CBS offers ‘Kennedy Center Honors’
Americans don’t hand out knighthoods or believe in titled aristocracy, and that’s a good thing. Can you imagine Sir P. Diddy? Or the Baron Bill Gates? Viscount Clint Eastwood, Earl of Carmel?
We tend to hand out honorariums, tokens of esteem not all that different from the toy heart bestowed to the Tin Man by the Wizard of Oz – reflections of the attributes and actions of a lifetime. The title and award don’t make the man, or the woman, but they’re nice to get nonetheless.
Taped earlier this month, “The 27th Annual Kennedy Center Honors: A Celebration of the Performing Arts” (9 p.m., CBS) recognizes the artistic contributions of actor, producer, writer and director Warren Beatty; husband-and-wife actors, writers and producers Ossie Davis and Ruby Dee; singer and composer Elton John; soprano Joan Sutherland; and composer and conductor John Williams.
Caroline Kennedy returns for the second year to host. President George W. Bush and first lady Laura Bush are among those in attendance.
It’s interesting to note that Caroline Kennedy will bestow an honor on Warren Beatty. When her father, President John F. Kennedy, was in the White House and Hollywood producers were making “PT 109” about Kennedy’s wartime experiences in the Pacific, the president said he wanted Beatty to portray him as a young man.
The president’s wishes notwithstanding, the role went to Cliff Robertson.
Thirty-six Christmas Eves ago, television viewers cast their eyes at the heavens. On Christmas Eve 1968, the Apollo 8 spacecraft entered lunar obit and sent back video of the moon’s desolate surface and, more important, the first images of Earth in space from the vantage point of another heavenly body.
To celebrate this remarkable anniversary, LeVar Burton (“Star Trek: The Next Generation” and “Roots”), hosts “Mission Space” (8 p.m., PAX), a one-hour glance at the past, present and future of space exploration.
“Expeditions to the Edge” (8 p.m., National Geographic Channel) recalls a 1997 cave exploration plagued by injuries and unexpected flooding due to torrential rains. More than 200 volunteers raced against time to keep a team of 11 geologists from drowning deep below the Earth’s surface.
Other highlights
Panting, scheming and screaming on “The Amazing Race” (8 p.m., CBS).
A trip to Tokyo on “The Rebel Billionaire” (8 p.m., Fox). Let’s hope they don’t run into any stragglers from “America’s Next Top Model.”
Luke and Lorelai take their romance public on “Gilmore Girls” (8 p.m., WB).
A young boy becomes the principal support for his mentally ill mother on “House” (9 p.m., Fox).
A woman (Lea Thompson) arranges the kidnapping of a child she believes to be her own on “Law & Order: Special Victims Unit” (10 p.m., NBC).
A bigamist becomes a suspect in his lover’s murder on “NYPD Blue” (10 p.m., ABC).
Cult choice
An emotionally detached British novelist (John Hurt) develops a profound fixation on the shallow star (Jason Priestley) of gross-out teen comedies in the 1997 drama “Love and Death on Long Island” (9 p.m., Independent Film Channel), a wistful adaptation of “Death in Venice.”
Series notes
Caroline Rhea hosts a comic retrospective of “The Biggest Loser” (8 p.m., NBC) … Sports celebrity on “My Wife and Kids” (8 p.m., ABC) … Lessons in heartache on “All of Us” (8 p.m., UPN).
Carmen runs away to San Francisco on “George Lopez” (8:30 p.m., ABC) … Breaking up by the book on “Eve” (8:30 p.m., UPN).
Larry takes some time off on “Father of the Pride” (9 p.m., NBC) … Dana takes credit for a posh gift on “According to Jim” (9 p.m., ABC) … An expectant teen vanishes on “Veronica Mars” (9 p.m., UPN) … Hormones rage a decade too late on “High School Reunion” (9 p.m., WB).
A new psychotherapist (Heather Graham) turns heads on “Scrubs” (9:30 p.m., NBC) … A factory worker quits his job to pursue comedy on the pilot episode of “Rodney” (9:30 p.m., ABC).