THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Saturday, July 1, 1995 TAG: 9506300092
SECTION: TELEVISION WEEK PAGE: 01 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: Larry Bonko
LENGTH: Medium: 88 lines
TO A CERTIFIED couch potato, the Fourth of July isn't picnics or parades. No, sir. It's marathons!
The holiday is a test of endurance.
The fiends who program cable hit on a stunt to keep people off the beaches and picnic grounds and in front of their Sonys on holidays: Marathons. Block programming. Blockbuster programming.
A&E celebrates the Fourth of July with 11 episodes of ``Columbo'' starting at 8:30 a.m. Tuesday. See Peter Falk outsmart Robert Conrad, Leslie Nielsen and Robert Vaughn. See his raincoat age before your eyes.
To mark David Letterman's 15th year on network television, E! Entertainment TV reels off eight 90-minute ``Late Night With David Letterman'' specials starting Tuesday at 11 a.m. See the cranky, irreverent, creative David of his NBC days. Re-live the time when Letterman helped make Jay Leno a big TV star.
Also on Independence Day, The Discovery Channel puts together an eight-hour chunk of its pretty darn nifty ``Amazing America'' series starting at 10 a.m. with a half-hour on people who are obsessed with vintage aircraft.
The theme is quirkiness, concentrating on offbeat organizations, from the group of 3,000 twins meeting in (where else?) Twinsburg, Ohio, to a quilting festival in Paducah, Ky.
The Learning Channel's ``Great Civil War Marathon'' begins Tuesday at noon and rolls on until 3 a.m., starting with ``History Makers: Lincoln'' right on through ``History Makers: Lee.''
Showtime begins its ``Outer Limits'' marathon on Saturday at 6 p.m., continuing until midnight. Same schedule on Sunday. The Sci-Fi Channel puts on the kind of a holiday marathon that TV freaks wait months to see - 36 half-hour episodes and 18 one-hour episodes of ``The Twilight Zone.''
Ron Serling begins escorting viewers into the middle ground between light and shadow, between science and superstition, on Monday at 9 a.m. Same starting time on Tuesday.
Order your pizza now.
If it's a conventional, star-spangled Fourth of July that you want, PBS on Tuesday at 8 p.m. presents ``A Capitol Fourth'' with fireworks, rousing patriotic music and a salute to composer Oscar Hammerstein II and conductor Arthur Fiedler. The Navy Sea Chanters join Leslie Uggams, Ricky Skaggs, Barry Bostwick and other celebs.
You want to hear the ``1812'' Overture? You got it.
The Family Channel beams in holiday programming from Missouri on Sunday at 8:30 p.m. and again on Tuesday at 8 p.m. with ``Star-Spangled Branson.'' Scheduled to appear are the Oak Ridge Boys, Johnny Cash, Mel Tillis and Tony Orlando. Tony, yes. But no Dawn.
A&E continues its traditional ``Pop Goes the Fourth!'' programming on Tuesday night at 7:30 with a concert on the banks of Boston's Charles River. Keith Lockhart this year succeeds John Williams as conductor of the Boston Pops.
Other programs from A&E that go nicely with the holiday include ``Paul Revere: the Midnight Rider'' on its Wednesday night ``Biography'' series at 8. On Monday at the same hour, ``Biography,'' dwells on the life of George III in ``Mad or Maligned.''
Check the history books, and you'll see this score: Rebellious American Colonists 1, King George 0.
At 9 p.m. on Tuesday, The Disney Channel waves the red, white and blue with ``Thomas Jefferson: The Pursuit of Liberty.'' Learn about TJ, the inventor.
The TV Tipster has browsed the schedules in the week to come and picked out these gems:
The rise of Nelson Mandela from political prisoner for two decades to head of state is told in ``Mandela's Flight for Freedom: A Discovery Journal Special'' starting Monday at 10 p.m. on The Discovery Channel. Alfre Woodard narrates. . . . Just when you thought that Ken Burns on PBS said all there was to say about baseball, here comes ``This Century: Baseball's Greatest Memories, Myths and Moments'' on The Learning Channel Thursday at 6 p.m. . . Nancy's birthday - by showing a handful of flicks in which the ex-president starred including ``Bedtime for Bonzo.''. . . With the peak of the vacation season just about here, E! Entertainment Television tours some of the hottest theme parks in the U.S., including Busch Gardens near Williamsburg, at 2 p.m. Saturday. Dolly Parton is the tour guide. ILLUSTRATION: Color photo
To commemorate Independence Day, The Learning Channel airs "The
Great Civil War Marathon" on Tuesday from noon to 3 a.m.
Photo
Jim Stafford hosts ``Star-Spangled Branson'' Sunday at 8:30 p.m. and
again Tuesday night at 8 on The Family Channel.
by CNB