TVision: Rascal Flatts, Chesney featured in holiday spectaculars

Rascall Flatts

High gas prices and other economic woes may cut down on the number of travelers this holiday weekend, something that the networks are certainly noticing. There are several Fourth of July specials planned, with a couple featuring some of Nashville’s biggest country music stars.

Though he’s headlining a huge show here on Saturday, Kenny Chesney is among the performers appearing on Friday’s Macy’s 4th of July Fireworks Spectacular at 8 p.m. on WSMV-4. Natasha Bedingfield and Katharine McPhee are others on this bill.

An hour later at 9 p.m. on WTVF-5, Rascal Flatts will join forces with the Boston Pops in the program Boston Pops Fireworks Spectacular.

Country Music Television (CMT) begins a new program Mabe in America at 9:30 p.m. starring comic Tom Mabe hosting a show that sees him utilizing a hidden-camera to devise pranks, tricks and various schemes on unsuspecting types.

While his latest holiday spectacular debuts this week, it was the film Independence Day that cemented Will Smith’s superstar status, plus his role as the star whose films always launch during this holiday period. Anyone who wants to rise early can catch the first showing at 5 a.m. on the Fox Movie Channel (digital cable and satellite networks), plus other showings throughout the day.

Other major film news includes the debut of a new western Saturday on the Hallmark Channel. Luke Perry plays a sheriff on a quest to avenge both a miscarriage of justice and his own unfortunate mistake. A Gunfighter’s Pledge begins at 8 p.m.

For many years Bruce Willis swore he’d never do another Die Hard. But when he finally took the plunge for the fourth time last year, the results were much better than expected. Live Free or Die Hard makes its cable debut at 9 p.m. on Cinemax.

A prime example of a commendable idea that didn’t result in such a good film was Freedom Writers, which debuts at 6 p.m. Sunday on Showtime. Despite starring both multiple Oscar winner Hilary Swank and Grey’s Anatomy star Patrick Dempsey, this wasted both their talents in a clichéd and predictable storyline.

By contrast, The Simpsons Movie did a good job of conveying everything that its followers love about the TV show to a big-screen vehicle. It airs on HBO at 8 p.m.

Odds and ends

Bravo’s Inside The Actor’s Studio gets some competition Monday with the debut of Elvis Mitchell: Under the Influence on Turner Classic Movies at 7 p.m. The former New York Times critic and National Public Radio contributor conducts interviews with several top Hollywood actors, directors and producers.

His first guest actually combined all these things, and did them better than many who stick to one specialty. He’ll interview the late Sydney Pollack, who won awards and fame as an actor, director and producer. It’s one of his final interviews, as Pollack died in May.

Morgan Spurlock wraps the third season of 30 Days Tuesday at 9:05 p.m. on FX. This season he’s been living with the Navajo nation for a month, and the show concludes with an extensive look at Native American culture and heritage.

For those who still question whether pro sports organizations want certain teams in their championships, the ratings for the recent NBA finals between the Boston Celtics and Los Angeles Lakers reaffirm that fact.

The fifth game topped all shows for the week June 9-June 15, getting an audience of 17.4 million. Games three and four placed third and fourth with 14.5 and 13.8 million respectively, while the fourth round of the U.S. Open finished second with 16.4 million viewers.

CBS’ Two and a Half Men was one of only two non-sports network programs whose audience topped the 10 million mark (10.7) and it finished fifth. NCIS was sixth with 10.2 million.

Now we’re NOT saying that the NBA conspired to get a Boston/LA final. But it clearly grabbed more attention than last year’s dreary San Antonio/Cleveland sweep. It’s also quite obvious that, at least for now, the heavy reliance by the networks on reality shows isn’t resonating with fans.