october road

... Three Subtle Subtitles.

I skipped last week's SS post because I knew we'd be doing three this week. Caption one, two or all three. Friday I'll pick what I think is the best entry for each image. Good luck and happy Festivus!

First up, a shot from the latest episode of Boston Legal:


Next, a scene from last night's The Simpsons ...

It was finally ABC's turn to unveil its winter schedule yesterday. There aren't many surprises in it except that Lost, as rumored, will now air on a new night and that Big Shots, who was benched last week, will get a fifth another chance. ABC's winter programming will also include the premieres of Cashmere Mafia, Dance War: Bruno vs. Carrie Ann, Eli Stone and Oprah's Big Give and the return of a few reality series, such as Supernanny and Wife Swap, to fill the void left when scripted series will have aired all their new episodes.

• At 8, ABC has I Want A Dog For Christmas Charlie Brown!, then new episodes of Samantha Who?, Notes from the Underbelly, and October Road.
• CBS has a new How I Met Your Mother at 8.
• The CW has a new Everybody Hates Chris, then new episodes of Aliens in America, Girlfriends, and The Game.
• NBC has a new, two-hour Deal or No Deal at 8, followed by a new Journeyman.
• PBS has a holiday jazz concert on a new Live From Lincoln Center at 8.
• Also at 8: Alton Brown tries to bake a good fruitcake on Food Network's Good Eats.
• At 9, FOX has a new K-Ville.
• Lifetime has the movie The Road To Christmas at 9.
• Food Network has Wintertime Treats Unwrapped at 9.
• At 10, CBS has a new CSI: Miami.
• TNT has a new Saving Grace at 10.

Check your local TV listings for more.

• At 8, ABC has a new Ugly Betty, then new episodes of Grey's Anatomy and October Road.
• CBS has a new Survivor at 8, followed by new episodes of CSI and Without A Trace.
• Also at 8: Disney has a Hannah Montana marathon.
• At 8:30, Showtime has 1995's Home for the Holidays.
• At 9, Great American Country has a holiday concert with Little Big Town.
• There's a new Divine Design on HGTV at 9.
• At 10, Bravo has a new Tim Gunn's Guide to Style.
• Sundance has a new Iconoclasts, with Wynton Marsalis and John Besh.
• Late night repeats of shows like Friends, Will and Grace, and Everybody Loves Raymond are airing holiday episodes tonight (check local listings).

Check your local TV listings for more. And also check out our guide for earlier today for marathons that might be on tonight.

If you haven't entered our latest giveaways yet, here's a reminder that some are ending today. You've got until 5PM Eastern today to enter the Best of The Colbert Report DVD giveaway and the Ocbober Road season one DVD giveaway. You've got until Wednesday to enter the The Simpsons Game giveaway and until next Friday for the The X-Files Complete Series Collector's Edition DVD giveaway. Just head on over to the post linked above, read through the rules and make the applicable comment there (not here!) We'll notify the winners next week.

Good luck!

It's time for us to give away some stuff ... again! One of today's giveaways is for five copies of October Road season one on DVD, which is already available in stores. All you've got to do is submit a comment below before 5PM Eastern, November 9, and mention why you'd like to own the set. We'll randomly choose five winners to receive the DVDs!

Some other details:

• To enter, leave a confirmed comment below stating why you'd like to own October Road season one on DVD.
• The comment must be left before November 9, 2007 at 5:00PM Eastern Time.
  
• You may enter only once.
• Five winners will be selected in a random drawing.
  
• Five winners will receive a copy of October Road season on on DVD (valued at $29.99).
  

Click here for complete Official Rules.

Here are the new TV DVDs, in stores tomorrow.

• Angel - Collector's Set
• Arrest and Trial - Best Of
• Avatar: The Last Airbender - Book 3
• The Benny Hill Show - Thames Years 1969-89 Megaset
• Bugs Bunny/Looney Tunes - Looney Tunes Golden Collection, Vol. 5
• CSI: Miami - Season 5
• Checkmate - Best Of Season 1
• Cimarron City - Best Of
• Dark Shadows - The Beginning, Vol. 2
• Everybody Loves Raymond - Complete Series
• Family Affair - Season 4
• Family Guy - Freakin' Party Pack
• Hardcastle and McCormick - Season 3 (Canada)
• Laredo - Best Of Season 1
• Magnum, P.I. - Season 7
• The Mickey Rooney Show - Hey Mulligan
• My So-Called Life - Complete Series
• Mystery Science Theater 3000 - Vol. 12
• October Road - Season 1
• The Outer Limits - Vol. 3
• The Real McCoys - Season 2
• Riptide - Season 2
• Riverboat - Best Of
• Scrubs - Season 6
• Sgt. Preston of the Yukon - Complete Collection
• Tate - The Complete Series
• Twin Peaks - Definitive Gold Box

Do you love ABC's new schedule? Don't get too used to it.

