Corpus Christi Caller-Times TV/Radio by Elaine Liner, media critic

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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

Thursday, November 25, 1999

Ricky Martin brings the party to your house Friday

Also: FX network hosts marathons of 'X-Files' and 'Millennium'

Bonbon shakin', vida loca livin' - it's all there in Ricky Martin's first network special, "One Night Only!," airing at 7 p.m., Friday on CBS.
   Taped on an enormous outdoor stage at Liberty State Park in New Jersey, where the glittering Manhattan skyline serves as a backdrop, the one-hour concert features Martin performing all of his chart-toppers, including "The Cup of Life," "Maria," "Shake Your Bonbon," "Livin' La Vida Loca" and "She's All I Ever Had."
   Joining Martin for a medley toward the end of the hour are Jose Feliciano and Carlos Santana.
   As concert specials go, this one's right up there with Garth Brooks' high-octane blowouts. It's terrific, start to finish. Well worth taping and watching again.
   Martin has spectacular energy, singing with infectious romanticism, dancing with wild abandon. He often punctuates the end of a song by throwing his head back and spreading his arms wide, as if embracing an adoring universe.
   Backing him up is a hot, horn-heavy band, some strong singers (who bolster Martin's sometimes thin baritone in the lower registers) and a dozen dancers who shimmy and shake in costumes consisting of a few inches of fringe.
   The only slow moments in the special are a couple of travelogue segments that allow Martin to visit sites in his native Puerto Rico. But those are mercifully brief breathers between high-energy numbers. The music is the priority.
   Good music it is, too. Martin's performing style is refreshingly upbeat and the tunes have bouncy hooks.
   Like his star-making turn on this year's Grammy Awards telecast, "One Night Only!" shows why Martin is pop music's pin-up du jour. That smile. That voice. Those abs. Those sweaters.
   Pass the bonbons. As Rosie O'Donnell often says, he's a cutie patootie.
   Fans pick "X-Files" episodes
   Starting today, cable's FX network features two marathons of scaremeister Chris Carter's shows. "The X-Files Secret Ballot Marathon" runs for 14 hours beginning at 11 a.m. It's hosted by the actors who play "The Lone Gunmen" on the show.
   On Sunday, FX presents nine hours of Carter's even darker "Millennium," starting at 11 a.m., culminating in a special "X-Files/Millennium" crossover episode airing on Fox network at 8 p.m.
   Thousands of fans have cast their votes for favorite episodes in FX's third annual "X-Files" marathon. Included are ones fans have chosen as the best featuring Scully, best featuring Mulder, most humorous and favorite Carter-directed hour.
   "Millennium" star Lance Henriksen, who played Frank Black on that now-canceled series, will host the marathon of his shows and also stars in the "X-Files" crossover Sunday night.

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