Next week: Ghosts, pit bulls, parolees, sex addicts, stylists, flowers, and Diddy

A look back at the last week in October and ahead to the first week of November:

The Past

• The end of October started with controversy atop a water slide. The news was dominated by So You Think You Can Dance, from a dancer’s mysterious illness to the reason why Mia quit, and in the meantime, we were introduced to an ugly new set. Jeff Lewis sparred with Andy Cohen and Ryan Brown, and a future reality star was arrested for breaking into celebrities’ homes. Also this week, we met the new Real World cast and house, Jon Gosselin turned down the Octomom, and those who think I’m obsessed with genitalia got more evidence.

The Forward

• Friday, Oct. 30 If you want to watch seven hours of live TV that is not a baseball game, you’re in luck: Ghost Adventures [Travel Channel, 8 p.m.] has a live seven-hour broadcast. Will they see a ghost? Will it be scarier than Paranormal Activity? On a new docudrama series, Pit Bulls & Parolees [Animal Planet, 10 p.m.], six paroled felons work with 200 pit bulls at the Villalobos Rescue Center, led by Tia Maria Torres.
• Saturday, Oct. 31
  The Locator [WEtv, 9 p.m.] ends its third season of reuniting long-lost family members.
• Sunday, Nov. 1
  On his new show, Sex Rehab with Dr. Drew [VH1, 10 p.m.], Dr. Drew tackles a new group of addicts: people who like sex too much. Also at 10, MTV’s new stylist competition Styl’d debuts, as five junior stylists work at the Margaret Maldonado Agency and try to land a permanent job.
• Monday, Nov. 2
  Because VH1 has run out of ideas, the dating series For the Love of Ray J [VH1, 9 p.m.] returns for a second season, as does I Want to Work for Diddy [10 p.m.].
• Tuesday, Nov. 3
  On the one-year anniversary of Barack Obama’s election, a documentary about the campaign, By the People: The Election of Barack Obama, debuts [HBO, 9 p.m.]. I’ll have a review Tuesday, and while it’s far from perfect, it’s not a bad film. Celebrities disguise themselves and interact with the public on the special Secret Celebrity [E!, 8 p.m.]. But isn’t the real surprise that Nick Lachey has nothing better to do than dress up with Kim Kardashian? Later, Tabatha Coffey does her best Gordon Ramsay impression on the debut of the second season of Tabatha’s Salon Takeover [Bravo, 10 p.m.].
• Wednesday, Nov. 4
  A one-hour special called Strange Sex [Discovery Health, 10 p.m.] profiles four people who each have a “mysterious and debilitating sexual condition.” Destination Truth ends its third season [SyFy, 10 p.m.], while a new docusoap about flowers, Flowers Uncut with Jeff Leatham debuts [TLC, 10 p.m.] with two half-hour episodes.
• Thursday, Nov. 5
  Tribes merge on Survivor Samoa [CBS, 8 p.m.], and Andy Cohen finishes up with the Real Housewives of Atlanta [Bravo, 10 p.m.].