1) “Chicago P.D.,” 10 p.m., NBC. Some classic questions re-surface here: Can two wrongs make a right? Are there times for a cop to look the other way? Are there any moral certainties on the mean streets? This solidly crafted episode (shown here) has no answers, but offers a stark and startling conclusion. Read more…
1) “The Conners,” 8 p.m., ABC. Back when “Roseanne” was in its prime, the sisters (Roseanne and Jackie) opened the Lunch Box diner. A lot has changed since then – the Roseanne character died, the show changed its name – but now Jackie wants to re-open the diner. Also, Darlene (Sara Gilbert, shown here in a previous episode with John Goodman) tries to straighten out her own life: After secretly dating both David and Ben, she now has neither. Read more…
1) “All Rise,” 9 p.m., CBS. At its best, this show does it all: It has a serious case-of-the-week, but has time for humor or human drama involving Judge Lola and her colleagues. That’s complicated, though: After rising to its best in its pilot film, it sagged for a couple weeks; now it’s back: A TV star is dead and her assistant is tried for murder. That draws a high-profile lawyer (Jere Burns, right in the photo here) and press coverage that calls Lola “fierce and fabulous.” She is, but this hour also has great moments for the show’s five co-stars. Read more…
For the Fox network, this is a tricky question:
What happens when the sports surge ends? What will it be like without the OK ratings from the World Series and the huge numbers from Thursday-night and Sunday-afternoon football?
Now there are answers, adding one old show (Tim Allen’s “Last Man Standing,” shown here) and several new ones, In particular, Fox will use football as a launching pad; for instance: Read more…
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…
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…
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…
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…
TV viewers get used to bad news. Shows are cancelled or delayed; promises are broken.
So the flip side was a fine surprise: “Will & Grace” is back much earlier than expected; and its return (9:30 p.m. Thursday, Oct. 24), after a wobbly start, is hilarious.
Read more…
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…
