Here’s what’s up in the world of TV for Friday, October 24, and Saturday, October 25. All times are Eastern.
TOP PICK
Dracula (NBC, 10 p.m., Friday): In this revamped (revampired?) version of Bram Stoker’s classic, Jonathan Rhys Meyers is a newly revived Dracula posing as an American tycoon in Victorian England. Erik Adams had mixed thoughts in his early look at the show. Now Les Chappell steps in for weekly reviews of TV’s sexiest vampire (give or a take an Ian Somerhalder and an Alexander Skarsgård).
REGULAR COVERAGE
Grimm (NBC, 9 p.m., Friday): Normally this third season premiere would be our top pick, but a sexy vampire usurped the spot. This week the Grimm gang hunts zombies, but Kevin McFarland thinks they should hunt down a certain Nosferatu instead.
Comedy Bang! Bang! (IFC, 10 p.m., Friday): Pee-Wee Herman stops by the Comedy Bang! Bang! studio—in a Halloween costume. David Sims will be wearing his Pee-Wee Herman Halloween costume for the occasion.
Borgen (LinkTV, 1 a.m., Saturday): Birgitte questions Danish pig production and takes a visit to a pig farm. Todd VanDerWerff spent a lot of time reading Charlotte’s Web as a kid, and he’s pretty sure he knows where all of this is going.
Saturday Night Live (NBC, 11:30 p.m., Saturday): Edward Norton and Janelle Monae both make their first SNL appearances this week. David Sims isn’t saying which one is the host and which one is the musical guest so we’ll just have to wait and see.
TV CLUB CLASSIC
The X-Files (1 p.m., Saturday): A deranged cult leader with a third eye kills victims in their dreams. But enough about Zack Handlen, let’s talk about The X-Files.
Doctor Who (Classic) (3 p.m., Saturday): Christopher Bahn will take a look at either the newly discovered Patrick Troughton serial “Enemy Of The World” or the 2003 animated adventure “Scream Of Shalka.” We’d need a TARDIS to say for sure which one he’ll end up picking.
WHAT ELSE IS ON?
The Carrie Dairies (The CW, 8 p.m., Friday): Just because we’re no longer covering The Carrie Diaries doesn’t mean we aren’t excited the show is back for a second season. Lindsey Gort joins the cast as Samantha Jones so get those virgin cosmos ready.
Springsteen & I (Showtime, 9 p.m., Friday): While this is actually a documentary about Bruce Springsteen and his fans, we like to imagine it’s a sequel to Marley & Me starring Owen Wilson, Jennifer Aniston, and their dog The Boss.
Strike Back: Origins (Cinemax, 10 p.m., Friday): This six-part series aired in the UK in 2010 under the name Strike Back: Project Dawn and has been available on DVD for years. Cinemax is finally giving it an official U.S. airing as a quasi-prequel to Strike Back. More importantly, it features Andrew Lincoln using the British accent we always forget he has.
Secret Princes (TLC, 10 p.m., Friday): The secret princes are back! According to TV Guide they must “shed their royal facades to find a suitable mate.” How romantic!
Spooksville (The Hub, 10 p.m., Saturday): Christopher Pike’s ’90s young adult horror novels finally get a TV adaptation. This show about a group of kids in a spooky town should be one part Goosebumps, two parts Buffy The Vampire Slayer.
The Husband She Met Online (Lifetime, 8 p.m., Saturday): Lifetime movie titles manage to make plot descriptions sound weirdly ominous. We’re betting the husband turns out to be a murderer, a runaway convict, or a space alien.
The Exorcist (AMC, 7:15 p.m., Friday): It’s the last weekend before Halloween, and we recommend celebrating like the A.V. Club staff: by staying in and watching movies. Start with the creepy thrills of the first horror movie to be nominated for the Best Picture Oscar…
A Nightmare On Elm Street (Spike, 11 p.m., Friday): …then flip over to Wes Craven’s story of a child murderer who haunts teenagers’ dreams…
Hocus Pocus (ABC Family, 10 p.m., Saturday): …and wind things down with a lighter take on the Halloween season, which features fewer gruesome deaths and more talking cats.
College Hockey: Massachusetts at Maine (NBCSP, 8 p.m., Friday): While the rest of the country is swept up in the World Series and/or college football, we want to remind you that it’s also college hockey season. Play… puck!
World Series, Game 3: Red Sox at Cardinals (Fox, 7:30 p.m., Saturday): To help relax after all that college hockey excitement, tune in to the third game in this minor baseball competition where the two teams have each won one game.
IN CASE YOU MISSED IT
The Vampire Diaries: Just because there’s a new sexy vampire in town, doesn’t mean we’ve forgotten about the old ones. Carrie Raisler checks in on the elder statesman of the sexy-vampire genre.