TELEVISIONHype Helps: Fox’s heavily promoted summer cliffhanger...

TELEVISION

Hype Helps: Fox’s heavily promoted summer cliffhanger on “The Simpsons” paid off handsomely Sunday night, according to preliminary ratings released Monday. The season premiere, answering the question “Who Shot Mr. Burns?,” attracted 22% of the available audience in 33 major markets, more than the programming on ABC, CBS or NBC. It did even better locally, drawing 29% of TV viewers. The culprit in the shooting turned out to be Maggie, the Simpson baby; whether it was accidental was purposefully left vague. National ratings will be released today.

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The Carson Touch: Heeeeeeere’s Fay Gordon. . . . In Norfolk, Neb., Johnny Carson’s grade-school penmanship teacher received a 99th birthday wish from her famous pupil. “Have a very happy birthday!” the note read. “And remember, I expect to be invited to your 100th birthday. All good wishes, John Carson.” Ms. Gordon said she taught Carson penmanship one day each week from the third through eighth grades. “I had him in class, that’s why he is so smart,” she said.

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The Letterman Influence: A gas station owner named Dick Assman, plucked from obscurity because of his last name and made the object of jokes on the David Letterman comedy talk show, has become a star in Canada, a polling company said Monday in Ottawa. Assman, from the province of Saskatchewan, was a regular feature on Letterman’s show early in the summer and the Angus Reid polling group found that half of Canadians recognize Assman’s name and more than 1 million said they would vote for him if he ran for office.

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Offending Spielberg?: Fox TV, faced with a reported objection from Steven Spielberg, is wrestling with whether to air a taped skit that parodies Spielberg’s much-acclaimed “Schindler’s List.” The sketch is one of many that have been taped for showing on late-night “Mad TV,” which premieres Oct. 14. Somebody reportedly floated a script to Spielberg for the “Schindler’s” parody, in which the proud German hero won’t ask for directions and gets lost on his way to save a group of Jews. Sources say that a Spielberg representative contacted executive producer Quincy Jones’ production company to question the tastefulness of the skit. “No decision has been made whether the sketch will air yet,” a Fox spokesman said. “We haven’t even seen it yet.”

MOVIES

‘Antonia’s Line’ Wins: “Antonia’s Line,” a British-Belgian-Dutch film directed by Marleen Gorris, was chosen by audiences at the Toronto Film Festival as their favorite movie. Organizers of the 10-day festival, which ended Sunday after screening 296 films from 50 countries, said Japanese director Shunji Iwai took second place with “Love Letter.” Diane Keaton’s “Unstrung Heroes” tied with British director Peter Yates’ “The Run of the Country” for third. The Toronto-City Award for best Canadian feature film went to Bruce Sweeney for “Live Bait.” A special jury citation was given to John L’Ecuyer for “Curtis’s Charm” and Clement Virgo for “Rude.” International film critics gave their top honors to Norwegian director Brent Hamer’s “Eggs” and American Tim McCann’s “Desolation Angels.”

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Spoof Set: If you didn’t chuckle over “Pulp Fiction,” you’ll still have “Plump Fiction” to consider. The comedy spoof--also billed as an “homage” to writer-director Quentin Tarantino and his 1994 hit film--will begin principal photography Oct. 21 in Los Angeles, with release planned for 1996. The script was penned by actor/writer Bob Koherr, who will be making his directorial debut for fledgling Rhino Films, a division of Rhino Entertainment.

QUICK TAKES

Sportscaster Randy Kerdoon was named weekend sports anchor for KTTV/Fox 11 and weekday sports reporter for Fox News at 10. He had been a substitute sports anchor at the station since December and also worked as a sportscaster for KFWB-AM. . . . Recovering from dental surgery, tenor Placido Domingo is expected to return to the cast of “Stiffelio” tonight at L.A. Music Center Opera’s fifth and penultimate performance of Verdi’s opera at the Dorothy Chandler Pavilion, according to a spokesman for the singer. . . . Disney has decided to reach out to Orange County to find patrons for its production of “Beauty and the Beast” at the Shubert Theatre in Century City. Starting today, a combined orchestra seat and charter bus roundtrip leaving from eight Anaheim locations will be available for most performances at a cost of $70. . . . Rehearsals begin today in Johannesburg, South Africa, for the political drama “Inside,” a motion picture starring Nigel Hawthorne, Louis Gossett Jr. and Eric Stoltz. Arthur Penn directs.

QUOTABLE

“She’s just fine . . . Anybody leaving a hospital is in a good mood.”

--Charles Friedman, Elizabeth Taylor’s physician, after the 63-year-old actress went home from St. John’s Hospital Sunday following treatment for an irregular heartbeat.