Must See HDTV (October 15th - 21st)
We've pretty much exhausted the high profile fall premieres for now, but there still presidential debates and baseball playoff action to be had. Also, while we have not moved so far in the future that we've reached the date Marty McFly went to in Back to the Future Part II (that's in 2015, perhaps by then people will stop reposting photoshopped images), we have reached the data Avatar is available at retail on Blu-ray 3D. Look below for the highlights this week, followed after the break by our weekly listing of what to look out for in TV, Blu-ray and videogames.
Avatar (3D)
It's taken a couple of years, but Avatar is finally widely available on Blu-ray 3D after being tied up as a Panasonic pack-in exclusive. The bad news? It's not the Extended Collector's Edition, so if you want 3D and extras your wait may continue. Otherwise, James Cameron's special effects should be enough to thrill the eyes of anyone that snagged a 3DTV in the last few years and is looking for a good demo disc.
($24.99 on Amazon)
MLB Playoffs
We have reached the league championship series and, assuming both series need some extra games, should be in for excellent baseball all week. The Yankees have lost Derek Jeter for the postseason, but are by no means done... unless their bats stay as cold as they've been. In the National League the Giants and the Cardinals are duking it out, we'll see if the 2-3-2 home field format plays into the outcome for either team, after the Giants took three on the road in the last round.
NBA Preseason
It's finally time for hoops again, and after some overseas exhibitions you can watch NBA teams work their way back into shape as they take each other on this week. If you're a basketball fan you probably love TNT's Thursday night broadcasts, and the first preseason one features the Celtics and the Nets at 8PM.
Blu-ray & Games
Avatar (3D)
Moonrise Kingdom
Madagascar 3 (3D)
Alcatraz (The complete series)
That's My Boy
A League of Their Own
Dance Central 3 (Xbox 360)
007 Legends (PS3, Xbox 360)
Doom 3: BFG Edition (PS3, Xbox 360)
Monday
MLB NLCS Cardinals/Giants Game 2, Fox, 8PM
90210, CW, 8PM
Broncos/Chargers Monday Night Football, ESPN, 8:30PM
Dancing With The Stars, ABC, 8PM
How I Met Your Mother, CBS, 8PM
Alphas, Syfy, 8PM
Switched At Birth, ABC Family, 8PM
WWE Raw, USA, 8PM
The Voice, NBC, 8PM
Partners, CBS, 8:30PM
American Chopper: Senior vs. Junior, Discovery, 9PM
Anthony Bourdain: No Reservations, Travel, 9PM
Major Crimes (season finale), TNT, 9PM
2 Broke Girls, CBS, 9PM
Gossip Girl, CW, 9PM
Mike & Molly, CBS, 9:30PM
Hawaii Five-0, CBS, 10PM
Castle, ABC, 10PM
Revolution, NBC, 10PM
Fast n' Loud, Discovery, 10PM
The Inbetweeners, MTV, 10:30PM
Tuesday
Yankees/Tigers ALCS Game 3, TBS, 8PM
2nd Presidential Debate, ABC & CBS & FOX & NBC & CNN, 9PM
Emily Owens M.D. (series premiere), CW, 9PM
The Men Who Built America (series premiere), History, 9PM
Covert Affairs (fall season premiere), USA, 10PM
Underemployed (series premiere), MTV, 10PM
Flashpoint (season premiere), Ion, 11PM
30 for 30: There's No Place Like Home, ESPN, 8PM
Hart of Dixie, CW, 8PM
Raising Hope, Fox, 8PM
NCIS, CBS, 8PM
Dancing With The Stars, ABC, 8PM
The Voice, NBC, 8PM
Ben & Kate, Fox, 8:30PM
Overhaulin', Velocity, 9PM
Call Me Fitz, DirecTV, 9PM
Less Than Kind, DirecTV, 9:30PM
Tosh.0, Comedy Central, 10PM
Hot Set, Syfy, 10PM
