A New Kind Of Awards Show
When FOX airs the “Billboard Music Awards” at 8, you can expect something different.
Executive producer Bob Bain says he is “redefining” televised awards shows and promises a “spontaneous, entertaining and memorable” telecast.
For starters, the ceremonies have been moved to Las Vegas’ Hard Rock Hotel and Casino, where the show will open with a musical number outside the building. Chris Rock (“Saturday Night Live”) is this year’s host.
Billboard award winners are determined by record sales and radio airplay. Billboard is the trade publication that charts songs and albums. The awards are based on the year-end leaders.
This year’s presenters include Antonio Sabato Jr., LL Cool J, All-4-One, Australian singer Merrill Bainbridge, Jewel, Keith Sweat, Donna Lewis and rapper Nas.
Also featured - and I suspect this is where some of the innovative aspects of the show are planned - will be cast members of FOX’s “Mad TV.”
Tune in and you’ll see performances by New Edition, ZZ Top, Brooks and Dunn, Dishwalla, Toni Braxton and Celine Dion.
Highlights
“Grace Under Fire,” ABC at 8: Grace (Brett Butler) is forced to choose between her job at the refinery and her dream of getting a college degree. The network’s reshuffled Wednesday lineup has “Grace” at 8, “The Drew Carey Show” at 9 and “Ellen” at 9:30.
“Townies,” ABC at 8:30: A storm bears down on Gloucester, threatening to destroy the Pelican and put Carrie, Denise and Shannon out of work. Could the storm be a metaphor for the Nielsen ratings, which threaten to put cast members Molly Ringwald, Lauren Graham and Jenna Elfman out of work?
“A Child Is Missing” (1995), CBS at 9: The plot holes are plentiful in this by-the-numbers kidnapping tale.
Roma Downey (“Touched By an Angel”) plays the weepy single mom of an abducted 9-year-old (Keegan MacIntosh). Henry Winkler is the bearded recluse who tries to rescue the boy.
You’d have to be a dope not to guess the identity of the kidnapper.
“Dateline NBC,” NBC at 10: Maria Shriver profiles a Santa Monica rape victim who used extraordinary means to see that her attacker did not slip through the cracks of the criminal justice system.
Parents’ Pick
“The Story of Santa Claus,” CBS at 8: Ever wonder how there came to be a Santa Claus? This new animated story, featuring the voices of Edward Asner, Betty White and Tim Curry, offers an explanation.
Asner is the voice of toymaker Nicholas “Santa” Claus. Shipwrecked at the North Pole, he encounters a band of evil elves.
Fortunately for all, they work things out, and a tradition of gift-giving is born. Unavailable for review.
Cable Calls
“Kenny Rogers: The Gift,” FAM at 9: Rogers performs tunes from his holiday album, “The Gift.” The Christmas special, taped at Nashville’s Ryman Theater, features Wynonna, Glad, O’Landa Draper and the Associates, and a chorus of children ages 6 to 10.