TELEVISIONEmpty-Handed: Arsenio Hall took his final late-night...

TELEVISION

Empty-Handed: Arsenio Hall took his final late-night talk-show bow Friday as more than 100 disappointed fans left empty-handed after camping out overnight to get tickets to the taping at Paramount Studios. Police, some in riot gear, were called in as the crowd threatened to get out of hand, but no arrests were made. The tickets were handed out on a first-come, first-served basis and the crowd exceeded the available seats. Hall was joined for his final show after 5 1/2 years on the air by actor Whoopi Goldberg and singer James Brown.

* ‘Dead’ Zone: MTV is getting into the world of action/adventure. The network’s first action series, “Dead at 21,” will have a sneak preview at 11 p.m. June 9, following the 1994 MTV Movie Awards. The new series is about two 20-year-olds, Ed (Jack Noseworthy) and his girlfriend, Maria (Lisa Dean Ryan), who have been framed for murder in a government cover-up and are running for their lives. There’s more--Ed has a microchip in his brain that will cause him to self-destruct by the time he’s 21 unless he finds the doctor who implanted it. The series will air in its regular time period, Wednesdays at 10 p.m., beginning June 15.

* The Candidates: Four California gubernatorial candidates will appear on KTTV Channel 11’s “Good Day L.A.” morning news show this week to be interviewed and answer call-in questions from viewers. Kathleen Brown will be on the show Monday, John Garamendi on Tuesday, Tom Hayden on Wednesday and Ron Unz on Thursday.

* TNT Scores a Special: Sports fans, get ready to kick off the celebration of the National Football League’s 75th anniversary this fall with a special from Turner Network Television. TNT announced it will team up with NFL Films to put together the show focusing on the history of the NFL and the impact football has had on popular culture. “75 Seasons: The Story of the National Football League” premieres Sept. 20 and will highlight the league’s greatest moments. Football personalities Pete Rozelle, Don Shula, Al Davis, Terry Bradshaw, Bill Walsh, Walter Payton, Roger Staubach, Joe Greene and others will share their memories on the program.

* In Like a Lion: An ABC special will take viewers behind the scenes with singer Elton John and lyricist Tim Rice as they talk about their collaboration in writing the music for the upcoming animated Disney movie “The Lion King.” On “The Lion King: A Musical Journey With Elton John,” which airs June 15, John will perform the movie’s opening song, “Circle of Life.” The show will also feature the performers who lend their voices to the movie, including Jonathan Taylor Thomas (“Home Improvement”), James Earl Jones, Jeremy Irons and Matthew Broderick.

* He’s Baack: ABC will air its remaining seven new episodes of the animated series “The Critic” beginning Wednesday at 8:30 p.m.; the network had canceled the show featuring the voice of Jon Lovitz as critic Jay Sherman in mid-March. The series was recently picked up by Fox for midseason ’95. On this week’s episode, Sherman, who’s adopted, thinks the woman who does his makeup is his real mother.

MOVIES

The Real Madison County: The movie version of Robert James Waller’s best-selling book “Bridges of Madison County” has a location--Madison County. The movie, to be co-produced by Steven Spielberg and Kathleen Kennedy and directed by Bruce Beresford (“Driving Miss Daisy”), will begin filming in the town of 4,200 in the farmland southwest of Des Moines, Iowa, in August. As was previously reported, Clint Eastwood will play the magazine photographer featured in the book. The female lead has not been cast.

THE ARTS

For the Lunch Bunch: Downtown L.A.’s California Plaza launches its eighth annual “Celebrations!” series of free outdoor entertainment at the Watercourt on Wednesday at noon with “Sunset Boulevard Sings.” The performance will feature cast members of the Andrew Lloyd Webber hit singing and dancing al fresco . On June 8, the series continues with a performance by the cast of “Falsettos.”

QUICK TAKES

Talk-show host Rush Limbaugh married Marta Fitzgerald, a former aerobics instructor he met through CompuServe, the computer bulletin board service. The wedding ceremony took place Friday at the home of U.S. Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas, who officiated. . . . Comedian Bob Hope celebrated his 91st birthday on Sunday. . . . Daryl Hannah’s “ethereal” beauty led Karl Lagerfeld to hire her as pitch person for his new fragrance, Sun Moon Stars. The actress has already shot print ads for the product in Monte Carlo. David Lynch is reportedly directing the TV ads. . . . Comedian John Caponera, star of NBC’s “The Good Life,” will host “Balls,” a new half-hour sports/entertainment magazine show on cable’s Comedy Central. The weekly program debuts on July 8 at 9:30 p.m. . . . “Good Morning America at Night,” a prime-time presentation of ABC’s morning show, “Good Morning America,” airs June 19 at 8 p.m. Charles Gibson and Joan Lunden will host “GMA’s” third prime-time special. . . . On cable’s Lifetime Television, Geraldine Ferraro will make her stand-up comedy debut when she hosts the stand-up series “Girls Night Out” June 18.