By Jill Alphonso

WHAT better week could there be to serve up reviews of TV shows whose plots bank on witches, vampires and such scary things?

If you didn't already know, Saturday marks the day of Halloween.

This day, gentle reader, is the one day of the year when the gates between their world - the  world of the dead, of demons and the unknown - and ours are opened; a day when the forces of Hell and evil are allowed to roam the earth.

Well, that's if you believe all that folklore nonsense. But it's safe to say that there are workings in this world that you do not understand.

That's what a witch might say. Just ask the three protagonists of Eastwick (based on John Updike's 1984 novel, which was adapted into a 1987 movie).

Sculptor and "town slut" Roxanne Torcoletti (Rebecca Romijn); nurse and mother of five Kat Gardener (Jaime Ray
Newman); and ambitious reporter Joanna Frankel (Lindsay Price) live in the hamlet of Eastwick. They are the "gifted ones", but they don't know of their powers yet.

It takes a dark, mysterious stranger, Darryl Van Horne (Paul Gross) to draw these talents and help nurture those talents. But who, or what, exactly is Van Horne? Be he man or devil?

Romijn, Newman and Price seductively deliver believable performances. And their chemistry is reinforced by the impish charm of Gross, who can't helpbut channel a little Jack Nicholson (who played Van Horne in the movie).

But the show, ultimately, is about awakenings and power.

It brings to mind the existential question of free will. Would you use dark powers if you had them? Or would you fight to use them to uphold what is right and good? A bewitching quandary, indeed.

A bloodier option for all ye lovers of the supernatural is The Vampire Diaries.

The story, by Dawson's Creek screenwriter Kevin Williamson, follows orphan Elena Gilbert (Nina Dobrev), who journals a lot. You know, the usual teen angst. Her pain. Guys. Being normal.

A new guy, Stefan Salvatore (Paul Wesley) - a total HAW-T  who turns out to be a vampire who's got a conscience so he doesn't feed on people - turns up at school. And, hey, he journals, too. Instant chemistry.

Also, Elena reminds him of a past love. Like, really past. Like, 1864 past. She's a dead ringer for the other lady love, in fact.

But Stefan's brother, Damon, (Ian Somerhalder) shows up to spoil the fun. He's got quite a thing for bleeding humans dry and laying the blame on Stefan.

If you can stand the teenybopper plotline (including texting, underaged drinking and teenage sex), and the fact that it heavily recalls Twilight, then this sucker is worth watching.

Now, perhaps even scarier to some would be HBO's Big Love. It deals with a fundamentalist Mormon family whose head, Bill (Bill Paxton), is a polygamist. (Let me say it again for effect. Polygamist!)

Monday night, the start of Season 3, saw the Henricksons in this hot mess: Will Bill's three wives allow him to keep courting new gal Ana (Branka Katic)? Or will first wife Barb (Jeanne Tripplehorn) put a stop to it?

Expect a season of intrigue and, yes, murder.

Okay, viewers, happy Halloween.And, as those in The Vampire Diaries might say, TTYL!

jilla@sph.com.sg

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