Thanks mostly to \u201cThe Walking Dead,\u201d zombies have been sucking up all the oxygen in TV\u2019s monster room lately.<\/p>\n
Zombies have even lurched into TV commercials, thanks to Sprint\u2019s hilarious \u201cWhoa, let\u2019s not go putting labels on people\u201d spot, and that\u2019s a sign of two things: 1) zombies have reached the mainstream, and 2) because zombies have reached the mainstream, zombies soon may not be so cool anymore.<\/p>\n
But that hardly means television will run out of scary monsters. TV has always taken the big-tent view when it comes to monsters, from \u201cThe Addams Family\u201d to \u201cAmerican Horror Story,\u201d and nothing underscores that truth better than the arrival of another Halloween.<\/p>\n
Just as vampires didn\u2019t chase away all the other monsters when they got hungry a couple of years back, zombies aren\u2019t even close to the only monster game in town this time around.<\/p>\n
Television embraces all scary stuff, even Joan Rivers\u2019 plastic surgery, which is why Halloween has always been a deceptively potent holiday in the TV game.
\n.
\nSo yes, \u201cThe Walking Dead\u201d has become more of a phenomenon than ever. And yes, Sundance will be joining the zombie game Thursday with \u201cThe Returned,\u201d a French series featuring a very different sort of zombie.<\/p>\n
But all over television, we will celebrate Halloween with outfits and tales that have little or nothing to do with the undead.<\/p>\n
Let\u2019s take a peek, then, at some of what TV will be dropping in our trick-or-treat bags.<\/p>\n
AMC goes all-horror all week, featuring modern classics like \u201cFriday the 13th\u201d and some cool obscurities like \u201cThirteen Ghosts\u201d with Tony Shalhoub. Starting at 8 p.m. Wednesday the network will run all the \u201cHalloween\u201d movies through Thursday night.<\/p>\n
TCM rolls out classic horror flicks Thursday, starting at 6 a.m. with \u201cThe Curse of Frankenstein.\u201d Roll through the Mummy and Dracula before the 8 p.m. feature \u201cThe Pit and the Pendulum.\u201d One caution to horror buffs: These are 1950s and \u201960s versions of the classic flicks, not the ones from the 1930s.
\nChristopher Lee’s stake causes him indigestion in 1968’s “Dracula Has Risen From the Grave.”
\nChristopher Lee’s stake causes him indigestion in 1968’s “Dracula Has Risen From the Grave.”<\/p>\n
If all that sounds too high-falutin\u2019, check out Epix, which begins its own Halloween marathon at 8 p.m. Wednesday with the documentary \u201cThe Nightmare Factory.\u201d From there the network swings into drive-in horror flicks like \u201cPumpkinhead\u201d and \u201cCheerleader Massacre,\u201d through Thursday night.<\/p>\n
On a gentler note, PBS Kids is plunging into Halloween all week. Curious George\u2019s first Halloween special, \u201cA Boo-Fest,\u201d premieres tomorrow. Other PBS Kids stars who will be tackling Halloween issues in their regular slots this week include Peg+Cat, Sid the Science Kid, Wordgirl, Clifford the Big Red Dog and the Cat in the Hat.<\/p>\n
Not a zombie in the bunch.<\/p>\n
And that\u2019s only the beginning.<\/p>\n
Syfy kicks off a new series called \u201cNaked Vegas\u201d on Tuesday at 10 p.m. with a body-painting segment in which the person and the costume will become one. Yes, that show will include zombies.<\/p>\n
NBC\u2019s Cozi channel will start airing the 1959-1961 paranormal classic \u201cOne Step Beyond\u201d on Monday and keep it up all week.<\/p>\n
The Disney Channel is showing Halloween-themed cartoons on Thursday, from big names like Mickey Mouse. Cody Simpson hosts Halloween sketches on \u201cAwesomeness TV\u201d Monday at 7:30 p.m. on Nick.<\/p>\n
