`This Is Garth Brooks, Too' Has All The Right Elements

Move over, Madonna, Michael Jackson and Barbra Streisand - make way for the newest super superstar: Garth Brooks.

Probably the only reason Brooks doesn't include a simulated earthquake in his dynamic NBC special at 8 p.m. tomorrow on KING-TV, is that there wasn't time enough in the hour to include it.

But there is fire and rain, a huge chorus and great backup musicians, all of it taking place on a center stage in the Texas Stadium in Irving, Texas, which looks large enough to hold most of the population of the state, all of whom hoot and holler and carry on as if this were the greatest concert they'd ever seen.

And they may be right.

Brooks may be a country-music star but he's a lot more than that - and "showman" heads the list. His Texas shows - the NBC special was made up of the best moments from three September concerts - don't have to take a back seat to any by rock stars. And while there are moments when the show threatens to get swamped (or drowned or buried) in special effects, it never happens because Brooks remains firmly in musical control, belting out a variety of his hits.

These range from the opening, "Standing Outside the Fire," on through a free-wheeling version of "American Honky-Tonk Bar Association" to his dramatic hit, "The Thunder Rolls." The hit list includes "We Shall Be Free" (which involves a robed, many-voiced choir), "One Night a Day" (for which Brooks mastered the sax so he could play a solo), "Kickin' and Screamin'," "The River," "That Summer," winding up with slam-bang finale on "Ain't Going Down Til the Sun Comes Up," which Brooks performs while flying, on a wire, like Peter Pan, all over the auditorium.

There are some backstage scenes but the emphasis is upon Brooks the performer and rightly so. Praise must also be given to photographer Toby Phillips (controlling 14 cameras, none of which get in the way) and "Earthquake Edit." This is the only time I've seen MTV-style editing that works and doesn't give you eyestrain and a headache - while doing a disservice to the performers.

In short, "This is Garth Brooks, Too" is a terrific special - and likely to get even better ratings for NBC than his 1992 special.

Video notes

KING-TV, which began celebrating the 2,000th episode of "Evening" last night by recalling thrilling and interesting moments from past shows, airs the second half of the celebration, hosted by Penny LeGate and Brian Tracey, at 7 tonight . . . CBS' "Christy" ends its tryout run with a two-hour episode at 8 tonight on KIRO-TV . . . KBTC-TV, which promised to air the "American Playhouse" production of Armistead Maupin's "Tales of the City" some weeks ago, then found the tape unavailable, promises it will begin airing the six-part drama tonight at 9, continuing nightly through Sunday night. It will also repeat the series in weekly one-hour segments, beginning at 10 p.m. May 22 . . . NBC's "Frasier" has one of its funniest episodes yet tonight at 9:30 on KING-TV, when the two psychiatrist-brothers, played by Kelsey Grammer and David Hyde Pierce, begin a wary collaboration on a book . . . Lucky Vanous, the hunky model who has become famous for taking off his shirt in a TV Coke commercial, plays himself in the episode of NBC's "Wings" at 8:30 tonight on KING-TV . . . PBS airs the second episode of "Prime Suspect 3" tonight at 9 on KCTS-TV, repeated at 1O p.m. Sunday . . .

Nickelodeon airs the "Kids' Choice Awards" at 8 p.m. Saturday, repeated at noon Sunday and 4 p.m. Monday . . . NBC's "Mommies" has its last first-run episode of the season at 8:30 p.m. Saturday on KING-TV, with a guest roster featuring some of the best-known TV "mommies" of all time: Barbara Billingsley, Florence Henderson and June Lockhart - although it's Audra Lindley who steals the show . . . KCTS-TV repeats the three-hour "American Experience: Nixon," at 1 p.m. Sunday . . . ABC's "Lois & Clark" ends its season at 8 p.m. Sunday on KOMO-TV with the finale of a two-part episode about Lois' possible marriage to Lex Luthor . . . PBS' stimulating "On the Issues," which KCTS-TV isn't airing, explores the subject of how to advertise a controversial product - and get away with it - at 10:30 p.m. Sunday on KBTC-TV . . . And Geraldo, doing his bit for Suicide Prevention Month, does his Monday show, at 4 p.m. on KOMO-TV, from Seattle, focusing on the recent death of Kurt Cobain.