Maverick marathon

Great news for fans of James Garner and classic television: You can celebrate July 4th with 12 back-to-back episodes of Maverick on the Encore Westerns cable network. The marathon kicks off at 12 noon EDT on Independence Day. And with all due respect to Mel Gibson -- Garner remains, now and forever, the coolest and craftiest cardshark cowboy to ever ride tall in a tongue-in-cheeky sagebrush saga.

Friday viewing tip: James Garner in 'Support Your Local Sheriff!'

Director Burt Kennedy (The War Wagon, Welcome to Hard Times) playfully tweaks the cliches and conventions of classic Westerns in Support Your Local Sheriff! (7 pm CST, Encore Western), a funny yet affectionate 1969 spoof that's suitable for family viewing. James Garner brings a sly hint of Bret Maverick to his tongue-in-cheeky performance as a risk-averse drifter who reluctantly agrees to temporarily enforce the law in a lawless Wild West town. Co-stars Jack Elam (as a crusty deputy who needs on-the-job training) and Walter Brennan (as the cantankerous leader of an outlaw clan) do a bang-up job of wink-wink, nudge-nudge self-parody, and the late Joan Hackett is sweetly dippy as the lovely lady who develops quite a hankering for Garner's easygoing sheriff.