In the past, NBC executives seem to have expressed support for "Heroes" and its chances for a fourth season. But that was until recent weeks when audiences have dropped to record lows.

Monday's episode of "Heroes" drew just a 3.8 rating/6 share, according to Fast National ratings from Nielsen Media Research, the lowest numbers the show has ever received. That comes a week after it scored its previous record low, a 3.9/6, in numbers that continue to inch downward.

In fact, "Heroes" hasn't had an uptick in the ratings since March 2 when it kicked up 2 percent to a 4.5/6, but it fell 9 percent the following week, and has been edging down ever since.

"Heroes" did have some tough competition including a strong premiere from the new Bob Saget sitcom "Surviving Suburbia" on ABC, which got a boost from a "Dancing with the Stars" lead-in. It also had to compete against the NCAA college basketball championships, which was won by the University of North Carolina.

The only show "Heroes" did beat was a rerun of "One Tree Hill."

"Heroes" was not NBC's lowest-rated show of the night, however. That honor instead went to "Chuck," which picked up a slightly lower 3.7/6, which once again only beat reruns on The CW. Its competition included the first hour of "Dancing with the Stars," a shocking death on "House" and reruns of "Big Bang Theory" and "How I Met Your Mother" on Fox.

"Chuck" was up nearly 6 percent from its previous week, however, but it still down more than 24 percent from its post-Super Bowl high just a couple months ago.

"Heroes" is now down nearly 38 percent from its premiere, and is off more than 42 percent from its season average last year. In fact, "Heroes" is now off 37 percent from its low last season, a significant drop, and 53 percent from its high last season.

For the night, NBC finished last among the Big Four with a 4.1/6 well behind ABC, CBS and Fox.

Fast Nationals usually provide a snapshot of what Americans are watching by pulling numbers from the top urban markets that includes both live viewing and same-day timeshifted viewing. A rating point generally represents more than 1.1 million households while the share indicates the percentage of televisions turned on that was tuned to the specific program. These numbers typically shift when final ratings are issued.