Quick Takes - June 15, 2012

Ratings gold for ‘Dallas’

TNT’s reboot of the “Dallas” has struck oil. Its Wednesday premiere drew 6.8 million viewers, making it the No. 1 scripted series premiere on all of cable so far this year.

The rebirth of the classic CBS series, which stars veterans Larry Hagman and Linda Gray reprising their roles as JR and Sue Ellen Ewing, even outdid the broadcast networks during its 9-11 p.m. showing.

But considering the numbers the soap generated during its original run, its Wednesday showing was extremely undersized. The last episode of the original series, which aired in 1991, brought in a whopping 33 million viewers — and even that was down significantly from the immortal “Who Shot JR?” episode in 1980.

—Yvonne Villarreal

Hip-hop stars reportedly brawl

New York City police investigated a report Thursday of a bar brawl involving hip-hop stars Drake and Chris Brown and their entourages in which bottles flew and at least five people were injured.

Brown tweeted a photo of himself with a cut chin, then later removed it, as well as other messages about the fight, including epithets and taunts. A representative later released a statement saying Brown, his girlfriend and friends were the victims of a “brutal attack.”

At least five people were injured during the fight at the club W.i.P. (Work in Progress) in Manhattan’s SoHo neighborhood early Thursday, police said. A 25-year-old man suffered a serious cut to the head, two other men and two women suffered minor cuts. At least three were hospitalized.

Neither star was on the scene when police arrived around 4 a.m. Thursday. It’s not clear what prompted the fight. Both Brown and Drake at one time dated singer Rihanna.

A representative for Drake said the star was on his way out of the club when the altercation began and “did not engage in any activity which resulted in injury to person or damage to property.”

—Associated Press

‘No regrets’ in drilling protest

“Xena: Warrior Princess” actress Lucy Lawless says she has “no regrets” about boarding and preventing an oil-drilling ship from leaving a New Zealand dock, a protest action that saw her plead guilty Thursday to trespass charges.

In February, the 44-year-old native New Zealander and six other Greenpeace activists climbed a drilling tower on the vessel Noble Discoverer, which was docked in New Zealand bound for the Arctic, to protest oil exploration in the Arctic. Lawless spent four days atop the 174-foot tower, camping and blogging about her experiences.

She is due to be sentenced in September and faces a maximum three years in jail.

—Associated Press

May the force

be with them

A replica of Jabba the Hutt’s sail barge from “Star Wars: Episode VI — Return of the Jedi” will lead the Course of the Force, a five-day lightsaber relay from Santa Monica to San Diego.

The 136-mile relay, hosted by the Nerdist’s Chris Hardwick and Alison Haislip as well as Her Universe’s Ashley Eckstein, benefits the Make-A-Wish Foundation.

The 25-foot-long sail barge replica on a flatbed truck will serve as the lead vehicle in the journey, which begins July 7 and spans the days leading up to Comic-Con International, the massive pop culture expo in San Diego that kicks off July 12.

Registration to be one of 300 lightsaber-carriers during the relay is open online at CourseoftheForce.com.

—Noelene Clark

Heart surgery for ‘Darth Vader’

Max Page, the 7-year-old actor behind the Darth Vader mask in a popular car commercial, had open heart surgery Thursday at Children’s Hospital Los Angeles.

Dr. Vaughn Starnes said the surgery to replace the boy’s pulmonary valve went without incident.

Page, who also appears on the CBS soap opera “The Young and the Restless,” is expected to be released in about five days and then faces six to eight weeks of recovery, a hospital spokesman said.

The boy was born with a congenital heart defect and has undergone multiple surgeries.

—Associated Press

Olympic boost for new shows

NBC said Thursday that it planned to capitalize on the 2012 Summer Olympics by previewing some of its new fall shows.

“Go On,” a comedy starring Matthew Perry, will air after Olympics coverage on Aug. 8, and “Animal Practice,” which stars Justin Kirk as a veterinarian, will be shown following the closing ceremonies on Aug. 12

Several other series also will get airings well in advance of the official start of the new season in late September, NBC said.

—Yvonne Villarreal