Leave it to ER to surprise me in the end. I had my box of tissues handy, expecting a tearjerker of an episode as everyone said goodbye and surely someone died or the ER had to close for lack of funding. Instead, this show went out exactly as it came in, with a finale that mirrored the pilot in many ways and was more befitting of the series than the sobfest I was prepared for. Since the show went through so very many cast changes and highs and lows, it was appropriate to have the closing scene filled with the majority of the current staff in the ambulance bay, awaiting an onslaught of patients, and to have one aspiring med student staring in awe and confusion. It really just ended on the note of, "no matter what happens, no matter who lives, dies or quits, this ER will continue to do what it does, which is to save lives." To have that hopeful med student be Mark Greene's now-grown-up daughter Rachel, and to have Dr. Carter, who stood in those exact shoes 15 years prior, be the one to ask her if she was coming in (mimicking Dr. Greene's words to him from all those years ago) was just icing on the cake. And having new intern Julia (Alexis Bledel) stuck in many of the same situations that Carter faced on his first day made so much sense. Everything came truly full circle. And that's the sort of ending I wanted.

It's spring and upfronts are on the way, which means that it's time for the networks to decide which shows they want to keep and which get cut. Chuck falls into the "bubble" show category -- series that do passably well, but haven't gotten a pick-up for next year yet, meaning that the outlook is uncertain. Which is a shame, especially since it's NBC, a network that will have five less hours of primetime programming available next year (given that it decided to give Jay Leno that plum 10 PM spot), so finding space for its existing slate of shows, as well as new pilots in the works, is going to be difficult. We're concerned for Chuck's chances, but we've got all our fingers crossed, hoping that it will work out. Here's why.

So last night's Heroes was the first one penned by Pushing Daisies' Bryan Fuller since Season 1, and while the episode was as strong as the occasionally strong episodes of this volume have been, the thing that really stood out for me was -- whoa, when did this show turn into a quip-a-second quipfest? It was like watching Buffy or something. The dialogue was so much different -- and so much better -- than it usually is, I almost had trouble focusing on the story. Was Season 1 like this? I can't remember, but for now I'm welcoming it as a very positive change. I bet the actors are thrilled to have non-stupid dialogue to say for the first time a long while. Also, Swoosie Kurtz was practically used as an extra, which is just unbelievable. Bryan Fuller is the man. My favorite quotes from last night, in no particular order:

Better Off Ted premiered last night, and I'm already getting ready to bid it a fond farewell. Not because I dislike it -- far from it. I'm saying good-bye now because the show, created by Victor Fresco, feels a hell of a lot like his previous office-based, single-camera series, Andy Richter Controls the Universe. Andy was amazing, and this show is almost as amazing, but Andy only lasted 19 episodes -- a decent run, I suppose, but that's less than a season by most counts, and if Ted lasts as long as Andy did, I will consider it a success. Because, like Andy, Ted may be too smart for the room. (Not my room, but other rooms. Not that I think that other people are stupid, but... a lot of them are.)

There's a slow and steady buzz building for the forthcoming ensemble comedy Party Down, about a group of deluded, down-on-their-luck actors and writers cooling their heels in the catering biz while waiting for their big break. Much as I'm loathe to let the opinions of other pop culture commentators like myself influence my own predilections, I have to say that this little gem looks straight up amazing. We've still got a ways to go before the show premieres March 20 on Starz! (yes, Starz!), so to help fuel the fire, I'm here to tell you why you should be effing stoked about this show.

I've been complaining for several seasons now that ER needs to stop. For a while it got all kinds of crazy and downbeat, with too much focus on Abby and Kovac and the depressing blow after blow to their relationship. Then they killed off, or wrote off, pretty much every character I was remotely interested in. However, this season has been pretty great overall, and I'm not even really mad at all that they added in a couple extra episodes to the end. In fact, I think the show is pretty much back in top form (since I've been watching it from the get-go) and this season has been more consistently entertaining than Grey's Anatomy or House (don't even get me started on Private Practice) have been this year -- shocking words that I never would have imagined myself typing last summer when I was dreading this final send-off. Here's why I'm on board:

The Top Chef finale, or as I like to call it, "The Anybody But Hosea Finale," is next week, and the top four is a lot less horrifying than it was last year. Because last year's top four had Lisa in it, and while Leah is not as terrible as Lisa, putting her in the final four would have been this season's equivalent of that. So yay, no more Leah. Anyway, Stefan's pretty much got this year's win in the bag, and with good reason -- besides being great television, the man can cook -- but even so, I'm still futilely holding out for a Carla upset. Here's why.

Before Chuck creators Josh Schwartz, Chris Fedak and the sublimely stunning Yvonne Strahovski headed down to the Comic Con floor to do their panel in front of a room teeming with fans, they spent a few minutes in a much smaller room with a handful of reporters hyping the show and the upcoming episodes. With good reason, based on the flashy trailer for the rest of the season that they presented. It looks pretty much awesome. Even Capt. Awesome will be duly impressed. Lots of guns, girls, spy games and a really awkward situation between Big Mike and Morgan. I'm pretty psyched. While we only had a few minutes with the trio before they were whisked away, here's the intel we were able to ascertain.

After watching last night's hysterical Season 3 premiere of The IT Crowd, I started thinking about computer geeks on TV, and how there really aren't that many. There are a lot of science geeks, like the physicists of Lost and The Big Bang Theory, but usually it's all about the math, and all they need is a dry erase board. In honor of the unsung heroes of the keyboard (computer, not piano), I thought I'd run down some of my favorites, past and present.

Here at TWOP, we love us some Battlestar Galactica. Yes, it's dark; yes, it's depressing; yes, it's a little convoluted, but it's still one of the greatest shows on our magic picture box every week. And while the joy of it is in the journey -- from Caprica to New Caprica to Earth -- the show still manages to plant little landmines along the roadway, and when they go off, they will frak you the frak up. Resident BSG megafan Angel put together a list of the show's greatest "BOMG" moments, the ones that made us pause our DVRs for a second to let our brains cool down. Check out the gallery here!