The centenary of his birth this weeks is marked by the excess that lead to his death of the poet Dylan Thomas in one of the best TV movies of the year, “A Poet in New York” (BBC America, 8 p.m.).
Andrew Davies wrote the remarkable, necessarily literate script about the poet who marked his frequent trips from Wales to New York with binge drinking and carrying on, leading to his death there in 1953 at the age of only 39. His messing about at the Chelsea Hotel and the White Horse Tavern are the things of literary legend. Tom Hollander (“Rev”) put on weight to portray the pudgy poet and comes off with a certain gravitas in a remarkable performance.
Essie Davis and Phoebe Fox round out the cast as his long-suffering, battling wife and his assistant and mistress respectively. Here’s a thing I wrote last summer about the film and its writer Davies.
It’s the kind of thing that could only be cooked up by reality TV producers: As if to show a way to meet halfway, they get two U.S. senators — the Republican Jeff Flake and Democrat Martin Heinrich — to go to a remote island for a week to make them realize that it’s the only way they could survive. After all, the strangers on “Naked and Afraid” have to cooperate and they don’t even have any clothes. Expect things to change completely in Washington after “Real Survival” (Discovery, 10 p.m.).
The documentary “To Russia with Love” (Epix, 8 p.m.) chronicles the experiences of the gay delegation that went to the Winter Olympics in Sochi to protest Russia’s treatment of homosexuals.
A World Series winner will be determined tonight with San Francisco at Kansas City (Fox, 8 p.m.) and teams tied 3-3 going into the decisive Game 7.
Halloween is the theme of all manner of shows, of course, from “Modern Family” (ABC, 9 p.m.) and “Black-ish” (ABC, 9:30 p.m.) to “Criminal Minds” (CBS, 9 p.m.). All the creepiness necessary for Halloween can be found each week, though, on “American Horror Story: Freak Show” (FX, 10 p.m.).
Masked Mexican wrestling comes to TV with the premiere of the competition “Lucha Underground” (El Rey, 8 p.m.), where the prize is $100,000.
In the new “Weekend Fix” (Esquire, 10 p.m.) actor Omar Benson and designer Andres Izquieta try to find the best of the towns they visit. They don’t have to go far to find it in their first destination, San Francisco.
A new “Nova” (PBS, 9 p.m., check local listings) looks at the rapid advancements of warplanes during World War I, none of which were necessarily an advancement for mankind.
Rayna gets some CMA Award nominations on “Nashville” (ABC, 10 p.m.) and still isn’t happy about it.
“Top Chef” (Bravo, 10 p.m.) is in Boston this season, so naturally they have a tea party.
This is unusual: The live broadcast of the funeral (CSPAN, 11 a.m.) of former Washington Post editor Ben Bradlee.
The karaoke scene in Koreatown is the setting on “The Mysteries of Laura” (NBC, 8 p.m.).
The kids on “South Park” (Comedy Central, 10 p.m.) acquire a drone.
The Wednesday night salute to Janet Leigh this month on Turner Classic Movies comes to a close with “Psycho” (8 p.m.), “Touch of Evil” (10 p.m.), “Act of Violence” (midnight), “Harper” (1:45 a.m.) and “An American Dream” (4 a.m.).
The NBA season opens with Chicago at New York (ESPN, 8 p.m.) and Oklahoma City at Portland (ESPN, 10:30 p.m.).
Hockey includes Detroit at Washington (NBC Sports, 7:30 p.m.).
Daytime Talk
Kelly & Michael: Lucy Liu, Deion Sanders. The View: Taylor Swift, Bethenny Frankel. The Talk: Ashton Kutcher, Jon Cryer, Lisa Ingrassia, Curtis Stone, Hilary Gumbel. Ellen DeGeneres: Jake Gyllenhaal, Derek Hough, Fall Out Boy, Suzanne Vega. Wendy Williams: Mark Consuelos, Ellie Krieger, Jordi Lippe. Meredith Vieira: Jennie Garth. Queen Latifah: Sherri Shepherd.
Late Talk
David Letterman: Jim Carrey, David Tennant. Jimmy Fallon: Jake Gyllenhaal, Paul Reubens, She & Him, George Clinton. Jimmy Kimmel: Will Arnett, Lisa Kudrow, Lady Antebellum. Seth Meyers: Edward Norton, Michael Lewis, Jessie Ware. Craig Ferguson: Justin Long, Angelica Celaya. Carson Daly: Tone Bell, Coves. Tavis Smiley: Connie Rice, Jon Secada. Jon Stewart: Ellar Coltrane. Stephen Colbert: Jill Lepore. Conan O’Brien: Jon Cryer, Katharine McPhee, Bob Odenkirk.