TVGuide.com's Top Moments of the Week

• Oct 17, 2008 12:08 PM ET
• by TV Guide News

Charlie Sheen, Maura Tierney, Hugh Laurie

It's been a huge week for television: the final presidential debate of 2008, a major departure from ER, and maybe the best intro ever. Let's get right to our list:

9. Most Gratuitous Flowing Nightgown Wearing: True Blood's Sookie, while grieving her grandmother’s gruesome death, downs half a pecan pie and then slips on a Romeo and Juliet-inspired virginal nightgown, then runs barefoot to her vampire beau’s house to finally consummate their relationship.

8. Most Unexpected Cameo: When The Big Bang Theory's Koothrappali boasted to a barfly about getting a blurb in People, the last person we expected to see conversing with a geek was TV's smoothest operator himself. Retorted Charlie Sheen: "Call me when you're on the cover."

7. Biggest Blast from the "Future": Can we time-travel to next September and give Neil Patrick Harris an Emmy already? His work on How I Met Your Mother as "Old Barney," who ostensibly travels from the future to save mankind by bedding hot tamales, was downright impressive in the accuracy of every nuance, trembling hand, and unfocused gaze.

6. Best Opening: The Office’s Dwight helps Michael practice for the birth of Jan's sperm donor baby, and we realize how over-the-top they’ve gone when even Creed is repulsed.

5. Creepiest Dad: We didn’t mention Mad Men’s Betty getting pawed by her pa last week, but we can’t ignore the weirdness of Viscount Willie’s response to finding his daughter in bed with Don: “I make beautiful babies, don’t I?” First, yes; and second, Eeeeeeeewwwwwww!

4. Best Hatchet Burial: John McCain goes on the Late Show to apologize for canceling last month, ending his (many would say one-sided) feud with David Letterman. (Is it really a feud when Dave does all the smack-talking?) "I screwed up," McCain said."But look at all the conversation I gave you."

3. Most Targeted Appeal: Barack Obama and McCain (with McCain looking directly into the camera) seek the vote of Joe the Plumber during their third and last presidential debate. That’s good for Joe, but what about the rest of us? (Also, for more on Joe the Plumber, check out our Salute to Joes Photo Gallery.)

2. Best Window Into a Character’s Soul: House seemingly breaks down as the funeral of his father (who he never liked) after doing everything possible to avoid being there. He then kisses his dad in his coffin, only to lean over and clip a piece of his ear off with a nail clipper – to confirm through DNA that his dad really wasn’t his biological father. That’s sooooo House.

1. Saddest Goodbye: Maura Tierney’s Abby says goodbye to ER, and Haleh says it best: "We're gonna miss you so damn much."

What were your top moments this week?