Mike Hughes on TV

1) “National Memorial Day Concert” (shown here in a previous year), 8 p.m., PBS, rerunning at 9:30. Last year forced a change for this TV tradition: Live events were banned; the music and tributes were shot in advance, sometimes using reruns. The result was beautifully crafted; this year has the same approach, but with no reruns. In key settings, we’ll hear the greats of country (Alan Jackson, Vince Gill and, singing the National Anthem, Mickey Guyton), pop (Gladys Knight, Sara Bareilles, the Four Tops) and opera (Denyce Graves). Read more…

1) “China: Nature’s Ancient Kingdom” (shown here) finale, 8 p.m., BBC America. A beautifully filmed, three-week series concludes in four parks in China’s heavily populated East. One exists not far from the 25 million people in Shanghai; another is along the border, where tigers casually stroll between Russia and China. Footage ranges from a thieving chipmunk raiding a cache, to a rare gibbon swinging along treetops. That’s surrounded by other gorgeous nature scenes: “Frozen Planet” reruns are from 1 p.m. to 6 a.m. Read more…

1) “The Dick Van Dyke Show – Now in Living Color,” 8 p.m., CBS. For the second straight Friday, CBS has two episodes of this great series, with color added by computer. This pair – which also aired in 2018 – has one of the show’s flashback delights (shown here): Richie asks his parents where he came from; he soon gets a long account of the misadventures leading up to his birth. Then there’s a vacation that goes bizarrely wrong: Among other things, Laura (Mary Tyler Moore) has her toe stuck in the bathtub. Read more…

1) “iHeartRadio Music Awards,” 8-10 p.m., Fox. This week has overflowed with pop music – Billboard awards, plus the finales for “Idol,” “Voice” and “Masked Dancer.” Now comes one more surge: Usher hosts and Elton John (shown here) gets the Icon Award. Performers include Taylor Swift, Roddy Ricch, Dua Lipa, Twenty One Pilots and Megan Thee stallion, plus The Weeknd with Ariana Grande, Bruno Mars with Anderson.Paak, Dan + Shay with Doja Cat and more. Read more…

1) “The Masked Singer” finale, 8 p.m., Fox. Three people remain, disguised as Piglet (shown here), Black Swan and Chameleon. And chances are, all of them are skilled music pros. The ringers were unmasked quickly – Danny Trejo, Caitlyn Jenner, Logan Paul, even Kermit the Frog; lately, we’ve had skilled singers – Bobby Brown, the Hanson trio, Tyrese Gibson and, last week, Omarion. Last week, we also learned that the clue-spewing chicken was Donnie Wahlberg, the husband of startled judge Jenny McCarthy. Read more…