1) “American Masters: Where Now Is,” 9 p.m., PBS. Michael Tilson Thomas was just 24, a California kid descended from cantors and Yiddish-theater stars, when he became assistant conductor of the Boston Symphony. The conductor became ill at intermission and he took over. He became a star … just as Leonard Bernstein once did, in similar circumstances, at 25. Like Bernstein, Thomas (shown here), 75, brings passion and telegenic flair. This film has warm personal moments and others that are mainly for classical buffs.
2) World Series, 8 p.m. ET, Fox, with pre-game at 7:30. Here’s the third game of the best-of-seven series, in a battle of opposites. Going into this year, the Dodgers (in Brooklyn and Los Angeles) had won 48 World Series games; the Tampa Bay Rays had won one. (The Dodgers had lost 64 games; the Rays had lost four.) They’ll continue Saturday and, if needed, Sunday, Tuesday and Wednesday.
3) More athletes and such. The baseball game actually bumps wrestling off Fox … but doesn’t bump it far; “WWE Friday Night Smackdown” is 8 p.m. ET on Fox Sports1, repeating at 11. Also, NBC reruns “American Ninja Warrior” at 8 … and the Big Ten football season finally starts. The opener (Illinois at Wisconsin at 8 ET) is only on the Big Ten Network, but Saturday has six games on three networks.
4) Halloween films. Cable fills October with slick, fun films. Today has “Beetlejuice” (1988) at 6:30 p.m. on Freeform and “Hotel Transylvania 2” (2015) and “3” (2018) at 8 and 10 p.m. on FX. But there are horror variations, from low-budget – Steve McQueen in “The Blob” (1958), at 9:30 p.m. ET on Turner Classic Movies – to dead-serious. The masterful “Psycho” is 5:30 p.m. ET on BBC America, in an Alfred Hitchcock marathon: “Vertigo” (1958) at noon, “Rear Window” (1954) at 3, “The Birds” (1963) at 8.
5) “Blue Bloods,” 10 p.m., CBS. Frank (Tom Selleck) feels guilty when his waitress is a cop he fired; now he has doubts about the case and tries to have her re-instated. Meanwhile, his kids are busy: Danny probes the murder of a college basketball player … Erin seeks justice on a driving-under-the-influence charge … and Jamie picks a wedding venue.