Rueben's Ramblings

Here is a list of the programming options to expect on TV this week:

The new NBC drama Ironside will debut on October 2 at 10 PM. In the gritty world of the NYPD, no one’s tougher than Det. Robert Ironside (Blair Underwood); he’s a fearless cop who won’t stop until the guilty are brought to justice. He and his trusted, handpicked team of specialists, including Virgil (Pablo Schreiber), Holly (Spencer Grammer) and Teddy (Neal Bledsoe) as well as his former partner Gary (Brent Sexton) and boss Det. Ed Rollins (Kenneth Choi), will do whatever it takes to solve New York’s most difficult and notorious crimes. As a detective, Ironside’s instincts are second to none, and those around him have to stay on their toes if they want to keep up because when his spine was shattered by a bullet two years ago, Ironside swore he’d never let a wheelchair slow him down.

That same night, The CW will air a special “Arrow: Year One” at 8 PM.

On October 3, the darkly humorous half-hour BBC series A Young Doctor’s Notebook will debut on Ovation at 8 PM. Based on the book by Mikhail Bulgakov, this series focuses on the experiences of a newly graduated young doctor (Daniel Radcliffe from the Harry Potter franchise) who lands a post at a small hospital in a remote village during the Russian Revolution. The story is told through the eyes of the doctor’s older, opiate-addicted self (Jon Hamm) as he narrates the action from his own notebooks.

Also on October 3, The Vampire Diaries will air its season premiere on The CW at 8 PM followed by the debut of its spin-off series The Originals at 9 PM. The spin-off centers on the Mikaelson siblings, otherwise known as the world’s original vampires: Klaus (Joseph Morgan), Elijah (Daniel Gillies) and Rebekah (Claire Holt). Werewolf Hayley (Phoebe Tonkin) is pregnant with Klaus’ child; and now Klaus must take down his protégé, Marcel (Charles Michael Davis), who is now in charge of New Orleans, in order to re-take his city, as he originally built New Orleans.

The recap special “Scandal: The Secret Is Out” will lead off the night on ABC at 8 PM followed by a new Grey’s Anatomy at 9 PM and then the season premiere of Scandal at 10 PM.

Then on October 5, the HBO TV Film Muhammad Ali’s Greatest Fight will debut at 8 PM. The film goes behind the closed doors of the United States Supreme Court as its nine justices – Chief Justice Warren E. Burger (Frank Langella), Hugo Black (Fritz Weaver), William O. Douglas (Harris Yulin), John Harlan II (Christopher Plummer), William Brennan, Jr. (Peter Gerety), Potter Stewart (Barry Levinson), Byron “Whizzer” White (John Bedford Lloyd), Thurgood Marshall (Danny Glover) and Harry Blackmun (Ed Begley, Jr.) – decide the outcome of Muhammad Ali’s landmark appeal. Justice Harlan, a respected jurist with 15 years on the Court, finds himself at odds with the Court’s status quo after his perspective is challenged by the contemporary ideals of his new clerk, Kevin Connolly (Benjamin Walker).

That same night over on the Hallmark Channel movie the new made-for-TV movie The Mystery Cruise will debut at 9 PM. Based on the book “The Santa Cruise” by New York Times best-selling authors, Mary Higgins Clark and Carol Higgins Clark, this back door pilot centers on best friends and impending partners, Alvirah Meehan (Gail O’Grady), a lottery winner turned amateur sleuth and Regan Reilly (Michelle Harrison) a private investigator. After the two heroines rescue the diamond-collared pooch of a wealthy socialite, they set off with their spouses to join Regan’s mom, Nora Reilly (Colleen Winton), a world famous mystery writer, on a luxurious three-day cruise around the San Juan Island off the coast of Washington, the setting for a mystery game created to promote the release of Nora’s latest book.

NOTE: Should this backdoor pilot succeed the series based on the movie will air on the Hallmark Channel sometime in 2014.

The following night, on October 6, Drop Dead Diva will be back with the final five episodes of its current resurrected season on Lifetime at 9 PM followed by the new drama Witches of East End will debut at 10 PM. This new series is inspired by the Melissa de la Cruz best-selling novel, the series centers on the mysterious Beauchamp family: free-spirited artist Joanna (Julia Ormond) and her two grown daughters, wild-child bartender Freya (Jenna Dewan-Tatum) and shy librarian Ingrid (Rachel Boston), both of whom are unaware that they are gifted (and cursed) with a magical birthright: they are witches.

Mark your calendars!