What's On Tonight (Friday): Halloween Horrors Pale Next to Those of Puberty...

   

Big Mouth

Yes, I know I made Big Mouth a Top Pick in the past (possibly more than once), but my philosophy is Top Pick should be whatever I am most likely to watch (or would watch if I had access to whatever channel or streamer it's on).  As many interesting premieres as there are this week, Big Mouth is the only one I can say I will 100% watch all the way through.  It's one of the few shows my wife and I watch together (Great British Baking Show being another, so we've been spending more time together of late).  It's hilarious, heartfelt, disgusting, edgy, and deals with puberty and adolescence in a way I don't think any show has ever done or come close to.  So, yeah, I'm giving Big Mouth Top Pick.  And I'll do it again.  I regret nothing.

TOP PICK

⭐💋 Big Mouth (Netflix, 3:01 AM) SEASON SEVEN. 'The youngsters of Bridgeton are facing a huge transition: they’re now teens and are transitioning from middle school towards high school.'

Elsewhere...

*This week's film guilty of not putting out any kind of trailer less than 24 hours before it premieres is the sci-fi-rom-com If You Were the Last starring Anthony Mackie and Zoe Chao and premiering on Peacock.  I'm only assuming it's a sci-fi-rom-com from the description below since there's no goddamn trailer.  It's not like this is a bad movie either!  It's at 88% fresh!  So why no trailer?  It's bizarre.

*Peacock also has the streaming premiere of one of the biggest bombs of the summer, Ruby Gillman: Teenage Kraken.  The concept is stupid, and I can't imagine it appealing to hardly anyone, so naturally I assumed after watching the trailer that it must be based on a series of young adult books.  It is not.  It's an original film and had been in development for years.  Hopefully it's a secret masterpiece that will be discovered on streaming by a new generation, but I'm not getting that vibe yet.

*Disney+ had a hit last year with Marvel's Werewolf at Night.  I'm a pretty big Marvel apologist (Captain Marvel's cat was funny!) but Werewolf at Night was genuinely good.  It's an old school style black & white horror film with a lot of practical effects and is less than an hour long.  What's not to love?  Its violence was surprisingly graphic for Marvel (still tame by normal horror standards), but I guess the thought was it isn't as shocking in black and white.  Well, Disney decided we could handle the color of blood and is premiering a colorized version of the film. I appreciate that the colorization process makes it look like an old Turner colorized film.  Or maybe they just did a shitty job?  Either reason is acceptable.  I'll be watching.

*Bill Burr is making his directorial debut with Old Dads on Netflix, which he also wrote and stars in.  I like a lot of Bill Burr's work, and he's a surprisingly solid actor, but unless word of mouth is good, I'll probably give this a pass.  Everything about the film screams "KIDS THESE DAYS" and I've never been into that.  If I find out later that it's more or better than that basic concept, I'll give it a try.

PREMIERES

Silver Dollar Road

🎥 Silver Dollar Road (Amazon, 12:01 AM) 'Follows the story of the Reels family who are valiantly attempting to protect the land their family bought one generation after slavery. This documentary, based on the 2019 ProPublica article, highlights the covert ways the legal system has been exploited to keep Black land ownership fragile and the racial wealth gap growing.'

🎥 The Pigeon Tunnel (Apple, 12:01 AM) 'Academy Award winner Errol Morris pulls back the curtain on the storied life of David Cornwell, the former spy known to the literary world as John le Carré.'

👹 Creature (Netflix, 3:01 AM) SEASON ONE. 'The biggest wish of Ziya, an adventurous, rebellious and excited young medical student, is to be a very good physician and cure many epidemics that medicine cannot find a cure for. Doctor İhsan is almost the only person in this world who could understand him. These two eccentric and wounded souls will pay a heavy price for the secret and forbidden experiment they embarked on together...'

🎥 Disco Inferno (Netflix, 3:01 AM) 'A young couple conjures a dark presence that hungers for their unborn baby as they prepare to burn up the dance floor at LA's hottest disco.'

🔔 Doona! (Netflix, 3:01 AM) 'A college student navigates life and school while dealing with a unique predicament — he's living with a beautiful former K-pop sensation.'

🎥 Flashback (Netflix. 3:01 AM) 'A yoga teacher's life flashes before her eyes during a deadly home invasion, sending her on a desperate race through her past to save the man she loves.'

