1) “Documentary Now” season-opener, 10 and 10:31 p.m. ET, IFC. The stories about “Fitzcarraldo” (1982) are epic. Men carried a 320-ton ship over a hill in the Peruvian jungle. When the star got sick, Klaus Kinski (shown here) was cast; he soon fought fiercely with director Werner Herzog … as he had in three other films. Now that’s satirized brilliantly. Alexander Skarsgard plays a guy simultaneously filming a brash comedy pilot and a documentary about a primitive culture.
2) “The Masked Singer,” 8 p.m., Fox. Last week, Fox perplexed viewers. When a baseball play-off game ran over, there was no note about when “Masked Singer” would air. Only later did the network decide: The whole thing, with Andrew Lloyd Webber performing and judging singers doing his songs, runs tonight, instead. So far, ousters have ranged from William Shatner to the “Brady Bunch” brothers, dressed as Mummies and singing about Monkees.
3) “Secrets of the Dead,” 10 p.m., PBS. As Vesuvius erupted in 79 AD, stones rained on Pompeii at a furious pace – a half-foot an hour. A city of 11,000 was buried under 12 feet or more. This film follows progress in the dig. We see shops and fast-food spots, plus a carriage called “the Lamborghini of the ancient world.” We even see a long tunnel that was dug by modern looters. It’s an excellent hour, after last week’s so-so season-opener.
4) “Nature,” 8 p.m., PBS. The thundering wildebeest migration is stunning in sight and sound, with thousands of creatures in a fast (but organized) dash. There are moments of splendor in this film (which features two native guides), but also an emphasis on the dark side. We see the gory results as hordes run a gauntlet of crocodiles. We also hear about the negative effects of tourism.
5) ALSO: The American League championship series starts today on TBS, while the National League has its second Phillies-Padres game, on Fox Sports1. Both are best-of-seven, with the winners heading to the World Series on Oct. 28. And on “Abbott Elementary” (9 p.m., ABC). Janine introduces a new berverage to the cafeteria, causing problems for the students and for the plumbing system.