TELEVISIONMatoian’s Moves: Fox’s lowest ratings streak since...

TELEVISION

Matoian’s Moves: Fox’s lowest ratings streak since 1988 may be bad news for Fox Entertainment president John Matoian, but it’s good news for fans of “Melrose Place” and “Beverly Hills, 90210.” Matoian told TV reporters Wednesday that he has ordered 35 episodes and 32 episodes, respectively, of each drama for the upcoming fall season (full-season orders are generally 22 episodes). That way there still will be fresh episodes left to air next summer. The networks traditionally run repeats at this time of year, but Matoian said that Fox’s young audience has better things to do in the summer than watch reruns, especially of long serial dramas. Matoian was so busy planning for his first fall season that he neglected this summer. “We simply didn’t have the bench strength,” said Matoian, who was hired last September. “It will be very, very different next summer. We will aggressively program.”

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Federal Funding: Despite conservative Republican calls to “zero-out” federal funding by fiscal 1998, the Corp. for Public Broadcasting passed a key first test early Wednesday when a House Appropriations subcommittee voted to allocate $240 million. While this is a steady downward slide from the $275 million and $260 million that the agency is expected to receive in fiscal 1996 and 1997, respectively, the corporation, which helps support the nation’s public radio and television stations, is hardly complaining. “This is a first step but it’s a very good first step toward continued funding for public broadcasting,” said Michael J. Schoenfeld, CPB’s senior vice president for communications.

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Baseball Ratings Fall: As if major league baseball hadn’t had enough bad news this season, its All-Star game Tuesday night drew what appeared to be the lowest TV ratings in the game’s history--down 11% from last year. Figures released Wednesday by Nielsen Media Research showed that ABC’s telecast drew a 13.9 rating--representing about 13.2 million homes, or 25% of the audience watching TV at the time--compared to a 15.7 rating last year. The previous low in Nielsen records dating from 1967 was a 14.9 in 1992.

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Montel Drama Delayed: “Matt Waters,” a CBS drama that was to premiere this fall with talk-show host Montel Williams as a high school teacher, has been bumped to midseason, CBS officials announced Wednesday. The drama is being delayed because of Williams’ heavy production schedule, executives said. John Grisham’s “The Client,” which was scheduled to air Thursdays at 9 p.m., will move to the “Matt Waters” slot at 8 p.m. Tuesdays. “New York News,” a drama about a New York tabloid starring Mary Tyler Moore and Madeline Kahn, will air at 9 p.m. Thursdays.

MOVIES

‘Kids’ Rating: After a special screening Wednesday morning, the Motion Picture Assn. of America’s appeals board upheld its decision to grant an NC-17 to “Kids”--a graphic portrayal of a day in the life of some sex-obsessed teens. Excalibur Films--a company set up by Miramax founders Harvey and Bob Weinstein to sidestep any conflict with Miramax’s parent, Walt Disney Co.--plans to ignore the ruling and release the film unrated on July 21. The movie will open in Los Angeles and in other major cities a week later. Lawyer Alan Dershowitz and Jane Pratt, founder of Sassy Magazine and an expert on American teens, argued that the film deserved an R rating. The board, a group made up of industry people and theater owners, disagreed. “We understand the vote was very close,” said Excalibur head Eamonn Bowles. “Though we have the option to resubmit, we believe strongly in the vision of [director] Larry Clark. This is a landmark film that deserves to be seen, as is.”

PEOPLE WATCH

Medical Woes: R.E.M. has had to cancel several shows for the second time this year because of illness. Bassist Mike Mills underwent abdominal surgery in Germany Tuesday night, forcing the band to miss a concert in the Czech Republic scheduled for the same night. In all, seven dates in the group’s “Monster” tour were dropped. The Prague show was to make up for a concert the group canceled after drummer Bill Berry suffered a brain aneurysm in March. Berry had surgery after collapsing on stage during a concert. The band expects to resume its tour July 22 in Dublin, Ireland.

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Reeve Improves: Christopher Reeve is showing signs of rehabilitation six weeks after a horse-riding accident that paralyzed him. The 42-year-old actor can now move his head from side to side, chew his food and shrug, Dr. Marca Sipski at the Kessler Institute for Rehabilitation in West Orange, N.J., said Tuesday. “Our plan over the next couple of weeks will be to get Christopher into an electric wheelchair so that he is able to get around independently,” she said. Doctors want to remove him from the ventilator that helps him breathe, but would not say when that might happen or even how likely it is. Reeve broke his neck in an equestrian competition May 27 in Virginia.