🎥 Kandasamys: The Baby (Netflix, 3:01 AM) 'The in-laws head to Mauritius for the birth of their grandchild and stir up comic trouble in this fourth installment of the Kandasamy franchise.

🎥 Old Dads (Netflix, 3:01 AM) 'A cranky middle-aged dad and his two best friends find themselves out of step in a changing world or millennial CEOs and powerful preschool principals. Written and directed by Bill Burr, who also stars.'

Old Dads

🏝 Surviving Paradise (Netflix, 3:01 AM) 'In this competition, contestants must start their journey camping in the wilderness. Relying on strategy and tactics, players will have to build alliances and friendships to win a place in the villa. Those who secure a ticket to paradise by the end of the game will have a chance of winning the huge cash prize.'

🎥 Vjeran Tomic: The Spider-Man of Paris (Netflix, 3:01 AM) 'In his own words, the burglar behind the 2010 robbery of the Paris Museum of Modern Art tells how he pulled off the biggest art heist in French history.'

🎥 If You Were the Last (Peacock, 3:01 AM) 'Adam and Jane are three years into a NASA mission that has gone very wrong: Their ship is broken and drifting between Jupiter and Saturn. Finding ways to pass the time as they become certain that no one is coming to save them, they argue over what to do. One day, Adam poses that maybe they should sleep together; Jane laughs the idea off, but it prompts a flirty debate about whether they're better off spending their remaining days as friends or something more.  Starring Anthony Mackie, Zoe Chao and Natalie Morales.'

🎥 Ruby Gillman: Teenage Kracken (Peacock, 3:01 AM) STREAMING PREMIERE. 'Sweet, awkward 16-year-old Ruby Gillman is desperate to fit in at Oceanside High, but she mostly just feels invisible. She's math-tutoring her skater-boy crush, who only seems to admire her for her fractals, and she's prevented from hanging out with the cool kids at the beach because her over-protective supermom has forbade Ruby from ever getting in the water. But when she breaks her mom's #1 rule, Ruby will discover that she is a direct descendant of the warrior Kraken queens and is destined to inherit the throne from her commanding grandmother, the Warrior Queen of the Seven Seas.'

🎥 Night of the Hunted (Shudder, 3:01 AM) 'When an unsuspecting woman stops at a remote gas station in the dead of night, she's made the plaything of a sociopathic sniper with a secret vendetta. To survive she must not only dodge his bullets and fight for her life, but also figure out who wants her dead and why....'

🔨 Cabin Chronicles Renovation (Magnolia, 8:00 PM) 'Chronicles the restoration and renovation of cabins across the United States.'

🎥 Checkin' It Twice (Hallmark, 8:00 PM) 'Sparks fly between a hockey player and a real estate agent after he moves into a cottage in her family's backyard.'

Ruby Gillman: Teenage Kraken

RETURNING SHOWS

🔔 Upload (Amazon, 12:01 AM) SEASON THREE PREMIERE.

🔔 Shape Island (Apple, 12:01 AM) "Creepy Cave Crawl" SPECIAL PRESENTATION.

👮‍♂️ Basch: Legacy (Freevee, 12:01 AM) SEASON TWO PREMIERE.

🐺 Werewolf by Night in Color (Hulu, 12:01 AM & Disney+, 3:01 AM) SPECIAL PRESENTATION.

🏠 Beach Cottage Chronicles (Discovery+ & Max, 3:01 AM) SEASON THREE PREMIERE.

🔨 First Time Fixer (Discovery+ & Max, 3:01 AM) SEASON FIVE PREMIERE.

💋 Big Mouth (Netflix, 3:01 AM) SEASON SEVEN.

🔔 Elite (Netflix, 3:01 AM) SEASON SEVEN.

🎥 The Last Drive-In with Joe Bob Briggs (AMC+ & Shudder, 9:00 PM) "Joe Bob's Helloween" SPECIAL PRESENTATION.

