Tube Notes
By Mike Hughes
Gannett News Service
TONIGHT'S MUST-SEE
"Saturday Night Live," 10:30 p.m., NBC. Many Americans know Hugh Laurie as a dead-serious drama actor, starring in "House." That's just the start, though. Long before "House," Laurie showed a brilliant comic touch in England. He co-starred in Rowan Atkinson's wonderful "Blackadder" shows then starred with Stephen Fry in "Jeeves and Wooster" and "A Bit of Fry and Laurie." This is a gifted comedy talent. He hosts tonight with Beck as the musical guest.
"Halloween on Ice," 10:30 a.m., NBC. This special goes all-out to catch the seasonal mood. It even has Mannheim Steamroller there to play appropriately creepy music. Nancy Kerrigan is listed as the star but generally lets the others do the big work. The emphasis is on fun, not on lyrical beauty with entertaining routines by Kurt Browning, Todd Eldredge, Shae-Lynn Bourne, Steven Cousins, Josef Sabovcik and more. At the end of the hour, Kerrigan does offer a long, elegant routine based on a "Wicked" number. It's a strong finish.
OF NOTE
"World Series," 1:30 p.m., Fox. This is supposed to be the sixth game of the best-of-seven series with the Detroit Tigers hosting the St. Louis Cardinals. If the best-of-seven series is already wrapped up, Fox will revert to airing other programming.
"Pumpkinhead III: Ashes to Ashes," 6 p.m., Sci-Fi Channel. A nasty mortuary has been selling body parts. Now it comes across a vengeful monster, one that seems straight from Grade-D horror films of the past. This new film is the third in a series after a long gap. The others were theatrically released in 1989 and 1994.
"Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban" (2004), 7 p.m., ABC. The third Harry Potter film takes a darker tone, with Gary Oldman as an evil wizard who is also an escaped convict.
"CSI: NY," 8 p.m., CBS. In a rerun, a rich man is killed as he steps out of his apartment elevator. The young woman who was with him manages to flee.
"Kidnapped," 8 p.m., NBC. This new episode has Knapp (Jeremy Sisto) and King (Delroy Lindo) learning details about Schroeder who masterminded the kidnapping of young Leopold. Meanwhile, Leopold has managed to spot a cell phone. He struggles to reach it before its battery run out.
"Law & Order: Special Victims Unit," 9 p.m., NBC. Here's a rerun of the hour that introduced Connie Nielsen as Dani Beck, a temporary character during Mariska Hargitay's maternity leave. She probes the disappearance of two teens who were on a field trip.