Death Comes To Pemberley puts Matthew Rhys deep undercover in Jane Austen’s England
Here’s what’s up in the world of television for Sunday, October 26. All times are Eastern.
Top pick
Death Comes To Pemberley (PBS, 9 p.m.): One thing What’s On Tonight noticed while reading Caroline Siede’s excellent, Death Comes To Pemberley-inspired essay about Pride And Prejudice adaptations: It featured cameos from both stars of The Americans, Matthew Rhys and Keri Russell. We’re not ones for conspiracy theory, but it does seem rather convenient that Phillip and Elizabeth Jennings have each made stop-overs in Jane Austen territory, as if all Directorate S “illegals” were required to take temporary assignments involving empire waists and satirical treatments of courtship among English nobility. It’d be a good way to infiltrate another head of the capitalist hydra, is all we’re saying, and the fact that Death Comes To Pemberley has a murder-mystery angle would certainly help the Jennings the next time some of their old spying buddies die under mysterious circumstances.
Also noted
Boardwalk Empire (HBO, 9 p.m.): Bad news: Sounds like the flashbacks that have haunted Boardwalk Empire’s final season will last all the way through the last episode. Good news: Tonight’s the finale, so you’ll never have to hear about Nucky Thompson’s childhood again. Bad news: You’ll never get to read another Genevieve Valentine review of Boardwalk Empire, so savor this one while it while it lasts. (And show Genevieve some patience, since HBO didn’t send out screeners of the final episode.)
Homeland (Showtime, 9 p.m.): Josh Modell promises that tonight’s Homeland review features a spectacular “asset” joke—so there’s your justification for watching Homeland for at least another week.
The Good Wife (CBS, 9:30 p.m.): Carrie Preston extends her season-six stay for another week, meaning Kayla Kumari Upadhyaya now has twice the opportunities to meet the penguins waddling around in Elsbeth Tascioni’s head.
Regular coverage
The Walking Dead (AMC, 9 p.m.)
The Affair (Showtime, 10 p.m.)
Is game five of the 2014 World Series necessary?
Yes. At press time, the Giants have pulled ahead of the Royals and look to head into tomorrow’s primetime match up in a 2-games-to-2 tie. As the World Series is a best-of-four situation, games five and six will be necessary.
What does that mean for Fox’s Sunday lineup?
Preemption—though it would’ve been all reruns, anyway.
TV Club Classic
The Simpsons (Classic): Rodney Dangerfield gets no regard—no regard at all—as C. Montgomery Burns’ unrefined heir, Larry. No esteem, either—though Erik Adams admits he’s a fan of “Burns, Baby Burns.”
Tomorrow in TV Club
In honor of All Saints’ Day (and the sugar-addled and/or drunken costumed revelry that proceeds it), The A.V. Club kicks off its annual Week Of Horrors tomorrow. Day one is light on terrifying TV, though there will be a Q&A with Garfield creator Jim Davis about his cartoon cat’s infamous ventures into the realm of horror, including the scariest animated Halloween special ever made, Garfield’s Halloween Adventure.
“Infamous ventures into the realm of horror”?
Look, if you don’t take What’s On Tonight’s word for it, just check out this panel—which ran in hundreds of daily newspapers in 1989—then read the interview tomorrow.
What else is on
Real Housewives Of New Jersey (Bravo, 8 p.m.): A reunion special promises “secrets revealed,” even though the revealing of secrets is exactly why Teresa Giudice is going to jail at the beginning of 2015.
Becoming (Disney XD, 8 p.m.): Suddenly the busiest producer in all of TV, Survivor’s Remorse EP LeBron James (of “four-time NBA MVP LeBron James” fame) presents this unscripted series, a “before they were famous” portrait of star athletes. The premiere focuses on (who elese?) LeBron James.
Monsters Behind The Iron Curtain (Animal Planet, 9 p.m.): For once, that phrase describes someone who isn’t Joseph Stalin: It’s actual monsters (and other urban legends), like the anthropomorphized moose and squirrel who terrorized two Eastern Bloc spies throughout the 1960s.
Halloween Wars (Food Network, 9 p.m.):
Dearest Martha,
Once more, they tell us these damnable Halloween Wars are reaching their conclusion, but I just don’t know who to believe anymore. If I’ve learned anything from my time in these sugar-frosted trenches, it’s that as soon as the final candy corn is discharged, sarge will be shoving a candy cane in my hand. Those damnable Christmas Wars are just around the corner, Martha—and it seems like they’re coming earlier every year.
Dr. Jekyll And Mr. Hyde (TCM, 8 p.m.): In this version of Robert Louis Stevenson’s novel The Strange Case Of Dr. Jekyll And Mr. Hyde, Spencer Tracy trades bantering with Katharine Hepburn for a little back and forth with himself.
The Dorm (MTV, 8 p.m.): An original horror film from MTV, set in the frightening world of higher education. If it’s anything like What’s On Tonight’s experience with the subject matter, the most terrifying thing about The Dorm will involve the guy from down the hall borrowing your laptop, only to return it with a bunch of dicks plastered all over your desktop background.
Sunday Night Football: Green Bay at New Orleans (NBC, 8:20 p.m.): The Packers are having a great season. The Saints? Not so much. But none of those four losses have come in New Orleans, where the team tries for a 20th straight home victory tonight.
In case you missed it
Constantine: The name’s Constantine, John Constantine—and no, this John Constantine doesn’t smoke on camera, but Brandon Nowalk still found that his NBC debut gave off an agreeably “earthy stench.”