With trailers doing the rounds online and reviews of the season three premiere leaking out of the San Diego Comic–con, the countdown has well and truly started. Heroes returns to our screens in September, with 'Villains’ a new season that, like the DIY lobotomy I performed to delete all trace of The Matrix sequels from my consciousness, will wash away the disappointment of season two with a bit of luck.

Yet despite its lacklustre second season, Heroes has been an unquestionable ratings success on both sides of the Atlantic and I for one am eagerly anticipating its return, especially as all of the talk coming out of Comic-con was that the season three premiere sees the show back to its best packed full of action and intrigue.

Here, to help turn the excitement up just a notch more, is a look at the highlights of seasons one and two, and what we'd like to see more of in season three...

The Symbol
The symbol was everywhere in season one. You know the one, the little DNA helix that represented the ‘powers’ gene. There were some great spots as well, from the floats in the swimming pool when the police are investigating one of Sylar’s first murder scenes, to Nikki’s tattoo. Whilst it wasn’t necessarily essential to the plot it was an excellent inclusion from the geeky perspective, linking the characters and events throughout the series and providing viewers everywhere with a weekly opportunity to out wit their friends in a game of Helix Where’s Wally.

Hiro and Ando
The interaction between Hiro and Ando in season one is fantastic and the two loveable characters offer some light relief in what is otherwise a very serious season of television. It’s very hard not to warm to someone who is so enthusiastic and innocent, and Hiro really is the everyman in a world of outstanding individuals. How many of us out there haven’t sat at our desks dreaming of having superpowers or sat on the commuter filled cattle cart wishing we could teleport away? With Ando alongside him, Hiro also takes advantage of his powers for personal gain, and some memorable scenes around the card tables in Vegas show yet endear Hiro as someone whose faults and enthusiasm make him a more realistic modern day hero.

Heroes is a show that is heavily influenced by comics and modern literature and so Hiro also provides an excellent link to this world with his attempts to replicate the actions and moral code of his literary heroes, acting as a nice doff of the cap to some of the show’s sources of inspiration.

Bad Ass Future Heroes
Come on, admit it, who didn’t have a little geekasm when they saw the bad ass future selves of Hiro and Peter Petrelli? One of the best things about Hiro’s time travelling ability and the darker scenes of a post apocalyptic future was the transformation of two of the show’s likeable but lightweight stars into kick ass soldiers. Hiro’s transformation from geeky desk jockey to Samurai warrior was particularly enjoyable but perhaps not as jaw dropping from a future Peter in full command of his various abilities. And if the trailers for season three are anything to go by we can expect a lot more from future Pete in the coming months.

Guest Appearances
From Stan Lee to Doctor Who, season one has some superb guest appearances, and Kristen Bell’s feisty performance in season two was also an electric addition to the regular cast. Certainly the more screen time Kristen Bell gets the more watchable anything becomes. Hell, I’d even sit through Matrix Reloaded again if she could someone be digitally re-mastered into every scene, but the guest appearances were certainly great fun so hopefully there will be many more walk on roles in season three.

Season three is back on American screens in late September and with the Beeb promising that it will air episodes a mere week after their U.S debut, we won't be ar behind over here. Hurray!