TELEVISIONNew Odd Couple?: Lame-duck New York Gov....

TELEVISION

New Odd Couple?: Lame-duck New York Gov. Mario Cuomo is being wooed to do a daily radio talk show that would contrast with Rush Limbaugh’s nationally syndicated program. Newsday reported that Edward McLaughlin, head of EFM Media and a driving force behind the Limbaugh show, has been urging Cuomo to become the liberal counterpart to Limbaugh’s views. Cuomo, who leaves office at the end of this month, is also considering job offers from law firms and universities and is lining up speeches, a sideline that earned him more than $1 million during his 12 years as governor. William O’Shaughnessy, head of WVOX radio in New York and a mutual friend of McLaughlin and Cuomo, said the governor might prefer to do readings of poetry he has written since the 1960s. He also might publish another volume of his diary entries since his last volume ended when he took office in 1983.

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More Limbaugh, for Sure: Beginning Jan. 1, cable’s Talk Channel will air two weekend installments of “Rush Limbaugh, the Television Show,” featuring highlights from past shows. The channel chose weekend presentations so as not to conflict with Limbaugh’s Monday through Friday radio and TV programs.

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From Across the Pond: The British Broadcasting Corp. plans to beam its 24-hour international news service, the BBC World Channel, to the United States starting in February. The BBC channel--which is seen in countries around the world--said it has initial commitments of 60,000 subscribers in this country. The cable entry here is a joint venture between the BBC and New York-based International News Network, a partnership of former CNN executive Reese Shonfeld and Cable USA.

MOVIES

Suit Filed: As expected, the makers of “The Last Seduction” filed suit Tuesday against the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences in an attempt to stop the mailing of Oscar ballots pending a court ruling on the film’s eligibility for competition. Attorney Pierce O’Donnell, representing the filmmakers, accused the academy of restraint of trade and unfair business practices, claiming the academy wants to punish the filmmakers for “the unpardonable sin of allowing the picture to be shown first on television.” The suit filed in Superior Court in Pasadena also alleged that individuals will suffer “irreparable injury” if they are barred from the Oscar race. Specifically cited was actress Linda Fiorentino, who recently won the New York Film Critics Circle best actress award for her role in the film. But academy officials, noting that the ban on films first airing on TV is “Rule No. 1” of the organization, said the domestic distributor, October Films Inc., and the producer, ITC Distribution Inc., knew the rule. The film aired five times last summer on HBO. “There came a time when they had an option of maintaining this film’s eligibility for the Academy Awards or accepting a $1-million deal to put this on cable,” said Academy Executive Director Bruce Davis. “They took the million dollars.”

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India Halts Screening: A New Delhi judge Tuesday banned the screening of a movie about India’s legendary bandit, Phoolan Devi, after she sued the producers saying they had not let her see the film, which she believes is inaccurate. The movie was produced by Britain’s Channel Four television company. The high court judge told the producers of “The Bandit Queen,” which made waves at the Cannes festival last summer, not to show the film in India or abroad before the case was decided, the Press Trust of India reported. The 33-year-old Devi, who headed a ruthless gang, was accused of scores of murders in the ravines of central India, a hotbed of caste vendettas. Wanted in 55 cases in her native Uttar Pradesh state, she surrendered to police in 1983. The Supreme Court released her a year ago after she languished in jail while the judicial process dragged on. The court said the years she spent inside were punishment enough.

QUICK TAKES

Actor Gregory Peck was released from Cedars-Sinai Medical Center Tuesday, a day after he was rushed by ambulance to the emergency room with “stomach distress” suffered while having dinner in a restaurant near his Holmby Hills home. The 78-year-old actor improved quickly, a hospital spokesman said. . . . Comedian Paul Reiser, who stars in NBC’s “Mad About You,” was named host of the 37th annual Grammy Awards, which will be held in Shrine Auditorium on March 1. . . . Ginger Rogers, 83, who made movie history dancing with Fred Astaire, was honored for her achievements in London. Robert Wagner was the host of the event, which raised funds for a children’s hospital, and singer Shirley Bassey and actors Anthony Hopkins, Anthony Quinn and Diana Rigg were on hand. . . . Pianist-turned-conductor Vladimir Ashkenazy quit as music director of the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, contending that officials violated his contract when they negotiated with Italian conductor Daniele Gatti as a possible successor without first getting his approval.