Q: When does Season 3 pick up in the timeline?

Ramamurthy: It picks up seconds after Nathan Petrelli gets shot in the second season. It's directly after.

Q: How is it having an action figure?

Ramamurthy: You know what? It's pretty cool. It's pretty damn cool. Who doesn't want an action figure? My daughter runs around with it. She wants to take it to school and I have to explain to her that the other daddies don't have action figures and the kids will get jealous. It's definitely good for the daddy ego, for sure.

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September 18, 2008 - With Heroes: Season 3 premiering this Monday, I caught up with Greg Grunberg to find out what's in store for Matt Parkman this fall. Season 3 begins the new storyline, "Villains", and Grunberg gave me a hint at what's to come, along with discussing the joy of action figures.


IGN TV: Coming back after such a long break, was it hard to get back into the swing of things or more just the relief of, "finally, we're back."

Greg Grunberg: It was pretty much, "Finally, we're back." It was really easy to jump back in. What was weird is when you come back and half the crew is different, because they've taken other jobs. That's the thing that really sucks, especially on our show. It's such a tough show to shoot. We have two or three crews going at the same time. We get to know the different crews as much as you do anybody else and then all of the sudden they're all different and it throws a wrench in the whole thing. But we're back and several episodes in and it's smooth again and it's great.

IGN: Can you talk a bit about where Matt's story takes him this season?

Grunberg: When last we left off, I'm standing next to Adrian and he gets shot. We pick it up right there – right where we left off. And because I'm a cop, I go after the shooter and it takes me on that journey right away. And then I end up way out somewhere and in the promos you see me – you don't know if it's a desert or where it is. It's very cool.

IGN: We hear the title "Villains" refers to all the characters, including those we know already.

Grunberg: Yeah, because we're all in situations where we can either go evil or stay good – be heroes or villains. And a lot of times, they'll introduce these new characters in such a way, like my dad… you know we're finally going to get an explanation where he's been doing this to probably save me. And that's what I love about it. It's not so cut and dry. It's interesting how all the characters are laid out.

IGN: [Executive producer] Tim Kring has talked a bit about lessons learned in Season 2. Do you feel like he took some of those criticisms the show got last year and decided, "okay, let's try this…"

Grunberg: I don't know if he's going to admit to that, but I certainly know that the time off was well spent in perspective. Really standing back and saying, "What worked? What didn't? What characters should we not trap in feudal Japan?" [Laughs] That kind of thing. And I think that's what he mainly learned from that. And it's worked, because the scripts have been incredible. They've really been great.

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- NBC
Greg Grunberg as Matt Parkman in Heroes

IGN: I remember talking with you about the possibility of Heroes action figures very early on in the series…

Grunberg: And now they're happening! I'm so psyched! My kids are excited. They want to use them as voodoo dolls when I punish them.

IGN: I remember joking about what accessories a Matt Parkman action figure could come with.

Grunberg: I think a calzone.

IGN: [Laughs] Yes!

Grunberg: He's always got a tuna melt on him at all times. You never know when that could come in handy. They also have that Molly doll right next to me. That's cool!

IGN: Is it trippy to see yourself in a comic book or as an action figure?

Grunberg: Oh, it's the greatest. And we shot something where I'm out in this desert set and on the boulders, on the rocks, they have these monster [size] paintings of me from throughout the series . Where I'm trying to save the girl; Niki throwing me out the window; with Feedback. It was so cool. I was like, "This is amazing! This is where I want to live!" It's like, "How do I get to your house?" "Well, make a left at me looking bad ass!"

IGN: "You'll see a nice shrine to myself."

Grunberg: Exactly!

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September 18, 2008 - The Heroes cast are often a bit tough to interview – they're certainly a friendly group, it's just that they have to keep so many secrets about what's to come on the show. Of course, that didn't stop us from prying what hints we could from Ali Larter recently, who returns for Season 3 of Heroes this Monday, despite the explosion her character Niki was caught in last year.

But is Larter even playing Niki anymore? Reports say she is a brand new character named Tracy, but given Niki's split personality past and the general "anything goes" superpowered world at play on this show, we're guessing there' s more to it than simply having Tracy just coincidently look like a character we already know.


Question: While obviously not something you wanted, did you come back from the long break caused by the strike reenergized?

