Tube Notes

By Mike Hughes,
Gannett News Service

Tonight's Must-See

"Backstory: Halloween," 4 p.m., AMC. Back in 1978, young director John Carpenter promised he could make a horror film for just $300,000. He came close ($305,000), by skipping special effects and capturing the realistic terror of a baby-sitter on Halloween. Carpenter wrote the script (with Debra Hill, a former baby-sitter). The result changed Hollywood. The story is recalled here by Carpenter, his colleagues and star Jamie Lee Curtis.

"Backdraft" (1991), 7 p.m., ABC. Ron Howard's firefighter movie mixes dazzling action and a weak, soap-opera plot led by Kurt Russell and William Baldwin. Still, there are great moments, including a brilliant scene between Robert De Niro and Donald Sutherland.