Fireworks are soooo 20th century. The modern age knows how to really celebrate America's independence -- gut-stuffing up-chucking gluttony! With that most all-American "food product," too.

Nathan's Hot Dog Eating Contest (Saturday at noon ET, ESPN) has become the Fourth of July's most anticipated event among the cult cognescenti. Who needs LeBron vs. Kobe when you've got Takeru Kobayashi vs. Joey Chestnut? And that classic Coney Island shore setting? And wanton chewed-food spewing?

Neither is a beefy dude. And Sonya Thomas, the tiny American who owns most women's records, is even smaller. This isn't just sports, it's sociology.

Lest anyone think this contest is some lame manufactured TV event (which see: The Superstars), it's certified by the International Federation of Competitive Eating (IFOCE).

And lest you fear America no longer stands for progress, the winner of that first 1916 contest ate 13 hot dogs. We've since progressed nearly five-fold.

Happy hot dog day!

The Incredibly Strange Film Show has to be one of my all-time favorite series, exploring the heights -- or should I say depths? -- of indie B-moviemaking in all its bloody, breasty, low-budget glory. The perpetrator of this loving '80s look at the likes of Russ Meyer, Ray Dennis Steckler and a dozen other gonzo directors was Jonathan Ross, a breezy Brit who conducted low-life interviews and screened sleazy clips with the gusto of a truly irredeemable pop culture junkie.

(Takes one to know one.)

Now Ross puts that jones to weekly use as host of Friday Night With Jonathan Ross (Friday at 8 p.m. ET, BBC America), a London-based chatfest that also takes everything and nothing seriously. And while it couldn't possibly reach the giddy greatness of Incredibly Strange -- masked Mexican wrestler El Santo! -- Friday Night has been keeping Brits amused since 2001 with interviews of actors, rockers and other fame hangers-on. (Most frequent guest: Ricky Gervais.) BBC America picked up the show this month, so far airing outings featuring Hugh Laurie, Ben Stiller, Dustin Hoffman and Jack Black.

Next week: Who knows?

Can't wait to see Ken Burns' fall epic The National Parks: America's Best Idea? Online site PBS Video lets you watch a half-hour preview anytime. Excerpts from the 12-hour project unreel alongside interviews of Burns and collaborator Dayton Duncan discussing their take on the subject.

That same preview can be found on TV, too. PBS has scheduled two national feeds this week -- Wednesday, July 1 at 9:30 p.m. ET and Sunday, July 5 at 10:30 p.m. ET -- but public TV member stations determine their own individual broadcast schedules. So it may run at another time in your area (or not at all; check local listings).

Here's the official PBS description:

"The National Parks: America's Best Idea is the story of an idea as uniquely American as the Declaration of Independence and just as radical: that the most special places in the nation should be preserved, not for royalty or the rich, but for everyone. As such, it follows in the tradition of Burns' exploration of other American inventions, such as baseball and jazz.

"The narrative traces the birth of the national park idea in the mid-1800s and follows its evolution for nearly 150 years. Using archival photographs, first-person accounts of historical characters, personal memories and analysis from more than 40 interviews, and what Burns believes is the most stunning cinematography in Florentine Films' history, the series chronicles the steady addition of new parks through the stories of the people who helped create them and save them from destruction. It is simultaneously a biography of compelling characters and a biography of the American landscape."

Now there's an odd mashup. But they're only together in this alert: Both shows are finally being primed for complete-series DVD release!

It's Garry Shandling's Show is the Larry Sanders creator/star's first sitcom, debuting in 1986 on Showtime and getting a network pickup in 1988 on the nascent Fox network. Shandling plays himself -- an insecure standup comic, natch -- as a San Fernando Valley condo dweller beset with wacky neighbors, strange star pals (Jeff Goldblum, Rob Reiner), and "hilarious" personal situations.

