1) World Series begins, 5:07 p.m. PT Friday and Saturday, Fox, with pre-game at 4. Baseball (shown here) finally gets the spotlight, continuing on Oct. 30 and 31 and (if needed) Nov. 1, 3 and 4. That’s in a year of surprises: The five teams with the best records imploded in the play-offs, losing 13 of 14 games. In the regular season, four of them had 99 or more wins. By the final round before the Series, none of the survivors had more than 90 regular-season wins.
2) “Dancing With the Stars,” 8-10 p.m. Tuesday, ABC and Disney+. This could be a night of strong emotion. As a tribute to Len Goodman, the long-time judge who died in April at 78, the pro dancers perform to “Moon River.” Then contestants dance to songs from key years in their lives. That ranges from recent (Billie Eilish, Ed Sheeran) to Barry Williams dancing to “Born to be Wild.” For more dance, an elegant ballet concert is 9 p.m. Friday on PBS.
3) “Native America” season-opener, 9 p.m. Tuesday, PBS. As a boy, Aaron Yazzie explored the terrain in the Navajo nation. Now he’s a NASA engineer who designed key parts of the rover that roams Mars – a world similar to where he grew up. In this interesting hour (starting a four-week season), he ranges from the old-world skills of weavers to the search for new worlds. We also meet an electronic-music duo and a builder of unique (and affordable) housing.
4) “The Challenge: Battle For a New Champion” opener, 8 p.m. Wednesday, MTV. Six days after CBS’ spin-off (“The Challenge: USA”) ended, the original returns. It’s the 25th year and 39th edition of the show (first called “Road Rules: All Stars”), but has a fresh format: These 24 people have been on previous shows, but haven’t won. They get a new shot, but ten previous winners – including five-time champion CT Tambarello — sometimes try to block them.
5) “Magnum P.I.,” 9 p.m. Wednesday, NBC. There’s so much here – fast cars, blue skies, likable people – that we’ll forgive (almost) a weak story. Why would police, seeing bodies at a two-car crash site – assume the lone survivor was the responsible driver, facing years in prison? It’s a poor plot, surrounded by stories, including TC’s recovery, that keep us watching. Paired with the 8 p.m. “Quantum Leap,”
this gives us a solid night of non-rerun dramas.
6) “Transplant,” 9 p.m. Thursday, NBC. Dr. Bashir Hamed is used to obstacles. After years of helping rebels in Syria, he reached Toronto with his sister. Now a friend back home needs help and hospital colleagues face waves of pain. Tough cases merge physical and emotional anguish. It’s a potent hour that finds Bash with frustration (his boss bars him from surgery) and joy: He finally has a love interest — Mags, who is his opposite in many ways.
7) “Everyone Else Burns” opener, 9:30 p.m. Thursday, CW. David clings to his beliefs, certain he’ll have eternal rewards while others face hellfire. Still, he can’t conquer the church hierarchy … or his own family. The character – played by Simon Bird, former star of the teen hit “The Inbetweeners” – is close to being one-note. But this British comedy is salvaged by others, especially David’s daughter, a sweet teen grasping for bits of normality.
8) More, CW. At a tough time for TV, this mini-network has some interesting moves. At 9 p.m. today, “The Royals: A New Era” views the monarchy, a year after the death of Elizabeth II. At 9 Tuesday, “The Swarm” sets up next week’s finale, with ocean chaos. At 8 Wednesday, “Sullivan’s Crossing” searches for a kidnapped teen. Then Canadian comedies move to Thursdays, with “Son of a Critch,” “Run the Burbs” and “Children Ruin Everything.”
9) Christmas movies, 8 p.m. Great American Family doubles its output, with new films on Friday and Saturday; Hallmark has both days plus Sunday. Some actors are familiar; “Bringing Home Christmas” (Saturday, GAF) is Paul Greene’s seventh film with “Christmas” in the title and Jill Wagner’s ninth. Hallmark’s films vary in setting: “Joyeux Noel” (Sunday) is in France; “Mystic Christmas” (Saturday) is in the same spot as Julia Roberts’ “Mystic Pizza.”
10) “The Gilded Age” season-opener, 9 p.m. Sunday, HBO. In its first minutes, this dazzles: It’s Easter Sunday in 1880s Newport and the elite stroll to church in bonnet-bedecked splendor. In the closing minutes, we’re dazzled anew by a consummate dinner party. In between, there are emotional moments for both the upstairs and downstairs folks. Writer Julian Fellowes repeats what he did with “Downton Abbey,” blending spectacle and solid drama.