TELEVISIONSudsy Awards: “Days of Our Lives” was...

TELEVISION

Sudsy Awards: “Days of Our Lives” was the big winner with six honors at the 11th annual Soap Opera Digest awards. The NBC daytime drama won for favorite show, and Deidre Hall, who plays psychiatrist Marlena Evans, won best lead actress Friday night at the Beverly Hilton Hotel. Other “Days” awards included Jason Brooks for outstanding villain, Drake Hogestyn as hottest male star, Louise Sorel for outstanding female scene stealer, and Robert Kelker-Kelly and Lisa Rinna as hottest couple. ABC’s “General Hospital” took five awards, including a special honor for head writer Clair Labine, the supporting actor award for Brad Maule and hottest female star for Kristina Wagner. The outstanding lead actor award went to Tom Eplin of NBC’s “Another World.” Nominees in 17 categories were chosen by editors of Soap Opera Digest, except for the hottest male and female stars and hottest couple, which were based on viewer mail. The magazine’s readers voted to determine the winners.

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Careful, Tim!: ABC’s “Home Improvement” has blown up the house where syndicated favorite “Bewitched” was set. The stunt--for Tuesday’s episode--is part of a story line accident caused by handyman Tim Taylor (Tim Allen) as he tries to repair a gas leak. “It was pretty dramatic,” said an observer of the pyrotechnic display. “All the windows were blown with explosions and big flames.” The house exterior was one of a series of suburban home facades at the Warner Bros. Ranch facilities in Burbank; the fact that it had been used for “Bewitched” 30 years ago is unrelated to the “Home Improvement” plot. “Home Improvement” co-star Richard Karn (Al) said: “We put it back together. It looks even nicer. We always clean up our messes.”

LEGAL FILE

Settlements of Our Lives: Last week was a big week for Deidre Hall. In addition to winning her soap opera award, Hall reached a settlement in a lawsuit involving the family of her late therapist. The actress sued to try to regain $800,000 in loans to George Barkouras, who died in 1992. The jury was waiting to hear final arguments in the trial in Los Angeles when the settlement was reached. Terms of the agreement weren’t disclosed, but Hall said she was pleased with it.

MOVIES

New Technology: The visually impaired will soon be able to “see” 13-time Oscar nominee “Forrest Gump,” thanks to a new technology in which a headset provides a descriptive narrative track concurrently with the film’s dialogue and sound track. Called TheatreVision, the technology was created by blind activist Helen Harris, president and founder of the nonprofit group Retinitis Pigmentosa International. It will be used first on “Gump” and last year’s big Oscar winner, Steven Spielberg’s “Schindler’s List.” Dodger baseball commentator Vin Scully provides the descriptive narration for “Gump,” which premieres with the new technology on Tuesday at Paramount Studios. Subsequent plans call for a 10-city tour bringing TheatreVision formatted films to children at schools and blind institutes throughout the country.

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Oscar Watch: Oscar night just wouldn’t be Oscar night without those glittery parties. Here are a few that have been announced: Elton John will be the honorary chair of the third annual Academy Awards viewing party that benefits his AIDS foundation at the Four Season Hotel in Beverly Hills. John also is in contention for an Oscar--for three original songs he and lyricist Tim Rice wrote for “The Lion King.” Bernie and Stephanie Taupin will be the official dinner hosts; David Geffen, Hugh Grant, Tom Hanks, Rita Wilson, Liam Neeson, Natasha Richardson, Meg Ryan and Jeffrey Katzenberg are on the host committee. Cartier is underwriting the event. . . . A dry idea for an Oscar party--the National Council on Alcoholism and Drug Dependency will host its first Oscar bash, which will be alcohol free, at the Bel Age Hotel in West Hollywood. Among those on the guest list: Alec Baldwin, Michael Douglas, Barbara Hershey and Martin Landau. All proceeds will go to the council.

POP/ROCK

Cleared to Perform: Michael Jackson has been unbanned in South Korea. The government reversed its position and decided to allow the singer to perform in Seoul. In 1993, the government banned a Jackson concert on the grounds that he would offend Korean customs. South Korea has frowned on foreign pop performers after a teen-ager was crushed to death at a 1992 New Kids on the Block concert, but recently the country has allowed shows by Boyz II Men and Richard Marx. Jackson is expected to perform in June.

QUICK TAKES

Brian Friel’s “Faith Healer” will fill the April 28-May 28 slot at South Coast Repertory’s Second Stage. The play was introduced to area audiences in 1989 at the Odyssey. . . . Capt. James T. Kirk has a new enterprise. William Shatner is taking the helm at a Toronto-based animation firm, CORE Digital Pictures. The company uses computer software to make special effects for feature films and television programs (including Shatner’s “TekWar”).