1) A Capitol Fourth,” 8 p.m. Thursday, PBS, rerunning at 10. Each year, this offers a feel-good mix of music, emotion and fireworks. This time, pop music prevails — Carole King with the Broadway cast of “Beautiful” … Colbie Caillat and her Gone West band … and people from the three big competitions – winners of “American Idol” (Laine Hardy) and “The Voice” (Maelyn Jarmon). plus an “America’s Got Talent” runner-up (Angelica Hale). Also: Vanessa Williams, Lee Brice, Yolanda Adams, the O’Jays and Laura Osnes.
2) “Macy’s 4h of July Fireworks Spectacular,” 8 p.m. Thursday, NBC, with highlights at 10.. The big draw may be the 25-minute firework show: It has 70,000 shells and effects, backed by band music and by a “Wizard of Oz” tribute that includes Jennifer Hudson singing “Over the Rainbow.” There’s more starpower, including the hosts, who will also perform: Derek Hough does a dance, Ciara does a music medley. Also performing are Khalid and country stars Luke Bryan, Brad Paisley and Maren Morris.
3) More “Wizard of Oz” (1939), 8 p.m. ET Friday (July 5), Turner Classic Movies. Nearing its 80h birthday, “Oz” gets fresh attention. One day after that 4th of July tribute, it will be shown on TCM, followed at 10 p.m. ET by “1939: Hollywood’s Greatest Year.” That’s no exaggeration: “Oz” is listed by the American Film Institute as the 10th-best movie of all time … but it won only two Oscars, both for music. That year had “Gone With the Wind” (No. 6 with the AFI), “Mr. Smith Goes to Washington” (No. 26) and more.
4) “The Movies” debut, 9 p.m. ET Sunday (July 7), CNN, rerunning at midnight (barring breaking news). Speaking of great films, this series is a journey through their history. “Oz” and other oldies won’t show up until the finale, Aug. 11. The opener starts with the 1980s, when Spielberg and Lucas films soared, with “ET,” “Back to the Future” and “Empire Strikes Back.” The next weeks visit films of the ’90s and 2000s, then back up to the classics. This is from Tom Hanks, who previously did series on the decades.
5) “So You Think You Can Dance,” 9 p.m. today, Fox. If you missed the season-opener of this excellent show … well, so did a lot of other people. Fox gave it a stealth start, airing it a week earlier than was originally announced; ratings fell. Here’s a rerun of that first hour. Joining judges Nigel Lythgoe and Mary Murphy are Lauriann Gibson (Lady Gaga’s creative director) and Dominic “D-Trix” Sandoval, who knows the turf: He finished seventh in 2007, then won on “America’s Best Dance Crew.”
6) “NCIS,” 9 p.m. Tuesday, CBS. Imagine waking up with no idea what happened – or why there’s a dead body next to you. Versions of that have been on “X-Files” and “Law & Order” and even on “NCIS”; here’s a slight variation: Torres (Wilmer Valderrama) wakes up on a broken-down fishing boat, covered with blood and having no memory of the past 12 hours. It’s a rerun, after a rare pre-emption last week. Also, the show’s non-fiction spin-off will wrap its season at 9 and 10 p.m. Wednesday.
7) “Rivers of Life,” 8 p.m. Wednesday, PBS. You rarely see someone climbing up a waterfall. A guy does it in the Rockies, when the water freezes . That’s one of many views we get of the tributaries of the Mississippi. They sprawl over 31 states, forming a basin that produces 92 per cent of the U.S. food exports. The Mississippi itself hauls the equivalent of 49 million truckloads of freight. This film – gorgeously shot, adequately narrated – goes from the frozen North to a million-acre Southern swamp.
8) “The InBetween,” 10 p.m. Wednesday, NBC. The trouble with probing homicides is that you can’t talk to the victim … unless it’s a TV show. On “iZombie” (8 p.m. Thursdays, CW), Liv munches the victim’s brain, gaining memories; on this one, Cassie talks directly to the deceased. After stepping aside for a debate last week, “InBetween” is back: A family waits for news about a missing woman; Cassie knows the woman is dead and helps her solve the case. Also, teens from one school are being killed.
9) “A Star is Born” and “Bohemian Rhapsody” (both 2018), 5:40 and 8 p.m. Saturday (July 6), HBO. Here are two stories about musicians – one fiction, one not – that beautifully blend music and emotion. “Star” did that quietly, with depth from Bradley Cooper (who also directed brilliantly) and Lady Gaga; “Rhapsody” did it zestfully, closing with Queen’s soaring comeback. Both drew Oscar nominations for best-picture; “Star” won for its song, “Rhapsody” for its star (Rami Malek), plus three technical wins.
10) “The Loudest Voice,” 10 p.m. Sunday (July 7), Showtime. Last week, we saw Roger Ailes floundering. Fired from his job running two NBC channels (CNBC and America’s Talking), he created Fox News from scratch. He ranted, raved, fumed. Now we jump ahead five years, to the Sept. 11 attacks. Ailes – aiming at conservatives – is in his element. Stirring talk of weapons of mass destruction, he pushes Fox to the top. Combine the two hours and Russell Crowe (as Ailes) shows immense range and rage.
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