Hallmark naturally brings in Catherine Bell\u2019s Good Witch character, with \u201cThe Good Witch\u201d at 7 p.m. Sunday and \u201cThe Good Witch\u2019s Charm\u201d at 9 p.m. She returns Monday and Wednesday at 8 p.m.<\/p>\n
Comedy Central has \u201cGhostbusters\u201d at 8:30 p.m. Thursday.<\/p>\n
ABC Family serves up spooky stuff every night through Thursday, from the bizarre Meryl Streep\/Goldie Hawn movie \u201cDeath Becomes Her\u201d (Wednesday, 1:30 p.m. and midnight) to the always-entertaining Halloween episode of \u201cPretty Little Liars,\u201d Tuesday at 6 p.m.<\/p>\n
On serial TV, the selections include:<\/p>\n
\u201cHart of Dixie,\u201d the CW, 8 p.m. Monday. How many TV shows would even have a \u201cJunior League Ball\u201d as an option to play with? This one does, and the drama heats up when Lemon Breeland (Jaime King) finds she\u2019s not invited. My heavens!<\/p>\n
\u201c2 Broke Girls,\u201d CBS, 8:30 p.m. Monday. CBS is encouraging viewers to create \u201c2 Broke Girls\u201d costumes in the spirit of \u201c2 Broke Ghouls.\u201d There will also be costume issues on the show.<\/p>\n
\u201cModern Family,\u201d ABC, 9 p.m. Wednesday. This show loves Halloween, so much that Claire (Julie Bowen) must be cautioned to keep her celebration \u201cfamily-friendly.\u201d On \u201cModern Family,\u201d of course, that still leaves a good deal of latitude.<\/p>\n
\u201cAmerican Horror Story: Coven,\u201d FX, 10 p.m. Wednesday. Every week is Halloween on \u201cCoven,\u201d really. But for this episode, Delphine LaLaurie (Kathy Bates) says only certain offerings can prevent bad things from happening. As if anything can prevent that on this show. There\u2019s also a tea party that viewers may not want to try at home.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe Middle,\u201d ABC, 8 p.m. Thursday. Halloween gets tangled up with football rituals, combining two all-American pastimes.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe Vampire Diaries,\u201d the CW, 8 p.m. Thursday. Another show where it\u2019s sometimes hard to tell the difference between Halloween and any other day. The Whitmore Historical Ball has been informally renamed \u201cMonster\u2019s Ball,\u201d so Elena (Nina Dobrev) and Damon (Ian Somerhalder) attend in the costumes of Anne Boleyn and Henry VIII. Hasn\u2019t Damon come a long way? Can we imagine him even agreeing to go this event a couple of seasons ago? His gout must be better, too.<\/p>\n
\u201cBack in the Game,\u201d ABC, 8:30 p.m. Thursday. Another show where sports and Halloween mingle, only this time it\u2019s baseball. Danny (Griffin Gluck) and his team of lovable misfits work on ways to avoid being monstered.<\/p>\n
\u201cGrey\u2019s Anatomy,\u201d ABC, 9 p.m. Thursday. Odd as it might sound, doctor shows have long had a soft spot for Halloween. Shows like \u201cER\u201d would have patients appear in weird costumes with weird maladies, and surprise, that\u2019s pretty much what happens with \u201cGrey\u2019s.\u201d<\/p>\n
NBC will air its traditional \u201cSaturday Night Live\u201d Halloween special Thursday at 8 p.m.<\/p>\n
CBS is even putting a Halloween touch on its daytime lineup Thursday, with holiday-themed editions of \u201cThe Talk,\u201d \u201cThe Young and the Restless,\u201d \u201cThe Bold and the Beautiful,\u201d \u201cThe Price Is Right\u201d and \u201cLet\u2019s Make a Deal.\u201d If you\u2019ve always wanted to see \u201cPrice\u201d announcer George Gray as a disembodied head, this is your chance.<\/p>\n
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