Sons of Anarchy, FX, 10PM
Brickleberry, Comedy Central, 10:30PM
Wednesday
Cardinals/Giants NLCS Game 3, Fox, 3:30PM
Yankees/Detroit ALCS Game 4, TBS, 8PM
Suburgatory (season premiere), ABC, 9:30PM
American Horror Story (season premiere), FX, 10PM
World Without End (mini-series premiere), Reelzchannel, 8PM
Arrow, CW, 8PM
Chicago Fire, NBC, 10PM
Nashville, ABC, 10PM
The Middle, ABC, 8PM
WWE Main Event, Ion, 8PM
Animal Practice, NBC, 8PM
Survivor, CBS, 8PM
A Football Life, NFL Network, 8PM
The X Factor, Fox, 8PM
Guys With Kids, NBC, 8:30PM
The Neighbors, ABC, 8:30PM
Criminal Minds, CBS, 9PM
Law & Order: SVU, NBC, 9PM
Modern Family, ABC, 9PM
Inside the NFL, Showtime, 9PM
Sons of Guns, Discovery, 9PM
Rake, DirecTV, 9PM
Supernatural, CW, 9PM
Inside NASCAR, Showtime, 10PM
NFL Turning Point, NBC Sports Network, 10PM
The Real World / Road Rules Challenge, MTV, 10PM
CSI, CBS, 10PM
South Park, Comedy Central, 10PM
Key & Peele, Comedy Central, 10:30PM
Thursday
Yankees/Tigers ALCS Game 5 (if necessary), TBS, 4PM
Cardinals/Giants NLCS Game 4, Fox, 8PM
Seahawks/49ers Thursday Night Football, NFL Network, 8PM
Celtics/Nets NBA preseason, TNT, 8PM
The Vampire Diaries, CW, 8PM
Beauty and the Beast, CW, 9PM
30 Rock, NBC, 8PM
Oregon/Arizona State college football, ESPN, 9PM
Last Resort, ABC, 8PM
The Big Bang Theory, CBS, 8PM
Two And A Half Men, CBS, 8:30PM
Impact Wrestling, Spike TV, 8PM
Up All Night, NBC, 8:30PM
Grey's Anatomy, ABC, 9PM
The Office, NBC, 9PM
Person of Interest, CBS, 9PM
Ethel (special presentation), HBO, 9PM
Caught Looking, NBC Sports Network, 9PM
Parks & Recreation, NBC, 9:30PM
Rock Center with Brian Williams, NBC, 10PM
Elementary, CBS, 10PM
Scandal, ABC, 10PM
Gabriel Iglesias Presents Stand-Up Revolution, Comedy Central, 10PM
It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia, FX, 10PM
The League, FX, 10:30PM
Brand X with Russell Brand, FX, 11PM
Totally Biased with W. Kamau Bell, FX, 11:30PM
Children's Hospital, Cartoon Network, 11:59PM
Friday
Nikita (season premiere), CW, 9PM
Hunted (series premiere), Cinemax, 10PM
Cardinals/Giants NLCS Game 5 (if necessary), Fox, 8PM
Shark Tank, ABC, 8PM
UCONN/Syracuse college football, ESPN, 8PM
WWE SmackDown, Syfy, 8PM
Grimm, NBC, 9PM
Made In Jersey, CBS, 9PM
Blue Bloods, CBS, 10PM
Boss (season finale), Starz, 9PM
Haven, Syfy, 10PM
The Ultimate Fighter, FX, 10PM
Saturday
LSU/Texas A&M college football, ESPN / ESPN 3D, 12PM
Stanford/California college football, Fox, 3PM
BYU/Notre Dame college football, NBC, 3:30PM
Alabama/Tennessee college football, ESPN, PM
Tigers/Yankees Game 6 (if necessary), TBS, 4PM
The Girl, HBO, 9PM
Bedlam, BBC America, 9PM
Saturday Night Live with Bruno Mars, NBC, 11:30PM
Sunday
NASCAR Sprint Cup Series @ Kansas, ESPN, 1PM
Night of Too Many Stars (special presentation), Comedy Central, 8PM
Steelers/Bengals Sunday Night Football, NBC, 8:20PM
The Cleveland Show, Fox, 7:30PM
The Simpsons, Fox, 8PM
Mythbusters, Discovery, 8PM
Curiosity, Discovery, 9PM
60 Minutes, CBS, 7:30PM
The Amazing Race, CBS, 8PM
The Walking Dead, AMC, 9PM
Once Upon A Time, ABC, 8PM
Boardwalk Empire, HBO, 9PM
Dexter, Showtime, 9PM
Revenge, ABC, 9PM
The Good Wife, CBS, 9:30PM
Copper (season finale), BBC America, 10PM
Copper, BBC America, 10PM
Homeland, Showtime, 10PM
666 Park Avenue, ABC, 10PM
Treme, HBO, 10PM
The Mentalist, CBS, 10:30PM
Talking Dead, AMC, 11PM
Comic Book Men, AMC, 11:30PM