Rueben's Ramblings

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

On October 16, the BBC America movie Burton and Taylor will debut at 9 PM. Actor Dominic West (The Hour) and actress Helena Bonham Carter (The King’s Speech) will star as Hollywood’s most famous volatile on-again-off-again lovers, Richard Burton and Elizabeth Taylor.

White Collar will air its season premiere on the USA Network at 9 PM followed by the return of the final six episodes of Covert Affairs at 10 PM on October 17.

Also that night, the new drama Reign from The CW will debut at 9 PM. Hidden between the lines of the history books is the story of Mary Stuart (Adelaide Kane), the young woman the world would come to know as Mary, Queen of Scots. Queen of Scotland since she was six days old, the teenage Mary is already a headstrong monarch at the very beginning of her tumultuous rise to power. Arriving in France with four close friends as her ladies-in-waiting, Mary has been sent to secure Scotland’s strategic alliance by formalizing her arranged engagement to the French king’s dashing son, Prince Francis (Toby Regbo). But the match isn’t signed and sealed, it depends more on politics, religion and secret agendas than affairs of the heart.

On October 19, the Lifetime movie Missing at 17 will debut at 8 PM. When a 17-year-old girl, Candace, runs away from home to look for her biological mother Callie, she meets a young man, Toby, who helps her in her search. When Candace doesn’t return home, her adoptive mother Shawna desperately begins to look for her. Candace finds Callie and also discovers she has an older brother Vance, but Callie doesn’t give her estranged daughter the warm welcome the girl was hoping for. As Candace unknowingly gets pulled deeper and deeper into danger through Toby’s criminal lifestyle while trying to connect with her biological mother, Shawna eventually joins forces with Callie and Vance to rescue Candace.

That same night, the Hallmark Channel movie When Calls the Heart will debut at 9 PM. Based on the book series by Janette Oke, the movie tells the story of Elizabeth Thatcher (newcomer Poppy Drayton), a young teacher accustomed to her high society life, who receives her first classroom post in a small prairie town in the Western Frontier in Canada led by two strong coal miner widows, Abigail Stanton (Lori Loughlin) and Frances Tunnecliffe (Jean Smart). The cast also includes Daniel Sharman, Stephen Amell and Maggie Grace. This movie has been picked up to series by the Hallmark Channel and will have its TV series debut sometime in 2014 with Erin Krakow (Army Wives) taking over the lead role and Daniel Lissing (Last Resort) joining the cast.

Also on October 19, the Starz 5-part movie Dancing on the Edge will debut at 10 PM after the season finale of The White Queen. Inspired by true accounts of the phenomenal Duke Ellington Band mingling with the future Duke of Windsor Edward VIII in Europe, the mini-series takes place in London during the early 1930s, illustrating the journey of a group of Black jazz musicians – the Louis Lester Band – as they steadily rise to stardom. The cast includes Chiwetel Ejiofor (12 Years of a Slave), Matthew Goode (Brideshead Revisited), Jacqueline Bisset, John Goodman (Roseanne), Janet Montgomery (Human Target), Jenna-Louise Coleman (Doctor Who), Anthony Head (Buffy) and Angel Coulby (Merlin).

The made-for-TV movie Saving Westbrook High will debut on October 20 on the cable network UP at 7 PM. Manny Cortez is uprooting his family – wife Teresa and daughters Selana, 14 and Gabriella, 12 – so that they can go to Westbrook High where his beloved late father was the football coach. Soon after the Cortez family moves into the Westbrook school zone, it is announced that Westbrook High will close due to budget reasons. Long known for being a wonderful environment with special teachers, the staff, students and parents decide to fight back – Westbrook High is worth saving. Charismatic English Literature teacher Elijah Bennett leads the charge for the teachers but has to deal with the new principal, Dr. Christine Walker, who has very different views on education and the value of protesting the school board’s decision. Elijah and Christine were students together at Westbrook many years ago and despite their differences there is a bond and some sparks. Perhaps most passionate about saving the school are the students, especially shy and insecure Jasper, who emerges as a leader. Selana joins the cause and learns why her father was so passionate about this school and her education.

Mark your calendars!