October Road, the drama critics hate but viewers seem to love, returns to the ABC lineup on November 22 at 10pm, for one night only. Then it moves to Monday nights after Dancing with the Stars ends its season. The new Monday night schedule will be Samantha Who? at 9pm, Notes From The Underbelly at 9:30, and then October Road at 10pm. No word on what's going on at 8, but there might be a Dancing with the Stars spinoff going in that slot.

A Dancing with the Stars spinoff. FANTASTIC.

This is Spoilers Anonymous, a weekly column here at TV Squad where we'll supply you with the dirt on some of the more popular shows on the air. We'll never put spoilers up here on the main page in order to help the reformed stay unspoiled. If you have anything to add to the group, feel free to step up and let yourself be heard, either with our tips form or by emailing us at tvsquad at gmail dot com or call and leave a message at 917-421-9477 (NY) - your anonymity is guaranteed, if you wish to remain as such.

This week we have: Desperate Housewives, Friday Night Lights, Greek, Heroes, October Road, Scrubs, Two and a Half Men, and Ugly Betty. (SPOILERS FOLLOW!)

A couple of times a year, TV Week asks TV critics from print and online media to fill out a survey with their lists of the best and worst TV shows of the season. The summer list this year doesn't hold too many surprises in the "best" category, though I think the "worst" has a few (worst lists are always more fun to read anyway, right?). First, the ten best:

1. The Sopranos (HBO)
2. Lost (ABC)
3. Friday Night Lights (NBC)

Josh Appelbaum and Andre Nemec, the creators of the ABC drama October Road, which was recently renewed for a second season, have singed an overall development deal with ABC, according to Variety.

The article doesn't go into much detail about the deal, except that ABC had essentially negotiated with Appelbaum and Nemec about developing new shows before October Road's renewal was set in stone.

What is all this talk I keep hearing about saving October Road? Is it really worth saving? I watched about as much as I could stand and I really didn't see anything worth fighting for.

First, let's look at the premise: Small town boy comes home and tries to re-assimilate into his old ways. Sounds like an unfunny version of Ed. Besides, Nick seemed to be pretty much back in the groove by the second episode.

• At 8, ABC has a new Ugly Betty, followed by new episodes of Grey's Anatomy and October Road.
• CBS has a new Survivor at 8.
• NBC has a new My Name Is Earl at 8.
• There's a new Are You Smarter Than A Fifth Grader at 8 on FOX.
• The CW has new episodes of Smallville and Supernatural.
• At 9, NBC has a new 30 Rock, then new episodes of Scrubs and ER.
• TLC has a new American Chopper at 9.
• HGTV has a new Divine Design at 9.
• Also at 9: Food Network has the Food Network Awards, followed by a new Ace of Cakes.
• At 10, CBS has a new Shark.
• Showtime has a new Penn & Teller's Bullshit, then a new This American Life.
• At 10:30, G4 has a new episode of Ninja Warrior.

Check your local TV listings for more.

• At 8, CBS has a new Survivor, followed by new episodes of CSI and Shark.
• FOX has a new Are You Smarter Than A Fifth Grader? at 8.
• TBS has one of the great Friends episodes at 8, "The One With All The Thanksgivings."
• At 8:30, Showtime has the documentary Fired! (I read the book, it's quite good.)
• At 9:30, NBC has a new Andy Barker, P.I.
• At 10, ABC has a new October Road.
• Food Network has a new Throwdown with Bobby Flay at 10, then a new Ace of Cakes.
• At 10:30, Comedy Central has a new Showbiz Show with David Spade.

Check your local TV listings for more.

Here are the weekly TV ratings, by number of viewers.

1. American Idol - Tues (FOX)
2. American Idol - Weds (FOX)
3. Grey's Anatomy (ABC)
4. Dancing with the Stars (ABC)
5. CSI: Miami (CBS)
6. NCIS (CBS)
7. Criminal Minds (CBS)
8. 'Til Death (FOX)
9. Deal Or No Deal (NBC)
10. Cold Case (CBS)
11. CSI: NY (CBS)
12. Survivor (CBS)
13. Without A Trace (CBS)
14. 60 Minutes (CBS
15. Extreme Makeover (ABC)
16. Lost (ABC)
17. The Unit (CBS)
18. 24 (FOX)
19. Two and a Half Men (CBS)
20. October Road (ABC)