Morning Report - News from April 14, 2001

TELEVISION

Still Babies After All These Years: In celebration of the show’s 10th anniversary, Nickelodeon will present a marathon of viewers’ 10 favorite episodes of “Rugrats” on April 21. Between Jan. 1 and March 31, the network showed every episode since its debut in 1991; favorites were chosen via an online poll. Nickelodeon will follow the marathon with an hourlong prime-time special in which the Rugrats travel 10 years into the “foocher” via Tommy’s time machine. A home video titled “Decade in Diapers” will be available in stores this summer, and other “Rugrats”-related events will continue throughout the year.

Revised Ratings: After a computer foul-up caused Nielsen Media Research to recall Sunday’s prime-time ratings, the service finally issued revised numbers Friday. They show that David Duchovny’s return to duty on “The X-Files” averaged 12.2 million viewers--better than preliminary estimates, but still short of the show’s average this season. Ratings were also slightly higher than initially reported for ABC’s showing of “The Ten Commandments,” which won the night with nearly 13 million viewers. Separately, CBS easily ranked first Thursday behind “Survivor” and two episodes of “CSI: Crime Scene Investigation,” more than doubling NBC’s audience for reruns of the pilot episodes of “Friends,” “Will & Grace” and “ER.”

Web Cartoons on MTV: In a rare example of programming moving from the Internet to a TV network, MTV plans a 30-minute special Sunday featuring cartoons from the Web. The lineup for the show, “MTV Downloaded,” includes fare from Aardman Animation (the company behind “Wallace & Gromit”), Mondo Media, Spumco (the production company led by John Kricfalusi of “Ren and Stimpy” fame), Bullseyeart, Film Roman and Joe Cartoon. Viewers with little taste for graphic cartoon violence should steer clear. The show is scheduled for 9 p.m.

PEOPLE

Seinfeld Goes East: Not that there’s anything wrong with the West Coast--but Jerry Seinfeld plans to start his summer tour in the East. The comedian has finalized some initial dates for a summer tour showcasing his new stand-up act, kicking things off at Meyerhoff Symphony Hall in Baltimore on May 2. Seinfeld is also set for theater dates in Rochester, N.Y.; Providence, R.I.; Boston; Minneapolis; and Pittsburgh. No West Coast dates have been announced yet.

Harrelson Goes West: On Friday, Woody Harrelson launched his “Sustainable Organic Living” free-speech tour--a 1,500-mile bike ride down the Pacific Coast from Seattle to Los Angeles. Harrelson plans to speak at eight colleges en route, to conduct spontaneous yoga classes and go camping in state parks. Harrelson is bringing along his yoga teacher, documentary filmmakers and a raw-food chef on “the mother ship,” an old Chicago transit bus that runs on hemp fuel. (Harrelson was arrested and acquitted after planting hemp seeds in Kentucky in 1996.) A constant supply of wheat grass will be kept growing in the bus. The journey, intended to raise awareness about lower-impact lifestyles and getting away from corporate influence--what Harrelson calls “going off the grid”--ends May 20.

MOVIES

World Premiere: The Los Angeles Film Festival will open April 20 at the Directors Guild of America with the world premiere of Edward Burns’ “Sidewalks of New York.” As with his debut feature, “The Brothers McMullen,” Burns wrote, directed, produced and stars in the film. The “Sidewalks” cast also includes Heather Graham, Stanley Tucci and Dennis Farina. Another festival highlight is an Ang Lee showcase, presenting the action films that inspired him to direct “Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon.” The festival, which includes feature films, documentaries, music videos, high school shorts and digital presentations, runs through April 28 at the DGA, Laemmle Sunset 5 theaters, Harmony Gold and the L.A. Film School.

QUICK TAKES

Beginning Sunday, Writers at Work, a creative-writing center in Silver Lake, will launch its Prose Poems at Work project by flooding local gathering spots such as coffeehouses and record stores with 80,000 postcards featuring the “prose poems” of local writers, to be followed with workshops and readings, https://www.writersatwork.com. . . . Violinist Chio-Liang Lin will replace Pamela Frank, who has a minor hand injury, as guest soloist with the Los Angeles Philharmonic April 19-21. . . Broadway choreographer Susan Stroman, New York City Ballet dancer Damian Woetzel, Martha Graham Company dancer Terese Capucilli and former Alvin Ailey Dance Theater and American Ballet Theater executive director Michael M. Kaiser will receive the 2001 Dance Magazine Awards for outstanding achievement during ceremonies April 23 in New York. . . . East Los Angeles rock band Los Lobos will receive the Billboard Lifetime Achievement Award honoring their “commercial impact and artistic influence” during the eighth annual Billboard Latin Music Awards, airing April 29 on Telemundo. . . . Mary Tyler Moore will play convicted murderer Sante Kimes in a CBS TV movie scheduled to air May 20. Jean Stapleton will play the victim, wealthy New York socialite Irene Silverman.