But the whole point was using sitcom conventions to lampoon themselves, at a time TV comedy was taking itself Very Special Episode seriously. Shandling famously "broke the fourth wall" to speak directly to his viewers/studio audience about the goings-on, creating a relaxed and still-enjoyable slice of low-budget videotape tomfoolery. It's a sort of pop culture house of mirrors -- which set the stage for Shandling's more-barbed HBO Larry Sanders Show peek behind the scenes of celebrity.

The Shandling's Show release comes from the fine folks at boutique distributor Shout Factory, who know how to treat TV treats like this. (Their extras-crammed efforts have included My So-Called Life, Freaks & Geeks, SCTV, The Dick Cavett Show and this week's new Parker Lewis Can't Lose.) Looks like it'll be all four Shandling seasons on 16 discs, due Oct. 20. Amazon.com should be taking pre-orders soon.

But now Calista Flockhart, Peter MacNicol, Jane Krakowski, Robert Downey Jr. and their loopy lawyer pals look like they're on the way with a full-series giftset in time for holiday giving, as outlined by our friends at TVShowsonDVD. That would mean five seasons on an unannounced number of discs, with a possible simultaneous release of Season 1 for buyers who prefer to collect in lower-cost doses. Amazon is taking pre-orders here.

So now, where's The Wonder Years? Ed? China Beach?

In the meantime, enjoy The Theme Song to It's Garry Shandling's Show ("Garry called me up and asked/If I would write his theme song"):

Among the specials yet to air (as of Monday 1 p.m. ET) --

BIO Remembers: Farrah Fawcett (on-demand via digital cable; check on-screen menus) -- This archive hour chronicles the actress' life and career.

Michael Jackson on-demand via digital cable (check your cable provider's on-screen menus) -- Look for Michael Jackson's 1978 musical film The Wiz with Diana Ross on pay-per-view, plus a wide selection of free music videos.

American Idol (Monday 8-10 p.m. ET, Fox) -- Encore of March's Michael Jackson-themed performance show.

Biography: Charlie's Angels (Monday at 9 p.m. ET, BIO)

Biography: Farrah Fawcett (Monday at 10 p.m. ET, BIO)

Dateline NBC (Monday 10 p.m. ET, NBC) -- "Living With Michael Jackson," encore of famous Martin Bashir interview.

World Music Awards 2006 (Wednesday 8-10 p.m. ET, MyNetwork) -- Encore includes Michael Jackson accepting an award on the 25th anniversary of his Thriller album, and singing "We Are the World."

E!ES Michael Jackson (Wednesday at 10 p.m. ET/PT, E!) -- Press release: "With full cooperation from Sony, Michael Jackson and the Jackson organization, this one-hour special is the definitive documentary on the pop icon and his music."

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PREVIOUS POST (Friday 9 p.m. ET) --

Michael Jackson: 30th Anniversary Celebration (Friday 8-10 p.m. ET and 11 p.m.-1 a.m. ET, TV One) -- All-star 2001 concert salute features Jacksons reunion, plus Destiny's Child, Whitney Houston, Luther Vandross, Usher, Britney Spears, 'N Sync, 98 Degrees, James Ingram, Gloria Estefan and others.

Farrah's Story (Friday 8 p.m. ET, NBC) -- Repeat of May's two-hour documentary film chronicling Fawcett's battle with cancer; note that start time moves up one hour. (Also airs Saturday at 3:30 p.m. ET on Oxygen.)

Dateline NBC (Friday 10 p.m. ET, NBC) -- Ann Curry hosts "Michael Jackson - King of Pop" look back at Jackson's legacy.

E! News Special: Michael & Farrah: Lost Icons (Saturday at 10:30am ET/PT, E!) -- Half-hour special chronicles the lives of the two celebs.

True Hollywood Story: Michael Jackson (Saturday at 11 a.m. ET/PT, Sunday at 1 p.m. ET/PT, E!) -- Two-hour documentary covers the pop icon's life from childhood to superstardom.

