Mariah's adoption special tugs holiday heartstrings
A seasonal program that manages to entertain and enlighten while also tugging mightily at your emotions is a rare trifecta, but "A Home for the Holidays With Mariah Carey" (CBS, 8 p.m.) qualifies. In the third installment of an annual program celebrating adoption, Carey is joined by a raft of talent drawn to the project because of personal links to the issue. Actors Dustin Hoffman and Patricia Heaton, and gold-medal figure skater Scott Hamilton introduce filmed vignettes of searching adults and yearning children who somehow managed to join together as family.
But as a call to action, Hoffman points out that the happy endings are still the exception: The number of U.S. children in foster care has doubled in the last five years and stands at an estimated 500,000. The adoption stories would be affecting any time of year, but the holiday setting lends a layer of poignancy guaranteed to melt the heart of the chilliest Scrooge.
Blended skillfully with the filmed segments are themed performances by musical guests Destiny's Child (whose funky "DC Christmas Medley" is one of the highlights), Charlotte Church, Enrique Iglesias and Mandy Moore, and opera star Josh Groban.
Carey provides another high point with "Reflections", a song she wrote about a foster child wishing for a permanent family. Who knows? "A Home for the Holidays" could turn out to be the catalyst that helps such wishes come true. (LA Times) Many thanks to Mariah Crybaby.
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