Off the Wall: LI and life in the 'burbs
A scene from "Suburgatory," an all-new comedy on ABC. Credit: ABC
Off the Wall wonders what life would be like without 'burbs.
LONG ISLAND = SUBURGATORY? Levittown, Wyandanch, Greenlawn, Sayville, Islip, Brookhaven and Hempstead all play a part in "Suburban America: Problems & Promise" (Saturday night at 8, WLIW/21), a new documentary from LI-based Ron Rudaitis. The Emmy-winning filmmaker visits suburbs around the country to explore changing demographics, shifts in political impact, and growing needs in transportation, infrastructure and social services. Preview at rudaitismedia.com.
HALLOWEEN SPECIALS Among the holiday happenings: tonight's family-friendly hour "Fred 2: Night of the Living Fred" (8 p.m., Nickelodeon). Also this week: "Martha Stewart's Haunted House" (Monday at 8 p.m., Hallmark), with guest Justin Long; animated perennial "It's the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown" (Thursday, 8-9 p.m., ABC), and the new countdown special "Chiller 13: Horror's Creepiest Kids" (Friday, 8-9:30 p.m., Chiller).
HALLOWEEN MOVIES Among big-screen tricks on tap: "The Addams Family" and "Addams Family Values" (Saturday night at 8 and 10, also Friday at 7 and 9 p.m., ABC Family); Joan Crawford as an ax murderer in William Castle's "Strait-Jacket" (Monday night at midnight, Turner Classic Movies); John Carpenter's original "Halloween" (Monday at 8 p.m., Wednesday at 10 p.m., AMC), plus Jamie Lee Curtis' return with Josh Hartnett in 1998's "Halloween H2O" (Wednesday at 8 p.m., AMC). Find lots more cinema scares in schedules at antennatv.tv, amctv.com, abcfamily.com, fxnetwork.com, syfy.com, tcm.com.
HALLOWEEN SITCOMS Funny frights in the coming week include Tim Allen's new "Last Man Standing" (Tuesday at 8 p.m., ABC/7) and "The Big Bang Theory" (Thursday at 8 p.m., CBS/2). Mini-marathons run on ABC Wednesday with "The Middle" (8 p.m.), "Suburgatory" (8:30 p.m.), "Modern Family" (9 p.m.) and "Happy Endings" (9:30 p.m., all Wednesday on ABC/7), and on NBC/4 Thursday with "Community" (8 p.m.), "Parks and Recreation" (8:30 p.m.), "The Office" (9 p.m.), "Whitney" (9:30 p.m., all on NBC/4).
HALLOWEEN DRAMAS Or hourlong shows, at least, since some also can be silly, such as "Psych" (Wednesday at 10 p.m., USA) and "Chuck" (Friday at 8 p.m., NBC). Other Hallo-hours include a Zachary Quinto guest shot on "American Horror Story" (Wednesday at 10 p.m., FX), "CSI: NY" (Friday at 9 p.m., CBS) and the series premiere of "Grimm" (Friday at 9 p.m., NBC).
FUNNY/NOT FUNNY Remember Kelsey Grammer, witty in his '90s sitcom "Frasier" (weekdays at 4 and 4:30 p.m., WLNY/10/55) while you watch him intimidate in his new political drama, "Boss" (Friday at 10 p.m., Starz). Video at starz.com/boss.
SILLY SERIES PREMIERES Not reality-show silly, either. These shows involve actual comedy writers! Mike Judge revives his '90s animated fave "Beavis and Butt-head" (Thursday at 10 p.m., MTV), to mock current pop culture like the "Twilight" craze. It's paired with another animated half-hour, "Good Vibes" (Thursday at 10:30 p.m., MTV), where a transplanted Jersey teen seeks fun in the California sun. More at mtv.com/ontv.
Sarra Sounds Off, Ep. 15: LI's top basketball players On the latest episode of "Sarra Sounds Off," Newsday's Gregg Sarra and Matt Lindsay take a look top boys and girls basketball players on Long Island.