The Jacksons: An American Dream (Saturday noon-5 p.m. ET and 7 p.m.-midnight ET, TV One) -- Angela Bassett and Lawrence Hilton-Jacobs play the teen musicians' parents in 1992 miniseries chronicling the Jackson 5's rise to fame. Also starring: Holly Robinson-Peete, Terrence Howard, Billy Dee Williams.

Man in the Mirror: Life and Legacy of Michael Jackson (Saturday and Sunday at 8 p.m. ET, CNN)

Chasing Farrah (Saturday 9 p.m. ET, TV Land) -- First two episodes of the 2005 docusoap following Fawcett's daily life as one of the country's most famous faces.

Biography Remembers: The Michael Jackson Story (Saturday at 10 p.m. ET, Sunday at 4 p.m. ET, A&E; Monday at 11 p.m. ET, BIO)

The Life & Times of Michael Jackson (Sunday at 7 p.m. ET, TV One) -- One-hour documentary.

American Idol (Monday 8-10 p.m. ET, Fox) -- Encore of March's Michael Jackson-themed performance show.

Biography: Charlie's Angels (Monday at 9 p.m. ET, BIO)

Biography: Farrah Fawcett (Monday at 10 p.m. ET, BIO)

E!ES Michael Jackson (Wednesday at 10 p.m. ET/PT, E!) -- Press release: "With full cooperation from Sony, Michael Jackson and the Jackson organization, this one-hour special is the definitive documentary on the pop icon and his music."

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PREVIOUS POST (Thursday 7 p.m. ET) --

20/20 (Thursday 10 p.m. ET, ABC) -- "Farrah Fawcett: Her life, Her Loves, Her Legacy" is a Barbara Walters report featuring interviews with Ryan O'Neal, Charlie's Angels costar Jaclyn Smith, friend Alana Stewart, her physician Dr. Lawrence Piro, hairstylist Jose Eber, and Leonard Goldberg, co-creator of Charlie's Angels. (It's preceded by a 9 p.m. ET special edition of 20/20, "The Life and Death of Michael Jackson.")

Dateline NBC (Thursday 9-11 p.m. ET, NBC) -- The special extended broadcast will cover Michael Jackson's life and death, in addition to the previously announced "Farrah Fawcett: The Life and Death of an Angel." The Fawcett report includes recent interviews with Ryan O'Neal, Alana Stewart, Fawcett's father, sister and Charlie's Angels costar Kate Jackson, as well as unaired parts of a 1997 interview.

CBS News: The Life and Death of Michael Jackson (Thursday 10 p.m. ET, CBS) -- Hour report on the day's events.

Also scheduled --

Farrah's Story (Friday 9 p.m. ET, NBC) -- Repeat of May's two-hour documentary film chronicling Fawcett's battle with cancer, in her own words. (Also airs Saturday at 3:30 p.m. ET on Oxygen.)

Chasing Farrah (Saturday 9 p.m. ET, TV Land) -- First two episodes of the 2005 docusoap following Fawcett's daily life as one of the country's most famous faces.

There's nothing quite like bombastic comedy magic philosopher Penn Jillette screaming about orgasms. Unless it's a self-proclaimed "erotic rock star" on stage warbling about them. Or a "tantric" master teaching naked women how to literally gush forth with liquid proof of "nothing less than the ever-beating heart of the cosmos."

Ain't it great to have Penn & Teller: Bullshit! back?

Yes, the mad debunkers go after orgasms in the premiere of their adult show's seventh season for Showtime, Thursday at 10 p.m. ET. (The half-hour repeats Friday at 10 p.m. ET and other times all week. It's also waiting at Showtime on Demand.)

Not that Penn & Teller declare orgasms aren't real. (What isn't real is astrology, and that's next week, July 2.) No, P&T really like orgasms. "They're free, they're legal, they burn calories," affirms Penn, the tall, loud one, standing next to stage partner Teller, the small, silent one.

