TELEVISIONEnough O.J.: KCAL-TV Channel 9 viewers have...

TELEVISION

Enough O.J.: KCAL-TV Channel 9 viewers have had their fill of O.J. So, at their request, KCAL will drop its O.J. Simpson trial coverage and return to regularly scheduled programming, featuring a new 3 p.m. news broadcast, beginning June 26. Hourly news updates on the Simpson trial will replace gavel-to-gavel coverage. The new one-hour news program, anchored by Kerry Kilbride and Jane Velez-Mitchell, will specialize in social and women’s issues. The rest of the afternoon will be filled with talk shows, featuring Maury Povich, Marilyn Kagan and Jerry Springer.

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Telemundo Boycott: After months of protesting hard liquor advertising on Telemundo, a group of Latino, public health and safety organizations have launched a national boycott of the Spanish-language TV network. Organizers have contacted more than 1,000 organizations throughout the country, urging them to tune out Telemundo, seen locally on KVEA-TV Channel 52. Telemundo has been airing advertisements for Presidente Brandy, made by Dome Importers, since early last year. The rest of the broadcast industry adheres to a voluntary ban against promoting distilled liquors. The protesting groups, led by the Latino Council on Alcohol and Tobacco, are most concerned over the disproportionately high level of alcohol-related problems in the Latino community.

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Retton Flips for PBS: Mary Lou Retton will trade her parallel bars for monkey bars in “Flip Flop Shop,” a new children’s TV series for the Public Broadcasting Service. The gold medal-winning gymnast will lead preschool and early grade school viewers through physical activities, games and original songs designed to teach them self-confidence and outlets for self-expression. The series of 26 half-hour episodes is expected to premiere on PBS stations nationwide in January. Retton, 27, was the first American woman to win the overall gold medal in women’s gymnastics at the 1984 Olympic Games in Los Angeles.

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‘TekWar’ Defeated: The USA Network has canceled “TekWar” after 18 episodes and sliding ratings. But Tekkies take heart: With reruns, the science-fiction series won’t complete its run of original episodes until Aug. 12. Actor and executive producer William Shatner will talk about the cancellation tonight at 7 on “America After Hours,” on the cable channel America’s Talking. . . . Meanwhile on CBS, “Christy” is back for a limited run of eight original episodes this summer, starting tonight at 8. The on-again and off-again drama stars Kellie Martin in an adaptation of the best-selling Catherine Marshall novel about a spirited young schoolteacher in Appalachia. Tyne Daly co-stars.

POP/ROCK

Bankrupt Rapper: Luther Campbell, leader of the controversial rap group 2 Live Crew that caused a furor in the early 1990s with its X-rated lyrics, has filed for bankruptcy in Miami, citing debts of more than $1.6 million and assets of less than $50,000. Campbell sought protection under Chapter 11 of the U.S. bankruptcy code, reportedly to keep a fellow rap star from getting his hands on Campbell’s property. Campbell was ordered last year to pay $1.6 million to fellow rapper M.C. Shy D in a dispute over royalties. A lien was placed against some property Campbell owns. The bankruptcy filing prevents the forced sale of the land.

STAGE

‘Candide’ Revival: The first full season at the newly renovated Ahmanson Theatre will open with a revival of “Candide,” the Leonard Bernstein/Hugh Wheeler/Richard Wilbur musical, Nov. 8 through Dec. 24. The Ahmanson’s artistic director and producer, Gordon Davidson, will direct, as he did with a Theatre Group revival at UCLA in 1965, shortly before he opened the Mark Taper Forum.

QUICK TAKES

Daniel Baldwin, who plays Detective Beau Felton on NBC’s “Homicide: Life on the Street,” won’t be back next season. He plans to focus on feature films. His fiancee, Isabella Hoffman, who plays Lt. Megan Russert, will remain with the series. . . . Soap vixen Susan Lucci as Scrooge? That’s the gist of “Ebbie,” a contemporary female twist on Charles Dickens’ holiday classic “A Christmas Carol.” The Lifetime cable movie began production this week in Vancouver, Canada, for a December premiere. . . . Actress Kim Zimmer has signed a long-term contract to return to the CBS soap “Guiding Light” as Reva Shayne Lewis, a role she originated in 1983. After winning three Emmys, she left the show in 1990