A Go On Halloween leads a night filled with characters in unrealistically elaborate costumes
Here’s what’s up in the world of TV for Tuesday, October 30. All times are Eastern.
Please note that Hurricane Sandy may change program airtimes and coverage assignments.
TOP PICK
Go On (NBC, 10 p.m.): NBC’s weird fall of good fortune—okay, the network’s weird fall of having The Voice do really, really, really well—continues with TV’s biggest new comedy, this Matthew Perry ensemble show that we’re sort of surprised to still see on the air, even though we know it’s a minor hit. Sonia Saraiya has been taking her time to dissect just why the show isn’t quite working, but maybe it will pull it all together this week, and maybe it will just turn into a show about Julie White yelling at people, because that would be fun, too. It’s a Halloween episode, so put on your Mr. K costumes. And, no, it's still not called Goon. (Please note the later timeslot. Thanks, two-hour edition of The Voice!)
REGULAR COVERAGE
30 For 30 (ESPN, 8 p.m.): The sports documentary series digs into the old wounds of racial integration in “The Ghosts Of Ole Miss.” Phil Dyess-Nugent is happy to have the program treating such weighty subject matter, but he can’t help but note ESPN wasn’t around for racial integration, so the show’s name is a lie.
Raising Hope (Fox, 8 p.m.): The Halloween comedy nights continue—presumably they will end tomorrow, but who can tell these days?—as Burt and Virginia are dragged into the circle of a gay bar on Halloween. Phil Dyess-Nugent isn’t sure why it had to happen on Halloween, but there you go.
Ben And Kate (Fox, 8:30 p.m.): Molly Eichel is hoping to emerge from her hurricane bunker long enough to offer her thoughts on the Halloween episode of this show, which features Tommy accidentally ingesting some “special candy” from Amsterdam. Haven’t seen that plot before, huh?
Happy Endings (ABC, 9 p.m.): Max and Brad spend a cashless Saturday in Chicago, which sounds like the show gearing up for a Travel Channel spinoff should this whole Tuesday night timeslot thing not work out. David Sims would totally watch those two try to get away without spending any cash in many cities.
New Girl (Fox, 9 p.m.): Jess gets hired as a zombie at a haunted house, thereby giving the Zooey Deschanel haters among us a chance to say, “Gee. How’s that going to be any different from her regular delivery?” Erik Adams will laugh politely at that gibe, then take a machete to any offenders’ skulls.
Don’t Trust The B—— In Apartment 23 (ABC, 9:30 p.m.): We’re so excited for tonight’s episode, which features a storyline about how James VanderBeek is scared of Halloween and throws a “positivity party” to combat that fact. Emily Guendelsberger is also scared of Halloween, particularly bed-sheet ghosts.
The Mindy Project (Fox, 9:30 p.m.): Despite the fact that this is only the show’s fourth episode, doesn’t it feel like this series has been on since early 2007? David Sims really liked the series’ last episode, but he’s not sure he could tell you the names of any non-Mindy characters after the gap between episodes.
Sons Of Anarchy (FX, 10 p.m.): Zack Handlen is disappointed in how little “anarchy” there’s been in this season of SOA. Sure, there have been plenty of sons—in that every man is a son of somebody—but where are the earnest entreaties to dismantle the current systems of government? Nowhere!
Underemployed (MTV, 10 p.m.): Farihah Zaman is stuck in the middle of that stupid hurricane (stay safe, Farihah!), so Sonia Saraiya is going to step in for this week’s episode of this all-too-earnest chronicle of the young and jobless. Sonia thinks all the characters should get jobs reviewing TV on an episodic basis, like you do.
Vegas (CBS, 10 p.m.): The thing Phil Dyess-Nugent is most excited about when it comes to this episode is the idea that a “Milwaukee hitman” is going to arrive. We’ve lived in Milwaukee, and we’re very surprised to hear there are hitmen there. That said, we very much miss Champion Chicken. So tasty!
WHAT ELSE IS ON
Ellen DeGeneres: The Mark Twain Prize (PBS, 8 p.m.): As you might expect, the Mark Twain Prize is given to people who are funny. What you might not expect is that Ellen DeGeneres has also written several chronicles of Southern and Midwestern boyhood in the early 1800s, all very successful.
Face Off (Syfy, 9 p.m.): As the season approaches its end, the remaining contestants are going to have to design a Halloween-themed get-up, then send those they’ve made up into some sort of choreographed stunt show, which puts us in mind of that Indiana Jones theme park show in Orlando.
The Baby Wait (Logo, 10 p.m.): TV’s most tear-jerking new reality show returns, with lots and lots of potential adoptive parents waiting for biological parents to get off their asses and figure out what the hell they’re going to do with their babies. We don’t know if we appreciate this manipulation, Logo.
When Teens Kill (E!, 10 p.m.): The title of this special sounds like the title of the worst possible parenting how-to book you could find. If you need to buy a book called When Teens Kill, parents, let us just tell you that the time to take an active role in raising your child may have already passed.
The Fly (Sundance, 9 p.m.): It took David Cronenberg to take a somewhat enjoyable ‘50s B-movie classic and turn it into an all-time apex of the body horror genre. Jeff Goldblum slowly devolves in one of the most squirm-inducing movies ever made. Try to watch without pulling off all of your fingernails.
Freaks (TCM, 9:15 p.m.): Tod Browning’s classic takes viewers into the midst of a ‘30s freak show to see what happens when a beautiful trapeze artist marries a circus midget who’s a part of the show. If you have no idea what “Gooble, gobble” or “One of us” means, you’d best watch this one right now.
Auto Racing: Global RallyCross Championship (ESPN2, 8 p.m.): With the World Series over so quickly and with the NHL on strike, we’re reduced to making sports picks for things where we have no earthly idea what they are. This probably involves cars going really fast, so if you like that, you’ll like this.
IN CASE YOU MISSED IT
Castle (Monday): Our ritualistic purging of things you don’t really care about continues, as we get rid of this show, which even the always skeptical Phil Dyess-Nugent will admit has turned a corner, thanks to hooking its two heroes up. Still, who wants to watch a happy couple be happy? We sure as hell don’t!