Daily Best Bets

1) “A Star is Born” and “Bohemian Rhapsody” (both 2018), 5:40 and 8 p.m., HBO. Two stories about singers – the first fiction, the second true – beautifully blend music and emotion. Both drew Academy Award nominations for best picture. “Star” — superbly directed by Bradley Cooper, with great performances from Cooper and Lady Gaga (shown here) – won a best-song Oscar; “Rhapsody” won best actor (for Rami Malek as Queen frontman Freddie Mercury) plus three Oscars for sound and for editing. Read more…

1) “The Wizard of Oz” (1939), 8 p.m. Friday, Turner Classic Movies, and more. First is “Oz,” which on Aug. 25 will turn 80. Then is a 10 p.m. documentary, “1939: Hollywood’s Greatest Year.” That’s no exaggeration: The American Film Institute lists “Oz” as the 10th-best movie ever … but it won only two Oscars, both for music. That year had “Gone With the Wind” (No. 6 with the AFI), plus “Mr. Chips,” “Mr. Smith” (No. 26), “Ninotchka” (6 p.m. today), “Stagecoach,” “Of Mice and Men” and more. Read more…

1) A Capitol Fourth,” 8 p.m., PBS, rerunning at 10. Here’s the annual, feel-good blend of music and fireworks. It’s strong on Broadway – Carole King with the cast of “Beautiful,” Vanessa Williams, Laura Olnes. But it also has gospel (Yolanda Adams), country (Lee Brice), R&B (The O’Jays) and lots of pop: Colbie Caillat is part of the Gone West band; there are also winners of “American Idol” (Laine Hardy) and “The Voice” (Maelyn Jarmon), plus an “America’s Got Talent” runner-up (Angelica Hale). Read more…

1) “Rivers of Life,” 8 p.m., PBS. You rarely see anyone try to climb up a waterfall. But a guy actually does that in the Rockies, when the water freezes. That’s one of many views we get of the sprawling tributaries of the Mississippi. They reach 31 states (including the Yellowstone spot shown here); they form a basin that produces 92 per cent of U.S. food exports, this film (great visuals, so-so narration) says. The Mississippi hauls the equivalent of 49 million truckloads of freight each year. This hour goes from the frozen North to a million-acre Southern swamp. Read more…

1) “NCIS,” 9 p.m., CBS. So a guy wakes up with no idea what happened – or why there’s a dead body next to him. Versions of that story have been on “X-Files” and “Law & Order” and even on a previous “NCIS” episode; now here’s a slight variation: Torres (Wilmer Valderrama, shown here) wakes up on a blood-splattered fishing boat, with no memory of the past 12 hours. It’s a rerun, as “NCIS” (which had a rare pre-emption last week) moves into its summer spot at 9. Read more…

1) “The Bachelorette,” 8-10:01 p.m., ABC. We’re a week from what tends to be a highlight: Hannah Brown will see the final four guys in their native habitats – their home towns, with their families. First, she has to sift from a field of seven. That happens in Amsterdam, where the one-on-one dates include some horseback and riverside (shown here) moments with Tyler C. Read more…

1) “The Loudest Voice” debut, 10 p.m., Showtime. We start at Roger Ailes’ low point: Fired by NBC Cable, he’s begging for leniency in a no-compete clause. Soon, he starts Fox News … and flounders. He even calls a 4 a.m. meeting, filling the room with loud rage. Not to worry: Ailes (who died in 2017, at 77) understood this new era: Instead of trying to please everyone, he was carving a specific audience. Russell Crowe (shown here, at right) plays the role beautifully, mixing venom and volume with surprising bits of subtlety. Read more…

1) “The Son” series-finale, 9 p.m., AMC, rerunning at 10:05. A two-season run ends with fierce jolts. At the core are three generations (shown here). Eli attacked the Garcias and stole their land; Pete rescue Rose Garcia (whom he loves) and is ready to testify against his dad in court. But last week, his daughter Jeanne told the plan to Eli. Now we see the aftershocks. We also flash back to Eli’s youth, as he leaves the Comanche — and forward to Jeanne as the ranch’s elderly owner. Read more…

1) “CMT Crossroads,” 10 p.m., CMT. For 17 years, “Crossroads” has blended genres. Country stars mixed with everyone from Elton John to Bon Jovi. Brooks & Dunn (show here) did that in the show’s third episode, linking with ZZ Top. This time, however, they’ve diverted from the plan; they stick with the country singers, who are on their “Reboot” album, including Luke Combs, Jon Pardi, Brett Young and Midland. Read more…

1) “In the Dark” season-finale, 9 p.m., CW. Last week’s episode ended with a double surprise: The good news – a sudden, passionate romance between Murphy (the blind woman obsessed with solving her friend’s murder) and Dean (the cop working the case). The bad — a cop, maybe Dean, is linked to the killing. That sets up a fierce finale, with great work from Perry Mattfeld as Murphy (shown here with Brooke Markham, left, who plays her only friend) and Rich Sommer as Dean. “Dark” ends its season and wraps its main story with some powerful jolts. Read more…