Daily News, October 27, 2000, by David Bianculli
'Rocky' Nite is Tran-Scendental
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ROCKY HORROR; 25TH ANNIVERSARY SPECIAL. Tomorrow night at 
10:30, VH1. 3 1/2 Stars. 

With "The Rocky Horror Show" returning to Broadway, VH1 is 
celebrating the silver anniversary of the cult-movie 
original, "The Rocky Horror Picture Show," by setting aside 
the Saturday before Halloween for an evening-long party. 

It's a party you shouldn't miss. 

* At 7 p.m., the fun begins with a "Behind the Music" hour 
devoted to the "Rocky Horror" phenomenon. 

* At 8, VH1 offers the TV premiere of the full-length "Rocky 
Horror Picture Show," starring Tim Curry, Susan Sarandon, 
Barry Bostwick and Meat Loaf, and featuring new DVD footage. 

* At 10:30, there's the one-hour "Rocky Horror: 25th 
Anniversary Special," a celebrity karaoke celebration that 
is the evening's flat-out, wild centerpiece. 

* Finally, at 11:30, there's a "Rocky Horror" edition of 
"Where Are They Now?," for which some of the answers are 
obvious. 

The "25th Anniversary Special" is like a Halloween party and 
musical revue rolled into one. Some familiar prime-time 
faces are on view here, doing some very bold moves: 

Jesse L. Martin, who sang beautifully on "Ally McBeal" 
before turning serious on "Law & Order," starts with a 
perfect rendition of Richard O'Brien's "Science Fiction 
Double Feature" opening number. 

Bijou Phillips, who played a groupie in "Almost Famous," 
turns rock star herself, leading a frenzied, costumed, 
singing-and-dancing crowd through "Let's Do the Time Warp 
Again." She doesn't just sing the number, she claims and 
conquers it. 

The same goes for Eric McCormack of "Will & Grace," who 
dresses as Tim Curry's Frank N. Furter to sing "Sweet 
Transvestite" and other numbers. McCormack is a hoot, and a 
hit, and in this setting something of a shocker. 

Not as much, though, as Anthony Stewart Head, Giles on 
"Buffy the Vampire Slayer," who also takes a turn as Frank. 
Or "Boston Public's" Rashida Jones, who does, too. (Gender-
bending is almost the point here, not the exception.) Or 
Amber Benson, another "Buffy" regular, who takes on 
Sarandon's sweet Janet Weiss persona - and underwear - to 
sing "Touch-a Touch-a Touch-a Touch Me." Or Elisa Donovan of 
"Sabrina the Teenage Witch," who manages to sing four roles 
in the same song. 

The only embarrassment in the bunch is Wallace Langham, who 
sings karaoke the way most real people do - wincingly badly. 
The only other sour notes are sounded during the surprise 
finale, but the reunion vibes in that instance more than 
forgive the wayward notes. 

The rest of the show, though, is a delightful Halloween howl 
- and only one ingredient in VH1's all-"Rocky" road. 



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