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Show Millennial, goverage abounds around the,TY; spectrum... ’ By JohnCrock ‘ ‘TVData Features Syndicate If you're one of those “millennial purists” who insists - with some pretty compelling justification - that the third millennium doesn't actually begin for another year, you're in good company. But while you and your buddies perform yourlittle “superior dance,” the rest of the world will be partying, well, like it's 1999. As the Christian calendar “rolls over" to the year 2000, networks and cable channels plan a wide spectrum of cial coverage, beginning as early as the predawn hours of Friday, Dec. 31, with a special hourlong edition of Politically In- correct on ABC. In addition to a variety of comedy sketches, host Bill Maher moderates a rotating panel of current celebrities, in- As usual, veteran New Year's Rockin’ Eve emcee Dick Clark will host the Times Square festivities as midnight ap- proaches there, but the day also includes performances by Billy Joel from Madison Square Garden; ’N Syne trom Walt Disney World in Orlando,Fia.; Barry Manilow from a Connecticut casino; rock group Aerosmith in Osaka, Japan; Bonnie Raitt in Califomia and a special performance by Ray Charles. Vocalist Natalie Merchant also is set to perform a special version of “Kind and Generous” during the ABC coverage, as part of a tribute to the female musical performers of the last century. Not to be outdone by any stretch, PBS launches a jaw-dropping programming lineup early Friday moming with its 25-hour, PBS Millennium 2000 telecast (check locallistings). Co-produced by Boston affiliate WGBH,the BBC and a consortium of66 countries around the world, the staggering PBS lineup for the day includes the following highlights: -Maori warriors dancing on a holy mountaintop of New Zealand's East Cape., -Nelson Mandela hosting a celebration of freedom from Robben Island off Cape Town, South Africa, -Dancers performing an acrobatic ballet on the “sails” of the Sydney Opera Housein Australia.,-A “ritual of the sun” from the ruins of Machu Pichu in Peru.,-The royal opening of the Millennium Domein Greenwich, England.and -Concertsby intemational artists such as Dame Kiri Te Kanawa and Nana Mouskouri, Each of the 25 hours will include seven or eight segments altemating between countries and continents, day and night. Additionally, producers are planning to capture significant “last” and “first” events of the respective millennia,including births and weddings, and of course will have their eyes out for the first Y2K-related disaster, when and if one occurs. ‘The remaining three commercial U.S. networks have somewhatless ambitious plans, although NBC has an expanded Friday edition of Today anchored by Katie Couric and Tom Brokaw. On Friday night, NBC will present a special edi-. tion of Dateline NBC focused on what Americans can expect in the new millennium, followed by a live two-hourprime-time. millennium special from Times Square with Brokaw and Couric. An abbreviated version of The Tonight Show with Jay Leno will precede a late-night news special that will usher in the year 2000 in alll the time zones of the continental United States. CBS likewise has a “Y2K News Desk" on duty Fridayto report any breaking a prime-time special edition of The Late Show With David Letterman, followed by America’s Millennium: A Celebration, a, three-hour “block party" hosted by Will Smith and a high-profile guest list that includes Trisha Yearwood, Muhammad All and operatic soprano Jessye Norman. That same evening, Fox presents Fox 2000, a 90-minute special with correspondents covering events from around the world. accelte bio nabeae (XSch Meade SAM orokode be aa ame Jennium programming eventfor 24 hours, commercial-free, into 95 million homes in 122 countries. Kids from around the globe share their thoughts, hopes and fears of what the new millennium will mean to them. Finally, PAX Network gets into the party spirit in a big way with Millennium ... Humanity's Broadcast, a 24-hourin- temational spectacular beginning earty Friday. 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