Fox, 8:00 p.m. ET
The Kansas City Royals have a 2-0 edge in this year’s World Series, winning both games at home – the first in an extra-innings epic battle, the second in a blowout where it dominated with both pitching and hitting. Now comes Game 3, from New York, with the Mets trying to use the home crowd to spur it to its first victory in this 2015 contest.
TCM, 8:00 p.m. ET
’Twas the night before Halloween, and all through the house, TVs are all tuned to… well, they’re tuned to lots of things, because many, many networks are filling their Friday schedules with spooky televised treats. TCM, for example, has a night devoted to horror filmmaker Val Lewton, beginning at 8 p.m. ET with his 1942 classic, Cat People (starring Simone Simon, pictured), a sort of film noir monster movie. Next, at 9:30 p.m. ET, comes a repeat of an excellent perspective-providing documentary, Martin Scorsese Presents: Val Lewton: The Man in the Shadows, followed by several of the producer’s many moody movies, starting with three released in the same year, 1943: The Seventh Victim at 11 p.m. ET, The Leopard Man at 12:15 a.m. ET, and The Ghost Ship at 1:30 a.m. ET. And there’s more, so stay tuned…
PBS, 9:00 p.m. ET
John Mauceri conducts the full orchestra for this multimedia presentation, which includes filmmaker Tim Burton’s sketches, film clips, and story boards, accompanying the whimsical, magical movie music by Burton’s frequent collaborator, Danny Elfman. Elfman also appears in person here, as guest vocalist, singing the role of Jack Skellington in a song from The Nightmare Before Christmas. Other music heard is from Batman, Edward Scissorhands, Beetlejuice and more. Great fun should be had by all. Check local listings.
Destination America, 9:00 p.m. ET
This is not a recommendation – just a note to those seeking bizarre Halloween-themed programming tonight. Not since Geraldo Rivera entered Al Capone’s vault has live TV offered up such an obvious carney stunt – but here it is. The exorcism scheduled to be performed isn’t on a person, but on a house – which makes it a minor exorcism, not a major one. (I would have considered this a minor TV event, regardless.) It takes place at the same suburban St. Louis house in which a reported 1940s demonic possession of “James Doe” inspired author William Peter Blatty to write The Exorcist. Trying to rid this house of its evil spirits – who, if they’re still present, must really like hanging out in the suburbs of St. Louis – is a team led by James Long, Archbishop of the United States Old Catholic Church, which is not affiliated with the Roman Catholic Church. Long, however, is affiliated with several paranormal TV programs, including The Possessed, Gates of Hell, and The Haunted Boy: The Secret Diary of the Exorcist. Helping the Archbishop on this televised Long shot: a group of paranormal researchers who call themselves the Tennessee Wraith Chasers. Sounds more like a drink. Will I be taping this to watch later? Yes. Would I watch it live with a World Series game on, or recommend it to you? In two well-chosen words: Hell, no.
IFC, 9:00 p.m. ET
With a female remake in production, and with Halloween just around the corner, you’ve got two good extra reasons to watch this 1984 comedy classic, starring Bill Murray, Harold Ramis and Dan Aykroyd. But who needs extra reasons? That trio of comics, plus the special effects, and supporting scene-stealers Rick Moranis and Sigourney Weaver, add up to more than enough reasons to sit back and enjoy.