STREAMING

🔔 Gen V (Amazon, 12:01 AM) 

⚗ Lessons in Chemistry (Apple, 12:01 AM) "Living Dead Things" 

🔔 Still Up (Apple, 12:01 AM) "The Horse" 

⚖ Tribunal Justice (Freevee, 12:01 AM) 

🧟‍♂️ Goosebumps (Hulu, 12:01 AM & Disney+, 3:01 AM) 

🔔 Deane's Dynasty (Max, 3:01 AM) 

🔔 Who's Talking to Chris Wallace (Max, 3:01 AM) 

🍰 The Great British Baking Show (Netflix, 3:01 AM) 

🔔 Undead Unluck (Hulu, 2:01 PM) 

Creature

LIVE SPORTSBALL TODAY/TONIGHT

🏎 Formula 1 Racing: United States Grand Prix, Qualifying (ESPN2, 4:55 PM)

🏌️‍♀️ LPGA Tour Golf: BMW Ladies Championship, Second Round (Golf, 5:30 PM)

🏎 NASCAR Xfinity Racing Series: Contender Boats 300, Qualifying (USA, 6:00 PM)

🏈 College Football: SMU at Temple (ESPN2, 7:00 PM)

⛸ Figure Skating: ISU Grand Prix: Skate America (E, 7:30 PM)

🏈 High School Football: St. John's College High School (DC) at Dematha (MD) (ESPNU, 8:00 PM)

⚾ MLB Baseball: Philadelphia Phillies at Arizona Diamondbacks (TBS & TruTV, 8:00 PM)

🏀 2023 WNBA Finals: New York Liberty at Las Vegas Aces (ESPN, 9:00 PM)

🐮 PBR Camping World Team Series (CBSSN, 11:00 PM)

🏌️‍♂️ PGA Tour Golf: ZOZO Championship, Third Round (Golf, 11:00 PM)

Night of the Hunted

🕗 EARLY PRIMETIME 🕖

🔔 Kyla & the Kimoja Heroes (Disney Jr., 4:00 PM) 
💲 Switch (GSN, 7:00 PM) 
🧟‍♂️ Monster High (Nickelodeon, 7:30 PM) 

🕗 8:00 EASTERN / 🕖 7:00 CENTRAL

🦈 Shark Tank (ABC, 8:00 PM) 'A portable outdoor game that combines pickleball and Spikeball; a pet-sitting service for weddings and events; a high-fashion bodysuit; gourmet made-to-order French fries.'

🔔 Power Book IV: Force (Starz, 8:00 PM) 'Tommy makes bold moves to connect CBI directly with the cartel as he hustles to stay ahead of the many adversaries out for his blood; Diamond is forced to make a decision that has dire consequences.'

💰 The Price is Right at Night (CBS, 8:00 PM) 
🤼‍♂️ WWE's Friday Night Smackdown (Fox, 8:00 PM) 
🔔 The Very Very Best of the 80s (AXS TV, 8:00 PM) 
💰 Gold Rush (Discovery, 8:00 PM) 
🎥 Checkin' It Twice (Hallmark, 8:00 PM) 
🔨 Cabin Chronicles Renovation (Magnolia, 8:00 PM) 
🚗 Engine Masters (Motortrend, 8:00 PM) 
🔔 Ridiculousness (MTV, 8:00 PM) 
💖 Ready to Love: Make a Move (OWN, 8:00 PM) 
👮‍♂️ On Patrol: First Shift (Reelz, 8:00 PM) 

🕗 9:00 EASTERN / 🕖 8:00 CENTRAL

🎭 Next at the Kennedy Center (PBS, 9:00 PM) 'Exploring the impact of Indigenous performing arts cultures, with performances and interviews with Ty Defoe, Martha Redbone and electronic music duo The Halluci Nation.'

👽 The Unexplained (History, 9:00 PM) 'Age-old mysterious ruins stand as silent sentinels from the past, with their true history seemingly erased by time; modern archaeology attempts to unravel the enigma of how and why the ancient structures were built.'

🔔 Shining Vale (Starz, 9:00 PM) 'As the family struggles to reconnect, Pat's peculiar new neighbor brings a logical explanation for her psychotic break.'

