Drama/Comedy TV Recaps: 15 Great Moments from the Week Ending Nov. 5, 2010

Desperate Housewives recap: Fear Factor
It was yet another tragic night for Susan Delfino — and no, not only because of the peculiar Halloween costume she was wearing. (Since we're on that note, however, let's momentarily delay digging into her deeper issues and discuss Susan's unfortunate get-up: What, exactly, was she supposed to be? Raggedy Ann gone pink? A rouged-up Little Bo Peep? A barmaid from a bizarre, Germanic version of Candyland? What??!? Or perhaps it's more like whatever.) Either way, Susan had bigger troubles than trying to put together a coherent Halloween costume. —Tanner Stransky

Read the full recap.

The Vampire Diaries recap: The Original Problem
For anyone else watching this episode with a sore throat, I felt your pain. Literally. I now realize the reason I got sick this week was so that when Damon told Elena he loved her, I would try to squeal like a tween, and nothing would come out. And in the silence (and agony), I would be reminded that I am 35. But you know what, it was worth it. In fact, I'm gonna watch Damon compel Elena to forget his little monologue again, knowing full well that the single tear that drops from his eye will make me want to do a high-pitched whimper, which hurts just as much. (S---. It really does.) —Mandi Bierly

Read the full recap.

Dexter recap: The Lumen Condition
Lumen called in a panic, telling Dexter she had killed one of the men who hurt her and that she needed his help with the body. But with a perv killer on the table, Dexter had to make a decision on how to deal with the situation. So he loaded his soon-to-be vic's plastic-wrapped body into his car and prayed the M99 would last long enough for him to clean up Lumen's mess. —Sandra Gonzalez

Read the full recap.

Grey's Anatomy recap: Major Trauma
As it began pouring outside, the trauma training got a tad more exciting. Alex wrapped himself in plastic to keep dry, and Owen questioned why he wasn't keeping his patients dry instead. Alex countered (not irrationally) that they were pretend patients. But his teammate April — her over-achieving self obsessed with winning the trauma-off — ripped the plastic off him and wrapped their patients in it. I liked her more already. Owen was yelling at even the doctors who'd dropped out of the race to stay outside in the downpour to learn from the others. ''We're in Apocalypse Now,'' Avery said, ''and we're gonna get scalped.'' —Jennifer Armstrong

Read the full recap.

Big Bang Theory recap: Special Agents
It was at this point that I began to feel a bit for [guest-star Eliza Dushku], who never quite got to bring the funny herself all night, although she probably could have done a bit more with the role than just smolder and look put out by everyone's shenanigans. Then again, I don't know how anyone could have competed with Sheldon Cooper's laugh-out-loud behavior upon the appearance of an FBI agent at his door. First, he doubted her credentials until she said she was there to discuss Howard. It peaked with Sheldon's litany of personal complaints about Howard, including damaging the case of his Lord of the Rings Blu-ray edition and changing the name ''of a certain Level 80 warlock from Sheldor to Smelldor.'' Oh, yeah, and he also ''crashed the Mars rover while attempting to impress a woman.'' —Adam B. Vary

Read the full recap.

Supernatural recap: An Inconvenient Truth
Sometimes, the small revelations on Supernatural are a bigger deal to me than the larger plot twists. Example: The soul-less Sam situation was hinted enough in the first 5 episodes for it to be somewhat expected, but the whole Dean wanting to kill Sam in his sleep made me gasp in horror. —Sandra Gonzalez

Read the full recap.

Brothers & Sisters recap: Cheat Drink Man Woman
Of course, the coop of clucking hens that is the Walker Family Sibling Network accidentally revealed to Kevin that the guy with whom Scotty had cheated on Kevin was in the room with them. Kevin, tipsy and enraged, made a beeline to settle a personal vendetta against a different cocky waiter, ''Rob Roy.'' (''Who's he?'') Uh oh! Wrong cocky waiter! —Annie Barrett

Read the full recap.

Cougar Town recap: The Gong Show
Welcome back to ''Modern'' Cougar Town! In ''Fooled Again: I Don't Like It,'' Jules turned the big 4-2. It's so great that she's dating an older (in her own determined mind) guy! DEFINITELY NOT A COUGAR. Ever the true friend, Jules pitted everyone against each other in a terrifying gift-giving contest. ''Anything would be fine, as long as it's perfect and shows how much you care about me.'' No pressure. Laurie and Grayson teamed up (or so he thought) to dethrone Ellie, The Gift Whisperer.... —Annie Barrett

Read the full recap.

