Tube Notes

By Mike Hughes
Gannett News Service

TODAY'S CAN'T-AVOID: "Zack Files," 12:30 p.m., "Double, Double, Toil and Trouble," 1 p.m., "Addams Family Reunion" (1998), 4 p.m., and "Scariest Places on Earth," 6 p.m., all on the FOX Family Channel. The cable channels won't be happy until this once-minor holiday is stretched into an entire month. Fox Family Channel is almost halfway there. Today, it launches its annual "13 Days of Halloween," starting with the season-opener of "Zack Files." It's a weekly series about a kid who keeps running across other-worldly things, from a clone to a parallel universe inside his bathroom mirror. That will be followed by "Double, Double, Toil and Trouble" (a movie that Mary-Kate and Ashley Olsen made in 1993, when they were tykes), and "Addams Family Reunion" (a 1998 TV movie with Tim Curry). Afterward, Linda Blair takes you on a tour of the "Scariest Places on Earth."

"Providence," 7 p.m., NBC. Syd faces problems at work and in romance, but her brother is planning his wedding with Tina.

"The Ellen Show," 7 p.m., CBS. Ellen makes the dangerous suggestion that her mother and sister talk to each other during dinner instead of watching TV.

"That's Life," 8 p.m., CBS. Lydia faces another dilemma when she learns that Hackett's wife is cheating on him.

"Thieves," 8 p.m., ABC. This stylish show adds another complication for its attractive young thieves. They take someone's car and find something in the trunk.

"Sherlock Holmes in The Royal Scandal,'' 6 p.m., Hallmark Channel. Here's the latest movie to have Matt Frewer ("Max Headroom") as Holmes. Today's trouble starts when a beautiful opera star blackmails the Crown Prince.

"Once and Again," 9 p.m., ABC. The stepsisters, Grace and Jesse, are up for the same role in a school play.