Month: October 2019

Week’s top-10 for Oct. 28: The funny (mostly) side of Halloween

1) “The Conners”(shown here), 8 p.m. Tuesday, ABC. Here’s the start of a holiday deluge — eight ABC comedies in two days, each with a Halloween episode. This show savored the holiday when it was “Roseanne” ; now the Roseanne character is dead and her sister tries to re-open their Lunch Box diner. “Bless This Mess” (8:30) has bat-bite scares; “Black-ish” (9:30) has a family-costume dispute. And on “Mixed-ish” (9 p.m.), Rainbow, one of the only blacks in school, is asked to go as Tootie from “Facts of Life,” Read more…

Best-bets for Oct. 27: The dead and the Durrells

1) “The Walking Dead,” 9 p.m., AMC, rerunning at 11:04 p.m. and 1:08 a.m. “Our real enemy is outside,” someone argues. That’s an understatement. Outside Alexandria’s make-shift walls, there are zombies and “Whisperers,” pretending to be zombies. But inside, more hatred builds. It’s aimed at young Lydia, who was once (shown  here a Whisperer with her parents; and it’s aimed at her friend Negan, former head of the evil Saviors. It’s a strong, tense hour, spiced with moments of high-octane action. Read more…

Best-bets for Oct. 26: It’s a strange world (series)

1) World Series, 8:07 p.m. ET, Fox; pre-game at 7:30. The fourth game of the best-of-seven series has the Houston Astros in Washington, D.C. (shown here) — a place that’s not used to this. Teams were based in Washington during 85 previous seasons, but they only reached the Series three times … most recently in 1933. Until this year, only 10 Series games had been played in Washington – four in 1924 (when the Senators won their only championship) and three each in ’25 and ’33. Now the Nationals are having their turn. Read more…

Best-bets for Oct. 25: Halloween — dark and light — takes over

1) “Charmed,” 8 p.m., CW. As the final seven days of October begin, Halloween themes fill our TV sets. Few shows fit as perfectly as this smart-but-weird tale of three witches and their mentor. Chased by demons, they reached an alternate world, where only Macy still has her powers. Tonight, she ends up imprisoned alongside an intriguing new character (shown here). Also, Mel and Harry visit exotic dimensions. And Macy must find a new way to get a key card, after the one she swiped becomes useless. Read more…

At 75, Douglas keeps finding fresh options

Michael Douglas has had to rethink this whole notion of retirement.
He’s 75, an age when retiring might seem reasonable. But in “The Kominsky Method” (shown here), his co-star (Alan Arkin) is 85; also, his dad (Kirk Douglas) will turn 103 on Dec. 9.
“I’ve got a long ways to go,” said Douglas, whose second “Kominsky” season starts Friday on Netflix. “It’s very exciting. I never anticipated (these) options as I reach the three-quarter-century mark.” Read more…

Best-bets for Oct. 24: comic and creepy

1) “Evil,” 10 p.m., CBS. A week before the holiday, here are four Halloween-night plotlines, including two compelling ones for Kristen and her kids (shown here). She’s at an exorcism gone bad; they’re at a party with a scary newcomer … and Ben is trying to debunk a ghost-hunter show. Mixed in are some scenes that are brilliantly played by two gifted Emmy-winners — Michael Emerson as the creepy/crafty Leland and Christine Lahti as Kristen’s mom. Blend these together and you have a great hour. Read more…

Coming up: An overcrowded Halloween week

Just how long is Halloween, anyway?
It used to be one day; some cable networks seem to think it’s an entire month. But for most TV viewers, it’s one crowded week: From Oct. 25-31, Halloween overruns our TV sets.
The Disney properties (ABC, Freeform, Disney Channel) lead, but others jump in. Here are some highlights of what’s new; the days listed refer to the 25th through 31st: Read more…

Best-bets for Oct. 23: From sweet Moana to nasty Annie

1) “Moana” (2016) and “The Simpsons,” 5:30 p.m. and 8-11 p.m., Freeform. Here are the opposite extremes of animation: “Moana” (shown here) is light, bright and family-friendly, with appealing songs (co-written by Lin-Manuel Miranda) sung by Auli’i Cravalho, Dwayne Johnson and others. Then comes dark – and sometimes gory – wit from Bart Simpson and family in six “Treehouse of Horror” reruns. Read more…

Best-bets for Oct. 22: Nationals start their first World Series

1) World Series, 8:08 p.m. ET, Fox; pre-game at 7:30. It’s a match-up no one expected. The Washington Nationals’ franchise (which started 50 years ago in Montreal) had never been to the Series; two other franchises spent 70 years in Washington and got there three times – most recently in 1933. After starting this season at 19-31, the Nationals won 66 per cent of their games … won the wildcard game … beat the Dodgers three-out-of-five … and swept the Cardinals; now they face the Houston Astros. Read more…