Phillip Phillips joins the great for ' A Capitol 4th'
Phillip Phillips(Photo: Provided)
TONIGHT'S MUST-SEE: "A Capitol Fourth," 8 p.m., PBS; most stations rerun at 9:30. Each year, this concert offers a splendid mix of music, fireworks and emotion. The emphasis is on big voices, the kind that can soar to crowds sometimes estimated at 500,000; this year, that includes Patti LaBelle, Jordin Sparks and Broadway belter Kelli O'Hara. There's much more, including Frankie Valli, Michael McDonald, country's Sara Evans. The Muppets, Phillip Phillips (like Sparks, an "American Idol" champion), the Muppets and Kendall Schmidt of TV's "Big Time Rush."
TONIGHT'S MUST-SEE II: "4th of July Fireworks Spectacular," 8 p.m., NBC, partially rerunning at 10. Here's more music, more fireworks, more spectacle. This is in New York City, with Nick Cannon hosting. There's a country emphasis this year, with Miranda Lambert and Hunter Hayes … and a youth emphasis, with Hayes, 22, and Ariana Grande, 21. Lionel Richie also performs in a big, busy night.
TONIGHT'S ALTERNATIVE: "Walking Dead," 9 a.m., AMC. Here's an alternate way to celebrate the holidays – a three-day, 60-hour marathon that AMC bills as a "Dead, White and Blue" weekend. That starts with the terrific opener, in which a cop awakens from a coma to find the world overrun by zombies. It continues to 9 p.m. Sunday, when a new "Talking Dead" previews the fifth season.
Other choices include:
"Life Below Zero," 9 a.m. to 2 a.m., National Geographic. On a maybe-steamy holiday, people can enjoy 17 hours of reruns, watching hardy and likable souls survive in the northern outreaches of Alaska.
Action movies, 5:52, 6:25 and 6:30 p.m., cable. The first two "Bourne" films (2002) and (2004) rerun , with Matt Damon not sure who he is or why people want to kill him; the first is at 5:52 p.m. on Bravo, the second at 8:26 and 10:56 p.m. More action? "Raiders of the Lost Ark" (1981, 6:30 p.m., Spike) is superb; "The Lone Ranger" (2013, 6:25 p.m., Starz) could have been, if hadn't stretched on and on.
"MasterChef," 8 p.m., Fox. The 16 remaining contestants must create a masterful dish using canned food. Then this rerun has them work on one the specialty dishes of previous winners.
"Philly 4th of July Jam," 8-11 p.m., VH1. This Philadelphia party is scheduled to include Jennifer Hudson, Ed Sheeran, Nicki Minaj, Aloe Blacc and Ariana Grande … who's also scheduled for New York on NBC.
"The Carbonaro Effect," 8-11 p.m., TruTV. Here are six reruns of a dandy surprise – a quietly clever show in which Michael Carbonaro uses his magician skills to create hidden-camera deceptions.
"24," 9 p.m., Fox. This rerun finds Jack scrambling with two very different women – Kate, the tough CIA operative, and Chloe, the techno-whiz – to try to prevent more terrorist attacks from rocking London.
"Hawaii Five-0," 9 p.m., CBS. It always seems to work out in movies, when someone crashes a wedding and the bride runs away. Alas, this rerun finds the crasher dead and the bride as the prime suspect.
"Blue Bloods," 10 p.m., CBS. This rerun returns to a familiar TV plot – a movie star shadowing a cop, to prepare for a role. This time, the star is attacked and Danny tries to avoid attention while investigating.