TV Daily

Weekend Pick

With fires raging across Southern California this week, you won't find it too hard to get into the good, old-fashioned doomsday spirit of "Lost Book of Nostradamus" (premieres at 9 p.m. EDT on Sunday, Oct. 28, on the History Channel). The two-hour special focuses on a recent discovery of a book of watercolor paintings with the name of Nostradamus clearly inscribed in it, found at the Italian National Library in Rome. While a few of the more reasonable-seeming scholars interviewed confidently assert that there's no way the book is the work of the famed prophet, the Nostradamus fans take a very different view. "I think the discovery of this book at this time is definitely no accident," one apocalypse-lover tells the camera with great zeal, and naturally this special is full of such sentiments. In fact, from the first commercial break onward, we're teased that the Lost Book contains "the startling prediction of when and how the world will come to an end," but don't bother to drag out your calendar until the last 15 minutes or so. And if your nerves tend to get a little frayed by incessant talk of omens and bleak forecasts for humanity, do yourself a favor. Record "Lost Book of Nostradamus," and skip to the last 20 minutes for the approximate date and circumstances of the apocalypse, so you can plan your schedule for that day accordingly.

-- H.H.

Also…

On Friday, the 12 semifinalists of "Next Great American Band" perform (8 p.m. EDT on Fox). "Halloween Unmasked" (7 p.m. EDT on National Geographic) reveals the history of the holiday. On Saturday, "100 Scariest Movie Moments Marathon" (the five-part series starts at 9 p.m. EDT on Bravo) reviews the most frightening movies ever, while CNN's two-hour documentary "We Were Warned -- Iran" (8 p.m. EDT) reviews one of the scariest nuclear threats ever. On Sunday, PBS's "Nature" series premieres with "Silence of the Bees" (8 p.m. EDT, check local listings), which explores the shrinking bee population in America and its consequences. E!'s "25 Hottest Hollywood Cougar Tales" (8 p.m. EDT) examines female celebrities who date younger men. Masterpiece Theatre airs Part 2 of "The Amazing Mrs. Pritchard" at 9 p.m. EDT (PBS, check listings) and Showtime's "Brotherhood" airs at 10 p.m. EDT.

On the talk shows -- Friday

Contributors: Megan Doll, Heather Havrilesky, Eryn Loeb, Amy Reiter

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