Laurel’s TV Picks

Joan of Arcadia (CBS, 7pm)
Brent Spiner on Star Trek: Enterprise (UPN, 7pm)
Chris Elliott & Aidan Quinn on Third Watch (NBC, 8pm)
Dom DeLuise, Burt Reynolds, Charles Durning, Charles Nelson Reilly, and Jon Favreau on Dinner For Five (IFC, 9pm and midnight)
Ann Coulter, Kevin Costner, Richard Belzer, General Wesley Clark, and Thomas Friedman on Real Time with Bill Maher (HBO, 10pm).

The WB has cancelled Grounded For Life.

Check out TV Tattle and TV Barn for more news.

Sci-Fi mini-marathon du jour: Roswell (Sci-Fi, 7am – 3pm).

“Seeing Red” and “Villains” episodes of Buffy the Vampire Slayer (FX, Noon, 1pm).

Alyssa Milano, David Copperfield, 10-year-old spider expert Elizabeth Mule on The Ellen DeGeneres Show (syndicated, check your local listings).

“Tony’s Halloween Fright Fest Spectacular” on The Tony Danza Show (syndicated, check your local listings).

“Credit Card Debt” on The Jane Pauley Show (syndicated, check your local listings).

“Gastric Bypass Controversy” with guest Carnie Wilson on Dr. Phil (syndicated, check your local listings).

“The Ugliest Bedroom in America Gets a Makeover” on Oprah (syndicated, check your local listings) with designer Nate Berkus.

“P.S. I Lo . . .” episode of Gilmore Girls (ABC Family, 4pm).

“In The Dark” episode of Angel (TNT, 4pm).

New Andromeda (Sci-Fi, 6pm). Airs later in syndication.

“Tricks for Treats” episode of Good Eats (Food Network, 6pm).

Rerun of the “Store Wars” episode of Foster’s Home for Imaginary Friends (Cartoon Network, 6pm and 9:30pm). Where Bloo wants to buy a present for Madame Foster and the rest of the gang tags along and has adventures at the mall.

Crazy Candy Unwrapped (Food Network, 6:30pm).

God tells Joan of Arcadia (CBS, 7pm) to help her Mom collect clothes for the needy. Kevin tries comedy to impress his ex (played by Kimberly McCullough of General Hospital, Once and Again).

Brent Spiner (of Star Trek: The Next Generation) begins a three-episode run on Star Trek: Enterprise (UPN, 7pm). He’s playing the great great (great?) grandfather of the scientist who created Data, who just happens to be a similar sort of scientist. Supposedly this storyline will involve some of the events of the Eugenics War that were mentioned in Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan. The Klingons end up at war with Earth. There’s also a subplot involving Orion slave traders. Part 1 of 3.

Rerun of the most recent three episodes of The Wire (HBO, 7pm, 8pm, 9pm). In case you need to catch up before Sunday’s new episode.

Bummed out ‘cuz the baseball season is over? Maybe you’d like to check out pre-season NBA basketball on ESPN tonight. If I can’t watch the Twins, I’m happy to watch the Timberwolves (but maybe that’s just me, I know not everyone enjoys both baseball and basketball).

Halloween episode of What I Like About You (WB, 7pm).

New Halloween episodes of the ABC T.G.I.F. lineup: 8 Simple Rules (ABC, 7pm); Complete Savages (ABC, 7:30pm); Carol Kane guest stars on Hope & Faith (ABC, 8pm); Less Than Perfect (ABC, 8:30pm).

KISS performs on A Scooby Doo Halloween (WB, 7:30pm).

Aidan Quinn and Chris Elliott guest star on Third Watch (NBC, 8pm). Elliott plays a serial killer.

Dean Stockwell, Andrew J. Robinson, and Dr. Joyce Brothers guest star on JAG (CBS, 8pm).

A tribute to Christopher Reeve on Larry King Live (CNN, 8pm, 11pm, 2am).

Rerun of the “Baby, It’s You” two part crossover between Law & Order (TNT, 8pm) and Homicide: Life on the Street (TNT, 9pm). From 1997 (season six of Homicide). The Law & Order parts of these crossovers will not be on the Homicide DVD sets (and vice versa).

Erik Palladino (of ER) guest stars as Joey Pants’ best friend on dr. vegas (CBS, 9pm). Harry Groener (who was The Mayor on Buffy) returns. If you’re trying to choose between this show and Medical Investigation, you might want to pick this one as it hasn’t yet been picked up (so it’s fate is still uncertain, may be rerun less if at all). Whereas Medical Investigation has been picked up for a full season and has already been rerun successfully. Neither show is all that good really, I consider them both “second string” shows.

There’s an anthrax scare on Medical Investigation (NBC, 9pm). This show has been picked up for a full season.

Dom DeLuise, Burt Reynolds, Charles Durning, Charles Nelson Reilly, and Jon Favreau on Dinner For Five (IFC, 9pm and midnight).

Joe Simpson (father of Jessica Simpson and Ashlee Simpson) talks with Elizabeth Vargas, “Test Your Gaydar,” “Animating The Incredibles,” and a look at public funding for stem cell research on 20/20 (ABC, 9pm).

Ann Coulter, Kevin Costner, Richard Belzer (of Homicide, Law & Order: SVU), General Wesley Clark, and columnist Thomas Friedman on Real Time with Bill Maher (HBO, 10pm).

Battle Pumpkin on Iron Chef (Food, 10pm).

Richard Gere, magician Jason Randal on a rerun of The Late Show with David Letterman (CBS, 10:35pm).

Paris Hilton, Orlando Jones, Anita Baker on a rerun of The Tonight Show (NBC, 10:35pm).

Gisele Bundchen, Jesse James, Auf Der Maur on a rerun of Late Night with Conan O’Brien (NBC, 11:35pm).

David Alan Grier, Kimberly Williams-Paisley on Jimmy Kimmel Live (ABC, check your local listings).

Guest host still TBA; with guests Dominic Monaghan (of Lost, Lord of the Rings), Dallas Mavericks owner Mark Cuban (of The Benefactor), musical guest Lil’ Wayne on The Late Late Show (CBS, check your local listings).

Julie Bowen, Fat Joe, Dressy Bessy, Parasite, Stephen Lynch, Marilyn Stults, Hugh McMahon on Last Call with Carson Daly (NBC, check your local listings).

I’m still working on weekend picks.
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