"Dancing with the Stars"

Credit: ABC

Taylor Swift is going to sing! And another couple is going home. But Taylor Swift is going to sing! Of course, she hasn't really been under wraps this week or anything. I feel like I can turn on ABC almost any time of day, and she's right there, promoting her new album, "Red." She must be exhausted. But hey, you can never get too much Taylor Swift, right? Oh, and we're also getting some Jason Mraz, so it's a red letter day. Or "Red" letter. Your choice.

 "All on the Line with Joe Zee"

Credit: Sundance Channel

 Most people will likely be distracted by the Eastern seaboard being washed away this evening, but for those not watching the Weather Channel (and who still have power), the good news is that the TV schedule just keeps rolling along. Tonight "All on the Line with Joe Zee" (Sundance Channel, Mon. Oct. 29 10:00 p.m.) will wrap up another season, this time with Zee guiding designer Nicole Richie to QVC greatness. It seems struggling designers couldn't have a better mentor than Zee, whose other job is Creative Director for Elle magazine. Here are a few tips on enjoying life (or, if you're a designer, for improving your business) that I gleaned from an interview with Zee during a recent trip to Los Angeles. You're welcome.

 "The X Factor"

Credit: Fox

Welcome to Reality TV Roundup -- a quick look at some of the reality TV-centric stories that have recently popped up across the fine, old Interwebs. Click away, my couch potato friends. But before you do...

SPOILER ALERT! SPOILER ALERT! SPOILER ALERT! One more time: SPOILER ALERT. If you watch any competition shows, the latest elimination for each show is probably revealed in the text below. The hope is that, if you missed this week's program and would rather clear out your DVR than watch the episode, you can get a quick hit here. But don't come crying to me if you find out something you didn't want to know. You've been warned. Also note: lots of non-competition reality info lurks below, too. 

 "Brainwashed"

Credit: Discovery

If you've ever seen "The Manchurian Candidate" (either the original or the remake), the premise seems like pure cinema. Under hypnosis, an otherwise upstanding citizen becomes an assassin, killing while in a trance before forgetting the murder ever happened. But is it possible in real life? In "Brainwashed" (Oct. 28, 9:00 p.m. ET on Discovery), researchers decide to find out.

Using Tom Silver, a hypnotist with over 28 years of experience who has put people under on "Jimmy Kimmel Live," "The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills," "The Doctors," "The Ricki Lake Show," the show put a group of volunteers through a series of increasingly difficult tests to see if any one of them might emerge as a potential killer. And the goal isn't just theory and conjecture -- the show created a scenario in which a hypnotized person would be given a real gun (filled with blanks) and a mark to shoot at close range, fake blood splatter and all.

I spoke to Silver about the show, and while he was unwilling to discuss whether or not the test worked (you'll get no spoilers from me, but you really do need to watch the show), he did talk about implanting memories, using hypnosis for either good or evil and why Taiwan hired him to pull secrets out of imprisoned colonels and generals. 

 Courtney Love

Credit: AP Photo

So, this happened. While testifying against Britney Spears, manager Sam Lufti revealed he and Courtney Love are working on a "possible motion picture or Broadway musical based on the Nirvana catalogue, based on her life and Kurt Cobain's." It's not a huge leap of logic, as musicians ranging from Green Day to ABBA have all gotten their very own musicals. Still, given Cobain's fears about selling out, this could be problematic at best, and we're a little worried a musical about Kurt and Courtney will come across like "Sid and Nancy" with songs.  

But that doesn't mean that there aren't plenty of other acts out there deserving of the Great White Way treatment. Or, if not deserving, maybe they're car wrecks we wouldn't  mind seeing. In any case, some existing musicals could even be tweaked slightly to squeeze in a star or two, so development would be a snap! Here are a few suggestions. Producers, take notes!

 "The Vampire Diaries"

Credit: The CW

Though I had initially thought Elena's transition into vampiredom would be pretty easy -- she knows the right people, for crying out loud -- I'm beginning to have my doubts. The girl who spent so much time in previous seasons either being depressed or guilty or suffering over some fresh nightmare now has a new lease on life (or unlife, I guess) and it's not going so well. Vampires feel everything more strongly than mere mortals do -- and it was only a matter of time before all the big, bad feelings Elena was supressing came bubbling to the surface like black goo in the LaBrea Tar Pits. This week, Elena gets to do battle with her anger, which she was too nice to get out of her system back when it could have been neatly handled with a visit to the local gun rage or a good jog. No, now Elena has bloodlust and a taste for murder to deal with, and it's just a whole lot messier. 

 "American Horror Story"

Credit: FX

While I'm still not entirely committed to "American Horror Story," I have to give the show credit for one absolutely brilliant move: no matter how ridiculous it gets, I'm not sure anyone will ever be able to say it's really jumped the shark. This show pretty much kicked things off from day one with Fonzie zipping around on the waves, merrily water-skiing right past logic and subtlety, splashing us with copious quantities of homage until our heads hurt. It's not for everyone, granted, but it's definitely a wild ride.

 "Project Runway All Stars"

Credit: Lifetime

Joanna Coles will be back for another season of "Project Runway All Stars," but don't expect her to stick around for much more than that. In a conference call with journalists, the fashionista talked about why her recent exit from Marie Claire makes it likely that she'll be auf'ed -- and she totally gets it.