PBS, 8:00 p.m. ET
This salute to Ellen DeGeneres was taped a week ago Monday in Washingon, D.C., the same evening as the third and final presidential debate between Mitt Romney and President Barack Obama. Alluding to Romney’s one specific announced proposed budget cut, revealed during an earlier debate and aimed at eliminating federal funding for PBS, DeGeneres began her thank-yous by saying, to the network airing the awards ceremony, “Thanks to everyone at PBS. I’m so glad to be a part of your farewell season.” Let’s hope she was joking. Guests on hand to honor DeGeneres include Jane Lynch, Sean Hayes and Jimmy Kimmel. But while the comedienne deserves lots of credit for coming out, in and out of character, on her Ellen sitcom, might I just ask: How in the world has The Mark Twain Prize not yet been awarded to the Smothers Brothers? Check local listings.
TCM, 9:15 p.m. ET
Tonight, in anticipation of Halloween, TCM presents a prime-time lineup that’s so good, it’s scary – and vice versa. The triple feature begins at 8 p.m. ET with 1927’s The Unknown, an early Lon Chaney film, also starring Joan Crawford, directed by Tod Browning. It concludes at 10:30 p.m. ET with 1946’s Bedlam, a moody Boris Karloff film sometimes known as Chamber of Horrors. But the evening’s centerpiece is another Browning movie, the 1932 cult masterpiece Freaks. How good is it? Well, I just showed it to my Film History and Appreciation class at Rowan University last week, and it’ll be on the midterm. Featured performers include many actual sideshow veterans, including Siamese twins Daisy and Violet Hilton and Josephine Joseph, billed as the half-woman, half-man.
PBS, 9:30 p.m. ET
Kai Ryssdal, host of public radio’s Marketplace, reports on how the Supreme Court’s Citizens United decision has played out in Montana, with local court challenges, alleged abuses by local political campaigns, and how the resultant state Senate race has escalated into a bitter contest that could well prove pivotal in each party’s hopes to control the U.S. Senate. Check local listings.
ABC, 9:31 p.m. ET
In this new Halloween episode, June (Dreama Walker) is even more paranoid than usual about her eccentric roommate Chloe (Krysten Ritter), who has a history of pulling elaborate pranks for the holiday. But this year, with Chloe adopting a law-and-order costume persona, there’s nothing to worry about, right? Yeah, right.
FX, 10:00 p.m. ET
Poor Jax (Charlie Hunnam) doesn’t know where to turn lately, what with the gunshot attacks, car crashes, and duplicitous gang members pointing the fingers at others. And since Clay (Ron Perlman) has falsely denied being behind the recent break-ins and beat-downs, Jax goes back to confront the next likely suspect, the deadly Pope (Harold Perrineau).