ARTS AND ENTERTAINMENT REPORTS FROM THE TIMES, NEWS SERVICES AND THE NATION’S PRESS.

TV & MOVIES

Quantity, Not (Educational) Quality: Although more TV shows are now aimed at children, 21% of those programs offer little or no educational value, according to a study by the University of Pennsylvania’s Annenberg Public Policy Center. “There is still substantial confusion about what constitutes educational programming,” said a research fellow at the center, which has tracked the quality of children’s television since 1996. Thanks in large part to a Federal Communications Commission rule requiring stations to air a minimum of three hours a week of educational and informational television for children, the study found that 12% more children’s shows aired in the 1989-99 season than in the previous year. However, the study found little or no educational value in many of the shows given that educational label, including “Duck Tales,” “Hercules” and “NBA Inside Stuff.” In fact, of those shows labeled as educational under the FCC guidelines, the study found only 33% to be “highly educational,” while it classified 46% as “moderately educational” and 21% as “minimally educational.” In addition, the study found that 28% of children’s shows contained four or more acts of violence, but that 75% of those programs did not carry a violence content rating.

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New ‘Profiler’ Planned: NBC has confirmed that “Profiler” star Ally Walker will leave the drama series after the first two episodes of the fall season. Her replacement, however, has not yet been named. Walker has played forensic psychologist Dr. Samantha Waters for three seasons, since the series’ inception.

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Japanese Force: “Star Wars” mania has struck Japan, where fans turned out in droves at theaters around the country Saturday for sneak previews of “Star Wars: Episode I The Phantom Menace.” Moviegoers--including some in costume and toting light sabers--began lining up as early as Thursday to see the film, which officially opens in Japan on July 10. One Tokyo theater said advance ticket sales had already surpassed previous records.

POP/ROCK

Hospitalized, But Why?: Michael Jackson was briefly hospitalized after his Munich charity concert Sunday, although German reports gave conflicting causes. The Associated Press, citing a hospital spokeswoman, said he’d been treated for minor burns from fireworks used in the show. Reuters, citing Munich police, however, said Jackson was treated for exhaustion after suffering a “circulatory collapse.” Meanwhile, more than 30 acts--including Luther Vandross and Andrea Bocelli--performed at the concert, but Luciano Pavarotti and Elizabeth Taylor both dropped out at the last minute, citing health reasons.

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Life in the Fast Lane: Elton John, the big-spending singer who accumulates homes, fabulous jewels, top-of-the-range wigs and luxury cars as fast as he makes hits, is seeking a $40-million loan to pay off bills, London’s Sunday Times has reported. John, 52, is said to be negotiating with a London finance house, Samuel Montagu, and has agreed to sign over income from future hits as well as proceeds from old ones, the newspaper said, quoting unidentified sources. The singer, who reportedly spends up to $400,000 a week on credit cards, is said to need most of the money to clear outstanding loans in England and the United States, including an $11-million overdraft with an English bank. The newspaper estimated John’s fortune at $256 million.

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Addiction Confessions: Rock guitar hero Eric Clapton has admitted for the first time that he was once so addicted to alcohol and drugs that he abused his wife. In an interview in London’s Sunday Times, he acknowledged that his state as a “full-blown, practicing alcoholic” had a devastating effect on his marriage to Patti Boyd during the 1980s. “Everyone used to walk around me on eggshells. They didn’t know if I was going to be angry or whatever. When I’d come back from the pub I could come back happy or I could come back and smash the place up.” Clapton added: “There were times when I just took sex with my wife by force and thought that was my entitlement.” Clapton, who has not remarried since his 1988 divorce from Boyd, was interviewed in Antigua, the Caribbean island where he founded Crossroads Centre, a drug and alcohol treatment clinic. Last week’s much-reported auction of Clapton’s guitars raised more than $5 million for the clinic.

PERFORMING ARTS

Not Quite Retired: Eydie Gorme’s plan to retire, reported in Monday’s Liz Smith column, apparently doesn’t affect dates already in place. The singer is still set to perform with partner Steve Lawrence on Oct. 29 and 30 at the Cerritos Center for the Performing Arts. “We’ve reconfirmed with her manager, and they are indeed performing here this year, together,” a center spokeswoman said Monday.

QUICK TAKES

“Tonight Show” host Jay Leno is among those scheduled to perform at Sunset Boulevard’s Laugh Factory at 8 tonight in a benefit for the Gerry Red Wilson Foundation, named for the stand-up comedian and sitcom star who recently died of spinal meningitis. Tickets are $35. . . . Tom Cruise tells Time magazine in an upcoming interview that he developed an ulcer during the grueling 10 1/2-month filming of Stanley’s Kubrick’s “Eyes Wide Shut,” due in theaters July 16. . . . The Japanese animated kids’ TV hit “Pokemon” is headed to the big screen, with Warner Bros. set to open “Pokemon The Movie: Mewtwo Strikes Back” in theaters on Nov. 12. . . . “Dharma & Greg” star Thomas Gibson and his wife, Cristina, have announced the birth of their son, James Parker, born Wednesday in Los Angeles. . . . Country singer Tanya Tucker, 40, gave birth to daughter Layla LaCosta Laseter at a Nashville hospital Friday. It’s her third child and the first with fiance Jerry Laseter.