Ali Larter: Oh my gosh. It reenergized us, but I think it was really for our writers. You know, our crew is one of the hardest working crews in Hollywood. The hours that they pull, with the multiple units that we're running, it's just so difficult. I think that also, the scope of our show is not just a couple of characters and a couple of love stories. We're jumping time and special effects – there's powers and different places. So, I think that because our show is so complicated, our writers need a break. So that was maybe the positive side of it. I think it was terrible for our industry. I felt horrible for so many people that had to find work in different places. But the other end of it is that our scripts are better than ever. There's definitely a renewed spirit – a kind of ferocious energy almost. It's intense and it's fast and everyone is very, very deeply involved.

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- NBC
Ali Larter in Heroes

Q: Are you a close cast?

Larter: Definitely. I love Adrian [Pasdar]. I think he's so incredible. Everyone on the show really stands alone in their work. I feel lucky to get to work with them. They raise the bar every time.

Q: How do you greet the new cast members each season?

Larter: Hugs and kisses. "Welcome aboard!" You know, we don't have a lot of egos on our set. We don't work like that. Our show, we've always been sort of family and we're excited for everyone that comes on, [whether] for a little bit, a couple episodes and leaves, [or longer]. We just don't think about things as short or long or the size of the role. We just don't think that way.

Q: Do you try to find out what's to come ahead of time for your character?

Larter: You know, for me, I love control. I love knowing things. Information to me is power, and I love it. [Laughs] But in TV, you really have to relinquish that. For me, that's definitely one of the biggest struggles, is I never know where my character is going. So I take what they want me to know and I formulate it to the best of my ability to deliver a great performance.

Q: Have you gotten really good at giving us really vague answers?

Larter: So good! So good! I've perfected that part.

Q: Have you come to enjoy that?

Larter: I'm a straight from the hip girl. If I could tell you everything, I would! The other end of it is if you guys are fans of the show, you don't really want to know things. It's fun to watch the show and be surprised. So there's something to that as well.

Q: Can you hint at where some of the characters are going this season?

Larter: Everyone this year is getting a little bit darker. It's a little bit faster and a little bit more complicated. Somehow, it just all gels. I don't know how these writers are able to really interlock all these characters the way they do, but they do an incredible job at it. I've gotten to work with some new people this year, and it's fun. It's fun when you see them on set. With all of us who already have such history, you get to bring it to the roles. I worked with Hayden [Panettiere], and I'd never worked with her before. So that's really fun. We're all kind of sitting on the sofa, hanging out. There's something nice about the familiarity that you get when you're on a show for awhile.

Q: How was it working with Hayden finally?

Larter: We just had the littlest bit. I have such respect for her as an actress. I think she's incredible. I hope we get to work together more. I think you can fit us both in there in a scene, so let's do it.

Q: Do you have much physical stuff to do this season?

Larter: They always make us pretty physical. That's part of our show, is that we can do things that you can't. And I love doing that stuff. I have an incredible stunt double and she comes in and makes me look good. We do as much as we can and then the professionals come in.

Q: How is it being in those harnesses for certain fight scenes?

Larter: They hurt. [Laughs] Not good. They kind of pinch your skin. But then you know how cool it's gonna look. I love all the things that this job brings to me. I get to work with so many different people. I get to play so many different characters and I feel lucky that I get to be inspired like that.

Q: You've had some pretty emotional stories in the past as Niki and Jessica. Is there anything like that this year?

Larter: There is. But I still think that the whole Season 1 and that storyline [is special], because I didn't know where it was going. It challenged me as an actor. It challenged me emotionally. It challenged me professionally. I feel lucky that I got to do that on TV. A lot of people don't get those opportunities. Wherever the show goes, I think that will always be kind of my favorite time.

Q: We hear you'll be meeting up with Nathan Petrelli again?

Larter: I get to see Nathan, which is very exciting to me, because I think Adrian just grounds the show. And I think that when you do let these storylines becomes so hyper real, that when you work with someone like him, it just drops it deep into reality. I think that's always the line that we have to dance, is staying true to what the story is about, but also keeping it real, so that when you're watching it, you actually believe that it could be you standing there. It's a fine line.

Q: Will you have any romantic storylines coming up?

Larter: Possibly, yes. I have a little love story here and there, but I don't think it's what our show is built on. So we might dabble in it a little bit, but I don't think we'll go too far from what made us fun that first year.


