TV picks for Oct. 19: 'Chance,' 'Fail Safe,' 'Sky Ladder'

Mind games

"House" star Hugh Laurie puts his fake medical license to use again as a frazzled neuropsychiatrist drawn into a seedy world of manipulation and violence in "Chance," which has already been guaranteed a second season. The plot — innocent man gets taken down slippery slope by femme fatale — would have delighted Howard Hawks or Alfred Hitchcock, although both directors probably would have encouraged Laurie to show off a little more of his charm.

Now streaming on Hulu

President Fonda

Those considering a write-in vote for the presidential election may want to consider the leader who faces a nuclear crisis in 1964's "Fail Safe," a film that covers the same ground as "Dr. Strangelove," but more soberly. Sure, Henry Fonda's character is fictional, but he seems more presidential than most real-life candidates. The film kicks off an evening dedicated to American politics, including 1962's "Advise & Consent" and 1964's "Seven Days in May."

7 p.m., TCM

Drawing your weapon

Netflix's interest in tapping an international audience helps explain its acquisition of "Sky Ladder," a documentary profiling Chinese artist Cai Guo-Qiang. You don't have to be based in Asia, however, to be moved by the pieces, many of which incorporate gunpowder and explosives. Kevin Macdonald ("Last King of Scotland") directs.

Now streaming on Netflix

Neal Justin