television

When will we Earthlings ever learn?

Whenever an alien and a spaceship pop up, it's never good news. And when 29 spaceships suddenly appear, hovering over capitals of the world, we're all taken aback before those sweet-talking aliens start making grand promises.

It's 1994 all over again.

At least that's what TNA Wrestling is hoping after signing deals this week with Hulk Hogan and Eric Bischoff.

If you are of a certain age -- in your 30s or maybe early 40s -- odds are good you'll remember "V," NBC's 1980s sci-fi saga about aliens who come to Earth promising peace but turn out to be lizards in disguise keen on making humanity their food supply.

Frightful programming will haunt most network schedules a full week before Halloween.

AMC, as usual, has the most ambitious -- a marathon of chilling movies. "FearFest" is slated to get under way on Oct. 23 and continue through Halloween, Oct. 31. More than 50 movies are on tap, including "The Fly," "Dracula" and "The Shining."

One day, while planting potatoes in his garden, Michael Pollan had an epiphany. Above his head, bees were buzzing about an apple tree in blossom, moving from flower to flower, collecting nectar and inadvertently moving pollen. How was he, the human, any different from the bees?

It was a stunt that transfixed the world for a few hours, and while a Colorado couple is denying it was a hoax, a trial appears likely, if not a plea bargain, or fines, or jail -- and then, maybe, a reality show.

Basil Fawlty was rude, snobby, smarmy, henpecked, sarcastic and prudish -- a man his creator, John Cleese, terms "an absolutely awful human being." But this unforgettable character stood at the center of one of the funniest sitcoms in television history, "Fawlty Towers."

Oh, sure, ventriloquist Jeff Dunham can sell out concerts and star in his own series, but he never wants to be the life of the party.

PASADENA, Calif. - The Iraq War continues to command the attention of TV drama writers, most notably with FX's short-lived "Over There" and HBO's "Generation Kill" miniseries last year.

There's not much on NBC worth praising anymore, especially since executives canceled "Southland" before its second-season premiere, but with Thursday night's return of "30 Rock," the network has put together the best night of comedy in prime time.