TELEVISION
Wednesday, June 17
SIKKIM AND ITS YANKEE QUEEN (NBC, 9-10 p.m.)* The former Hope Cooke (Sarah Lawrence, '63). now wife of Maharajah Palden Thondup Namgyal of Sikkim, the tiny Himalayan kingdom, will narrate this on-location documentary about her new country and her new life. Color.
Thursday, June 18
ELECTION YEAR IN AVERAGETOWN (NBC, 7:30-8:30 p.m.). Salem. N.J., like it or not, has been chosen to play the title role in David Brinkley's report on smalltown political attitudes.
Saturday, June 20
ABC'S WIDE WORLD OF SPORTS (ABC, 5-6:30 p.m.). Jockey Eddie Arcaro reports the Gold Cup Race at Ascot.
Sunday, June 21
DISCOVERY (ABC. 1-1:30 p.m.). "The Good Old Days—Part 1." a visit to Greenfield Village in Dearborn, Mich., which has been restored to its 19th century state.
THE TWENTIETH CENTURY (CBS, 6-6:30 p.m.). "Ethiopia: The Lion and the Cross." part one of an award-winning two-part report. Repeat.
Monday. June 22
VACATION PLAYHOUSE (CBS, 8-8:30 p.m.). A summer replacement series made up of situation-comedy pilot programs never before seen on TV. except by reluctant sponsors. Match your wits with the experts: Which ones would have rated top Nielsens? This week: Herschel Bernardi in "Hurray for Hollywood."
HOLLYWOOD AND THE STARS (NBC, 9:30-10 p.m.). Perhaps the best of old film clips are slapstick silents. This sample, "The Funny Men, Part I," features Chaplin, Harold Lloyd. Buster Keaton, Ben Turpin and W. C." Fields. Repeat.
Tuesday. June 23
POLARIS SUBMARINE: JOURNAL OF AN UNDERSEA VOYAGE (NBC. 10-11 p.m.). The nuclear-powered sub George Washington on an actual operational mission. Repeat.
THEATER
THE SUBJECT WAS ROSES, but the theme is thorns in this perceptive new play by Frank D. Gilroy about the barbed blood letting that drains people who live within the closeness of the family without being close. The playwright could not have dreamed of a better cast than Irene Dailey, Jack Albertson and Martin Sheen.
HAMLET is played by Richard Burton as Hamlet wanted to be — the self-assured ruler of his fortunes, and never the tormented prey of a tragic destiny. It is a portrayal alight with intelligence, but rarely aflame with feeling.
FUNNY GIRL, based on the life of Fanny Brice, is an entertaining excuse — if any is needed — to see an exciting new Broadway star who is far more than an entertainer, Barbra Streisand.
HIGH SPIRITS. Bea Lillie and Tammy Grimes are probably creatures of their own imaginations, since not even Author Noel Coward could quite conceive such zany stage sprites.
ANY WEDNESDAY. Sandy Dennis plays a kept doll with an unkempt sense of humor that leads to precious little love-making but does produce an unreasonable amount of fun-making.
DYLAN is another acting triumph for Alec Guinness, as he bodies forth the poetic fire, the playful wit, the alcoholic antics and the fierce urge to self-destruction that constituted the life and legend of Dylan Thomas.
BAREFOOT IN THE PARK turns a six-flight walkup into a cascade of laughs about young love in Manhattan.
Off Broadway