‘Countryfest ‘97’ Will Offer Musical Treat
Country fans, mosey on over to the small screen at 9 and click on CBS. You’ll be treated to “Countryfest ‘97,” which its producers are claiming is the country version of Woodstock.
Young LeAnn Rimes hosts the two-hour-long version of the all-day concert, which drew 220,000 fans to the Texas Motor Speedway in Fort Worth on June 14. Included are behind-the-scenes reports from Neal McCoy (who also performs “Hillbilly Rap”) and Gary Chapman.
Hank Williams Jr. joins in the action with “If Heaven Ain’t a Lot Like Texas” and his father’s famous “Jambalaya.”
Also performing are Wynonna (“Somebody to Love You” and “No One Else on Earth”), Travis Tritt (“Put Some Drive In Your Country” and “Honky Tonk Women”) and Vince Gill (“A Little More Love” and “What the Cowgirls Do”).
No other place on television this night will have better country music, so sing and dance along. A front-row seat awaits.
Highlights
“Mother, May I Sleep with Danger?” (1996), NBC at 8: Tori Spelling (“Beverly Hills, 90210”) stars in this too-familiar woman-injeopardy tale.
She plays a college student whose boyfriend (Ivan Sergei) is more than a little possessive and controlling. He’s a psychopath who, after killing his last girlfriend, has assumed a new identity.
Spelling again demonstrates her profound lack of dramatic range as her character battles to escape the maniac.
“Intensity” (1997), FOX at 8: Concluding Part 2 is set at Vess’ wilderness hideaway, where Chyna tries to save herself and a young child.
This dark tale is full of the material nightmares are made of. It’s not appropriate for children.
Cable Calls
“Faces of Addiction: 27th and Prospect: One Year in the Fight Against Drugs,” HBO at 8: This grim documentary is the third of three HBO specials addressing substance abuse. It chronicles a fight waged by Kansas City residents who erected a symbolic “cemetery” at the site of a former crack house.
Though somewhat overlong, this film shows that the battle against drugs may be best fought in modest steps on small patches of turf. Whatever else it does, it puts a personal spin on the drug epidemic, reminding us that not all of the casualties are people who should simply be written off.