The two-hour Heroes: Season 3 premiere airs Monday, September 22nd at 9:00pm ET/PT on NBC.

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September 19, 2008 - Those not wishing to know anything about the new season of Heroes should be aware that some spoilers follow.

Heroes is a complicated production and shoots three episodes simultaneously. And on this day in August, things are especially interesting, as one team films episode nine of the third season, while another is filming a complicated sequence that had been held until now that will be part of episode four.

Taking part in the episode four scene is Milo Ventimiglia, returning as Peter Petrelli. As always, a lot is going on in Heroes, and this scene takes place in the future, as Peter faces off with Claire (Hayden Panettiere), who's looking very different in an all-black outfit, with dark hair… not to mention the gun she's holding, which Panettiere casually flips around her fingers in-between takes. As it turns out, the future figures in more than ever this season on Heroes, and Peter in fact has his present and future selves meet at least once.

During a break in filming, Ventimiglia comes outside to chat with us, and let us know what to expect in Heroes: Season 3, premiering this Monday.


Question: How is it filming a scene with yourself?

Milo Ventimiglia: I honestly don't know how Adrian [Pasdar] can stand acting with me, because I was having a hard time acting with myself. Thank god I had great doubles I was working with and guys that really made an effort to move like me, speak like me, pick up the mannerisms and the actions that both present Peter and future Peter have, which are similar, but also very, very specifically different. Which is a strange thing, jumping back and forth from scar to no scar. [Lowers voice] Voice, [raises voice] no voice. A determined walk or a little more soft.

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- NBC
Milo Ventimiglia as Peter Petrelli in Heroes

Q: How much of that do you do yourself and how much do they ask you to do?

Ventimiglia: I think a lot of it is just playing two different characters for me. Something that I've always loved about being an actor is playing a different character. I think every role I take, where it's the same show playing two different versions of the same guy, or outside in a film or anything, I try and do different things with each character. I'm imagining what catastrophic events went on in Peter's life to get him to the place he was as future Peter. There's a lot of choices and things I was trying to make them two distinctly different people.

Q: So in this scene, we find present Peter…

Ventimiglia: Oh, it gets so confusing!

Q: And he's confronting future Claire.

Ventimiglia: Future Claire.

Q: It looks like she's kind of gone to the bad side.

Ventimiglia: I know. And he's been hanging out with good [SPOILER - highlight to read]: future Sylar, or what appears to be good future Sylar.

Q: Do you try to keep all those stands in your head or do you not worry about it?

Ventimiglia: No, we worry about it. It's one of those things where I think it helps every scene that's going forward – where you're headed. In my case, character-wise, present Peter knowing what future Claire's like… then when he relates to present Claire, it's like… He doesn't want to see her go down a dark path. The same thing running into future [SPOILER - highlight to read]: Sylar, who's not the boogieman anymore. It's confusing! I had it all mapped out before we started filming.

Q: Do they fill you in on everything, or do you have to fill in the blanks yourself?

Ventimiglia: Well, it's all stuff that we've known. I could go back to the script and go, "Oh, this is where Peter last saw Sylar, when they were fighting" or Peter was last with Nathan or any of this sort… or with Greg Grunberg's character, with Parkman. It's all pretty laid out. The future stuff, I try not to worry about it too much. I mean, I hear about ideas and thoughts and where they're going with the story and characters and the multitude of all of us, but I just show up, and do my work…

Q: You've been back for awhile filming…

Ventimiglia: A couple of months now.

Q: First season, you don't know what's going to happen with the show. Second season you're a huge hit and there's pressure. What's different about going into this year?

Ventimiglia: I don't think it's any different than our first time we were stepping out onto the scene. I think we're trying to step forward with very strong episodes, very strong stories, and very strong character choices. It's no different than anything before.

Q: You know a little bit more about the character.

Ventimiglia: Yeah, which is nice. It's nice to know the characters more and to have that history with them. To be able to just make a judgment call, based on a scene immediately and not think, "Well, I wonder what this guy would do in this scenario?" We all pretty much know our characters and know our limits and our boundaries and our wants and our goals – all of that.

Q: Have you been working with anyone from the main cast who you haven't had much opportunity to work with before?

Ventimiglia: Peter always bounces around.

Q: I guess you've worked with most everybody.

Ventimiglia: Yeah, including myself!

Q: Can you say in broad terms what Peter's story is in "Villains"?

