Here’s what’s up in the world of TV for Wednesday, October 24. All times are Eastern.
TOP PICK
The Middle (ABC, 8 p.m.): It’s a night full of Halloween episodes, and that means you have as good an excuse as any to tune in to this enjoyable family comedy, which has started the season off in fine form and looks as if it may be on the way to its best season yet. Will Harris doesn’t want to jinx it, but if the show does have its best season yet, he’ll dress up as one of the other TV Club writers for Halloween next year. Oh, who are we kidding? He dresses up as one of the other TV Club writers for Halloween every year. (This is your lucky year, Myles McNutt!)
REGULAR COVERAGE
Arrow (The CW, 8 p.m.): Look who’s here! It’s Deadshot! And if that means something to you, then Alasdair Wilkins is just going to point at you and laugh and call you a nerd. Nah, we’re just kidding. Alasdair would never do that. His name is Alasdair! You can probably think of mean rhymes for that!
Survivor (CBS, 8 p.m.): For whatever reason, Survivor isn’t going to do a Halloween episode that ends with the castaways gorging themselves on candy and then weeping bitterly after they throw everything back up. Carrie Raisler would like a nice bag of Kit Kats to nosh on while she’s watching tonight’s show.
The Neighbors (ABC, 8:30 p.m.): Swiftly, swiftly, time passes, and time has passed in such a way that we are, indeed, no longer covering The Neighbors, as we prophesied just a few weeks ago. Dennis Perkins might suspect that he was made a patsy, but we wouldn’t do something like that. We’re super nice.
Modern Family (ABC, 9 p.m.): Claire’s love of Halloween has been one of the running jokes on this show for a while now, but this year, that love apparently turns inappropriate. Donna Bowman is a bit terrified by what that could possibly mean, but she’s hoping it doesn’t involve Ed O’Neill in a sexy costume.
Supernatural (The CW, 9 p.m.): If there’s any show that can make this Halloween episode business feel humdrum and old-hat, it’s this one. Phil Dyess-Nugent hears tonight’s episode is about an “unusual animal attack,” and he can only assume that this episode will be about the dreaded were-Shamu.
Suburgatory (ABC, 9:30 p.m.): ABC concludes its evening of Halloweencoms with something called “The Witch Of East Chatswin.” Brandon Nowalk is wondering if it will be the Witch Of Blackbird Pond riff of his dreams, but he’s going to assume it’s actually a riff on the real best Newbery winner, Onion John.
American Horror Story (FX, 10 p.m.): After the aliens and beasts and whatnot in last week’s episode, what more could this week’s episode possibly add to top that episode? Would you believe… demons? Of course you would. Todd VanDerWerff knows Catholics are the bestest when it comes to exorcisms.
Nashville (ABC, 10 p.m.): Speaking of TV Club writers dressing up as other TV Club writers for Halloween, Noel Murray is going to do his finest Todd VanDerWerff impression when he drops in on episode three of this countrified soap. Mostly, it involves him telling useless personal anecdotes.
South Park (Comedy Central, 10 p.m.): The boys go trick or treating as The Avengers, and, man, we can’t wait to see which kid is which. It’s obvious to us that Cartman should be Thor, but Ryan McGee has this theory that he should be Iron Man, and we can see his point. A little, fat Iron Man could be great.
Key & Peele (Comedy Central, 10:30 p.m.): A news reporter is terrorized by a dog in a sketch we can only assume will be the greatest sketch in the history of comic sketches. Steve Heisler was once terrorized by a dog, but he learned the only thing to do is terrorize that dog right back.
WHAT ELSE IS ON
The Houstons: On Our Own (Lifetime, 9 p.m.): Cable TV continues its dedication to depicting all possible angles of what happened after Whitney Houston’s death. Tonight, Lifetime decides to focus on her family, because that’s totally cool and not exploitative at all. It should be a barrel of laughs.
Law & Order: SVU (NBC, 9 p.m.): Here’s a friendly reminder that this important cornerstone of the Dick Wolf empire reaches its 300th episode tonight. The series has outlasted nearly all comers, and even if it’s likely on its last legs, it’s still impressive it made it to 300. We still won’t be watching, though.
Militia Rising (Discovery, 10 p.m.): Discovery, meanwhile, just keeps looking for weird subcultures to send its cameras inside of a militia, which seems to be rising. We’re sure these lovely gentlemen will be sharing their discontent with the current political order in only the very healthiest of ways, right?
DTLA (Logo, 11 p.m.): We always like when TV supports the fledgling independent TV movement—hell, we’re here at the New York Television Festival right now—but this new indie scripted drama about kids living in downtown Los Angeles looks kind of… formless and pedestrian. At least it made it on the air.
Forrest Gump (Momax, 9 p.m.): May we suggest a “Tom Hanks would like some Oscars now, please” theme night? First, you can check out this one, which was hugely successful, winning Oscars not just for Hanks but for director Robert Zemeckis, screenwriter Eric Roth, and the movie itself. And then…
Larry Crowne (HBO Signature, 9 p.m.): You can check out this entry in the theme night, which saw Hanks attempting to do that same touchy-feely bullshit as before, only to far lesser effect. But now he roped Julia Roberts into his orbit. He won no Oscars for his acting, nor for his directing. Too bad, Tom!
World Series: Game 1: Tigers at Giants (Fox, 7:30 p.m.): We always like when the old franchises get a chance to face off in the Fall Classic, and this is a good match-up, between two teams with strong pitching and rich histories. Predictably, America won’t care, since the Yankees and Red Sox aren’t in it.
IN CASE YOU MISSED IT
The New Normal (Tuesday): Our perhaps quixotic attempt to review the seventh episodes of every new series begins tonight, as Brandon Nowalk attempts to argue that, no, The New Normal isn’t that bad. Listen, Brandon: We saw that weird dinner party episode. It’s going to take a lot for you to convince us.