Fox, 8:00 p.m. ET
Yesterday’s American League Championship Series was decided definitively, with the Detroit Tigers sweeping the New York Yankees in four straight games, and claiming a spot in this year’s World Series, Over at the National League Championship Series, it’s a little more competitive: We’re already up to a Game 5, with the San Francisco Giants facing, once again, the St. Louis Cardinals, who at this point have the advantage – the Cards are stacked, at least in the respect that the Cardinals, in this best-of-seven series, come into tonight’s game with a 3-1 edge.
Encore, 8:00 p.m. ET
Lovable and very funny performances are everywhere in this 1984 blockbuster comedy, but I never tire of watching three of them in particular: Bill Murray’s uber-confident leading role, Rick Moranis’ eventually demonic dweeb, and, most of all, Sigourney Weaver’s bewitching and possessed apartment-house neighbor.
TCM, 8:00 p.m. ET
Here’s another prime, and prime-time opportunity, to see one of the major, startlingly intense big-screen performances by eventual sitcom icon Andy Griffith. Years before he pinned on the badge as Sheriff Andy Taylor on The Andy Griffith Show, Griffith made an indelible mark in this Elia Kazan movie, written by Budd Schulberg, about a small-town drifter who uses the media to rise to fame, attaining stardom while using and abusing almost everyone along the way. If you can’t picture Griffith in a less than genial role, this drama – an early, searing indictment of the media’s obsession with pop culture – simply has to be seen. Patricia Neal and Anthony Franciosa co-star.
Cinemax, 10:00 p.m. ET
SERIES PREMIERE: Frank Spotnitz, who wrote nearly 50 episodes of
The X-Files, is the creator of this new eight-part drama series, a rare and intriguing co-production by Cinemax and England’s BBC One. It stars Melissa George, of
In Treatment, as a spy for a private international firm who is betrayed and nearly killed on the job, and emerges determined to both return to work and discover who targeted her and why. It’s got elements of both
Homeland and
Rubicon, with action and intrigue parceled out in equal, often unanticipated doses. For a full review, see
Bianculli’s Blog.
HBO, 10:00 p.m. ET
Bill Maher and company really gave it to Barack Obama after the first presidential debate, criticizing and ridiculing his performance. Now, days after the second presidential debate, they get to tackle Mitt Romney’s “binders full of women” remark, and other memorable moments. All that, and passionately vocal, and outspoken, reporter and author Matt Taibbi as well.