Year: 2019

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…

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…

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…

1) “Catherine the Great” opener, 10 p.m., HBO, rerunning at 11. Helen Mirren has been three queens – Charlotte and both Elizabeths; now it’s her turn to be a Russian empress. Catherine – previously played by Marlene Dietrich and Catherine Zeta-Jones – was 32 when her husband became the Russian emperor in 1762 … and 33 when she ousted him via a coup. She ruled for 34 years, amid modernizing and conquest. This four-part mini-series was filmed in palaces in Latvia, Lithuania and Russia. Read more…

1) “The Simpsons,” 8 p.m., Fox. It’s the 30th annual “Treehouse of Horrors” and, in a nifty bonus, it’s “Simpsons” episode No. 666. That’s considered Satan’s number and this has lots of devilish fun. Homer trades a second son for an evil female spawn; he also keeps getting a new body for himself … and promptly ruining it. Milhouse hits a “Stranger Things” portal. And Selma (shown here has an affair with a fish creature. Parts of this are too harsh for some viewers; much of it is hilarious. Read more…

1) “Patsy & Loretta,” 8-10:03 p.m., Lifetime. Two near-opposites merged beautifully. Patsy Cline was big, brash and confident; since childhood she was intent on stardom; Loretta Lynn was backwoods and shy, with four kids and a belated career. Both had great talent, warm hearts and heavy-drinking husbands; in the two years before her death in a plane crash, Cline guided her friend. This sprawling story is told with a fairly good script, skilled direction and gifted stars, Megan Hilty (shown here) and Jessie Mueller. Read more…