MOVIESA Real-Life Re-Enactment?: Herbert Stempel, the real-life...

MOVIES

A Real-Life Re-Enactment?: Herbert Stempel, the real-life “Quiz Show” contestant who lost his title to tipped-off opponent Charles Van Doren, returned to the scene of the crime--NBC’s Studio 6A in New York--on Tuesday and demanded a rematch. Some 40 years after the fix on the show “Twenty-One” was exposed, Stempel issued his challenge to Van Doren during an appearance on “Late Night With Conan O’Brien,” which is taped in the same studio where the game show was held. “I would like to play Charles Van Doren anywhere, anytime and anyplace for charity,” said Stempel, who is played by John Turturro in the film “Quiz Show.” “I would like to play him right here on your show.” A rematch is unlikely. Van Doren has kept a low profile since the scandal and has not cooperated with filmmakers or writers.

TELEVISION

Shuffling Newsmagazines: In the wake of the strong ratings for NBC’s hospital drama “ER” at 10 p.m. on Thursday nights, ABC News plans to move its strongest newsmagazine, “PrimeTime Live,” out of that competing time slot. The move, effective in January with the season’s end of “Monday Night Football,” will prompt a shuffle among several of ABC’s newsmagazines. “PrimeTime Live” will move to Wednesday nights, following “Grace Under Fire” and “Ellen” on one of ABC’s strongest nights. “Turning Point” will move from Wednesday night to Monday night, and “Day One,” which has been on hiatus, will move into “PrimeTime Live’s” Thursday slot, opposite “ER.” The strong ratings for the NBC hospital drama had already prompted CBS to move its rival hospital show, “Chicago Hope,” from the 10 p.m. Thursday slot to an earlier 9 p.m. slot, starting tonight.

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A Window for Viewpoints: NBC says it was only a coincidence, but “Today” show viewers got a taste of a network labor dispute Tuesday during a segment on how to negotiate for a raise. Viewers at home saw protesting representatives of the National Assn. of Broadcast Employees and Technicians through the “Today” set’s street-level window behind anchors Katie Couric and Matt Lauer. The NABET representatives were holding a large sign reading “NBC Workers Must Get Fair Contract.” An NBC spokeswoman said that it was only a coincidence that the cameras shot the sign during the job-negotiation segment, since NABET representatives have been staked out with signs at the “Today” show window for several days. NABET, the union that includes the network’s cameramen and other technical employees, hasn’t had a contract since March 31 and negotiations broke down again last week. NBC has not bleeped out the signs or changed the angle of its cameras onto Rockefeller Center since the NABET workers arrived.

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TV Programs Honored: Eight television programs were honored Wednesday by Advocates for Youth with the 10th annual Nancy Susan Reynolds Awards for “outstanding portrayals of family planning, sexuality and reproductive health.” The winners were episodes of ABC’s “Family Matters” and “Roseanne,” and CBS’ “Picket Fences”; an “ABC Afterschool Special” called “Jacqui’s Dilemma”; the HBO documentaries “The Broadcast Tapes of Dr. Peter” and “Why Am I Gay? Stories of Coming Out in America”; the ABC soap opera “General Hospital,” and the HBO movie “And the Band Played On.” Advocates for Youth (formerly the Center for Population Options) is a nonprofit organization working to prevent pregnancy and the spread of sexually transmitted diseases among teen-agers.

POP/ROCK

Concert Changes: The Eagles have rescheduled their “Hell Freezes Over” Rose Bowl date for Jan. 21. The concert was planned for Saturday, but was postponed Monday along with the rest of the Eagles’ tour because of Glenn Frey’s chronic gastrointestinal disorder. Frey is scheduled to undergo surgery to correct the disorder at an undisclosed Los Angeles hospital today. . . . Health problems have also forced the dropping of the 25th anniversary tour of Crosby, Stills & Nash, who were to have performed at Universal Amphitheatre Oct. 17 and 18. The cancellation was prompted by a liver ailment suffered by member David Crosby, 53, who is being considered for an organ transplant. Doctors have said there’s a good chance for full recovery, and fellow band member Graham Nash said the band now intends to tour next summer.

QUICK TAKES

“Speed” star Keanu Reeves has signed a first-look production deal to star in movies for 20th Century Fox. . . . Actors Warren Beatty and Annette Bening give their first television interview together since their marriage on tonight’s “Eye to Eye With Connie Chung” on CBS. . . . ABC has put its Thursday night show “McKenna” on hiatus, to be replaced by Andy Griffith’s series “Matlock,” in the 9 p.m. time slot. ABC said “McKenna” will return later in a new time period with “a better opportunity to find an audience.” . . . Capital Cities/ABC Inc. announced its decision to become the first broadcast network to extend spousal benefits, including health and dental coverage, to employees’ same-sex domestic partners. . . . KTTV/Fox 11 is revising air times for its daytime talk shows. Starting Oct. 17, “The Dennis Prager Show” will air at 11:30, followed by “The Gordon Elliott Show” at noon.