“Point Pleasant” Marathon
••10 a.m. — “Pilot” (episode 1) The peaceful existence of a small seaside community will dramatically change forever when Christina Nickson is rescued from the ocean by local lifeguard Jesse Parker and brought to the home of local doctor Ben Kramer. The Kramers take an instant liking to Christina and invite her stay with them as she searches for clues to her past and attempts to find her mother, a Point Pleasant native whom Christina never knew. As Christina seeks answers to her mother’s disappearance, she will come to realize that she has never known her “real” father either – for Christina is the offspring of a mortal woman and the Devil.
••11 a.m. — “Human Nature” (episode 2) Christina continues to search at the local church for clues that will lead to her missing mother. Meanwhile the town prepares for its annual boat parade, which is even more competitive than usual thanks to Christina’s presence.
••Noon — “Who’s Your Daddy” (episode 3) Christina continues to suffer the effects of her recurring visions of death and destruction.
••1 p.m. — “The Lonely Hunter” (episode 4) Christina confronts a deadly admirer out to rid Point Pleasant of sin.
••2 p.m. – “Last Dance” (episode 5) Christina’s anger turns a church fund-raising dance into a literal bloodbath and brings it to a crashing halt.
••3 p.m. — “Secrets and Lies” (episode 6) Terrified that her powers are getting out of her control, Christina intensifies the search for her mother and confronts the doctor who assisted in her birth.
••4 p.m. — “Unraveling” (episode 7) After getting kicked out of the Kramer household, Christina hops a bus out of Point Pleasant to try to escape her demons.
••5 p.m. — “Swimming with Boyd” (episode eight) Christina takes drastic steps to get the goods on Boyd, whose wicked ways leave a Point Pleasant local in dire straits.
••6 p.m. — “Waking the Dead” (episode 9) A party in the woods turns into a real barn-burner. And Christina’s prayers resurrect a deadly demon out to quell her hellfire.
••7 p.m. — “Hell Hath No Fury Like a Woman Choked” (episode 10) Christina goes to drastic measures to find Jesse when he goes missing.
••8 p.m. — “Missing” (episode 11) Things heat up in Point Pleasant when people begin disappearing without a trace, leaving the police baffled.
••9 p.m. — “Mother’s Day” (episode 12) Christina is shocked when her mother shows up.
••10 p.m. — “Family Style” (episode 13) Christina angrily confronts the Kramer’s at their home.
••11 p.m. — Rebroadcast of “Point Pleasant” marathon

NOTE: Times are CST (for EST, add one hour)

   ♦ Oct. 10-12 (8 p.m.) — “The Shining” miniseries (three parts airing over three days). 
   ♦ Oct. 19 (3 p.m.) — “Ghost Hunters” marathon (five hours worth). (Sci Fi Channel Photo above features the show’s “Ghost Hunters” Jason Hawes and Grant Wilson).
   ♦ Oct. 20-23 (8 p.m.) — Stephen King’s “The Stand” miniseries (all four parts airing over four days).
   ♦ Oct. 24 (7 p.m.) — “The Hills Are Alive” from film horror writer Caroline Thompson (”Edward Scissorhands,” “The Nightmare Before Christmas”). Webisodes have been airing since July at ChillerTV.com and the complete story with an alternate ending will unfold in this Chiller World Premiere.
   ♦ Oct. 25-26 (8 p.m.) — Stephen King’s “Salem’s Lot” miniseries (two parts airing over two days).
   ♦ Oct. 26 (2 p.m.) — “Millenium” (five of the creepiest episodes back-to-back).
   ♦ Oct. 31 (8 p.m.) — Chiller’s Dare 2 Direct Film Festival special. Go to www.chillertv.com to vote for your favorites among the hundreds that horror fans have already submitted. Shorts picked for the special were among the favorites of this year’s celebrity judges, Jason Hawes and Grant Wilson (”Ghost Hunters”).

–Penny TV

Network News Release …

   “The Hills Are Alive,” an original web series, will premiere Tuesday on Chiller, NBC Universal’s entertainment cable channel dedicated to the horror/thriller genre.
   New webisodes will post every Tuesday and Thursday on ChillerTV.com, beginning with the premiere webisode on July 22. The webisodes will culminate with the on-air premiere of the full-length film version on Chiller, with an alternate ending to the final webisode, which posts on Oct. 23.
   “The Hills are Alive” is set in a small southern California town where three college students journey through the mountains in search of a sacred site. Challenged by their professor and their own curiosity, the students will voyage through the hills in search the geographical and spiritual history that is entrenched in the peaks and valleys of the scenic landscape. Their fate is forever changed during this summer school session turned spiritual pilgrimage.  Each webisode is approximately three minutes in length. 

  

   Three networks will pay tribute to Oscar-winning filmmaker Sydney Pollack with special screenings of his work.   

   Pollack, who won best director and best pictures Oscars for “Out of Africa,” died of cancer May 26 at age 73.  

   The network plans are:  

   Chiller (channel 199 on Dish Network, 257 on Direct TV) will air two episodes of “The Alfred Hitchcock Hour” that were directed by Pollack: 1962’s “The Black Curtain” (4 p.m. Saturday and 10 a.m. Sunday) and 1963’s “Diagnosis: Danger” (5 p.m. Saturday and 11 a.m. Sunday).  

   Oxygen (channel 127 on Dish Network, 166 on Cox Digital Cable, 251 on Direct TV) will air the 1973 film “The Way We Were” at noon Sunday. Pollack directed the romantic drama starring Barbra Streisand and Robert Redford.  

   TCM (channel 63 on Cox Cable, 132 on Dish Network, 256 on Direct TV) will devote an entire evening of programming to Pollack on Monday. The lineup includes 1965’s “The Slender Thread” (7 p.m.), which marked Pollack’s directorial debut; the 1982 award-winning comedy “Tootsie” (11 p.m.), which ranks second behind Billy Wilder’s Some Like It Hot on the American Film Institute’s list of best film comedies; and 1972’s “Jeremiah Johnson” (1 a.m.) and 1975’s “Three Days of the Condor” (9 p.m.), two of the filmmaker’s seven collaborations with star Robert Redford.    

   In July, TCM will present film critic and commentator Elvis Mitchell’s extensive, in-depth interview with Pollack, among the last interviews he ever gave.  The interview will air July 7 as the premiere episode of the network’s new original series “TCM Presents Elvis Mitchell: Under the Influence.”