For Memorial Day Weekend, a Concert, a Vietnam Drama
Memorial Day weekend programming includes a classic auto race, a concert from our nation’s capital, a war-themed film festival and a new Vietnam War drama.
TNT kicks off its annual “Operation TNT” Memorial Day weekend movie tribute with the funny 1959 service comedy “Operation Petticoat,” Saturday at 9 a.m. Vietnam veteran Dennis Franz (“NYPD Blue”) will appear during breaks in segments taped at the Wall That Heals.
Other films featured include “Up Periscope” (2:15 p.m.) and “Midway” (5 p.m.).
Sunday’s titles include “The Dirty Dozen” (9 a.m.) and “The Guns of Navarone” (4 p.m.).
ABC offers live coverage of the 84th running of the Indianapolis 500 at 8 a.m. Sunday on Channel 7. Paul Page, Tom Sneva and Danny Sullivan will offer insights and commentary.
PBS presents the annual “National Memorial Day Concert,” Sunday at 7:30 p.m. on Channel 28, from the lawn of the Capitol. World War II vet Ossie Davis hosts the 90-minute special, which features such participants as Richard Dreyfuss, Colin Powell and Charles Durning.
Showtime’s Memorial Day offering is “The Wall,” Sunday at 8 p.m. The fictional trilogy is based on mementos at the Vietnam Veterans Memorial in Washington, D.C. Ruby Dee, Savion Glover and Edward James Olmos star.
Today
“That’s Jazz,” at 7 and 10:05 p.m. on Bravo, focuses on the unique American art form. Mercer Ellington, Twyla Tharp and Billy Dee Williams are among those interviewed.
Vivica A. Fox, Eriq La Salle and Lynn Whitfield host “The 1998 Essence Awards,” at 8 p.m. on Channel 11. The two-hour special honors musicians The Artist, Patti LaBelle, Wynton Marsalis and Will Smith.
ABC’s “Where It’s At: The Rolling Stone State of the Union,” at 9 p.m. on Channel 7, marks the 30th anniversary of the magazine with interviews and performances by Bruce Springsteen, Jewel and Beck.
Friday
Robert Redford hosts a look at his new film, “The Horse Whisperer,” on the Lifetime special “Visions of Grace,” at 7 p.m.
KCOP presents a live, two-hour look at Disneyland’s “New Tomorrowland,” at 8 p.m. on Channel 13.
Saturday
MTV’s “Summer Share Launch: Top 100 of the ‘90s,” at 10 a.m., features live performances and appearances with VJs Amanda Lewis, Matt Pinfield and Bill Bellamy.
Edward James Olmos, Sonia Braga and Maria Conchita Alonso headline the 1993 “American Playhouse” drama “Roosters,” at 9 p.m. on Channel 28.
Sunday
Studs Turkel narrates “Fear and Favor in the Newsroom,” at 2 p.m. on Channel 28, a documentary about journalists. Following at 3 p.m. is the profile “Tell the Truth and Run: George Seldes and the American Press.”
A&E;’s “Kidnap!,” at 5 and 9 p.m., is a two-hour documentary relating the stories behind such controversial kidnappings as the Lindbergh baby and Patty Hearst.
Both E! Entertainment Television and VH1 are offering documentaries on the rise and fall of Studio 54. “The E! True Hollywood Story” presents “Studio 54: Sex, Drugs & Disco” at 8 p.m. Following at 9 p.m. on VH1 is “Studio 54: Behind the Music.”
CBS repeats its 1996 account of the 1912 ocean disaster “Titanic,” at 9 p.m. on Channel 2. The four-hour drama stars Peter Gallagher, Catherine Zeta Jones and George C. Scott. The conclusion airs Tuesday at 9 p.m.
