SUNDAY
OCTOBER 1
2017

BIANCULLI’S BEST BETS

 

Fox, 8:00 p.m. ET

SEASON PREMIERE: This is the Season 29 premiere for The Simpsons, which has been on TV, as a stand-alone spinoff from the even older The Tracey Ullman Show, since its 1989 Christmas special. Tonight, to start its new year, The Simpsons takes a look back. Way, way, back, to medieval times, in a Game of Thrones-inspired spoof special called “The Serfsons.”

 
  
 
 

TCM, 8:00 p.m. ET

Every Sunday in October, TCM is paying tribute to Dracula the character – as written originally by Bram Stoker in 1897, and brought to the screen in various incarnations ever since. Tonight’s kickoff evening begins with 1931’s Dracula, starring Bela Lugosi, the most famous Dracula of them all (pictured). But it also includes, tonight, that movie’s, and that character’s, official Universal offspring: 1936’s Dracula’s Daughter (9:30 p.m. ET), starring Gloria Holden, and 1943’s Son of Dracula (11 p.m. ET), starring Lon Chaney Jr. And, later, it includes the classic silent movie that was inspired by Stoker’s novel (but without securing film adaptation rights, so character names are different), and predated Lugosi’s Dracula by nine years: F.W. Murnau’s moody, expressionistic 1922 silent film, Nosferatu (12:30 a.m. ET).

 
  
 
 

Fox, 8:30 p.m. ET

SERIES PREMIERE: This new half-hour Fox comedy is a sort of X-Files played for laughs, with NBC sitcom vets Craig Robinson and Adam Scott teaming up for an odd-couple buddy comedy. Ally Walker, making a welcome if unexpectedly different return to TV, plays the boss at a secret government facility who enlists the two – one a former professor, the other a former cop – to investigate a mysterious case involving a paranormal phenomenon. Like The Orville, this series almost works better as a straight series than as a full-out parody – and, like The Orville, is more fun to watch than you might expect. For full reviews, see David Hinckley's All Along the Watchtower and Ed Bark's Uncle Barky's Bytes.
 
  
 
 

CBS All Access, 8:30 p.m. ET

Episode 3. Just a reminder: Last week, this newest Star Trek spinoff premiered on CBS, then immediately shifted gears by making the second episode available exclusively on its new streaming subscription service, CBS All Access. All other new episodes of Star Trek: Discovery will appear exclusively on CBS All Access, premiering Sundays at 8:30 p.m. ET – as with tonight’s scheduled unveiling of episode three. Sonequa Martin-Green stars as First Officer Michael Burnham – and long-time Trek fans should pay careful attention to what’s on her desk in the accompanying photo from this episode. That’s right, Trekkies – it’s a Tribble!

 
  
 
 

HBO, 9:00 p.m. ET

Last week, Vinnie and Frankie opened their bar, the Hi-Hat, and Vinnie hired Abby as a waitress just in time for opening night. Tonight, Vinnie’s quest to get closer to Abby enjoys a little success. But the bar was a success from the start – a neighborhood feat that doesn’t go unnoticed by the mob-connected boss running the area known as “The Deuce.”

 
  
 
 

Showtime, 9:00 p.m. ET

This season, Ray Donovan has spent a lot of time shuffling among various time frames – and tonight, it continues that tradition, and focuses on a character entirely missing from last week’s episode: Paula Malcomson’s Abby.

 
  
 
 

HBO, 10:00 p.m. ET

SERIES RETURN: In a word: Hooray. Larry David’s Curb Your Enthusiasm is back with new episodes, returning after a seven-year self-imposed hiatus. The premiere wasn’t made available for preview, but that didn’t stop me from filing a radio piece about the show’s return anyway for NPR’s Fresh Air with Terry Gross.
 
  
 
 

Showtime, 10:00 p.m. ET

This is the penultimate episode of Episodes, which is calling it quits with next week’s Season 6 finale. In tonight’s show, Matt LeBlanc and his writer buddies and agent all have a pitch meeting with the network for the new series proposal they hope to launch with LeBlanc as the star. With time running out, though, the future doesn’t look too bright.

 
  
 
 

HBO, 11:10 p.m. ET

Last week on Last Week Tonight with John Oliver, the host reached down below his desk, pulled out a brand-new Emmy award, and showed off for just a second. And with good reason.

 
  
 
 
 
 
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David Bianculli

Founder / Editor

David Bianculli has been a TV critic since 1975, including a 14-year stint at the New York Daily News, and sees no reason to stop now. Currently, he's TV critic for NPR's Fresh Air with Terry Gross, and is an occasional substitute host for that show. He's also an author and teaches TV and film history at New Jersey's Rowan University. His 2009 Dangerously Funny: The Uncensored Story of 'The Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour', has been purchased for film rights. His latest, The Platinum Age of Television: From I Love Lucy to the Walking Dead, How TV Became Terrific, is an effusive guidebook that plots the path from the 1950s’ Golden Age to today’s era of quality TV.