Daily Best Bets

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. Read more…

1) Presidential debate, 9-10:30 p.m. ET, ABC, CBS, NBC, PBS and news channels. This final match-up gained extra importance when the previous one was canceled: Unsure if Donald Trump had been infectious during the first face-off, the commission planned a virtual debate from separate locations. Trump refused; he and Joe Biden ended up in simultaneous town halls. Now the two have their second and last confrontation, 12 days before the election; alternatives include football (shown here) and movies. Read more…

1) “The Conners” season-opener, 9 p.m., ABC. No show is better set to view the pandemic’s impact on regular Americans. Since its start (as “Roseanne”) 32 years ago, it’s been about a blue-collar family, just getting by. Now Dan’s construction business is wobbling; so is Jackie’s restaurant and Darlene’s magazine. The sisters — Darlene and Becky (shown here in an earlier episode) — must change their lives again. The result brings a fair amount of laughs, alongside despair and (occasionally) warmth. It offers a flashback – – we even see a young George Clooney – and lets the Conners’ lives go full-circle. Read more…

1) “American Masters: Walter Winchell: The Power of Gossip,” 9-10:30 p.m., PBS. An epic story with operatic extremes,this is beautifully told. Growing up poor, Winchell (shown here) left school in 6th grade for vaudeville. He later created a newspaper column and radio show that mixed gossip and news, staccato-style. He was early in attacking Hitler and promoting civil rights; later, however, he became a red-baiter and a Joe McCarthy fan. Long before our time, he savored the impact of insults and innuendo. Read more…

1) “The Voice” season-opener, 8-10 p.m., NBC. Yes, there is a real TV season trickling in. And now we have one of the ratings leaders, starting with two nights and four hours of auditions. Blake Shelton will be there, as usual; he’s already had seven winners in 18 seasons. But Kelly Clarkson (shown here) has had three winners just five seasons. The others are John Legend (one win in three seasons) and Gwen Stefani, Shelton’s life partner, with no wins in four seasons. Read more…

1) “Ferris Bueller’s Day Off” (1986), 8 p.m., CBS. Maybe this is the time to settle back with a fun film. CBS — which has temporarily revived its Sunday-night movies — has this popular tale, with Matthew Broderick (shown here) giving himself a personal vacation. Freeform has its usual lighe Halloween films and TNT has two 2018 films — “Oceean’s 8” at 5:30 p.m. and “Crazy Rich Asians” at 8; both have so-so stories, redeemed by a bright, breezy look and feel.  Read more…

1) “Saturday Night Live,” 11:29 p.m., NBC. For the third straight week, the show has a skilled comedy pro as host. The season opened with comics who sometimes act (Chris Rock and Bill Burr) and great results. Now comes Issa Rae, who received Emmy nominations this year for both a comedy series (“Insecure”) and a sketch show (“The Black Lady Sketch Show”). It’s her first time at “SNL”; Justin Bieber (shown here) has his fourth time as music guest; in one, he doubled as host Read more…

1) “Great Performances: Grammy Salute to Legends,” 9 p.m., PBS. Most music shows have beautifully adjusted to the pandemic … but not this one. It does have a few good moments – from Sam Moore, Yola and Brandi Carlile – and one great one – a Roberta Flack tribute, gorgeously sung by Cynthia Erivo (shown here in a previous performance) and Leslie Odom, Jr. Then things fall apart — badly written film tributes, so-so introductions and endless acceptance speeches … including separate ones from every member of Chicago. Read more…

1) Town hall, 8 p.m. ET, ABC, with news follow-up at 9:30 ET. This was supposed to be the big one – the second debate between Donald Trump and Joe Biden; then it fell apart. When Trump was infectious with COVID, the debate commission said this round would have to be done from separate locations. He said he wouldn’t do it… Biden promptly scheduled this town hall … and the commission dumped the debate. Biden’s event — moderated by George Stephanopoulos (shown here) matches Trump’s town hall with ABC last month; Biden also had an NBC town hall on Oct. 5 … and Trump (see next paragraph) has tried to set up a similar one for tonight. Read more…

1) “Billboard Music Awards,” 8-11 p.m., NBC. Delayed a half-year by COVID, the awards arrive with lots of big names. Kelly Clarkson (the host), Garth Brooks (who’s shown here and will get the Icon Award) and Post Malone (leading with 16 nominations) will perform. So will BTS, Sia, Alicia Keys, Luke Combs and key collaborations – Deja Cat with Tyga, Khalid with Swae Lee and Kane Brown. Songs will range from a premiere by Demi Lovato to En Vogue celebrating the 30th anniversary of “Free Your Mind.” Read more…