Arts and entertainment reports from The Times, national and international news services and the nation’s press.

TELEVISION

Spielberg Storming TV Beach: Steven Spielberg is trying his hand at television again, planning an NBC drama series for next season, “Semper Fi,” about a U.S. Marine Corps regiment, to be produced through Spielberg’s DreamWorks TV. Despite his Midas touch in the feature film world, Spielberg has a spotty record in prime time, striking out with such sci-fi shows as “Amazing Stories,” “Earth 2” and “seaQuest DSV.”

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Too Explicit, Too Early?: NBC’s Mormon Church-owned Salt Lake City affiliate deleted two sexually explicit words from NBC’s “Law & Order: Special Victims Unit” Monday night--the words “penis” and “ass.” The first term was actually deleted at two separate points in the broadcast. An NBC spokeswoman said Wednesday that Salt Lake City’s KSL-TV was the only affiliate to complain about the content of “Special Victims Unit,” which airs at 8 p.m. in Utah and 9 p.m. here. KSL Vice President Steve Lindsley said he had asked NBC to no avail to air “Special Victims Unit” an hour later, when “Dateline” now airs. The program’s producer, Dick Wolf, has been lobbying for the same time change.

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Casualty No. 1: The new TV season has claimed its first victim. NBC canceled new sitcom “The Mike O’Malley Show” Thursday after just two telecasts, saying that reruns of other comedies will fill its 9:30 p.m. Tuesday slot. The show was already due to be preempted next week by the Major League Baseball playoffs. A playwright and actor, O’Malley expressed misgivings about the series even before it premiered and reportedly had a recent blowup with NBC officials regarding the program.

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Tube Notes: Stockard Channing will guest star as the first lady to Martin Sheen’s president in NBC’s new drama “The West Wing.” Her first episode airs in November. . . . Carsey-Werner is developing a comedy series based on the Internet/CD-ROM game “You Don’t Know Jack,” with Paul Reubens (a.k.a. Pee-wee Herman) set to star. . . . ABC is reorganizing its Friday night sitcoms. Starting Oct. 15, the order will be “Boy Meets World,” “Odd Man Out,” “Sabrina” and “The Hughleys.”

ART

Bowie’s Virgin Mary Connection: Rock star David Bowie will lead an Internet tour of the Brooklyn Museum of Art’s controversial exhibition featuring British artist Chris Ofili’s portrait of a black Virgin Mary with a clump of elephant dung affixed. The show has caused a political furor in New York, where Mayor Rudolph Giuliani has threatened to cut off $7 million in city funds for the museum because of the painting. Bowie, an official sponsor of the museum show, will provide Real Audio commentary on all 141 pieces in “Sensation: Young British Artists From the Saatchi Collection.” The virtual exhibition goes up Saturday on the rock star’s personal Web site, https://www.davidbowie.com. For more on the exhibition’s controversy, see F1.

PERFORMING ARTS

Music Center Restructuring: The Music Center of Los Angeles County--which includes the Dorothy Chandler Pavilion, Ahmanson Theatre, Mark Taper Forum and the coming Walt Disney Concert Hall--has merged its operations and fund-raising entities, ending a long-standing and cumbersome arrangement involving a separate president and oversight board for each task. An executive committee is immediately seeking a new president, a slot that will replace the dual positions currently held by Music Center Inc. President Joanne Kozberg and Music Center Operating Co. President Sandra Kimberling. Meanwhile, volunteer board chairs Andrea Van de Kamp (Music Center Inc.) and Claire Rothman (the operating company) will remain in place through the end of the year.

QUICK TAKES

As part of the World Festival of Sacred Music, the Dalai Lama will speak on his aspirations for the new millennium at 10 a.m. on Oct. 11 at Sinai Temple (10400 Wilshire Blvd.). Tickets are $50. As previously announced, he’s also participating in the festival’s Oct. 10 Hollywood Bowl program. . . . Former ABC News correspondent Forrest Sawyer is joining NBC News as an anchor and contributor for both NBC and cable’s MSNBC, beginning Oct. 11. Among his new duties, Sawyer will be the chief substitute anchor for MSNBC’s “The News With Brian Williams,” will help cover the 2000 presidential campaign, and will report for “Dateline NBC.” . . . More tickets in all price ranges (from $50 to $1,000) for the Eagles, Jackson Browne and Linda Ronstadt New Year’s Eve concert are expected to be put on sale this week, according to the show’s promoters. The seats had been held back until the final phase of the Staples Center construction.