Robert Philpot 
May sweeps in with a very busy night
Star-Telegram Staff Writer
It's the first night of May sweeps (yes, even though May doesn't start for a week), and with Ugly Betty, Grey's Anatomy, Lost and Supernatural all back, it's also a return to DVR-challenging Thursdays.
Stuff to watch or record
My Name Is Earl: Earl (Jason Lee) is still ailing, and his not-too-bright brother, Randy (Ethan Suplee), steps up to the plate to be his caretaker. If you missed this or other NBC shows last week because of storm coverage, they're available at www.hulu.com. 7 p.m., KXAS/Channel 5
Ugly Betty: Betty (America Ferrera) turns 24, but celebrating is tough when Charlie (Jayma Mays), her rival for Henry's (Christopher Gorham) affections, turns back up on the scene. 7 p.m., WFAA/Channel 8
Survivor: Micronesia -- Fans vs. Favorites: Also bumped last week for storm coverage, the pre-empted episode is still up at www.cbs.com/primetime/survivor16, but it's hard to avoid spoilers, so tread carefully. 7 p.m., KTVT/Channel 11
Smallville: James Marsters returns as Brainiac, who just adds to the chaos in Clark's (Tom Welling) falling-apart world. 7 p.m., KDAF/Channel 33
Scrubs: Late-breaking schedule swap, as Scrubs moves into the 30 Rock spot with an episode in which Dr. Cox (John C. McGinley) faces a rare case that stumps him, and Dr. Kelso (Ken Jenkins) faces a possible forced retirement. 7:30 p.m., KXAS/Channel 5
The Office: If you're an Office fan, a synopsis that begins "Michael [Steve Carell] and Dwight [Rainn Wilson] decide to surprise Ryan [B.J. Novak] in New York for a night of clubbing" is probably enough to start you salivating. 8 p.m., KXAS/Channel 5
Grey's Anatomy: Things pick up six weeks after they left off, with Meredith (Ellen Pompeo) sorta-kinda getting used to the fact that Derek and Rose (Patrick Dempsey, Lauren Stamile) are dating. But rumor has it that none of that is going to last. 8 p.m., WFAA/Channel 8
CSI: Crime Scene Investigation: Rapper Method Man returns as Drops, who helps Brass and Nick (Paul Guilfoyle, Fort Worth's George Eads) with a case, even though Drops is behind bars. 8 p.m., KTVT/
Channel 11
Supernatural: This demon-hunting drama is often most fun when it riffs on other pop-culture horror, as it does tonight when intrepid brothers Sam and Dean (Jared Padalecki, Jensen Ackles) star in a reality show called Ghostfacers, and this time the reality becomes a little too real. 8 p.m., KDAF/Channel 33
30 Rock: Rip Torn returns as GE chairman Don Geiss, who is ready to anoint Jack (Alec Baldwin) his successor, which starts a chain of potential promotions that become iffy when Geiss suffers a health crisis. 8:31 p.m., KXAS/Channel 5
Without a Trace: Dallas' Haley Ramm returns in her recurring role as troubled adolescent Jen Long, but the main case has to do with the search for a man who awakens from a three-year coma -- and then promptly vanishes. 9 p.m.,
KTVT/Channel 11
Lost: A strong season resumes with big things happening to Locke (Terry O'Quinn) and Jack (Matthew Fox). 9:02 p.m.,
WFAA/Channel 8
Talk shows
The Early Show: A preview of CSI. 7 a.m., KTVT/Channel 11
Today: Tina Fey; chef Devin Alexander; Vincent Paterson; Peter Greenberg. 7 a.m., KXAS/Channel 5
Good Morning America: Dr. Mehmet Oz. 7 a.m., WFAA/Channel 8
Live With Regis & Kelly: Sigourney Weaver; Dancing With the Stars castoffs. 9 a.m., KDFW/Channel 4
Rachael Ray: Leah Remini; Thai burger. 9 a.m., KTVT/Channel 11
The View: Tina Fey and Amy Poehler. 10 a.m., WFAA/Channel 8
The Martha Stewart Show: Kid-friendly crafts and recipes; spicy pork stew. Noon, KXAS/Channel 5
Dr. Phil: A woman suspects her father molested her 12-year-old son. 3 p.m., KTVT/Channel 11
The Ellen DeGeneres Show: David Beckham; Ashlee Simpson. 3 p.m., KXAS/Channel 5
The Tyra Banks Show: From April: men who have jeopardized their careers to be with escorts. 4 p.m., KDFI/Channel 27
The Oprah Winfrey Show:Little People, Big World family. 4 p.m., WFAA/Channel 8
The Daily Show With Jon Stewart: Colin Firth. 10 p.m., Comedy
Late Show With David Letterman: Tina Fey; Brett Favre; Estelle. 10:35 p.m., KTVT/Channel 11
The Tonight Show With Jay Leno: Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger; Marilu Henner; Old 97's. 10:35 p.m.,
KXAS/Channel 5
Late Night With Conan O'Brien: Amy Poehler. 11:35 p.m.,
KXAS/Channel 5
Jimmy Kimmel Live: David Spade; Jean Smart; Ashlee Simpson.
11:35 p.m., WFAA/Channel 8
The Late Late Show With Craig Ferguson: Ben Stein; Alicia Witt; Andrew Norelli. 11:37 p.m.,
KTVT/Channel 11
Last Call With Carson Daly: Dov Davidoff; Dylan Ratigan. 12:35 a.m., KXAS/Channel 5
Tavis Smiley: Phil Donahue.
1:30 a.m., KERA/Channel 13