But orgasms? What's the CW? There really isn't one. But since there are oddballs opining weirdly on a hot topic, that's all P&T need. If the "erotic rock star" performs in a black leather jockstrap -- and no, that in itself hardly rates as strange here -- then P&T narrate a host segment wearing black leather jockstraps. They go on to spotlight a pain management doctor who has invented an "orgasmatron" implant for women to operate via remote control for instant jollies. That's not free, but it seems to be legal, and --

It's an extension of Penn & Teller's original magic presentations, where they'd show '80s audiences precisely how they were being distracted and misled. But it's also a political statement -- they're libertarian science-lovers who aren't going to believe in God until God appears in their presence and does something, well, magical. (Ideally, on camera.) They're skeptics of everything.

Which is what makes P&T: BS! such a consistent delight. Instead of bludgeoning only the obvious bunk -- next week's show finds Penn stunned that they haven't stomped on astrology yet -- they attack more complicated topics. The July 9 show assesses video games by doing "what any show would do when the network's lawyer leaves on vacation," says Penn -- hand a 9-year-old gamer an automatic weapon to see what happens.

And that's entertainment, folks. No bullshit.

Here's what made Farrah Fawcett a star. The 1976 pilot of ABC's hit Charlie's Angels -- three babes in bikinis solve mysteries -- can be streamed free on Hulu, along with such other classics as the prison episode "Angels in Chains" [photo above].

But to better honor Fawcett, who died Thursday morning of cancer at age 62, you might watch her more dramatic work as an actress. Her 1984 TV movie breakthrough The Burning Bed (abused wife strikes back) has been released on DVD, and also gets a rare TV airing next Tuesday (June 30) -- at 2:35 p.m. and 9:35 p.m. ET on Encore Drama, and at 3:35 p.m. and 10:35 p.m. ET on Movieplex.

And then there's her other TV series work. Before Charlie's Angels, she was David Janssen's neighbor in the cynical '70s sleuth hour Harry O and a guest on then-husband Lee Majors' action smash The Six Million Dollar Man. In the last decade of her life, she appeared in multi-episode arcs on series including Spin City and The Guardian.

Fawcett was also paired with longtime companion Ryan O'Neal in 1991's short-lived sitcom Good Sports, now perhaps a good bet to get a curiosity-fueled DVD release.

But she'll always be known as an Angel, and that '70s "eye candy" series from producer-mogul Aaron Spelling is widely available on DVD. Fawcett starred only in the first season before leaving for "bigger things" that never really materialized. But she did return for a half-dozen subsequent episodes, in the third season, and in the fourth, which on July 21 completes the series' DVD cycle.

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UPDATED Thursday 7 p.m. --

Farrah Fawcett tributes are being hastily scheduled on various channels. So are reports on Thursday's other big death of a legendary entertainer, Michael Jackson.

Among them:

20/20 (Thursday 10 p.m. ET, ABC) -- "Farrah Fawcett: Her life, Her Loves, Her Legacy" is a Barbara Walters report featuring interviews with Ryan O'Neal, Charlie's Angels costar Jaclyn Smith, friend Alana Stewart, her physician Dr. Lawrence Piro, hairstylist Jose Eber, and Leonard Goldberg, co-creator of Charlie's Angels. (It's preceded by a 9 p.m. ET special edition of 20/20, "The Life and Death of Michael Jackson.")

Dateline NBC (Thursday 9-11 p.m. ET, NBC) -- The special extended broadcast will cover Michael Jackson's life and death, in addition to the previously announced "Farrah Fawcett: The Life and Death of an Angel." The Fawcett report includes recent interviews with Ryan O'Neal, Alana Stewart, Fawcett's father, sister and Charlie's Angels costar Kate Jackson, as well as unaired parts of a 1997 interview.

CBS News: The Life and Death of Michael Jackson (Thursday 10 p.m. ET, CBS) -- Hour report on the day's events.

Farrah's Story (Friday 9 p.m. ET, NBC) -- Repeat of May's two-hour documentary film chronicling Fawcett's battle with cancer, in her own words. (Also airs Saturday at 3:30 p.m. ET on Oxygen.)

