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Best bets: Conan O'Brien returns to TV

Get ready, Team Coco! He's back! Also this week: Denzel Washington is "Unstoppable"; every episode of "The Golden Girls" is collected on DVD  —  inside Sophia's wicker purse.
/ Source: TODAY.com

TV
First, Conan O'Brien had "Late Night." Then he had the "Tonight Show" — briefly. And now he has his own show again, and thankfully there's been a long enough break between all the Jay Leno-O'Brien switcharoos that we can just forget about that and move on with "Conan" on TBS. The hilarious and smart redhead returns to the air this week, and longtime sidekick Andy Richter is back at his side. Richter told TV Guide he thinks the new show will allow for risk-taking, saying, "We'll be more likely to try stuff for the fun of it." (Premieres Nov. 8, 11 p.m., TBS.)

We've all been awed at the special effects produced by International Light & Magic. Now a new documentary, "Industrial Light & Magic: Creating the Impossible," goes behind the scenes of the company, showing us all exactly how the thrills of films such as "Jurassic Park" and "Raiders of the Lost Ark" came to be. Tom Cruise narrates. The film airs multiple times on Encore, and on Sunday, the channel is also programming five movies that used ILM visual effects. (Documentary premiere Nov. 12, 9 p.m., Encore; ILM movies air Nov. 14 beginning at 2 p.m.)

The Military Channel is honoring Veteran's Day by running films from the G.I. Film Festival, an event devoted to movies about service members. The films will include "Shakey's Hill," about Vietnam; "The Surge: The Untold Story" and "Triangle of Death," about Iraq; and "L-Bird: The Little Plane That Did" and "God and Country," about World War II. (Beginning Nov. 12, films will run from 9-11 p.m. on Fridays and Saturdays through November, Military Channel.)

Movies
The creepiest thing about "Unstoppable" is that it's based on a true story. A railway train loaded with toxic chemicals really did get away from its engineer in Ohio in 2001 — it's known as the "Crazy Eights" incident. Somehow we doubt the real people involved were as movie-star handsome as Denzel Washington and Chris Pine, but few people are. (Opens Nov. 12.)

Whatever happened to nice sweet aliens like E.T.? Now they're all out to get us, in TV shows such as the "V" remake and in movies such as "Monsters" and now "Skyline." In "Skyline," the creatures first show up as beams of light that start swallowing and destroying people. Maybe we should stop trying to reach out to extraterrestrials and just leave them alone. (Opens Nov. 12.)

DVD
Scott Pilgrim has a problem. He's falling for a new girl, but he must first defeat her seven evil exes. (Don't ask, just go with it.) "Scott Pilgrim vs. the World" didn't do as well as expected at the box office, but it's a fun, crazy, comic-booky ride for those who like that kind of thing. (Out on DVD Nov. 9.)

If you've collected the "Mystery Science Theater 3000" box sets with figurines of Tom Servo and Crow T. Robot, you can now fill out your 'bot collection. A new four-pack of films has been issued, and goofy Gypsy is the figurine that comes along for the ride this time. The movies include "Devil Fish," "Robot Monster," "Bride of the Monster" and the gleefully horrific "Devil Doll," the movie that made ventriloquism creepy decades before that "Magic" movie. (Out on DVD Nov. 9.)

Thank you for being a friend! Betty White is still riding her 21st-century fame wave, and what better way to celebrate than by picking up "The Golden Girls: 25th Anniversary Complete Collection"? Every episode of the sitcom is included, and it's packaged in a replica of Sophia's wicker purse. Character-themed playing cards are included. Who's up for canasta? (Out on DVD Nov. 9.)

Also out this week: The final season of "thirtysomething." This is the season where a terrible fate befalls lovable Gary. We don't want to spoil a TV show that's 20 years old, but suffice to say there were no Internet spoilers available back then, and viewers were stunned by the events of the episode. (Out on DVD Nov. 9.)

Gael Fashingbauer Cooper is TODAYshow.com's movies editor.