Grand Ole Opry Live! Wynonna and Brad Paisley (GAC, 8 p.m. ET)
Live. Wynonna, Brad Paisley and others perform live from the stage of Nashville's Grand Ole Opry.
Cerberus (Sci Fi Channel, 9 p.m. ET)
Premiere. The mindless diversion BJ and the Bear was an easygoing Saturday fixture on NBC from 1979-81 -- one deserving of revival on DVD, if not on TV Land or CMT. Twenty-five years later, Greg
Evigan, the hunky BJ of the title, returns to the night in this action-thriller. It's about terrorists who force an art historian to help them find the all-powerful Sword of Attila, unwittingly inviting the wrath of Cerberus, a three-headed-demon dog that is the eternal guardian of the legendary weapon.
Saturday Night Live (NBC, 11:30 p.m. ET)
Live. Seven-time Tour de France winner Lance Armstrong is the host. His fiancée, Sheryl Crow, is the musical guest.
SUNDAY, OCTOBER 30
The Plague (History Channel, 8 p.m. ET)
Premiere. Are current world crises including thoughts of the possible bird flu pandemic keeping you up at night? Consider this: In the mid-1300s, deadly microbes spread throughout Europe and
wiped out one-third of the world's known population in a three-year period. The limited medical care available at that time was no match for the powerful plague, which remains the worst biological disaster in the history of mankind. This documentary chronicles the catastrophe from beginning to end, including the aftermath impact on those who survived, and it includes commentary from
current authorities on how well the modern world might handle such widespread, fast-moving devastation.
Vampire Bats (CBS, 9 p.m. ET)
Premiere. CBS' continues its mini-franchise of campy drive-in movie style thrillers with Vampire Bats, about bunches of bats on a killing spree. Seems the generally harmless winged critters have
mutated as a result of drinking tainted water and have developed an insatiable thirst for human blood. It falls to Dr. Maddy Rierdon -- who saved her countrymen from masses of menacing bugs in last spring's Locusts -- to stop the bats' progress. The challenge totally messes with Maddy's head, because the former USDA voracious insect specialist is now a college professor trying to enjoy a simpler life, but as luck would have it one of her students is one of the first
victims of the terrible killer bats. Lucy Lawless and Dylan Neal reprise their roles as Maddy and her husband, Dan Dryer. Brett Butler and Timothy Bottoms also star. Here's hoping CBS keeps the fun coming with more of these movies later in the season. They need not all feature Lawless and Neal, but it would be nice to see them return again, too.
Hannibal v Rome (National Geographic Channel, 9 p.m. ET)
Premiere. Long before the events that form the backdrop of HBO's Rome there were the Punic Wars and other mammoth conflicts between the trading empire of Carthage, North Africa and the
Romans, both fighting for control of the Mediterranean. Hannibal was Africa's most powerful military strategist at the time and to this day is considered one of the greatest military geniuses who ever lived. You would get high marks, too, if you figured out a way to lead 46,000 men, 12,000 horses and 37 elephants over the Alps and into a victorious battle with the mighty Roman army. Hannibal's
epic trek and military tactics are examined in great detail in this documentary, much of it shot on location in the Alps and featuring recreations of history-changing battles.
Grey's Anatomy (ABC, 10 p.m. ET)
The interns put aside their complicated personal problems to deal with a sudden emergency straight out of ER: a
rush of injured passengers from a nearby train crash, including a man and woman impaled on a metal pole.
But Can They Sing? (VH1, 10 p.m. ET)
Series Premiere. Actors Morgan Fairchild, Joe Pantoliano, Bai Ling, Antonio Sabato Jr. and Michael Copon; former heavyweight champion Larry Holmes; model Kim Alexis; Latin entertainer and
journalist Myrka Dellanos, and reality television cub Carmine Gotti compete in a six-week song and dance competition. Viewers vote for the best singer each week via phone, text messaging or the Internet. Two performances from each week's show will be available for advance viewing Sunday mornings on vspot.vh1.com. Ahmet Zappa is the host.
Best Halloween Programming - Which One is Your Favorite??
MONDAY, OCTOBER 31
Kill Reality (E! Entertainment Television, 8 p.m. ET)
This is the final installment of E!'s reality series about the making of a horror movie cast with personalities from previous
reality television series. It is also the lead in to the premiere of that movie, The Scorned.
The Scorned (E! Entertainment Television, 9 p.m. ET)
Premiere. If you watched the E! series Kill Reality, in which a number of reality television personalities were
filmed while they were acting in a scripted horror film, then you won't want to miss the fruit of their efforts. The Scorned is the story of a vengeful angel of death that preys on the twenty-something occupants of a Malibu beach house. E! describes it as "a salacious, terror-ridden joy ride." Need
we say more? Bob Guiney (The Bachelor), Steven Hill (The Real World: Las Vegas), Jenna Lewis (Survivor: Borneo), Ethan Zohn (Survivor: Africa), Jonny Fairplay (Survivor: Pearl Islands), Reichen Lehmkuhl (The Amazing Race), Jenna Morasca (Survivor: Amazon) and Tonya Cooley (The Real World: Chicago) are among the stars. For those who enjoy their exploitation without editing, a
version of The Scorned with what E! describes as "additional steamy scenes and never before seen footage" will be released in the near future. Details are available at www.thefishbowl.com.
American Chopper (Discovery Channel, 10 p.m. ET)
The Teutul men leave Orange County Choppers behind for a two-week tour of England, Ireland, Scotland and France in
this two-part edition of their series. Among their adventures: Being fitted for kilts in Scotland, a sword fight between Paul Jr. and a Scottish swordsman and a ride in the English countryside with Obi-Wan
Kenobi himself, Ewan McGregor. Part Two of the Teutuls' international tour will be telecast on Monday, November 7 at 10 p.m. ET.
