Television: Halloween programming this week offers laughs, thrills and kitchy fun

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Cassandra Szklarski
THE CANADIAN PRESS

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TORONTO - There's plenty of chills and cheese on TV leading up to Halloween on Saturday with specially themed episodes and macabre movie marathons.

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1975 Houtsnede Maatschappi N.V.

Barry Bostwick stars as Brad and Susan Sarandon stars as Janet in ‘The Rocky Horror Picture Show,’ airing Saturday on CTV at 9 p.m.

CTV

Ashley Benson as Mia and Veronica Cartwright as Bun appear in a scene from this week’s episode of ‘Eastwick’ airing tonight on A Channel at 10 p.m.

© NBC Universal, Inc.

Allison DuBois (Patricia Arquette) has nightmares that put her into scenes from ‘Night of the Living Dead,’ on ‘Medium,’ Friday at 10 p.m. on CTV.

FOX

A scene from this season’s ‘The Simpsons’ Treehouse of Horror.’ The Comedy Network is airing nightly broadcasts of ‘Treehouse of Horror’ through to Saturday.

The spooky specials include nightly broadcasts of The Simpsons' Treehouse of Horror episodes on the Comedy Network, running through Saturday.

The annual Treehouse of Horror episodes just marked their 20th anniversary last weekend, and previous gems can be relived including Bart and Lisa's attempts to help Kodos reconnect with his home planet, and Homer's transformation into a rampaging blob.

That's in tandem with a Halloween-themed South Park marathon running nightly through Friday on the Comedy Network, featuring foul-mouthed episodes like Night of the Living Homeless.

But when it comes to cartoon classics, it's likely that none is as beloved as It's the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown, which pops up several times this month on various channels, including Wednesday on ABC.

Adults looking for laughs can tune into SNL Presents the Best of Halloween's Past on Global on Saturday.

Series television gets into the swing of things as well, with CTV's Ghost Whisperer and Medium both referencing horror film classics on Friday episodes. The mythical headless horseman from The Legend of Sleepy Hollow haunts Melinda on Ghost Whisperer while Medium's Allison has vivid nightmares that insert her into scenes from Night of the Living Dead.

Given that A Channel's Eastwick already mines the supernatural for inspiration, there's not much of a thematic leap in store for Toronto's Paul Gross as he resumes his demonic character for a Halloween-themed tale Wednesday. This time around, the town embraces its eerie heritage with a witch burning and Roxie's ongoing visions of a funeral have her trying anything she can to change fate.

On Thursday, the spookfest includes CTV's The Mentalist, with a ghost and haunted mansion at the heart of a murder investigation, while Ann on Citytv's Parks and Recreation struggles to pull together a Halloween party.

Movies on tap include CTV's high-definition broadcast of The Rocky Horror Picture Show; the campy classic has been digitally remastered just in time for Halloween on Saturday. The outrageous 1975 musical begins as a young couple, Brad (Barry Bostwick) and Janet (Susan Sarandon) are stranded at the home of the mad scientist Dr. Frank-N-Furter (Tim Curry). A bizarre group of singing and dancing underlings get under your skin with memorable songs like Time Warp and Sweet Transvestite.

The kitschy fun is followed on CTV by The Mothman Prophecies, in which Richard Gere plays a journalist distraught by the sudden, tragic death of his wife. He finds himself mysteriously drawn to a small West Virginia town where the residents are beset by sightings of a creepy "moth-like" entity.

For something with a little more edge, Space has the 2003 remake of Texas Chainsaw Massacre, with Jessica Biel starring as one of several friends who are stalked and hunted down by a deformed killer with a chainsaw. Showcase is also offering up the first two films in the torture-packed Saw series.