‘ER’ offers award-winning performance
With the all-important November sweeps only a week away, CBS and NBC “reward” viewers with repeats.
“ER” (10 p.m., NBC) offers a powerful episode from last November starring Ray Liotta.
Shot in real time, “ER” follows a single patient, Charlie Metcalf (Liotta) a hardened alcoholic ex-convict who shows up in the waiting room complaining of pains and delusions and ends up surrounded by a medical team fighting to save his life.
Along the way, Metcalf slips into hallucinations and dreams that fill out the details of his broken life, showing us how he hit the bottle and the skids after a single traumatic event.
Liotta won the 2005 Emmy for Outstanding Guest Actor in a drama series for his performance.
Members of the Nakum tribe visit with the rival Yaxha team on “Survivor: Guatemala” (8 p.m., CBS).
Some players fear that a friendly visit may result in future collaboration. And some viewers fear for the future when these ridiculous tribe names show up on their Scrabble boards.
Court TV celebrates Halloween early as “The Investigators” (10 p.m., Court) presents a documentary about a real-life mystery set in New Orleans’ French Quarter. Homicide detectives find clues that indicate a possible killer is obsessed with the cult 1970s film “Rocky Horror Picture Show” and indicate that he or she may be into performance art with a sinister bent.
Filmmaker Michael Tucker spent two months with an American artillery unit in Iraq to complete the film “Gunner Palace” (8 p.m., Military Channel). The soldiers have commandeered the shattered ruins of Uday Hussein’s mansion and have nicknamed their new home Gunner Palace.
The film captures the men during raids on suspected terrorists, dealing with roadside bombs and enduring mortar attacks and other unseen dangers.
“Palace” also spends time with the soldiers during quiet times swimming in Hussein’s pool and even taking turns on his putting green.
Nothing bugs movie purists more than movie remakes. Did we really need a new version of “Psycho” starring Ann Heche?
But Hollywood has been recycling stories since the silent era, and Alfred Hitchcock even remade one of his own mysteries.
Doris Day acts and sings in the 1956 thriller “The Man Who Knew Too Much” (5 p.m., Turner Classic Movies), a Technicolor take on “The Man Who Knew Too Much” (7:15 p.m.), a black-and-white gem from 1934 starring Leslie Banks and Peter Lorre.
Other highlights
If necessary, the Chicago White Sox and Houston Astros meet in Game 5 of the World Series (5 p.m., Fox).
Mercenaries descend, in search of the container’s contents on “Alias” (8 p.m., ABC)
Chris’ mother forces him to take his younger siblings on his trick-or-treat route on “Everybody Hates Chris” (8 p.m., UPN).
A desert suicide has links to the mass murder of an entire family on “CSI” (9 p.m., CBS)
The two teams compete in the sporting goods business on “The Apprentice” (9 p.m., NBC).
A bio-terrorist claims he can unleash the fires of hell on “Night Stalker” (9 p.m., ABC).
Ephram reveals the reason for his return on “Everwood” (9 p.m., WB).
An immigrant vanishes from her parents’ storefront business on “Without a Trace” (10 p.m., CBS).
Cult choice
You have to marvel at our commercial culture’s ability to turn the most blood-soaked and morbid horror genre into something “cute.” Jonathan Lipnicki stars in the 2000 fantasy “The Little Vampire” (8 p.m., Disney). Anyone for a bowl of Count Chocula?
Series notes
A tussle with a former child actor on “Joey” (8 p.m., NBC) … Lana matriculates on “Smallville” (8 p.m., WB) … Ditched on a date on “Will & Grace” (8:30 p.m., NBC) … Clea mulls a date with a former priest (Kevin Sorbo) on “Love, Inc.” (8:30 p.m., UPN).
Rita throws down the gauntlet on “Eve” (9 p.m., UPN) … Kevin’s desperate sales pitch on “Cuts” (9:30 p.m., UPN)