POP/ROCKDisappointing Sales: The big news in this...

POP/ROCK

Disappointing Sales: The big news in this week’s pop charts isn’t that the Stone Temple Pilots’ 196,000-selling album, “Purple,” retained the No. 1 spot, which it did. More interesting is the relatively weak showing by two acts whose debut albums together sold more than 6 million copies in the United States last year. The Spin Doctors’ new “Turn It Upside Down,” the follow-up to “Pocket Full of Kryptonite,” landed at No. 28 with only 38,000 units sold during its first week in the stores. And Grammy-winning group Arrested Development’s new “Zingalamaduni,” which follows its acclaimed album “3 Years, 5 Months and 2 Days in the Life of . . . , “ entered the chart at No. 55 with only 28,000 units sold.

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Charges Dropped: Miami police have dropped an aggravated assault charge against 2 Live Crew rapper Luther Campbell, who had been accused of waving a gun at his girlfriend and threatening to kill her. Tina Barnett, who has two children with Campbell, declined to press charges, and the state attorney’s office said it had no independent evidence to continue with the case.

TELEVISION

The Next John Tesh?: Ben Patrick Johnson, a model and former deejay, will join the previously announced Arthel Neville as co-host of “EXTRA--The Entertainment Magazine,” the syndicated entertainment magazine set to premiere Sept. 5. The program, a competitor to the long-running magazine show “Entertainment Tonight,” will air six days a week on KNBC Channel 4, while “ET” moves to rival station KCBS Channel 2. Johnson has been production director at KABC-AM (790) radio for the last two years.

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Accident Breaks in New Set: NBC’s new windowed, street-level “Today” show set took center stage Wednesday when a crewman for the show tripped over a cord outside the set and suffered an electrical shock. Scores of people watching the show from outside looked on as the man was treated by paramedics. NBC said later in the day he apparently would be fine. The accident, which took place during the day’s broadcast, was mentioned on air by host Bryant Gumbel. The new “Today” set was unveiled Monday. Passersby can watch the show through the windows and may speak with the hosts.

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New Tour Guide: Boyd Matson, a veteran news correspondent and co-host of ABC’s overnight program “World News Now,” will replace actor Robert Urich as host of TBS Superstation’s Sunday night series “National Geographic Explorer.” Matson’s first stop with “Explorer” will be Botswana, Africa, for “Into Africa,” the two-part season premiere airing Aug. 21 and 28.

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Comedy Shorts: Actress Debi Mazar (“Civil Wars,” “L.A. Law”) will host “Musical Shorts,” a new half-hour series on cable’s Comedy Central featuring comedic short films, songs and takeoffs. Initial features include an extremely short opera directed by filmmaker Hal Hartley and segments with actor Tim Robbins and artist William Wegman. The series premieres July 31 at 10 p.m. as part of Comedy Central’s “Fall Season in July.” In addition, the station will launch its previously announced broadcasts of England’s bawdy, half-hour comedy series “Absolutely Fabulous” with a 12-episode marathon starting at 3 p.m. July 24.

RADIO

K-EARTH Radiothon: Radio station KRTH-FM (101.1) will hold a 38-hour “Care for Kids” radiothon July 29-30 to help fund a new Pediatric Intensive Care Unit at the Women’s and Children’s Hospital at County-USC Medical Center. The hospital’s 38-year-old Pediatric Pavilion was closed after the Jan. 17 earthquake. James Earl Jones, Shirley MacLaine, Marion Ross, Vikki Carr and Steve Allen are among the celebrities scheduled for the radiothon.

DANCE

Branching Out: Ballets by the celebrated American modern dancer and choreographer Martha Graham are being licensed for performance for the first time to several university and professional dance companies, including the Paris Opera Ballet, the National Ballet of Holland, the Juilliard School, Florida State University and the University of Illinois. Graham’s ballets--which are also being negotiated for by the Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater and the Joffrey Ballet--have generally been reserved for the New York-based company that bears her name. Only Mikhail Baryshnikov’s White Oak Dance Project and a company in Israel have previously been allowed to perform Graham’s works, which are known for their signature narrative style. The new licensing is part of the Martha Graham Centennial Celebration, a multifaceted tribute, chaired by Hillary Rodham Clinton and U.S. Ambassador Pamela Harriman, recognizing the centennial of her birth in 1894. Graham died in 1991.

QUICK TAKES

Controversial Olympic skater Tonya Harding has signed her first film deal, playing a feisty waitress who inadvertently makes off with a cache of mob money in the low-budget independent film “Breakaway,” which begins shooting in Los Angeles next month. . . . Pop star David Bowie will converse with America Online subscribers tonight at 7. He will enter the network’s “Inside Hollywood” area and talk to folks on a first-come, first-served basis. . . . Santa Monica’s High Performance magazine has won the 1994 Alternative Press Award for coverage of cultural issues from the Utne Reader, which called the magazine “an essential resource for anyone who wants to understand how art can provoke social change.”