TELEVISION / ‘Enterprise’ Takes UPN Ratings Into Hyperspace

UPN’s latest “Star Trek” spinoff, “Enterprise,” soared above the network’s usual heights with its two-hour premiere on Wednesday, attracting an estimated 12.5 million viewers to win its two-hour time slot.

Tune-in for the new series, starring Scott Bakula, represented the second largest audience in UPN’s history, behind only the premiere of “Star Trek: Voyager,” which launched the network in 1995.

NBC’s “Law & Order” also bolted out of the starting gate with an estimated 20.7 million viewers, the biggest season-premiere audience for the crime drama in its 12-year run.

With “Enterprise” performing so well from 8 to 10 p.m., all three unscripted programs broadcast during those hours Wednesday--NBC’s “Lost,” CBS’ “The Amazing Race” and Fox’s “Love Cruise”--delivered poor ratings. That’s especially disappointing for CBS, given that “Race” has 10 more weeks to run.

NBC, meanwhile, broadcast a Christmas-themed episode of “The West Wing” for the fourth time because the scheduled premiere was delayed and drew 14.5 million viewers--the biggest audience yet for that installment, including its initial telecast in 1999.

RADIO / KRLA to Honor George Putnam (Without Him)

After dumping George Putnam from his weekday show last week, talk station KRLA-AM (870) will pay tribute to the veteran TV newsman and radio host with an on-air salute at 3 p.m. today. Putnam, however, will not be there: He declined an invitation to participate, according to KRLA General Manager Dave Armstrong.

Putnam, who has been working in broadcasting since he turned 20 in 1934, had been a fixture at the 870 dial position (previously known as KIEV-AM) for 27 years. But Salem Communications, which owns the station, decided to juggle the lineup and, beginning Monday, will move Hugh Hewitt from mornings to Putnam’s 3-6 p.m. spot. Armstrong said Putnam turned down a reassignment offer that would have mixed weekend hosting duties with weekday commentaries.

On Monday, Hewitt’s previous slot of 6-9 a.m. will be filled by Mike Gallagher.

AFTERMATH / McCartney in Benefit; Jolie Donates $1 Million

In entertainment developments related to the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks:

Paul McCartney, John Mellencamp, Macy Gray, The Who, James Taylor, Melissa Etheridge and others will perform an Oct. 20 concert at Madison Square Garden in New York to raise money for the survivors and rescue workers from the World Trade Center. The concert will be broadcast by MTV, VH1 and other networks ....

Actress Angelina Jolie, a goodwill ambassador for the United Nations High Commission for Refugees, has donated $1 million to the agency to help Afghan refugees. Jolie, 26, went to Pakistan in August to visit some of the more than 3.5 million Afghans living in camps there and in Iran. With the threat of U.S. retaliation following the attacks in New York and suburban Washington, refugee officials are preparing for the arrival of up to 1.5 million more people ....

Working with Channel One News, the WB network will present a town hall-type program aimed at teenagers to help them understand and cope with the recent attacks on the United States. “The Day It All Changed” will be broadcast Sunday at 7 p.m., with former Channel One reporter Lisa Ling hosting ....

Producers are offering a $35 benefit ticket for all section A and B seats to performances of “Les Miserables” for Oct. 2-4 at the Terrace Theater in Long Beach and Oct. 9-11 at the Pasadena Civic Auditorium. Five dollars of each ticket will be split between the New York Firefighters’ Victims & Survivors Fund and the American Red Cross ....The Pasadena Playhouse will donate $10 for every full-price ticket sold to any remaining Tuesday, Wednesday or Thursday performances of “A Life in the Theatre” to the United Way’s Sept. 11 Fund. The play runs through Oct. 21 .... The governors of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences have voted to contribute $1 million to victims of the terrorist attacks.

THE ARTS / Bowl Orchestra to Open Kodak Theatre Nov. 9

The new Kodak Theatre in Hollywood, future home to the Academy Awards, will open in November with singer Russell Watson in performance with the Hollywood Bowl Orchestra. That show, also featuring a 60-member choir, is scheduled for Nov. 9.

Other bookings for the theater include Melissa Etheridge Dec. 7-8, the American Ballet Theatre’s “The Nutcracker” Dec. 14-23, and Barry Manilow Dec. 28-31. Tickets for these events go on sale Sunday at Ticketmaster.

QUICK TAKES

Wynton Marsalis, in town for several concerts, will be signing copies of his book “Jazz in the Bittersweet Blues of Life” at the Barnes & Noble, 1201 Third Street Promenade, Santa Monica at 2:30 p.m. today .... Because of complications from pregnancy, Portuguese singer Dulce Ponte has canceled her 2001-02 tour, which was to include an Oct. 6 appearance at UCLA’s Royce Hall ....The Paquita La Del Barrio/Lupita D’Alessio show, scheduled Sunday at Universal Amphitheatre, has been moved to Oct. 14.