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

TELEVISION

What’s in a Name? Plenty, According to FX

FX has renamed its first original drama series, originally called “Rampart.” The show, due to premiere in March, is now titled “The Shield.”

The series presents the police in what the network terms a “tough, morally ambiguous world” where the line between good and evil is blurred.

Shawn Ryan (“Nash Bridges”), who created the pilot, is executive producer, along with Scott Brazil (“Hill Street Blues”).

The original title of the hourlong series didn’t sit well with the Los Angeles Police Department when it was announced in late August.

Sgt. John Pasquariello, an LAPD spokesman, said shows such as these “capitalize on sensational headlines” and “negatively influence youth.”

Though FX spokesman John Solberg declined to say whether police response factored into the name change, LAPD pressure may have played a part.

According to an insider, after department officials saw the pilot, they demanded that all references to the city--including badges and police cars--be covered since LAPD approval had not been obtained.

Still, Solberg chalked the move up to research gathered from screenings and focus sessions.

“We found that people who were aware of the Rampart allegations thought the show was straight out of the newspaper--despite the fact we’ve always maintained that it’s, in no way, a docudrama,” he said. “And because no one outside of Los Angeles was familiar with Rampart, the title didn’t make sense. The series is very important to us, so we opted for a more accurate and descriptive title.”

The show will be shot in Los Angeles, but is set in a fictitious locale, he said.

FX has ordered 13 episodes of the series.

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THEATER

‘Lion King’ Reduces Seats to Prolong Run

In an attempt to extend the run of “The Lion King” at the Pantages Theatre, Disney Theatrical has partitioned off the rear mezzanine, reducing capacity from 2,704 to 2,261.

Though the production sold out through most of December, tickets sales averaged only 2,400 to 2,500 seats per performance in recent months. Reducing capacity will help ensure sellouts and stimulate demand for later performances, said spokeswoman Leticia Buckley.

Although the production is now selling tickets only through the end of March, “our plan is to be around for at least another year,” she added.

Even at its lower capacity, the Pantages will remain the largest theater in which “The Lion King” is playing.

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THE ARTS

Giuliani Takes a Bow

at Lincoln Center

In one of his last acts as mayor of New York City, Rudy Giuliani paid a final official visit to Lincoln Center.

“When you bought your tickets, you didn’t know I was going to sing tonight,” Giuliani quipped to a packed house gathered to hear the New York Philharmonic’s traditional New Year’s Eve performance of Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony--a “life-embracing” piece that he said was particularly appropriate for a city recovering from the Sept. 11 attacks.

Giuliani also got off another one-liner after noting that Sir John Eliot Gardiner would be standing in for the usual conductor, Kurt Masur, who is recovering from kidney surgery.

“We’re both ‘Sirs,’” said Giuliani, who was recently so-honored by Queen Elizabeth II. “He’s a sir from England, and I’m a sir from Brooklyn.”

Elaine Dutka