Daily Best Bets

1) World Series, 8:08 p.m. ET, Fox; pre-game at 7:30. It’s a match-up no one expected. The Washington Nationals’ franchise (which started 50 years ago in Montreal) had never been to the Series; two other franchises spent 70 years in Washington and got there three times – most recently in 1933. After starting this season at 19-31, the Nationals won 66 per cent of their games … won the wildcard game … beat the Dodgers three-out-of-five … and swept the Cardinals; now they face the Houston Astros. Read more…

1) “Catherine the Great” opener, 10 p.m., HBO, rerunning at 11. Helen Mirren has been three queens – Charlotte and both Elizabeths; now it’s her turn to be a Russian empress. Catherine – previously played by Marlene Dietrich and Catherine Zeta-Jones – was 32 when her husband became the Russian emperor in 1762 … and 33 when she ousted him via a coup. She ruled for 34 years, amid modernizing and conquest. This four-part mini-series was filmed in palaces in Latvia, Lithuania and Russia. Read more…

1) “The Simpsons,” 8 p.m., Fox. It’s the 30th annual “Treehouse of Horrors” and, in a nifty bonus, it’s “Simpsons” episode No. 666. That’s considered Satan’s number and this has lots of devilish fun. Homer trades a second son for an evil female spawn; he also keeps getting a new body for himself … and promptly ruining it. Milhouse hits a “Stranger Things” portal. And Selma (shown here has an affair with a fish creature. Parts of this are too harsh for some viewers; much of it is hilarious. Read more…

1) “Patsy & Loretta,” 8-10:03 p.m., Lifetime. Two near-opposites merged beautifully. Patsy Cline was big, brash and confident; since childhood she was intent on stardom; Loretta Lynn was backwoods and shy, with four kids and a belated career. Both had great talent, warm hearts and heavy-drinking husbands; in the two years before her death in a plane crash, Cline guided her friend. This sprawling story is told with a fairly good script, skilled direction and gifted stars, Megan Hilty (shown here) and Jessie Mueller. Read more…

1) “Great Performances: Grammy Salute to Music Legends,” 9-11 p.m., PBS. “I had no idea (songs) would last this long,” Valerie Simpson (shown here) says. Or that singers would last. Simpson, 74, is in great voice; so are other honorees – Dionne Warwick, 78; and Sam Moore, 83. Songwriters Lou Adler, 85, and Johnny Mandel, 93, show up. But PBS isn’t afraid to get heavy (Rival Sons with a great Black Sabbath tribute) or funky (George Clinton). There are great bits from Garth Brooks, Jessie Mueller and more. Read more…

1) “Perfect Harmony,” 8:30 p.m., NBC. These people are determined to win the next choir contest. They’ll practice relentlessly; nothing will get in the way … except, of course, deer season (shown here). In this Kentucky town, everything stops for hunting. Arthur, the crabby choirmaster, reluctantly joins the hunt. Tempers fray, friends fight; it’s another funny episode of the best new show on broadcast TV. Read more…

1) “Chicago Fire,” “Chicago Med” and “Chicago P.D.,” 8-11 p.m., NBC. It’s time for a crossover, flipping the order of the first two shows. Firefighters and paramedics rush to a Bears game, where there’s a bacteria outbreak (shown here); then a fire causes Sevaride to suspect there’s something bigger. “Med” follows the outbreak, putting an apartment complex under quarantine; Will faces a bioterrorism suspect. That sets up “P.D.” and a massive manhunt; Voight fears it’s just a wild goose chase. Read more…

1) “The Resident,” 9 p.m., Fox. At first glance, this is a Halloween episode – vampires … and rising from the dead … and The Raptor (shown here) and Mina stranded in a creepy town, filled with angry stares. Stick around, though; there’s a medical basis for each story. The two hospital ones are heavy-handed, despite terrific work from Jonathan Lipnicki (the former child star) in the “vampire” tale. But the third, in creepyville, is beautifully written and filmed, with an important story at its core. Read more…

1) “The Terror: Impact” finale, 9 p.m., AMC. Opposite forces weave together. This is a horror story, sometimes gruesome …. It’s also a gentle folk tale, filled with gorgeous Japanese images …. And it’s a protest of sending 120,000 Japanese-Americans to internment camps. The closing credits show many of the actors and their detained ancestors … and show star George Takei (shown here), 82, a camp survivor. Read more…

1) “Batwoman,” 8 p.m., CW. In last week’s final minute, Kate (that’s Batwoman) had a startling notion: Maybe nasty Alice (Rachel Skarsten, shown here) is Kate’s long-dead sister, having become evil but not become dead. We’ll get an answer quickly, followed by ongoing arguments between Kate and her dad. He’s a one-note character, but “Batwoman” redeems itself with gorgeous visuals and its compelling lead character. Read more…