Seven days of television: October 28 to November 3
A select viewing guide to the next seven days of television
MONDAY OCTOBER 28 Money Moron (Slice, 8 p.m.) Financial expert Gail Vaz-Oxlade is still doing her darndest to educate Canadians on money matters, one household at a time. As with her other series Til Death Do Us Part and Princess, this new series focuses on the savvy money planner as she attempts to rehabilitate people who are really, really bad when it comes to spending and saving. Tonight, Gail busts out the tough love on a young man named Dan, whose reckless spending has forced him and his pregnant wife to move in with his mother. The road to recovery begins with cutting up the credit cards.
TUESDAY OCTOBER 29 NCIS (CBS, Global, 8 p.m.) Still the most watched drama on U.S. network television (which CBS touts in ads running by the hour), this sturdy crime procedural series keeps viewers coming back each Monday night with no-frills storylines in which the good guys always win. In tonight’s new outing, special agent Gibbs (Mark Harmon) teams with the coast guard to investigate a deadly explosion on-board an oil rig. Former NCIS cast regular Diane Neal returns to her former role as special agent Abigail Borin.
WEDNESDAY OCTOBER 30 Raw to Ready (PBS, 9 p.m.) It’s reality-TV, PBS-style! Slickly produced and with minimal narration, this four-part PBS series deconstructs the science and human ingenuity behind the creation of iconic machines all over the world. Tonight’s show focuses on the impressive highway institution known as the Mack Truck, which hauls millions of tons of consumer goods over U.S. highways each year.
THURSDAY OCTOBER 31 CBC Doc Zone: Superstitious Minds (CBC, 9 p.m.) Were you aware that an estimated 80 percent of buildings in the world have no 13 th floor? Perfectly timed for Halloween night, this new doc dips into the compelling and only slightly spooky world of superstition by attempting to explain how and why people still have irrational fears of everything things and events. The program examines the history behind several notable superstitions, including the fear of killing spiders (because it will rain), opening an umbrella indoors (a certain harbinger of bad luck) and stepping on sidewalk cracks (which contrary to belief will not break your father’s back).4774344sean
FRIDAY NOVEMBER 1 Masterchef Junior (Fox, CTV, 8 p.m.) Although Fox has yet to make an announcement, strong ratings have made the return of this lively kids version of MasterChef for a second season a sure thing. Besides the fact the show is virtually identical to the original series, the kids have proven themselves to be amazing cooks and Gordon Ramsay hasn’t hesitated once at shrieking at them when appropriate. In the first half of tonight’s first-season finale, the top four junior chefs are tasked to prepare an amazing dish showcasing one specific ingredient: chicken.
SATURDAY NOVEMBER 2 Flipping Vegas (A&E, 10 p.m.) Back tonight for a third season, this popular unscripted series focuses on Las Vegas real estate investors Scott and Amie Yancy, who make their living (and then some) by renovating and flipping foreclosed homes—and not surprisingly those are in constant supply in Sin City. In tonight’s opener, Scott picks up a “pet-friendly” home for a song, but is miffed to discover there are still 17 cats living on the premises.Bruno Talledo
SUNDAY NOVEMBER 3 The Simpsons (Fox, Global, 8 p.m.) Which beloved Springfield citizen will die in tonight’s new episode? The producers of The Simpsons revealed several weeks back that a regular character was going to perish in the current 26 th season. While the obvious choice would be Bart’s teacher Edna Krabappel, since Marcia Strassman, who voiced the character, passed away herself last week, but the Fox Network has vehemently denied that possibility. Whatever the case, the episode opens with four Springfielders trying to right past wrongs following the funeral of a “beloved neighbor.” Homer regrets selling his Apple stock to buy a bowling ball; Marge regrets the parenting decision that caused Bart’s hellish behaviour; Mr Burns regrets the Parisian lover he left behind; and local newsman Kent Brockman regrets not taking his shot at network news.