diff --git a/includes/theme.inc b/includes/theme.inc
index 57c2b1724eb..c59a7f11f61 100644
--- a/includes/theme.inc
+++ b/includes/theme.inc
@@ -581,10 +581,29 @@ function theme_submenu($links) {
  *   - "sort": A default sort order for this column ("asc" or "desc").
  *   - Any HTML attributes, such as "colspan", to apply to the column header cell.
  * @param $rows
- *   An array of arrays containing the table cells. Each cell can be either a
- *   string or and associative array with the following keys:
+ *   An array of table rows. Every row is an array of cells, or an associative
+ *   array with the following keys:
+ *   - "data": an array of cells
+ *   - Any HTML attributes, such as "class", to apply to the table row.
+ *
+ *   Each cell can be either a string or an associative array with the following keys:
  *   - "data": The string to display in the table cell.
  *   - Any HTML attributes, such as "colspan", to apply to the table cell.
+ *
+ *   Here's an example for $rows:
+ *   @verbatim
+ *   $rows = array(
+ *     // Simple row
+ *     array(
+ *       'Cell 1', 'Cell 2', 'Cell 3'
+ *     ),
+ *     // Row with attributes on the row and some of its cells.
+ *     array(
+ *       'data' => array('Cell 1', array('data' => 'Cell 2', 'colspan' => 2)), 'class' => 'funky'
+ *     )
+ *   );
+ *   @endverbatim
+ *
  * @param $attributes
  *   An array of HTML attributes to apply to the table tag.
  * @return
@@ -608,18 +627,38 @@ function theme_table($header, $rows, $attributes = NULL) {
   // Format the table rows:
   if (is_array($rows)) {
     foreach ($rows as $number => $row) {
-      if ($number % 2 == 1) {
-        $output .= ' <tr class="light">';
+      $attributes = array();
+
+      // Check if we're dealing with a simple or complex row
+      if (isset($row['data'])) {
+        foreach ($row as $key => $value) {
+          if ($key == 'data') {
+            $cells = $value;
+          }
+          else {
+            $attributes[$key] = $value;
+          }
+        }
       }
       else {
-        $output .= ' <tr class="dark">';
+        $cells = $row;
       }
 
+      // Add light/dark class
+      $class = ($number % 2 == 1) ? 'light': 'dark';
+      if (isset($attributes['class'])) {
+        $attributes['class'] .= ' '. $class;
+      }
+      else {
+        $attributes['class'] = $class;
+      }
+
+      // Build row
+      $output .= ' <tr'. drupal_attributes($attributes) .'>';
       $i = 0;
-      foreach ($row as $cell) {
-        $cell = tablesort_cell($cell, $header, $ts, $i);
+      foreach ($cells as $cell) {
+        $cell = tablesort_cell($cell, $header, $ts, $i++);
         $output .= _theme_table_cell($cell, 0);
-        $i++;
       }
       $output .= " </tr>\n";
     }
diff --git a/misc/drupal.css b/misc/drupal.css
index 0c341eaa4ef..bcc8b1156ba 100644
--- a/misc/drupal.css
+++ b/misc/drupal.css
@@ -37,14 +37,14 @@ th {
 th.active img {
   display: inline;
 }
-tr.dark td, tr.light td {
+tr.dark, tr.light {
   background-color: #eee;
   border-bottom: 1px solid #ccc;
 }
-tr.dark td, tr.light td {
+tr.dark, tr.light {
   padding: 0.1em 0.6em;
 }
-tr td.active {
+td.active {
   background-color: #ddd;
 }
 
@@ -390,34 +390,34 @@ img.screenshot {
   font-size: 0.85em;
   text-align: right;
 }
-tr td.watchdog-user {
+tr.watchdog-user {
   background: #ffd;
 }
-tr td.watchdog-user.active {
+tr.watchdog-user .active {
   background: #eed;
 }
-tr td.watchdog-special {
+tr.watchdog-special {
   background: #ddf;
 }
-tr td.watchdog-special.active {
+tr.watchdog-special .active {
   background: #cce;
 }
-tr td.watchdog-warning {
+tr.watchdog-warning {
   background: #fda;
 }
-tr td.watchdog-warning.active {
+tr.watchdog-warning .active {
   background: #ec9;
 }
-tr td.watchdog-httpd {
+tr.watchdog-httpd {
   background: #dfd;
 }
-tr td.watchdog-httpd.active {
+tr.watchdog-httpd .active {
   background: #cec;
 }
-tr td.watchdog-error {
+tr.watchdog-error {
   background: #ffc9c9;
 }
-tr td.watchdog-error.active {
+tr.watchdog-error .active {
   background: #eeb9b9;
 }
 
diff --git a/modules/watchdog.module b/modules/watchdog.module
index c37ff3b2b6f..9be7a45f72e 100644
--- a/modules/watchdog.module
+++ b/modules/watchdog.module
@@ -95,12 +95,17 @@ function watchdog_overview($type = '') {
   $result = pager_query($sql, 50);
 
   while ($watchdog = db_fetch_object($result)) {
-    $rows[] = array(
-      array('data' => format_date($watchdog->timestamp, 'small'), 'class' => "watchdog-$watchdog->type"),
-      array('data' => truncate_utf8(strip_tags($watchdog->message), 64), 'class' => "watchdog-$watchdog->type"),
-      array('data' => format_name($watchdog), 'class' => "watchdog-$watchdog->type"),
-      array('data' => $watchdog->link, 'class' => "watchdog-$watchdog->type"),
-      array('data' => l(t('details'), "admin/logs/view/$watchdog->wid"), 'class' => "watchdog-$watchdog->type")
+    $rows[] = array('data' =>
+      array(
+        // Cells
+        format_date($watchdog->timestamp, 'small'),
+        truncate_utf8(strip_tags($watchdog->message), 64),
+        format_name($watchdog),
+        $watchdog->link,
+        l(t('details'), "admin/logs/view/$watchdog->wid")
+      ),
+      // Attributes for tr
+      'class' => "watchdog-$watchdog->type"      
     );
   }
 
diff --git a/modules/watchdog/watchdog.module b/modules/watchdog/watchdog.module
index c37ff3b2b6f..9be7a45f72e 100644
--- a/modules/watchdog/watchdog.module
+++ b/modules/watchdog/watchdog.module
@@ -95,12 +95,17 @@ function watchdog_overview($type = '') {
   $result = pager_query($sql, 50);
 
   while ($watchdog = db_fetch_object($result)) {
-    $rows[] = array(
-      array('data' => format_date($watchdog->timestamp, 'small'), 'class' => "watchdog-$watchdog->type"),
-      array('data' => truncate_utf8(strip_tags($watchdog->message), 64), 'class' => "watchdog-$watchdog->type"),
-      array('data' => format_name($watchdog), 'class' => "watchdog-$watchdog->type"),
-      array('data' => $watchdog->link, 'class' => "watchdog-$watchdog->type"),
-      array('data' => l(t('details'), "admin/logs/view/$watchdog->wid"), 'class' => "watchdog-$watchdog->type")
+    $rows[] = array('data' =>
+      array(
+        // Cells
+        format_date($watchdog->timestamp, 'small'),
+        truncate_utf8(strip_tags($watchdog->message), 64),
+        format_name($watchdog),
+        $watchdog->link,
+        l(t('details'), "admin/logs/view/$watchdog->wid")
+      ),
+      // Attributes for tr
+      'class' => "watchdog-$watchdog->type"      
     );
   }