Roseanne's House of Horrors (Nick at Nite, 10 p.m. ET)
For eight of its nine seasons Roseanne Barr's now-classic sitcom featured special Halloween-themed episodes
every October. (Barr in interviews has always referred to them as among the most important episodes of the series.) Nick at Nite will present a four-hour marathon of those Halloween shows tonight, including Boo!, the first Halloween episode, in which the Conner kids try to terrify Roseanne and Dan; Halloween IV, featuring visits from ghosts of the past, present and
future; and, from the series' dreadful final season, the camp-classic Satan, Darling, in which Jennifer Saunders and Joanne Lumley appear as Edina and Patsy, their characters from Absolutely Fabulous, on hand to celebrate the holiday with new multimillionaire
Roseanne and the créme de la créme of New York society.
Ghost Hunters Halloween Special (Sci Fi Channel, 10 p.m. ET)
Premiere. Jason, Grant and the
Ghost Hunters crew investigate reported supernatural activities in Savannah, Georgia.
Reel Homes: Real Scary (HGTV, 11 p.m. ET)
Premiere. Here's a great idea for a Halloween special: A tour of the real-life homes and neighborhoods that served as
memorable locations in the filming of such modern horror movies as Scream, Halloween, The Ring, Hannibal, I Know What You Did Last Summer, The Amityville Horror and the first three Nightmare on Elm Street flicks.
TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 1
Commander in Chief (ABC, 9 p.m. ET)
Samantha Eggar joins the cast in the recurring role of Sarah Templeton, wife of the sinister Speaker of the House
Nathan Templeton, played with great flair by Donald Sutherland. Who could have imagined even one year ago that a hit broadcast drama in 2005 would feature mature movie stars of this caliber?
RX for Survival: A Global Health Challenge (PBS, check local listings)
Premiere. Brad Pitt narrates this six-hour documentary telecast tonight, tomorrow and Thursday on PBS stations that
examines the alarming growth of life-threatening diseases in the developing world, including HIV/AIDS, SARS, West Nile virus, malaria, tuberculosis and the Avian Flu. RX documents the tireless efforts of global health experts and others who work to contain outbreaks of these diseases in
different countries and educate people on how to avoid them and remain healthy.
Inside Hurricane Katrina (National Geographic Channel, 9 p.m. ET)
Premiere. The multiple failures of city, state and federal officials in dealing with the catastrophe of Hurricane
Katrina -- from announcing public warnings to orchestrating evacuations to providing shelter and rescuing survivors -- are examined anew in this National Geographic Channel documentary. The producers had access to six hours of newly released audiotapes of local, state and federal officials reacting to the crisis that only deepen the sense of disgrace, as well as a comprehensive analysis from
researchers at Louisiana State University that provides a highly detailed hour by hour timeline of the events that destroyed much of New Orleans and claimed the lives of more than 1000 people. The reactions, responsibilities and challenges that faced New Orleans Mayor Ray Nagin, Louisiana Governor Kathleen Bianco, former FEMA director Michael Brown and President George W. Bush are scrutinized, as is the reporting by major media outlets. Were crucial facts and
figures wrongly communicated? According to the information revealed in this program, six people died in the hellish environment of the New Orleans Superdome and four in the equally dangerous New Orleans Convention Center, rather than the hundreds reported by the press at the time. Katrina also presents details of a government exercise held in July 2004 at which local, state and
national officials learned what they would have to do in New Orleans to prevent a hurricane like Katrina from becoming a historic disaster of epic proportions.
NOPD: After Katrina (Court TV, 10 p.m. ET)
Premiere. A Court TV production team happened to be shooting a documentary with the New Orleans police department
when Hurricane Katrina made land. They chose to remain in the city throughout the crisis to record the work of the NOPD, focusing on two young officers as they struggled to rescue victims, restore order and cope with their own personal losses.
WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 2
That '70s Show (Fox, 8 p.m. ET)
Season Premiere. One Hour. Topher Grace is out and Mad TV alumnus Josh Meyers is in as the eighth
season of this surprisingly durable sitcom begins.
THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 3
Smallville (The WB, 8 p.m. ET)
Nostalgia alert! Smallville series regular John Schneider is reunited with his former Dukes of Hazzard co-star
Tom Wopat in this episode. Wopat plays a state senator and boyhood friend of Jonathan Kent's. Rumor has it that Wopat's character will drive a 1969 Dodge Charger that is actually one of the cars used as the General Lee in the original Dukes series.
FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 4
South of Nowhere (The N, 8:30 p.m. ET)
Series Premiere. Shades of Beverly Hills, 90210 (or, as that teen drama was originally titled, Class
of Beverly Hills)! Three terrifically attractive teenagers from a small town in Ohio learn to cope with contemporary city life after their family relocates to Los Angeles in this new issue-oriented drama series.
Masters of Horror (Showtime, 10 p.m. ET)
Stuart Gordon (Re-Animator) co-wrote and directed this adaptation of the H.P. Lovecraft story Dream in
the Witch House. It's about a college student whose studies of something called "inter-dimensional string theory" lead to terrifying dreams about a supernatural rodent and Satan. His real problems begin,
however, when he starts to believe that he has uncovered a portal into a parallel universe filled with demons intent on sacrificing his neighbor's infant. Ezra Godden stars.
RSS Feeds | Subscribe 