💰 Raid the Cage (CBS, 9:00 PM) 
💀 Dateline NBC (NBC, 9:00 PM) 
💀 Killer Cases (A&E 9:00 PM) 
💰 Bering Sea Gold (Discovery Channel, 9:00 PM) 
🍴 Diners, Drive-Ins & Dives (Food, 9:00 PM) 
🏠 My Lottery Dream Home (HGTV, 9:00 PM) 
🔨 Beachfront Bargain Hunt Renovation (Magnolia, 9:00 PM) 
🚗 Hot Rod Garage (Motortrend, 9:00 PM) 
🔔 Ridiculousness (MTV, 9:00 PM) 
🏈 A Football Life Origins (NFLN, 9:00 PM)
🔨 Rebuilding Black Wall Street (OWN, 9:00 PM) 
💀 Real Murders of Los Angeles (Oxygen, 9:00 PM) 
👮‍♂️ On Patrol: Live (Reelz, 9:00 PM) 
🎥 The Last Drive-In with Joe Bob Briggs (Shudder, 9:00 PM) 
💖 Love After Lockup (WE, 9:00 PM) 
🔔 20/20 (ABC, 9:01 PM) 

Vjeran Tomic: The Spider-Man of Paris 

🕗 10:00 EASTERN / 🕖 9:00 CENTRAL

🎨 Art21: Art in the Twenty First Century (PBS, 3:01 AM) 'Linda Goode Bryant, Miranda July, Cannupa Hanska Luger and Christine Sun Kim.'

🔔 Real Time with Bill Maher (HBO, 10:00 PM) 
🤼‍♂️ All Elite Wrestling: Rampage (TNT, 10:00 PM) 
💀 Murder in the 21st (A&E, 10:01 PM) 
👽 The Proof is Out There (History, 10:03 PM) 

LATE NIGHT

💰 Mysteries of the Abandoned (Discovery Channel, 11:05 PM) 'Conspiracies swirl around an abandoned military base in Long Island, where it's alleged that covert government experiments took place underground; experts discuss the critical role that the base played in defending America's coastline.'

🔔 The Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallon (NBC, 11:34 PM) 'Musician Keith Richards; boxer Canelo Álvarez; 2 Chainz and Lil Wayne perform.'

🔔 Late Night with Seth Myers (NBC, 12:37 PM) 'Comic Tracy Morgan; political commentator Chris Hayes; Craig Reynolds sits in with the 8G Band.'

🔔 Jimmy Kimmel Live! (ABC, 11:35 PM)
🔔 The Late Show with Stephen Colbert (CBS, 11:35 PM) 
🔔 Nightline (ABC, 12:37 AM)
🔔 The Late Late Show with James Corden (CBS, 12:37 AM) 

📺Broadcast/Cable/Satellite - RETRO BINGE📺

The Andy Griffith Show (Sundance, 6:00 AM - 12:00 PM); Law & Order (Pop, 6:00 AM - 8:00 PM); Futurama (Comedy Central, 7:00 AM - 10:10 AM); M*A*S*H* (TVLand, 8:30 AM - 11:00 AM); Roseanne (CMT, 9:00 AM - 12:00 PM); South Park (Comedy Central, 10:10 AM - 2:00 PM); Living Single (TVOne, 9:00 AM - 12:00 PM); Hawaii Five-0 (Ion, 10:00 AM - 2:00 AM); Gunsmoke (TVLand, 12:00 PM - 4:00 PM); Seinfeld (Comedy Central, 2:00 PM - 6:00 PM) - The Andy Griffith Show (TVLand, 4:00 PM - 7:00 PM); Family Ties (Antenna, 5:00 PM - 6:00 PM); One Day at a Time (Antenna, 6:00 PM - 7:00 PM); The Office (Comedy Central, 6:00 PM - 11:00 PM); Three's Company (Antenna, 7:00 PM - 8:00 PM); Everybody Loves Raymond (TVLand, 7:00 PM - 11:05 PM); The Jeffersons (Antenna, 8:00 PM -9:00 PM); Barney Miller (Antennae, 9:00 PM - 10:00 PM); King of Queens (TVLand, 11:05 PM - 2:00 AM); Designing Women (Antenna, 11:30 PM); Becker (Antenna, 12:00 AM - 1:00 AM); Wings (Antennae, 1:00 AM - 2:00 AM); Alice (Antenna, 2:00 AM - 3:00 AM); Mom (TVLand, 2:00 AM - 3:45 AM); Benson (Antenna, 3:00 AM - 4:00 AM)

📺 Johnny Carson (Antenna, 10:00 PM) 'Actor Carl Reiner; comedian David Brenner; actress Madlyn Rhue; actor Burt Mustin.'

Werewolf by Night in Color

Key Sources: The Futon Critic; Zap2it; Netflix; Wikipedia; Horrornews.net; Sysfy.com; hollywoodreporter.com

⭐: Top Pick
💲: Game show
🎥: Movie
📺: Throwback
✔️: Video/gif/photo included