Ventimiglia: You know, the first season I would say Peter is finding himself. The second season, I'd say Peter has lost himself – the memory loss. And the third season, it's in one sentence: Peter's not quite himself.

I think the situations Peter finds himself in and the people that he comes across are dramatically influencing who he is – who he's appearing to be and who people are perceiving him to be. Future Peter comes on the scene and poses as present Peter for a little while and so he's not quite himself. And when he's around the villains, he's in the body of another guy, so again, he's not quite himself. He's struggling I think to step out of the physical confines that he's in, all the time.

Q: How far in the future are we?

Ventimiglia: This I think is five to seven years. I think far enough to where you can see leaps and bounds to technology, but not far enough to where, you know, cars are flying. But people are flying – more people are flying .

Q: We've heard we're finally going to meet, in some form, your father. Can you talk about that at all?

Ventimiglia: You guys know it's Robert Forster. That was always one of those things that always had a huge history behind it, the character, to figure out who was gonna play that. And I think every scene that we do, we're discovering more than we were just led to know; more than what we just talked about. He's such a complicated character and he impacts, out of his own megalomania, everybody - for his own need or want to be important and to be the most powerful.

Q: So you've had the chance to work with Robert?

Ventimiglia: Oh yeah.

Q: How was that?

Ventimiglia: It's great. I've worked with him before, on a movie called Cursed, which died a very awful death. And he actually was in the film and then they rewrote the film and he wasn't in the film. It's nice being back on set [with him]. He's a great, great guy, and a lot of fun.

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September 19, 2008 - Those not wishing to know anything about the new season of Heroes should be aware that some spoilers follow.

Brea Grant made an impression on just a couple of episodes of Friday Night Lights last season, and now she's coming to NBC's Heroes to add some more super-powered mayhem to the life of Hiro. Grant plays Daphne, the show's first speedster character, who finds that running super fast is an obstacle when you meet someone who can freeze time.

Recently, on a set visit to Heroes, we watched as Grant filmed a scene in which she, another newcomer named Knox (The Wire's Jamie Hector) and none other than a dark haired, gun wielding Claire (Hayden Panettiere) face off with Peter Petrelli (Milo Ventimiglia) and Sylar (Zachary Quinto). What in the world is going on? Well, it's another trip to the future you see, and things are very different for the characters than from the norm.

During a break in filming, we spoke to Grant about joining Heroes, which returns with new episodes on Monday.


Q: It looks like it's a little funky to film these scenes where you actually run, based on what we were just watching.

Grant: Only when I'm in heels. [Laughs] I have trouble taking the sharp corners in heels. I'm not much of a heels girl. But normally I'm a much better runner, I will say. The heels throw me a bit.

Q: You have a little pin with a DNA symbol it looks like?

Grant: I do. It's the future company I work for. Pinehurst Labs.

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- NBC
Brea Grant as Daphne, with Masi Oka in Heroes

Q: Masi Oka says you're kind of his Joker initially.

Grant: Totally.

Q: Can you talk about the dynamic between the two of you?

Grant: It's cool, because he can stop time, but because I'm so fast, I can move within in his time stopped world. And so, we sort of cancel each other's powers out, if that makes sense. I can run around in his stopped world and he can't do anything about it, but I can't run at super speed. So, it's a good dynamic between the two of us. And he's constantly the good guy, whereas I'm more a bad guy.

Q: So you're one of the villains?

Grant: Yeah.

Q: Is that fun for you?

Grant: It is. It's always more fun being the villain, right?

Q: What's her motivation?

Grant: That's like an acting question. [Laughs]

Q: Why is she bad?

Grant: I wouldn't say, deep down, she's a terrible person or anything. She's no Sylar, but she's a thief. That's the way she starts the season, but her character has many turns throughout the season.

Q: Do we see a lot of shades? Is she a little more ambivalent?

Grant: She's getting run through the ringer. She's seeing a lot of things she hadn't seen before. Up until this point, she was a thief and then this is sort of the point where she begins her journey to maybe become something else. We'll see.

Q: In this future segment, you're with a bunch of different characters. Is that in the flash-forward only or are you starting to mingle with a lot of the other characters, besides Hiro?

Grant: Actually, I've talked to a lot of the other people on Heroes and they all say, "It took me two seasons to meet everybody," but I've been really fortunate. I get to have scenes with a lot of different people, for various reasons, just because my character… she runs around a lot, you know? She's fast! [Laughs]

Q: You have a scene with Malcolm McDowell, right?

