TODAY’S NEWS, TOMORROW’S TELEVISION : New concepts: “Honey, Let’s Kill the Neighbors” and Dick Van Dyke as a Florida newspaperman

SERIES

Mickey Rooney will reprise his Oscar-nominated film role as a wise old horse trainer and former jockey in “The Black Stallion,” a new Family Channel series based on the Walter Farley children’s classic. The dramatic series, now shooting in Vancouver, British Columbia, has received a three-year commitment from the Family Channel.

The Soviet Central Television Network has signed an agreement to broadcast “Adam Smith’s Money World” in the Soviet Union beginning this fall. The half-hour PBS business series, which will be shown in the USSR during prime-time, marks the first American general interest programming to air in the Soviet Union.

MOVIES

Beau Bridges stars as an extraterrestrial in a pin-striped suit and Richard Mulligan as the small-town eccentric who befriends him in “George Walters Will Be Away for the Holidays,” a comedy to be telecast on NBC’s 1990-91 season. In the movie, Mulligan brings unwanted national attention when he builds a landing strip for his supposed friend from another planet.

A convicted killer escapes from prison and side-winds his way into the lives of Jane Seymour and her son, Brian Bonsall, in the CBS movie “Angel of Death,” now shooting in Los Angeles. Gregory Harrison plays the killer, who was sentenced to life in prison for killing--guess who?--his wife and son. Terence Knox portrays the prison guard who tracks Harrison.

Teri Garr, Robert Urich, Susan Ruttan, Tom Poston, Jeffrey Tambor and Florence Stanley are now shooting “Honey, Let’s Kill the Neighbors.” The 1990-91 NBC movie is about a couple who move to the suburbs and, in spite of their steadfast anti-yuppie beliefs, buy a stereotypically suburban appliance: a kiddie intercom. They get involved in an unexpected adventure when the device picks up the neighbors’ conversation about plotting a murder.

Dick Van Dyke will star as a shrewd Florida newspaper publisher whose empire becomes the target of a saboteur in the NBC movie “Kings of the Kingdom,” shooting in Miami for the 1990-91 season. Co-starring as Van Dyke’s three adult daughters, all from different marriages, are Daphne Ashbrook, Kate Vernon and Angelo Alvarado.

Production is under way in Los Angeles on “Silhouette,” a mystery thriller for USA Network starring Faye Dunaway. She portrays a business executive who witnesses a murder while stranded in a small hotel and then is accused of the killing. The film is scheduled to debut this fall.

SPECIALS

Class valedictorian Christopher Rydell is tormented by a guilty conscience when he flees the scene of a car accident in “Golden Boy,” a “CBS Schoolbreak Special” now in production for future broadcast. Rydell’s father, Charles Frank, talks his son into keeping the accident a secret to protect his bright future, until Rydell meets Jennifer Gatti, the daughter of a hit-and-run victim.

In the ABC special “Royal Gala II,” England’s Prince Charles and Princess Diana will witness live American comedy and musical stars perform on the stage of the Palladium Theatre in London. The special is for the 190-91 season.

Sandy Duncan and “Entertainment Tonight” reporter Leeza Gibbons will co-host the CBS broadcast of “The 1990 Miss Teen USA Pageant” on July 16. Teen-agers from 51 states will compete in swimsuit, evening gown and interview categories for cash and prizes totaling $150,000.

Madonna’s extravagant concert show from her current Blond Ambition tour will be presented live from a location to be announced later on HBO Aug. 5 at 9 p.m. The big-as-Broadway concert features a gyrating array of musicians, back-up singers and dancers.

MINISERIES

“The Ninja Murders,” a four-hour NBC miniseries in development for next season, will trace the true-life story of Melody Woodman, a pampered and wealthy homemaker whose life is shattered when her in-laws are killed by masked gunmen and her husband is accused of arranging their deaths. Devastated by the events and bankrupted by her husband’s debts, Melody is forced to become self-reliant to save herself and her teen-age children.

EDUCATIONAL TV

The new hourlong series “Scientific American Frontiers” on PBS has received an $11 million grant by GTE Corp. The gift will enable the monthly scientific series, which debuts in October, to stay on the air for the next five years. The magazine-format program about scientific wonders will be hosted by Woodie C. Flowers, a professor of engineering at MIT.

Carmen Sandiego, a popular detective-chase computer game series that teaches geography and history to children, will serve as the basis for a new animated TV program. DIC Enterprises, the production company developing the show for an unspecified date, will debut eight network children’s series in September on ABC and NBC, including “The Wizard of Oz” and “New Kids on the Block.”