Tuning in: On TV this week.

Sunday Oct. 24

Inside the Secret Service (National Geographic Channel, 8-10 p.m.): This vigorous documentary, as gripping as any action adventure, stars the men and women who protect the president of the United States from criminals, zealots, and terrorists. Interviews with former presidents Bill Clinton, Gerald Ford, and George H.W. Bush add a warm, human touch.

The Dead Will Tell (CBS, 9-11 p.m.): 'Tis the season when TV turns to "ghosties and ghoulies and long-legged beasties and things that go bump in the night" for story material. Anne Heche stars as a sensitive woman whose engagement ring is haunted. When she sees the ghost of the ring's former owner, her prospective mother-in-law (Kathleen Quinlan) thinks she's crazy. Mildly scary, but appealing.

How They Won: The Seven Secrets to Winning the Presidency (History Channel, 9-10 p.m.): "Appear to be the common man" and "have a great theme song" seem to be as important as "good hair" and "Mudslinging 101." These and more nonsense of the same order appear to be winning ingredients to political success - especially as this satirical bunch of commentators frame them. This special is fairly funny yet truthful.

Filmfakers (AMC, 10-11 p.m.): Three inexperienced actors are hired to appear in a horror film called "Croc Park." But everything about the film is a setup. At the end of a week of enduring the rigors of winter outdoors, a terrible script, and endless takes requiring buckets of stage blood, the actors are clued into the joke. Their sweet reactions make for a pleasant twist on the "Candid Camera" genre.