Chasing Farrah (Saturday 9 p.m. ET, TV Land) -- First two episodes of the 2005 docusoap following Fawcett's daily life as one of the country's most famous faces.

Ed McMahon's second banana work on Johnny Carson's Tonight Show is now a distant memory -- he and Carson left the show in 1992 -- leaving younger viewers to wonder what the big deal was about when the talkfest cohost died this week at age 86.

Wonder no more. We've got a classic distillation of Ed, and Johnny, from their late-night heyday. This straight-from-the-original-LP treat comes from an obscure comedy group called The Credibility Gap, who made dead-on pop culture parody records in the 1970s. And it's no wonder there, either.

Here's the group's makeup:

Harry Shearer -- who'd break out in This Is Spinal Tap and Saturday Night Live, become a reliable source of voices for The Simpsons, and spout off about everything in the world on his weekly public radio monologue, Le Show.

Michael McKean -- soon to be Laverne & Shirley neighbor Lenny, then another Spinal Tap constituent, and a voice on Dinosaurs, and finally a regular in pal Christopher Guest's satire films Best in Show and A Mighty Wind.

David L. Lander -- L&S partner-in-doofusdum Squiggy, before weirding out in David Lynch's Twin Peaks and On the Air, and rampant voice work.

Richard Beebe -- the Pete Best of the bunch.

They're all amazing here, capturing every Carson Tonight Show nuance, whether it's Johnny's "accidental" double entrendres or Ed's obsequious chortling. Enjoy their sendup of Don Rickles, too, and a so-old-it's-new segment on gays in the military. There's even the final-credits promo cut-off, as the network's affiliate stations cut away too soon for local content. They nailed it all, from beginning to end.

If you want a complete taste of the legendary Tonight Show, this is as close an approximation as you'll ever get, in 15 sharp-satire minutes.

Buy the whole album here, finally out on CD after a 35-year wait. Or download it even cheaper on MP3.

Just don't expect A Funny Animal Segment.

Here's an interesting juxtaposition:

This week, Sci Fi is repeating its 2007 miniseries Tin Man (Wednesday 10 a.m.-4 p.m. ET, Sci Fi), a modern fantasy reimagining of L. Frank Baum's book The Wonderful Wizard of Oz, starring Zooey Deschanel, Alan Cumming and Richard Dreyfuss.

Next week, Turner Classic Movies salutes the more familiar MGM musical classic The Wizard of Oz (Thursday, July 2 at 8 p.m. ET, TCM), starring Judy Garland, to kick off its monthlong salute to "Hollywood's greatest year," 1939.

Compare and contrast. At your own risk.

Got your attention, eh? The cranky workaholic from House gets to be a blithering husband and dad in the British comedy import Fortysomething, a breathless six weeks of farcical fun.

(Check local public TV listings. In New York, Fortysomething airs on WLIW/21 Tuesday nights at 10:10 ET. In Philadelphia, it's WHYY/12 Sunday nights at 7 ET.)

Laurie not only stars but directs half the episodes of this 2003 limited series about a midlife crisis gone gonzo. He's distracted as a general practitioner with a peculiar partner, as a husband whose smart wife (Anna Chancellor of MI-5) may or may not be cheating on him, and as a father whose growing sons are getting more than he is. Every time he turns around, some bizarre kind of craziness breaks loose in his household or workplace, but he's too uptight to loosen up himself. Which doesn't explain how he ends up dressed as a Muslim woman or holding a variety of sex toys.

Did we mention that in the midst of all this accelerating lunacy Laurie strolls the street without clothes on?

There's much more to Hugh than House.

HBO has just posted the first trailer for The Pacific, its upcoming miniseries companion to its 2001 hit Band of Brothers. (See embedded video below.)

The spring 2010 event is from the same production team, led by Tom Hanks and Steven Spielberg. This time, the focus is on the Pacific front of World War II, as seen by three Marines (played by Jon Seda, Joseph Mazzello and James Badge Dale).

