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'Mutant Pumpkins
from Outer Space'

Gripping title of this NBC special about says it all

By Louisa Ada Seltzer
Oct 27, 2009

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'Tis the season for Halloween specials, and all the better if that special just happens to play off a recent hit movie.

Tonight at 8 p.m. NBC premieres "Monsters vs. Aliens: Mutant Pumpkins from Outer Space," a mini-spinoff of the hit spring CGI movie "Monsters vs. Aliens."

The title pretty much gives away the plot of the special. It turns out that the pumpkins people set out for Halloween are actually aliens, and so giantess Susan and her monster pals team up again to stop them.

The TV version features all the major voice talent from the original movie, including Reese Witherspoon as Susan, Seth Rogen as B.O.B. and "House's" Hugh Laurie as Dr. Cockroach.

The special should pull solid ratings. It's airing in a very weak timeslot, Wednesday at 8, where no one show can claim to be a hit. Fox's "So You Think You Can Dance" won the slot last week with a mere 2.6 adults 18-49 rating, and "Dance" will be off the air tonight for game one of the World Series.

"Monsters" should draw families in a slot where a foursome of low-rated sitcoms that focus on families -- ABC's "Hank" and "The Middle" and CBS's "The New Adventures of Old Christine" and "Gary Unmarried" -- do not.

There's a precedent for the TV spinoff of a recent box office hit pulling good numbers. In 2007, ABC aired "Shrek the Halls," just months after "Shrek the Third" raked in hundreds of millions in theaters.

"Shrek" averaged a 7.2 adults 18-49 rating and 21.2 million total viewers, though that did come against minimal competition during the heart of the writers' strike.

A look at this week’s top TV draws
WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 28
Time	Network	Program	Description
7 a.m.	ABC	“Good Morning America” (N)	Reese Witherspoon and Patrick Dempsey both guest.
7:30 p.m.	Fox	“Major League Baseball” (S)	Game one of the World Series.
8 p.m.	NBC	“Monsters vs. Aliens: Mutant Pumpkins from Outer Space” (A)	Halloween special based on the movie.
9 p.m.	NBC	“Law & Order: Special Victims Unit” (D)	Benson and Stabler are forced to compete with the FBI over a case.
10 p.m.	BET	“First In” (R)	The firefighters respond to several calls in which victims have already died.
10 p.m.	MTV	“Real World/Road Rules Challenge” (R)	An alliance ends up doing more harm than good.
10 p.m.	FX	“Nip/Tuck” (D)	Sean makes a big decision without notifying anyone.
THURSDAY, OCTOBER 29
Time	Network	Program	Description
7:30 p.m.	ESPN	“College Football” (S)	ACC matchup between North Carolina and Virginia Tech.
7:30 p.m.	Fox	“Major League Baseball” (S)	Game two of the World Series.
8 p.m.	CW	“Vampire Diaries” (D)	Something goes wrong when Matt and Vicki visit the school’s Halloween haunted house.
9 p.m.	ABC	“Grey’s Anatomy” (D)	A hospital lab technician has a tumor around his spine.
9 p.m.	NBC	“The Office” (C)	The office puts together a haunted house for area children. Gee, that sounds like a can't miss idea ...
10 p.m.	FX	“It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia” (C)	The crew puts on a wrestling show for returning troops.
FRIDAY, OCTOBER 30
Time	Network	Program	Description
7 a.m.	ABC	“Good Morning America” (N)	Actor Jim Carrey makes an appearance.
8 p.m.	CBS	“Ghost Whisperer” (D)	Melinda is haunted by the headless horseman.
8 p.m.	Disney Channel	“Wizards of Waverly Place” (K)	Justin looks to Juliet’s vampire family for a monster-hunting course.
8 p.m.	ESPN	“NBA Basketball” (S)	The Bulls take on the Celtics in Boston.
9 p.m.	ABC	“Ugly Betty” (D)	Marc works as Betty’s temporary assistant.
10 p.m.	USA	“Monk” (D)	Monk takes care of a dog whose owner has gone missing.
SATURDAY, OCTOBER 31
Time	Network	Program	Description
3:30 p.m.	CBS	“College Football” (S)	SEC game between Georgia and Florida.
7:30 p.m.	NBC	“College Football” (S)	Notre Dame takes on Washington State in San Antonio. (Apparently neither school has a great geography department.)
7:30 p.m.	Fox	“Major League Baseball” (S)	Coverage of game three of the World Series.
8 p.m.	ABC	“College Football” (S)	Regional matchups, most likely Texas versus Oklahoma State for much of the country.
9 p.m.	Showtime	“Boxing” (S)	Bantamweight title fight between Joseph Agbeko and Yonnhy Perez.
9 p.m.	Animal Planet	“Dogs 101” (N)	A look at Italian Greyhounds, Border Collies and others.
SUNDAY, NOVEMBER 1
Time	Network	Program	Description
1 p.m.	ABC	“NASCAR Racing” (S)	A Sprint Cup race from Talladega, Ala.
4:15 p.m.	Fox	“NFL Football” (S)	Most of the country will watch Brett Favre’s return to Green Bay’s Lambeau Field.
8 p.m.	Fox	“Major League Baseball” (S)	Game four of the World Series.
9 p.m.	ABC	“Desperate Housewives” (D)	Juanita gets expelled from school, and it’s Gaby’s fault.
9 p.m.	HBO	“Curb Your Enthusiasm” (C)	Larry has a string of bad luck on the golf course.
9 p.m.	Showtime	“Dexter” (D)	Dexter tries to ramp up his efforts in catching the Trinity Killer.
10 p.m.	AMC	“Mad Men” (D)	Peggy’s poor taste in men comes to light.
A = awards show or special, C = comedy, D = drama, DD = daytime drama, G = game show, K = kids, M = movie, N = news/documentary, R = reality, S = sports, T = talk/variety show.