Best-bets for Oct. 28: “SNL” and a sports overload

1) “Saturday Night Live,” 11:29 p.m., NBC. After starting the season with high-profile hosts (Pete Davidson and Bad Bunny), “SNL” goes the opposite way. Nate Bargatze (shown here), 44, is a good-natured comedian once described in an Atlantic article as “the nicest man in stand-up.” He hosts, with the Foo Fighters as music guests. The season’s first “SNL” was so-so (despite Davidson), but the second had sharp sketches, three of them mainly in Spanish. Read more…

Best-bets for Oct. 27: baseball or ballet

1) World Series begins, 8:03 p.m. ET, Fox, with pre-game at 7. Baseball finally gets the spotlight, with the Texas Rangers (shown here) hosting the Arizona Diamondbacks. That repeats Saturday, moves to Arizona on Monday through Wednesday, then (if needed) returns to Texas on Nov. 3-4. Todayt, its competition includes college football (Florida Atlantic-Charlotte, 7:30 ET, ESPN2) and a terrific baseball movie (“A League of Their Own,” 1992, 1 and 10 p.m., E).
Read more…

Beat-bets for Oct. 26: transplanted drama and comedies

1) “Transplant,” 9 p.m., NBC. Dr. Bashir Hamed is used to obstacles. After helping rebels in Syria, he reached Canada with his sister. Now his friends face steep trouble, both back home and at the hospital where he works. This hour is stuffed with physical and emotional pain. Bash finds frustration (his boss bars him from surgery) and joy: He finally has a love interest — Mags (they’re shown here), an intense doctor who is his opposite in many ways. Read more…

Best-bets for Oct. 25: a mixed night for new dramas

1) “Sullivan’s Crossing,” 8 p.m., CW. This drama is sometimes as gentle and peaceful as its Nova Scotia setting. Last week, however, ended with a jolt: Two college guys were with a teen girl, when one accidentally shot Frank; they grabbed the girl and ran. That story wraps up now, leaving more room for the main plot, which is fairly good: A big-city surgeon, facing legal troubles, has retreated to the campgrounds where her father and Cal (Chad Michael Murray) and others cling to secrets. Read more…

Switching to Spanish, “SNL” soars

In the 953 “Saturday Night Live” episodes, the hosts have ranged afar.
They’ve gone from 7-year-old Drew Barrymore to 88-year-old Betty White. They’ve included actors, singers, comedians and Elon Musk, plus presidential candidates, a president’s son, a presidential spokesman and Miskell Spillman, 80, who said she needed one more thrill in life; she would have another 14 years to savor it.
Despite all the differences, most had a common thread – the English language. That sort of changed Saturday (Oct. 21), with Bad Bunny (shown here with Pedro Pascal) as host. Read more…

Best-bets for Oct. 24: emotional dancing, native innovation

1) “Dancing With the Stars,” 8-10 p.m., ABC and Disney+. We can expect 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 choose songs from key years in their lives. That ranges from recent (songs by Billie Eilish and Ed Sheeran) to Barry Williams (shown here), 69, dancing to “Born to be Wild,” which came out in 1968, just before he joined the Brady Bunch. Read more…

A gilded age adds glitter and anger

When you call a show “The Gilded Age,” you sort of set expectations.
The first season (shown here) was lush; as the second one starts (9 p.m. Sunday, Oct. 29, on HBO), those expectations are raised. “It’s ‘How do you get bigger?’” Bob Shaw, the production designer, said in a virtual press forum.
Julian Fellowes, the show’s creator and producer, had an answer: You start the story on Easter Sunday.
After a quiky opening – lots of bonnets coming out of boxes and onto carefully coiffed heads – we see masses stroll down two avenues to the church. Kasia Walicka Maimone, the costume designer, recalls her reaction: “‘Oh my God, Julian is putting us through this incredible exercise.’” Read more…

Best-bets for Oct. 23: reality time for singers, chefs and f-creeps

1) “The Voice” and “Irrational,” 8 and 10 p.m., NBC. The four-hour-a-week pace has “Voice” moving quickly; it’s already into the “battle round,” with teammates facing each other. And stick around for “Irrational” (shown here) and a question: If these folks are so skilled at human behavior, wouldn’t they be good gamblers? Maybe. Camille, an ex-colleague, is a Las Vegas poker player who’s in danger. Read more…

Best-bets for Oct. 22: “Fear,” “Family,” foul father

1) “Fear the Walking Dead” return, 9-10:08 p.m., AMC, repeats at 11:23. When this show started, Madison (Kim Dickens, shown here) was an average (perhaps) school counselor. Then she battled zombies heroically, was apparently killed … and emerged three years later — collecting children for PADRE, then reversing her life and helping them escape. Now the final six episodes begin as she faces an old foe plus PADRE. It’s a tense, taut and well-crafted hour. Read more…

He’s ranged from the Navajo Nation to Mars

Aaron Yazzie’s life juggles the old and the new.
We’re talking very old. He grew up in the Navajo Nation, which his ancestors may have reached six centuries ago.
And very new. He designed key elements of the rover that grabs samples on Mars.
“Mars looks exactly like the Navajo Nation,” Yazzie (shown here) said. “When I was growing up, just playing in those mesas with my cousins and my brothers, I … was sort of creating this muscle memory for when I eventually got to NASA.”
Now he’s featured in the opener (9 p.m. Tuesday, Oct. 24) of the second season of PBS’ “Native America.” The four episodes feature: Read more…