Daily Best Bets

1) “The Conners” and more, 8-10 p.m., ABC. Ever since its began (as “Roseanne”) 34 years ago, this has had great Halloween episodes.  (shown here). This time, Dan wants the house decorated, but everyone is busy; Becky tries to take over. That’s followed at 8:30 by horror-film spoofs on “The Goldbergs.” At 9, someone steals the Halloween candy from “Abbott Elementarty”; at 9:30, Tom may have a Halloween-time stalker on “Home Economics.” Read more…

1) “The Resident,” 8 p.m., Fox. Dr. Bell (Bruce Greenwood) has covered all the extremes. He was the show’s villain, botching surgeries and hiding the evidence … then its hero, an unflinching force for good … and then an afterthought, getting out-of-state medical treatments. Now he’s back and marrying Kit (Jane Leeves, shown here), who has his old job as the hospital’s CEO. It’s the 100th episode of this above-average show and yes, there’s a wedding crisis. Read more…

1) “Independent Lens,” 10 p.m., PBS (check local listings). Meet stars of TikTok – Spencer X. a beat-boxer with a million-dollar mouth … Deja Foxx, once a homeless teen and now a Columbia honors student who supports herself and her mom with videos ranging from sexy to socio-political … Feroza Aziz (shown here), who slid genocide protests into an eyelash tutorial. We also hear about chilling TikTok sins, from censorship to shaping youths with subtle biases. Read more…

1) “The Simpsons,” 8 p.m., Fox. Even now, in its 34th season, the show manages to change. Previous years had “Treehouse of Horror,” with three offbeat tales; that will be here next week, but first is a fresh twist — “Treehouse presents” a take-off on Stephen King’s “It.” Homer and other teens fight a killer clown (shown here) … then return 27 years later, to try again. The Homer/Marge romance is flipped, in a tale that’s too gory for some viewers, but great fun for many. Read more…

1) Sports surge. Baseball and college football collide. The former has two best-of-seven series, sending winners to the World Series. Today, Aaron Judge (shown here) and the Yankees host the Astros at 5:07 p.m. ET on TBS; the Padres-Phillies game is, 7:45 on Fox. That faces lots of football, including Mississippi State (ranked No. 24) at Alabama (No. 6) at 7 p.m. ET on ESPN, Minnesota at Penn State (No. 16) at 7:30 on ABC and Kansas State (No. 17) at Texas Christian (No. 8) at 8 on Fox Sports1. Read more…

1) “Ron Carter: Finding the Right Notes,” 9-11 p.m., PBS. Growing up near Detroit, in a house his dad built, Ron Carter mastered classical bass. Then Leopold Stokowski told him he wanted to add him to the Houston Symphony, but the board wouldn’t accept “a colored boy.” Carter promptly became a legendary jazzman – with Miles Davis and then with everyone. Guinness said he’s on an unmatched 2,221 recordings. Here’s a superb portrait of a great (shown here), now 85. Read more…

1) “Walker Independence,” 9 p.m., CW. In theory, this is about Abby; an ancestor of Walker (the Texas Ranger), she was widowed in the old West. Tonight, however, her role is minor; the focus goes to Hoyt, played by the same actor (Matt Barr, shown here) who plays the modern Hoyt. A preacher, poker cheat, robber and lover, Hoyt stirs lots of action. It’s an entertaining show, in an overcrowded time slot. Read more…

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. Read more…

1) “Monarch,” 9 p.m. Fox. Soaps love to end an episode with a jolt. Last week had a big one: Albie (Trace Adkins, shown here) was told that his late wife set a barn fire, trapping his mistress inside. There’s a related mega-jolt near the end of this episode, Then “Monarch” finally starts the night it’s been flashing forward to, when someone is killed. Alas, we still won’t know who it is or how it happens. Also: at the start of the hour, a lame plot twist is tossed aside. Read more…

1) “Masterpiece: Magpie Murders” debut, 9 p.m., PBS. Two mysteries wind through this intriguing six-parter. One is in real life … or the reality of this show. The other is in a novel that is missing its final chapter. We bounce between the two – one set in the 1950s, the other now; at times, a probing editor even envisions cryptic talks with the fictional,’50s detective (shown here with is assistant). With few likable characters, “Magpie” is slow to engage viewers; still, it’s worth the wait. Read more…