TELEVISIONNancy the Host: Nancy the media...

TELEVISION

Nancy the Host: Nancy the media darling . Nancy the brat . Skater Nancy Kerrigan poked fun at both images as host of NBC’s “Saturday Night Live” on Saturday. The Olympic silver medalist even spoofed her own skating--doing a slapstick pairs number with chunky cast member Chris Farley in which she spun gracefully around her sweating, lurching partner. Kerrigan displayed a less-than-silver tongue as she tried to make the jump from lutz to laughs, but some of her punch lines did manage to break the ice. During her opening monologue, she took questions from “the audience,” including a performer dressed as gold medalist Oksana Baiul--who couldn’t stop crying. She also took a question from “Tonya,” who asked jealously who was scheduled to host the show next week. And Kerrigan alluded to a comment she made during a Disney World parade, calling it “the horniest”--not the corniest--thing she’s ever done.

*

Pilots, Prepare for Take-Off: Pilot season is well under way in TV-land, with various projects vying for air time next season already in the works. Comic Mo Gaffney taped a presentation for CBS Thursday--which she co-wrote and co-produced with partner Lisa Amsterdam--titled “Days Like This,” set at a women’s magazine. “LAX 2194,” a science-fiction sitcom for Fox about workers at an intergalactic customs office at LAX 200 years in the future, is scheduled to be shot Wednesday. Stand-up comic Steve Harvey plays the widowed father of three sons on a pilot he’s doing for ABC. And Warner Bros. is casting “Medicine Balls,” a drama about young doctors.

MOVIES

‘Guarding’ No. 1: “Guarding Tess” jumped into the top spot at the box office during the weekend, its first in release. The comedy from TriStar, starring Shirley MacLaine as a feisty former First Lady, took in $7.1 million, according to early industry estimates. Next was another newcomer, Savoy Pictures’ “Lightning Jack,” a Western starring Paul Hogan, with $5.5 million. Warner Bros.’ “Ace Ventura: Pet Detective” dropped to third place with $4.1 million. In fourth was yet another new release, Touchstone Pictures’ “The Ref,” with $3.5 million. Rounding out the top five: Universal’s “Schindler’s List” holding strong with $3 million and a cumulative gross of $54.4 million.

*

Lovey-Dovey?: The on-again, off-again marriage of actress Melanie Griffith and actor Don Johnson appeared to be on again Saturday, just 24 hours after it was off again. Griffith petitioned for divorce from Johnson Friday in Los Angeles Superior Court, nearly five years after they were married for the second time. But TV and radio reports said the two were together at their ranch in Aspen early Saturday, trying to reconcile their differences. And then the couple were seen looking quite chummy at the American Cinema Editors awards ceremony in Beverly Hills on Saturday night. Johnson, who presented the best feature film editing award, told the audience jokingly that he and Griffith were late to the event because they had to stop off at the courthouse to retrieve some papers.

*

Celebrating Mazursky: The first-ever retrospective of the works of filmmaker Paul Mazursky begins today at California State University, Long Beach. “Enemies, A Love Story,” “Moscow on the Hudson,” “Down and Out in Beverly Hills,” “Moon Over Parador,” “Bob & Carol & Ted & Alice,” and the rest of Mazursky’s films will be screened throughout the event, which ends Thursday. The filmmaker himself will take part in question-and-answer sessions. Anjelica Huston, Shelley Winters and Elliott Gould are also expected to participate in discussions about the films.

THE ARTS

Joffrey in the Summer: The Joffrey Ballet has announced the line-up for its first summer repertory season in three years at the Dorothy Chandler Pavilion, June 28-July 3. The seven-performance season, under the direction of Gerald Arpino, will include the L.A. premiere of “A Tri-Fling,” a ballet from Randy Duncan; the Joffrey’s re-creation of Leonide Massine’s “Les Presages”; and the rock ballet “Billboards,” set to the music of Prince. The company will also perform three revivals: Sir Frederick Ashton’s “Les Patineurs,” Jiri Kylian’s “Return to a Strange Land” and Arpino’s “Valentine.”

AWARDS

For Animal Lovers: The movie “Free Willy,” about a captive killer whale, won the feature film category Saturday at the eighth annual Genesis Awards, which recognize those who have called attention to animal issues. The awards, sponsored by the Ark Trust Inc., a group devoted to raising public awareness of animal concerns, also honored the TV shows “The Simpsons,” for an episode on which Bart and Lisa foiled a snake-whacking contest, and “The Golden Palace,” for a program dealing with what happens to greyhounds when their racing days are over. “Hard Copy,” “Day One” and “Dinosaurs” also received awards. Christine Lund of KABC-TV Channel 7 was honored for a news series that examined the brutality of charro rodeos . Brooke Shields and Olympic skater Scott Hamilton hosted the event in Century City.