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

TELEVISION

‘Wizard of Oz’ Sets Cable Record: TBS’ cable premiere Sunday of the classic movie “The Wizard of Oz” drew more than 5 million viewing households, basic cable’s largest theatrical movie audience of all time. The previous record holder was TBS’ 1998 showing of “The American President.”

*

International Emmy Winners: Programs from the United Kingdom dominated the International Emmy Awards in New York Monday night, winning in six of seven categories, including news, documentary and drama programs. In the arts documentary category, a documentary on London’s Philharmonic, “The Phil--Part 3,” shared the award with Canada’s “Let It Come Down: The Life of Paul Bowles,” a collection of interviews in North Africa with writer Bowles, who died in Morocco on Thursday. Twenty-one programs from eight countries--the United Kingdom, Japan, Canada, Italy, France, Argentina, Sweden and the Netherlands--were nominated for the seven International Emmys, which honor television programs made outside the United States. Japan, which was second in the total nominations count behind the United Kingdom, received one award, for “Tell Us About Your Life--Battlefield Doctor,” which won best program for children and young people.

MOVIES

Pokemon Backlash: Though the Pokemon craze is continuing in theaters and toy stores, the animated Japanese critters apparently have a lot of enemies out there. A male-oriented Web site, https://www.thethreshold.com, has launched an offshoot, https://www.MustBeDestroyed.com, with “Pokemon Must Be Destroyed,” a game in which one Pokemon character is destroyed each day in various “absolutely merciless” ways. The Web site--which carries a warning: “Kids, don’t do this at home”--reports that it has already received thousands of e-mails since the site’s launch last week, with suggestions on new methods for Pokemon demise. Today, the site posts its first celebrity destroyer, “Martial Law” star Sammo Hung, who has been videotaped using “a very lethal martial arts technique” to destroy Pikachu. Meanwhile, operators plan to keep the MustBeDestroyed site up and running even when it’s done destroying Pokemons, “should anything else need to be permanently eliminated.”

POP/ROCK

New Label: George Michael has signed a worldwide record contract with Virgin Music Group, which will release his “Songs From the Last Century,” an album of tunes by other writers, on Dec. 14. The first single from the album--which includes songs by such notables as Cole Porter, Johnny Mercer and Rodgers and Hart--will be “Miss Sarajevo,” written by members of U2 and Brian Eno, and originally recorded by U2’s Bono and tenor Luciano Pavarotti. Michael, who underwent a protracted contract battle with Sony a few years ago, previously released his 1995 album, “Older,” through Virgin.

OPERA

Traffic Snarl: An Illinois woman has sued the promoters of a concert by blind tenor Andrea Bocelli as well as the town of Rosemont, Ill., where the concert was held, claiming that congested traffic caused her to miss the first half of Bocelli’s show. Carolyn Holzer contends the town failed to provide enough traffic control or parking at the Allstate Arena for last Wednesday’s concert. Her lawsuit, which claims that what should have been a 10-minute ride from a nearby restaurant took more than two hours, also contends that the concert should have been delayed until people could park. Holzer, who is seeking class-action status for the lawsuit, wants refunds of the show’s ticket prices, which ranged from $45 to $500.

QUICK TAKES

“Richard Simmons Dreammaker,” the low-rated freshman syndicated show seen daily at 10 a.m. on KTLA-TV, will conclude its run in January. . . . A Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers concert recorded in Minneapolis in August will air over the Internet tonight at 7 at https://www.tompetty.com. The same two-hour concert will air on the radio at 8 on Thanksgiving night on “Arrow 93,” KCBS-FM (93.1). . . . Actor-comedian Richard Pryor will make a rare guest appearance on the Dec. 1 episode of ABC’s “Norm.” . . . Jacqueline Bisset, who plays Mary in the CBS biblical miniseries “Mary,” slated to air next May, is scheduled to meet with the pope on Thanksgiving. He’s reportedly already seen the TV movie, which gets a world premiere in Rome today.