Television: Aug. 5, 1966

All eyes, especially TV's, will be on Washington this week when Luci Johnson marries Patrick Nugent. Special programs both live and taped will cover virtually every aspect of the event, except the ceremony in the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception. CBS leads off with a wedding-eve special on Friday from 10 to 11 p.m. NBC and ABC join in on Saturday with live coverage from 11 a.m. to 2:30 p.m., plus taped recaps of the highlights on all three networks in the evening.

Thursday, August 4

THE AVENGERS (ABC, 10-11 p.m.).* In a modernized parody of those Pearl White cliffhangers of the early 1900s, Mrs. Emma Peel and John Steed set out to investigate a snag in Britain's early-warning radar system, and Mrs. Peel ends up tied to a railroad track—all to the accompaniment of a tinkling old piano.

Friday, August 5

SUMMER FUN (ABC, 8-8:30 p.m.). Bert Lahr plays a well-meaning but blundering spirit who tries to help a family with its daily problems in "Thompson's Ghost."

COLLEGE ALL-STAR FOOTBALL GAME (ABC, 10 p.m. to conclusion). Outstanding seniors from the 1965 collegiate season meet the Green Bay Packers, champions of the pro National Football League, in the 33rd annual College All-Star game at Soldier Field in Chicago.

Saturday, August 6

ABC'S WIDE WORLD OF SPORTS (ABC, 5-6:30 p.m.). Heavyweight Champion Cassius Clay in a title bout against his Bum-of-the-Month, this time Britain's Brian London, live by satellite from Earls Court, London.

Sunday, August 7

AMERICAN FOOTBALL LEAGUE PRESEASON GAME (NBC, 3:30 p.m. to conclusion). The A.F.L. Champion Buffalo Bills meet the Boston Patriots in Boston College Alumni Stadium.

THE TWENTIETH CENTURY (CBS, 6-6:30 p.m.). "Airdrop at Arnhem" recounts the massive Allied paratroop attack behind Nazi lines in Holland on Sept. 17, 1944, and reviews the tragic failure of this bold plan to hasten the end of World War II. Walter Cronkite revisits the area where, as a war correspondent, he parachuted with the 101st Airborne Division, and also interviews the intelligence chief of the Dutch underground. Repeat.

CBS NEWS SPECIAL (CBS, 10-10:30 p.m.). Harry Reasoner narrates "Essay on Bridges" by Andrew Rooney. Repeat.

THEATER

On Broadway

MAME. Practically everybody has already met Auntie in a book, a movie, and a play, but as impersonated by Angela Lansbury in a musical version, she's the kind of luscious and loony relative who makes reunions fun.

PHILADELPHIA, HERE I COME! Irish Playwright Brian Friel, knowing that every man is his own toughest critic and most devoted fan, uses two actors to play the inner and outer selves of a youth caught between nostalgia and expectations before leaving for America.

SWEET CHARITY is a dance hall hostess, fortune's fool and no one's darling. Her unsuccessful attempts to remedy the situation provide the rather sad story for a very slick musical. As the doxy who requites the unrequited, Gwen Verdon is a dancing dynamo.

WAIT A MINIM! Thanks to a talented cast and exotic instruments, this musical revue from South Africa is light of foot and light of heart. But with satire often too diffuse to make its point, it sometimes seems light of mind as well.