After the mammoth success of Band of Brothers -- both on the air and on DVD/Blu-ray -- anticipation for The Pacific is pretty intense. One fan site has been chronicling the epic project's making for two years already.

By the way, Band of Brothers gets another full-length airing on History Channel next Monday-Tuesday, June 29-30. The first seven parts air Monday (10:42 a.m.-8 p.m. ET), with the final three parts Tuesday (9:11 a.m.-1 p.m. ET). Project background from History here.

Talk about timely. National Geographic Channel hit the jackpot scheduling tonight's big documentary premiere.

Iran and the West (Monday 9-11 p.m. ET, NatGeo) arrives with the middle eastern nation still topping the news nearly two weeks after a presidential election that remains the source of fierce dispute and contentious street protest.

Don't expect up-to-the-minute updates from NatGeo. But you can expect a put-it-all-in-context look back through the last three tumultuous decades culminating in the current tension between Tehran and a western world led by Washington, D.C.

Iran and the West gives new focus to the crucial overthrow of the Shah through the rise of Islamic clerics, the taking of American hostages, and the impact of both on the 1980 American presidential election. Defeated President Jimmy Carter is among those interviewed, along with former secretaries of state (George Shultz, Madeleine Albright) and other key American figures.

But NatGeo gets both sides (actually, the BBC does, since this documentary is an acquired import) -- including interviews with Iran insiders like former presidents Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani and Mohammad Khatami.

There's much more to be learned, too, about the intervening years, including the brutal Iran-Iraq war of the 1980s and the subsequent rise of Islamic extremist terror. Which takes us up to now. Which can be seen taking shape in news reports from today's again tumultuous Iran.

Still airing is The Queen and I (Monday night at 2:40 a.m. ET, June 29 at 3 p.m. ET, HBO2), where a proud Iranian revolutionary filmmaker strikes up an unlikely friendship with the glamorous widow of the deposed Shah. First up was Letters to the President (now available via digital cable's HBO On Demand), a portrait of ever-controversial leader Mahmoud Ahmadinejad.

A Seinfeld game, a Turner Classic Movies program guide -- we're now going beyond DVD and Blu-ray in updating our guide to Father's Day gift goodies.

We'll be adding more disc sets, too, including an obscure new Zane Grey Theatre DVD box that's guaranteed to please (and surprise) any fan of early TV's westerns heyday.

Though the new additions are at the top of the page, please scroll down for other worthy ideas you may have missed.

Here's a M*A*S*H note: The entire-series DVD set is Amazon's deal of the day for Wednesday, June 17. All 11 TV seasons, plus Robert Altman's big-screen movie and two discs of bonus features, are priced half off of even Amazon's discounted price -- $86 for Wednesday only.

The 36 discs are tucked into a cloth-covered book in a cloth-covered "first aid" box. And there's a 64-page Collector's Handbook (episode guide) on a clipboard inside.

It makes a great-looking gift package for any fan of the enduring war dramedy developed by TV legend Larry Gelbart and starring Alan Alda. Click here for more info.

Some interesting free downloads right now at iTunes' TV store -- the pilot episode of Arrested Development and the first installment of the '90s sketchcom The State (which featured Thomas Lennon, Kerry Kenney and Michael Ian Black, among others).

The freebies are designed to promote iTunes' current promotion of 99-cent episode downloads of these and other series, including comedy cult faves The IT Crowd and Human Giant.

Also available at no cost: USA's new series pilot Royal Pains.

And though it'll cost you $1.99 each, the always-interesting series panels from TV's annual L.A.-based Paley Festival can be downloaded from iTunes, too. Usually running about an hour, the discussions feature creators and cast talking smartly about their work on Pushing Daisies, Weeds, House, 30 Rock, Family Guy, Monk, Battlestar Galactica, Dollhouse, Dancing With the Stars and Dr. Horrible's Sing-Along Blog and two dozen other choices. You can also watch video highlights streaming at the Paley Festival site.