Top pick
Macy’s 4th Of July Fireworks Spectacular (NBC, 8 p.m., Saturday): Featuring performances by the likes of Ed Sheeran, Dierks Bentley, Kelly Clarkson, Brad Paisley, Flo Rida and Meghan Trainor, all of whom, presumably, are wearing fire-retardant costumes. Did you know they can do cowboy hats now?
Also noted
Catastrophe (Amazon, noon, Friday): An Irish lass and an American goof accidentally have a baby in London, and Molly Eichel continues to approve, as this British sitcom starring Sharon Horgan and Rob Delaney finds the funny in unprotected sex and unintentional parenthood. This week: things aren’t going well for either of them. Luckily, they each have the person they sort-of know for support.
Jonathan Strange & Mr. Norrell (BBC America, 10 p.m., Saturday): Strange returns from the wars only to find himself assisting Norrell in trying to cure the quite historically mad King George III with their forbidden magics. Caitlin PenzeyMoog’s read the book this is based on, so she’s not telling if that works out or not. She’s honorable that way.
Classic coverage
Doctor Who (Classic): It’s a suitably melancholy choice for Christopher Bahn’s last classic Doctor Who review, as he takes us through the final adventure of the original series, with Sylvester McCoy and his companion Ace find the Earth taken over by cheetah people. With McCoy’s Seventh Doctor’s final speech echoing, let’s all say goodbye (at least until Christopher Eccleston shows up in all due time):
“There are worlds out there where the sky is burning, the sea’s asleep, and the rivers dream. People made of smoke, and cities made of song. Somewhere there’s danger, somewhere there’s injustice, and somewhere else the tea’s getting cold. Come on, Ace — we’ve got work to do!”
Elsewhere in TV Club
With the year half over, your favorite AV Clubbers are looking back, this week’s AVQ&A listing all of our favorite pieces of media from the first half of 2015. Books, movies, TV, webseries, skywriting—the field was wide open, people. Then, because making lists is fun, the more literate among us tackle the best books of 2015 so far. And, because we also like round numbers, AV Clubbers look back over the 20 years of Foo Fighters time to their first impressions of the band. Then Marah Eakin chimes in with her 11 Questions with character actor and Broadway star Victor Garber, who’s cool no matter what time of year it is. Finally, why not cap off your patriotic weekend with a little anti-Commie paranoia as Ignatiy Vishnevetsky brings a Watch This review of the loony but affecting Red Scare melodrama My Son John.
What else is on
Teen Titans Go! (Cartoon Network, 6 p.m., Friday): The 100th episode of a fun DC Comics property not even Zack Snyder could turn into a gloomy bummer.
Jaws (AMC, 7:45 p.m., Friday): Just in time for the big beach-going holiday weekend, the movie that taught everyone never to go in the ocean ever again. Thanks, AMC—we almost forgot about that!