Elaine Liner
is Caller-Times' media critic. Her columns are published Tuesdays, Thursdays,
and Sundays. She has been known to occasionally gossip with her readers in the
Elaine
Liner Forum. Elaine can be reached at linere@caller.com
Sunday, December 26, 1999
TV rings in New Year
Couch potatoes will have many options for Y2K
John Stewart, host of Comedy Central's "The Daily Show," is one TV star who won't be working New Year's Eve.
"I'll be in the bunker," he says. "Friends and family might be invited - it really depends how much dog food I'm going to need."
And is there a television among his Y2K supplies?
"Well, I usually watch the Dick Clark thing, but he won't be doing that much this year," Stewart says. "They're just going to throw him on 10 minutes before the ball drops. And at midnight, they'll throw him into the crowd in Times Square and let them rip him to shreds."
Oh, if only.
Other than Stewart's hilarious "Greatest Millennium" special getting a repeat New Year's Eve (6 p.m., Friday, Comedy Central), TV is taking this century flipping deal pretty seriously.
Instead of letting Dick Clark do his "Rockin' Eve," ABC offers what it's calling "an extraordinary and unprecedented celebration special" that starts at 3:50 a.m. on Dec. 31 and continues for 24 hours. Peter Jennings hosts the marathon from the New York studios, with Barbara Walters in Paris, Connie Chung in Las Vegas, Sam Donaldson in Washington D.C., Cokie Roberts in Rome and other network correspondents flung around times zones from New Zealand to Djibouti. Only Ted Koppel gets the night off.
Clark's face time happens just for the "3-2-1-wheee!" in New York's Times Square.
Here's a rundown of what other networks are offering tube-tuned viewers Friday:
CBS has a special primetime edition of "Late Show with David Letterman" (7 p.m.), followed by "Grammy's Greatest Performances" (8 p.m.) and "America's Millennium" (9 p.m. to midnight) - a live musical event hosted by Will Smith that will feature President Clinton and the first lady from the lawn of the Lincoln Memorial in Washington, D.C. The show features the debut of Steven Spielberg's new short film, "The Unfinished Journey."
CBS news drops in at the top of every hour with news updates as the date changes around the globe.
NBC, MSNBC and CNBC combine for a full weekend of special coverage beginning at 4 a.m. Friday. News correspondents will report live from Berlin, London, Paris and Rome (for the Pope's special message from the Vatican). Katie Couric and Tom Brokaw host an expanded edition of the "Today" show from 6 to 9 a.m. Friday and then host a live two-hour primetime show at 8 p.m. focusing on newsmakers and Y2K developments.
A live "Tonight Show with Jay Leno" will air at 10:35 p.m., then Brokaw and Couric pop up at midnight in Times Square for the big ball drop and fireworks display. Coverage continues from around the globe all night and into Saturday morning.
"PBS Millennium 2000" begins at 3:45 a.m. Friday and continues for 25 hours. Gwen Ifill and Will Durst host the live special that includes a sun ritual from Macchu Pichu, Maoris dancing on a mountaintop in New Zealand and Nelson Mandela ringing in the new century from an island prison off Cape Town, South Africa.
"Fox 2000" (10 p.m.) rings in the New Year with news and entertainment. Brit Hume and Paula Zahn host a live special from New York's Times Square. Scheduled performers include the Red Hot Chili Peppers in concert in downtown Los Angeles and the Neville Brothers at Harrah's Casino in New Orleans. In addition, the special will offer breaking news and updates from the Federal Y2K Center in Washington, D.C. as officials monitor for signs of possible Y2K trouble.
"The Nickellenium" (11 p.m. Friday, Nickelodeon) invites kids from around the world to express their hopes and visions for the future in a commercial-free day of programming.
"CNN Millennium 2000" (4 a.m. Friday through Jan. 4) beams out 100 hours of global news coverage of millennium-related events and issues.
"The New Millennium" (4 a.m. Friday, Fox News Channel) promises 23 hours of coverage from around the world.
"Millennium Live" (4 a.m. Friday, PAX-TV) is another 24-hour event hosted by Carmen Electra (U.S.), Angelica Castro (South America) and Ramzi Malouki (France). Ricky Martin, The Spice Girls, Chicago, 10,00 Maniacs, Sting, Phil Collins, 'N Sync and others will perform.
"The Century: America's Time" (6:30 a.m. Friday, History Channel). Peter Jennings' 15-part documentary gets a replay.
"Z2K: Zoogin' New Yearz Eve Party" (6 p.m. Friday, Disney Channel) is a marathon of "Best of Disney Channel" shows as determined by an online poll.
"MTV 2 Large New Year's Eve Party Live" (6 p.m. Friday, MTV) shows the action from the network's headquarters in New York's Times Square with scheduled performances by Bush, 98 Degrees, Christina Aguilera, Jay-Z, Blink-182, the Goo Goo Dolls and Puff Daddy.
Index of Elaine's columns | Arts
& Entertainment | Restaurant Reviews
| Best Bets: Today - The
Week | Columns | Home Page
© 1999 Corpus Christi
Caller Times, a Scripps Howard newspaper.
All rights reserved.
|
 |
 |
[an error occurred while processing this directive]
[an error occurred while processing this directive]
[an error occurred while processing this directive]
[an error occurred while processing this directive]
[an error occurred while processing this directive]
[an error occurred while processing this directive]
[an error occurred while processing this directive]
[an error occurred while processing this directive]
|
