What to Watch for week of OCTOBER 17

'Colbert' won't be giving pundits a thumbs up

MONDAY

SERIES DEBUT
11:30PM-MIDNIGHT The Colbert Report (Comedy Central) First Steve Carell got his own show, then his own movie. Now it’s Stephen Colbert’s turn. He brings his sarcastic charm to this Daily Show spin-off, which parodies pundit shows like The O’Reilly Factor. Did I mention he’s French?

8-8:30PM The King of Queens (CBS, TV-PG-L) If you hear laughter in the rain, it's 'cause Arthur's pen pal, Neil Sedaka, is in the house.

8-8:30PM One on One (UPN, TV-PG-L) David Faustino guests and Alfonso Ribeiro directs, proving no matter how far you stray from the cute kid star you were, there's always work on UPN.

8-9PM 7th Heaven (The WB, TV-G) Speaking of actors directing, Barry Watson does double duty in this one about Lucy trying to convince the pregnant Sandy that pressuring a guy into marriage would be mistake No. 2.

8-9PM Last Best Chance (HBO) This timely documentary exposes how easily nuclear weapons and materials could fall into the hands of terrorists, and what that means for us. My money’s on panic attacks.

9-10PM Forensic Files (Court TV, TV-14) A whole week of real-life crime right before bedtime.

SERIES DEBUT
10:30-11PM Miss Seventeen (MTV, TV-PG) The folks who brought you Trishelle introduce this reality competish in which bad behavior actually has consequences.

10-10:59PM Medium (NBC, TV-14) Give it credit: Medium is avoiding any hint of a sophomore slump, with nary a change in cast, direction, or tone. Emmy award winner Patricia Arquette continues as psychic/crime-solving consultant Allison DuBois, who's still no better at making sense of her abilities than she is at being a perfect wife or mother (the hallmark of the show is how genuinely human Allison's family is). Tonight she's stymied by visions of two missing women: an old friend and a politician's daughter. If the ending ties up a little neatly, that's easy enough to forgive. B+

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