Gossip Girl recap: All's Fair in Sex and War
Back at Colin's, Serena resisted the urge to give it up completely, but rewarded his good behavior with a short makeout session (that was caught on camera!). ''Something to look forward to,'' she said after the kiss. But, I ponder, considering those non-dresses she wears, what exactly hasn't he seen already? —Sandra Gonzalez

Read the full recap.

Bones recap: Skeleton Dancer
All the iambic pentameter came down to a simple story: The dead guy was a criminal, he screwed over his partner, and vengeance ensued. Cam and Angela figured out that some sort of sharpened screwdriver was the original murder weapon. Booth and Bones spoke to tWitch. (But only after a lengthy dance montage.) The dancer had a bit of a record and was actually in possession of a sharpened screwdriver, so naturally he didn't do it. He did get one good line in: ''I work the streets. People come and go. That's the way it is.'' Deep. —Darren Franich

Read the full recap.

30 Rock recap: DIHC's Last Resort
I'm not sure I've ever cackled as loudly as I did when Lemon copped to wearing a Duane Reade bag as underwear. The idea that a respite from her Donaghy Mentor Experience would leave her that far gone...way, way beyond wearing a one-piece swimsuit as underwear...I just love that they went there. A PLASTIC BAG. And I'm glad Avery (Elizabeth Banks)'s skepticism wore off so easily. Finally, order had been restored in the underwater kingdom and the remora's face could suction-cup her way back onto the Great White Shark's parasitic body! —Annie Barrett

Read the full recap.

The Office recap: Church Lady
It was baby Cece's baptism, and everyone from the office was there — even though the Halperts hadn't invited them. Michael called the infant a ''b-i-t-c-h,'' and Pam had to make him swear out loud that he knew he wasn't the baby's godfather. Who was? Oh, just some rando Pam met through a mommy and me class. Wait, what? They don't have any long-term friends or relatives they'd ask? I kind of wish Michael was Cece's godfather. Maybe that would have been funny... —Margaret Lyons

Read the full recap.

Modern Family recap: Phil Vs. the Smoke Monster
It was fitting for tonight's episode to open on Phil Dunphy, because this was, in my opinion, his strongest showing. He had a few challenges to defeat: A smoke alarm beep that couldn't be quelled no matter how many of the buggers he shut off, a month-long realty dry spell (was this MF's first reference to the economy?), an out-of-commission Claire, or ''Typhoid Clairy,'' as he called her, sick in bed for the day. To compensate, Phil donned an apron and readied ladyfinger cookies for a bake sale, only to rue the favor later when Claire's hunky gym instructor stopped by. ''I burned my ladyfingers,'' Phil said, wincing at a handshake, the smoke alarm negating his manhood with every beep. —Mallika Rao

Read the full recap.

The Walking Dead recap: Boyz in the Zombiehood
The lawman steps toward a pump to get the fuel he needs for his police cruiser — and a sound stops him. He turns. There is no one there. He drops to his knees and looks under a car. On the other side, a pair of feet in rabbit-ear slippers shuffles toward a teddy bear. The lawman stands. He sees all of her now — a little girl, walking away from him. He calls to her. His eyes widen with hope, but no: She is a Walker — a haunted, rabid husk of rotting flesh with a rictus smirk and an inhuman hunger. The lawman knows what must be done, but he hesitates. This isn't easy. Not yet. He pulls the trigger. Headshot and splatter. What little that was truly left of the little girl is finally lost for good, and the lawman is again alone. —Jeff Jensen

Read the full recap.

90210 recap: Arresting Developments
I'm all for Teddy's coming-out story, but could it be moving any slower? How much longer before Teddy sees the metaphoric light? At the beginning of the episode, rumors had spread that Teddy, as Dixon put it, was ''shooting pool with a rope.'' In other words, ladies don't quite tickle his fancy any more. Teddy tried to convince Dixon — and himself — that it was only because he wanted Silver back, but he was fresh out of luck because Silver wasn't interested. So Teddy swapped out one vice (alcohol) for another (marijuana) at the Undies school party, and nearly crashed his car with Navid and Dixon in it. He stormed off, claiming he just wanted to be alone, but I can't quite understand why he was fighting his feelings considering how charismatic of a host Ian was. You can't find that pizzazz just anywhere, young man! —Archana Ram

Read the full recap.