Damn You, Tim Kring!

Some major spoilers here if you didn't watch last night's "Heroes."

Still here? Good.

AAAAAARRRRRRGGGGGHHHHH!!!!

OK, I enjoyed how Kring & Co. managed to wrap things up pretty neatly considering all the divergent storylines. The early battle with Hiro vs. Peter played out very well, with Hiro finally mixing his powers with his swordplay (you might argue that the Season 1 finale battle would have been much better if they had Hiro doing that against Sylar.)

I could see Nathan's fate coming a mile away (even if Nathan couldn't), but explain to me how an assassin gets multiple shots off with two telepaths in the same room with him. Hopefully, we haven't seen the last of him or Nikki, though explaining how the two manage to survive without a Claire blood transfusion will be pretty tricky.

But no, where Kring & Co. drove me crazy was when Sylar shot and killed Maya. I actually cheered as they bumped off one of the most annoying and useless characters on TV. But then what happens? All is right with the world when suddenly Mohinder brings her back to life with Claire's blood. Are you frakkin' kidding?

How can you tease us like this, Kring? Maya was dead, expired, finished, kaput! Now we're going to be stuck with her whining and plague carrying for the last half of the season, whenever it airs.

I did enjoy seeing he re-powered Sylar at the end, and I always like how Kring always starts the newest chapter at the tail end of the old one, giving us the briefest hint of what's to come.

But there are a lot of questions still to be answered. How can HRG possibly work with The Company again, when there is no trust left between them? Whose side is Elle on these days? What happened to Peter's Irish girlfriend - did he leave her in the future? Will Copycat Girl download a bunch of Criss Angel Mindfreak videos next time around, so she isn't tied up the next time she bungles a job? Have we seen the last of Adam?

After a slow start, "Heroes" rebounded with a strong second half, and I'm eager to find out what's next.

But the next time you kill off Maya, Kring, make sure she stays dead. Please.

TUESDAY'S BEST BETS: I have to think the "Victoria's Secret Fashion Show" (CBS, 10 p.m.) is a fairly easy programming choice, especially during these strike-filled days. Beautiful women in lingerie. It kind of sells itself, don't you think? Anyway, the fashion show has been around in previous incarnations, so this bit of programming wasn't due to the strike. But something tells me if the strike continues to last, we may see future incarnations sooner than you think.

Not a whole lot else going on. "The Biggest Loser" (NBC, 8 p.m.) sends the remaining contestants to work in a pizzaria, continuing with what I consider to be cruel plotlines in a show that touted itself in being helpful to the overweight. But I guess that kind of show makes for dull reality TV. It's followed by a new "Law & Order: SVU" at 10 p.m.

"Reaper" (CW, 9 p.m.) is coming off a strong episode last week which included Melinda Clarke as the Devil's girlfriend; now, her daughter may be Sam's new squeeze. But is she the Devil's daughter as well?

Part 3 of "Tin Man" (Sci-Fi, 9 p.m.) wraps up the miniseries tonight. If you missed it, don't worry: Sci-Fi is running a marathon of all three parts this Saturday.

Finally, "Boston Legal" (ABC, 10 p.m.) is also new.

Skin-deep TV

If you've watched five seconds of FX the past three months, you'll know that "Nip/Tuck" (FX, 10 p.m.) kicks off its fifth season tonight.

Unfortunately, I've seem to have caught all 6,000 commercials FX has aired to promote the show, reminding me why I never started watching it in the first place - it really creeps me out.

Maybe it's because I've never gotten into the whole plastic surgery thing, or maybe it's because the show's promos usually display the series' most vulgar moments, but "Nip/Tuck" has never appealed to me.

But it has a devoted legion of fans, who know, no doubt, that the series has shifted stars Julian McMahon and Dylan Walsh to Los Angeles after four years in Miami. But after being star surgeons on the East Coast, the two docs are small fish in the big pond of L.A. So they hire a publicist (Lauren Hutton) to help them establish themselves.

FX is pretty hit or miss with its series. For every "Rescue Me" or "The Shield," there have been a lot of duds. "Nip/Tuck" seems to be that rare show - not great TV, but very popular.

TUESDAY'S BEST BETS: "Bones" (Fox, 8 p.m.) is all-new and usually at its best when it goes for humor. It also does well with holiday episodes (remember the Christmas show from Season 1, when everyone was stuck in the lab?) So I'm looking forward to tonight's Halloween-themed episode, especially with Bones going as Wonder Woman and Camille dressing as Catwoman. It's followed by a brand-new "House." (Fox, 9 p.m.) I already miss "Bosley," but am glad "13" and "back-stabbing bitch" have survived House's job interview for another week.

As I alluded to yesterday, the classic "It's The Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown" (ABC, 8 p.m.) airs tonight, followed by "Dancing With The Stars" and "Boston Legal."

CBS is all-new with "NCIS," "The Unit" and "Cane."

Finally, I never watch this show, but I have to say I was disturbed by this week's promos for "The Biggest Loser" (NBC, 8:30 p.m.) in which one of the candidates gains weight in order to help himself in the overall competition. It disturbs me because the show was supposed to be this sort of feel-good, root-for-everyone kind of show, and when it devolves into reality-styled backstabbing, it becomes an unseemly, carnival-styled sideshow, with the viewer gawking at these people with weight problems. A few months back, I praised ABC for teaming up with Shaquille O'Neal to target childhood obesity, because that show seemed to have noble intentions. Perhaps NBC should remember that.