Grant: I get to work with Malcolm McDowell, which is amazing. He's so cool and has a million stories and also he's the ultimate in bad guys. He's just so evil! [Laughs] So yeah, that's cool. I get to work with those people, which is amazing.

Q: Is that a flashback scene, or…?

Grant: [spoiler]It's in a present scene, actually. [spoiler]

Q: This is a really tight knit cast and crew. What was it like being the new kid on the block?

Grant: There was a lot of initiations I had to go through… [Laughs]

Q: Hazings?

Grant: Hazings, yeah. I got waterboarded. No, they've been really cool. It's amazing. They're so nice and so willing to work with you. Not just the cast, but the crew. Everyone has been very, very cool and willing to listen to ideas and help me out and stuff.

Q: What was your reaction when you found out you'd be on the show?

Grant: I think I layed down and cried or something like that. I was in shock. It was very, very exciting. I was a huge fan, so it was very, very exciting.

Q: Have you been watching the show from the beginning, or did you go back and re-watch episodes?

Grant: I watched most of it from the beginning and then I went back and re-watched everything before I started filming actually, because you can watch it all on NBC.com.

Q: Nice plug!

Grant: [Laughs]

Q: Can you talk about the scene you're filming today?

Grant: This is episode four, and this is a flash-forward. Lines have been drawn and I've obviously moved over to a different side and teamed with some other people who are sort of questionable, like Knox. And at this point Claire's a little [questionable]… It's a standoff. It's a classic western standoff between good guys and bad guys, or grey people and grey people.

Q: Is it fun to get to play someone with a superpower?

Grant: It is. You get to play a lot more, because you can envision these things that you do that you wouldn't normally act in real life. I definitely don't act on the show the way I am in real life. Things are very different when you have a superpower I guess.

Q: Did you have to figure out the physicality of how you were going to do the super speed stuff?

Grant: Yeah. They've helped a lot. The producers have really helped and been very hands on, and the writers, in helping me talk about the physicality. As well as there's just a practical element of it – I have to run in a certain way and stop really quickly and stop on a dime and stuff like that.

Q: It sounds like your character has a clear arc from the beginning towards at least the middle of the season, which you're approaching now in production. You're filming out of order though, so is it a challenge to get in the mindset of where she is at any particular point?

Grant: It is, but we film mostly in order, so it's mostly been an arc. I've kind of known for awhile what's gonna happen to my character, so at least I can plan ahead in my mind how things are going to end up.

Q: You said it's fun to play the villain, but would you like to see her experiment with being good?

Grant: Yeah, because I think in the end, she's sort of an innocent. She's been a thief for a long time and she's been on her own and had to take care of herself and now all of the sudden, she's facing these people who have these much bigger issues at stake and that's going to change the way she reacts to things, where she's dealing with lives instead of paintings or something she stole. Have you read the online comic? The Daphne comic on NBC.com? You get the background on her and it's when she steals the Mona Lisa.

Q: How much info were you given? Did you get a general idea of her back story?

Grant: More as I went along. Starting with a few things and then more as we went along. I think they had a much stronger idea of the character when I came in than even I did. And now gradually, I think I'm getting the hang of it.

Q: Your character has a wedding ring.

Grant: Oh yeah!

Q: Is that from the future or all the time?

Grant: It's the future. Presently, she's an independent, single girl. [Laughs]

Q: You're already appeared in the online comic. Would you like to see yourself as an action figure?

Grant: Oh, I would love it. Yeah – And [the toy] runs real fast!


The two-hour Heroes: Season 3 premiere airs Monday, September 22nd at 9:00pm ET/PT.

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something about the newest Petrelli, Sylar (Zachary Quinto)? We'll get some clues about the identity of baby Noah's mother in upcoming episodes when we see Sylar in flashbacks with a female character we know and love. He and his maybe-baby-mama knew each other way back before Gabriel Gray started slicing people's heads open.

quote: (post)

Originally posted by S_D_J
some spoilerish info:

quote: (post)

Originally posted by Entity
Claire's biomom? It's my only guess!

Figured it'd make Claire's insane life even worse. They seem to really love doing that.
I mean really I have no idea who else it can be if its really someone else we've already met.

quote: (post)

Originally posted by Mairuzu
Has to be Elle.