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

TELEVISION

‘SNL,’ ‘Practice’ Deliver: “Saturday Night Live’s” 25th anniversary show averaged more than 22 million viewers Sunday, NBC’s highest rating for an entertainment special in more than six years, based on preliminary Nielsen viewing estimates. Despite that competition, ABC’s two-time best drama Emmy winner “The Practice” opened its season with a jury of more than 18 million viewers, its biggest audience ever. In terms of new series, “Practice” producer David E. Kelley’s latest, “Snoops” (14 million viewers), got off to a solid start, as did NBC’s “Third Watch” (14.2 million), which held its own in its first outing in its regular 8 p.m. Sunday time slot against CBS’ “Touched by an Angel” (18.1 million) and Fox’s “The Simpsons” (12.8 million).

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Seinfeldian Show Within a Show: “Seinfeld” co-creator Larry David will star in “Larry David: Curb Your Enthusiasm,” an Oct. 17 HBO program described as “a special about the making of a comedy special.” In a style akin to HBO’s former Garry Shandling series “Larry Sanders,” the program will “blend the line between reality and fiction,” beginning with his pitching the idea for the special to HBO executives. The special also marks David’s return to stand-up comedy since launching NBC’s “Seinfeld” nearly a decade ago. Former “Seinfeld” stars Jerry Seinfeld and Jason Alexander are among David’s “real-life” friends who appear on the program in “testimonials.”

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Remembering George C. Scott: Cable’s TCM will pay tribute to the late George C. Scott by airing his films “Dr. Strangelove” (1963), “Anatomy of a Murder” (1959), “The Hospital” (1971) and “The Last Run” (1971) on Wednesday, starting at 5 p.m. And AMC will air Scott’s “The Flim-Flam Man” (1967) on Friday at 5 p.m.

LEGAL FILE

Leo Settles: Actors Leonardo DiCaprio and Tobey Maguire have settled a $10-million lawsuit accusing them of conspiring to thwart the release of a low-budget, black-and-white film made in 1995-96, before DiCaprio achieved his “Titanic” stardom. The settlement bars “Don’s Plum,” described by its makers as a “twentysomething slice-of-life” tale set in a restaurant, from being shown commercially in the United States or Canada. It will, however, be distributed in international markets. In the suit, producer David Stutman had charged that the actors used DiCaprio’s “clout” to deliberately block the movie’s release because Maguire was unhappy with his performance. DiCaprio has said that he made the film as a favor for a friend with the understanding it would never be shown as a feature-length picture.

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Sheen’s Progress Report: A Malibu judge on Monday denied Charlie Sheen’s request for an early release from probation, but told the actor at the hearing that he “couldn’t be more pleased” with Sheen’s progress in recovering from drug addiction. The judge said he denied the request because Sheen had previously violated his probation for attacking his then-girlfriend by taking illegal drugs and ending up in the hospital for a drug overdose. Sheen’s probation runs through next June.

STAGE

Starry ‘Monologues’: Celebrities Calista Flockhart, Winona Ryder, Gillian Anderson, Ellen DeGeneres and Anne Heche have agreed to appear in the L.A. production of “The Vagina Monologues,” scheduled for Feb. 16 at the Wiltern Theatre. Other scheduled cast members include Gina Gershon, Thandie Newton, Kathy Najimy, Jessica Alba, Melissa Etheridge, Rachel Blanchard, Shirley Knight and Soraya Mire. The event, produced by Step Up Women’s Network, celebrates “V-Day,” an event aiming to halt violence against women by fund-raising and raising awareness.

QUICK TAKES

Garth Brooks chats online about his fictional character, rock star Chris Gaines, at 4:15 p.m. today at https://www.nbc.talkcity.com. For more on Brooks/Gaines, see F1. . . . Game show host Bob Barker, 75, returned to his Hollywood home Sunday after being released from a Washington hospital Saturday following surgery to clear a blocked artery. . . . PBS has postponed its TV premiere of “Buena Vista Social Club” to keep the Wim Wenders documentary eligible for Academy Award consideration. The film, which was to have aired Nov. 3, is now expected to air in the spring or summer of 2000.