TV Barn's TV Picks for Oct. 10

THERE'S SO MUCH THAT WE SHARE
Which character is still alive on "Smallville"?

A) Chloe's mother
B) Clark's (Earth) father
C) Lana's mother
D) Lex's mother
E) Lois' mother

= = = = =

TV Barn's TV Picks for Tuesday, October 10, 2006
by Tom Heald with Jon Delfin
All times Eastern
For PBS programs, check local listings


8 p.m.
Christiane Amanpour narrates the touching tribute, "The Journalist and the Jihadi: The Murder of Daniel Pearl" (HBO).

Base-a-ball be berra berra good for dem (Fox).

"NCIS" (CBS) considers the murder of a petty officer to be more than a petty crime.

As game day approaches, the hunky actor who's paid more than the others feels tense on "Friday Night Lights" (NBC).

Lorelai protests rebellion on "Gilmore Girls" (CW). Brought to you by Prozac. Those voices in your head could be illegal immigrants, and we don't like their kind around here.

It's samba enchanted evening on "Dancing With the Stars" (ABC).

I sense this is false advertising: "UFC: The Final Chapter" (Spike).

This week, "The Most Extreme Gardeners" (Animal Planet); next week, "Over the Top Accountants."

"Emeril Live" (Food): "Finger Foods"

8:30 p.m.
"Masterchef Goes Large" (BBC America)

9 p.m.
The Zeta Thetas are under the magnifying glass on "Veronica Mars" (CW). Can the Scoobies solve this week's mystery without having to go on the lambda? Easy as pi.

"Law & Order: Criminal Intent" (NBC) takes a stab at solving the death of a firefighter.

"The Unit" (CBS) faces terrorists with a detailed plan for victory which includes the legalization of hemp.

"Frontline" (PBS) searches for signs of intelligent life in the nation's spy networks.

All of "The Nominees" (Sundance) head to finals.

Find out whether Orville Redenbacher and Professor X's mutant vegetation experiments worked on "Popcorn Giants" (Food).

Diana casts off the new-millennial Supremes on "Beyonc頕ncut" (E!)

"Dog the Bounty Hunter" (A&E)
"2006 World Series of Poker" (ESPN; also 10)

9:30 p.m.
How many "Help Me Help You" (ABC) patients does it take to change a light bulb? Just one, but the light bulb has to want to change.

10 p.m.
Labor violations are confronted by a pair of women in Tijuana in "Maquilapolis (City of Factories)" ("P.O.V.", PBS).

UNNECESSARY CINDERFELLA PATROL
"Law & Order: Special Victims Unit" (NBC): Jerry Lewis. Torn headline: What kind of weirdo would be accused of harassing strange women on the street? Oh, right.

"Smith" (CBS) is officially a John Doe. Stay tuned for the "Procedural Repeat du Jour."

Opposites continue to distract on "Star Trek: Boston Legal" (ABC) as Spock hits on Nurse Chapel and Kirk remains drawn to his Internet date from the mirror universe.

"The Scream Awards 2006" (Spike) hypes horror during the, uh, October holiday season?

"Fugitive Strike Force" (Discovery) cracks a crack den, but we don't care. Our master's gone away.

Unless he dies before his next birthday, a man's widow won't be able to profit from his insurance policy on a desperate edition of "The Street" (BBC America).

UNNECESSARY CLIENT PATROL
* "Nip/Tuck" (FX): Brooke Shields, Larry Hagman. Procedures: I need to have this embarrassing thing removed from my .... uh ... area.
* Hip-hopper Lloyd Banks is drawn to the talents of "Miami Ink" (TLC).

"True Life" (MTV): "Holy Sh**, I Have ****ing Tourette's Syndrome"
"ECW" (Sci Fi)
"Road Tasted" (Food): Key West


THAT IT'S TIME WE'RE AWARE
Though the woman left "Smallville" when she was a kid, A) Chloe recently found her Mama Sullivan at a local sanitarium suffering from the sort of hereditary mental disorder that soap operas like to leave deliberately vague.


Please visit the Late Night TV Page and pbs.org for late-night listings.

-- posted by Jon Delfin