By Mike Hughes
Gannett News Service

Must see shows

• Masterpiece Theatre: Doctor Zhivago, 9 p.m., Channels 48, 16; concludes Nov. 9.

Here is a new adaptation of a dark masterpiece. The story is depressing, but the rest - script, performances, epic-style filming - is stunning. Keira Knightley (Pirates of the Caribbean) and Sam Neill are brilliant as hot-spirited Lara and evil Komarovsky. Hans Matheson is fine as Zhivago, a sturdy soul amid the chaos of Russia in the early 1900s.

• The Simpsons (8 p.m.) and Arrested Development (9:30 p.m.), Channels 19, 45.

The baseball break is over and Fox can start its Sunday season.

For The Simpsons, that means the annual "Treehouse of Terror," with brief horror tales. The best has Homer as a new Grim Reaper with a cavalier attitude. He'll put the icy hand of death on strangers, to get a better seat at a ball game.

Even better is the debut of Arrested Development, a witty series about a family that's rich and dysfunctional. There are great people in support, including David Cross and Jeffrey Tambor. Still, the real joy is Jason Bateman's droll work in the lead.

Other choices

•  CBS at 75, 8-11 p.m., Channels 12, 2 For much of its history, CBS was considered the "Tiffany Network," with the highest ratings and classiest shows. This live special views its 75 years of radio and television.

•  10-8, 8 p.m., Channels 9, 2. Things start with a bad day for cops in Hollywood. Rico soon uses a self-defense move he learned in New York, with repercussions.

•  American Dreams, 8 p.m., Channels 5, 22. There are romantic complications for Meg, Roxanne and J.J. Meanwhile, Sam and Nathan become interested in the Muslim faith and Malcolm X. Also, the show now has both a country and a rock setting. Blake Shelton sings "Playboy of the Southwestern World" and Alicia Keys sings "Rescue Me."

• The Matrix (1999), 8 p.m., TBS; reruns at 11 p.m. Here is the original techno-thriller that started a box-office windfall. Keanu Reeves stars as a computer hacker who discovers a bizarre reality.

•  Law & Order: Criminal Intent, 9 p.m., Channels 5, 2.. This solidly written and acted episode manages to find the human frailties of two people who are also nasty killers. Nikki James and Rodney Hicks do a good job as the crooks.

•  Johnny Mnemonic, 2 a.m. (Nov. 3), TBS. This movie serves as a reminder that it's not the actor who makes a science-fiction film work. Keanu Reeves stars in this sci-fi tale, just as he does in the Matrix films. The difference is that this one is really, really, really awful.