“Heroes” is coming back Monday night…and it’s got a lot of work to do.

After a disappointing third volume, “Villains,” the third-year series is (once again) working on winning back the fans, critical acclaim and (most importantly) the ratings it enjoyed in season one.   A writing-staff shake-up may help things and according to many in the “Heroes” camp, the show is going back to the fundamentals in an attempt to lure back viewers.

Masi Oka, who plays Hiro on the series promises the show is  “going back to the central characters and trying to tell smaller stories but with big action.”

“I think with all our volumes we’ve sometimes have slow starts, but we always pick it up at a high gear towards the end. And I think because a show like this takes such risks and makes bold choices,” he told SciFi Wire.  “It takes a little bit of time for the audience and the critics to get accustomed to this kind of new kind of journey that we’re starting to take. And once everyone is on board, we hit the ground running. So, you know, we do ask [for] maybe some patience from the fans and the audience. If we can ask for that, that’d be great.”

“Volume four, “Fugitives,” is another completely [new arc]” he continued.  “We’re going back to the grounded characters and the central characters, [and] people trying to live their ordinary lives being hunted now. And that’s a completely different story than we’ve been trying to tell. So it might take a while to get us accustomed to the “usual heroes,” but it still has the core ensemble drama. So I’m not sure if it’s lost its way, it’s just always different. Some people will respond to the way the story is told in the one volume and maybe not to another.”

As for what’s ahead for Hiro, Oka said “Fugitives” will be about Hiro rediscovering the joy of his powers.  He starts off the storyline powerless and slowly regains them over the course of the arc.

And Oka says fans can look forward to a different dynamic in the Hiro and Ando friendship.

“In the beginning, Hiro’s powerless, and Ando has a kind of supercharger power, so Hiro is trying to nudge him on,” Oka said.  “In many ways he realizes, “OK, well now he’s had his turn, so he needs to kind of step up and see what he can do.” And he takes on pretty much the role of the butler. He becomes Alfred in many ways. He’s trying to make a Batman out of Ando, but Ando is reluctant, and he only cares about girls right now. So Hiro is trying to make him use those powers for good, to save other people. And of course, Hiro ends up getting in trouble, and Ando ends up helping him. But then, you know, then it’s about them trying to work together and find new ways to get [Hiro’s] power back.”

Fans can tune in and decide if these changes are what the show needs when “Heros” returns Monday night.