Documentarian Rory Kennedy has a personal stake in her feature-length space film “Above and Beyond: NASA’s Journey to Tomorrow” (Discovery, Science, 9 p.m.) celebrating 60 years of the agency; it was her uncle JFK who put forth the national challenge to get to the moon.
At a time when a Soyuz mission to the International Space Station was aborted this week — and there was no U.S. way to help out — Kennedy’s history is heavy on the drama of the early flight, the spectacle of looking back at Earth from space, and how space exploration can address crucial issues such as the environmental crisis.
Closer to Earth, “USS Indianapolis: Men of Courage” (History, 8 p.m.) is a three hour documentary about the sinking of a U.S. ship by the Japanese in World War II.
“Love & Hate Crime: A Murder in Mississippi” (Investigation Discovery, 8 p.m.) looks at the case of a man targeted by racist white teens
Elsewhere, he made for TV romance “Under the Autumn Moon” (Hallmark, 9 p.m.) Lindy Booth plays an executive who tries to buy a ranch for company retreats but its owner (Wes Brown) has some stipulations.
Syfy continues its Halloween garage with two new original movies. First, a teenage girl in host arrest confronts a figure from Mexican folklore, “Cucuy: The Boogeyman” (Syfy, 7 p.m.) starring Marisol Nichols, Brian Krause and Earnest Corchado. Then, in “Karma” (Syfy, 9 p.m.), a karma demon stalks a recent college grad with a job of evicting delinquent tenants. With CJ Bernard and Buddy Campbell.
Finding a young woman to carry their child can go wrong, and it certainly does in “The Sinister Surrogate” (Lifetime, 8 p.m.), the made for TV thriller with Kelly Thiebaud, Brian Ames and Jaclyn Hales.
“Maze Runner: The Death Cure” (HBO, 8 p.m.), the third and final installment in the series, makes its premium cable debut, with Dylan O’Brien, Thomas Brodie-Sangster and Kaya Scodelario.
A round-the-clock operation is planned to rescue 60 wolves from a Minnesota fur farm on “Wolves and Warriors” (Animal Planet, 10 p.m.).
Couples talk about dealing with illnesses on “Black Love” (OWN, 10 p.m.).
Pluto is considered on “Space’s Deepest Secrets” (Science, 11 p.m.).
“Ghost Adventures: Graveyard of the Pacific” (Travel, 9 p.m.) visits a hotel in Astoria, Ore.
The singer Monifah tries to repair her relationship with her daughter on “Iyanla: Fix My Life” (OWN, 9 p.m.).
“Criminal Confessions” (Oxygen, 8 p.m.) returns for a second season with two episodes.
The Irish character actor Jack McGowran gets a salute on the 100th anniversary of his birth, with “The Fearless Vampire Killers” (8 p.m.) and “King Lear” (10 p.m.). Then comes the noir of “The Damned Don’t Cry” (12:30 a.m.) and the 2017 documentary “Harold and Lillian: A Hollywood Love Story” (2:30 a.m.) about Harold and Lillian Michelson, a storyboard artist and film researcher who left their mark on a number of classic films.
Baseball playoffs have Dodgers at Milwaukee (Fox, 4 p.m.) in Game 2 of the NLCS and Houston at Boston (TBS, 8 p.m.) in Game 1 of the ALCS.
Hockey includes Toronto at Washington (NHL, 7 p.m.).
College football begins at noon with Nebraska at Northwestern (ABC), Florida at Vanderbilt (ESPN), Iowa at Indiana (ESPN2), Oklahoma State at Kansas State (ESPNU) and Minnesota at Ohio State (Fox Sports 1).
It’s Pittsburgh at Notre Dame (NBC, 2:30 p.m.) and the following games at 3:30: Georgia at LSU (CBS), Washington at Oregon (ABC), Central Florida at Memphis (ESPN2), Baylor at Texas (ESPN), Army at San Jose State (ESPNU), Temple at Navy (CBS Sports) and Purdue at Illinois (Fox Sports 1).
Then comes Missouri at Alabama (ESPN, 7 p.m.), Miami at Virginia (ESPN2, 7 p.m.), Virginia Tech at North Carolina (ESPNU, 7 p.m.), West Virginia at Iowa State (Fox Sports 1, 7 p.m.), Houston at East Carolina (CBS Sports, 7 p.m.), Wisconsin at Michigan (ABC, 7:30 p.m.), Hawaii at BYU (ESPN2, 10:15 p.m.), Colorado at Southern Cal (Fox Sports 1, 10:30 p.m.), Wyoming at Fresno State (ESPNU, 10:30 p.m.) and Boise State at Nevada (CBS Sports, 10:30 p.m.).
John Prine plays a new “Austin City Limits” (PBS, 11 p.m., check local listings).
Seth Meyers hosts a new “Saturday Night Live” (NBC, 11:30 p.m.) with Paul Simon returning as musical guest, probably not in a turkey costume (that 1976 episode is rerun at 10).