Wednesday was the swan song on 710 KIRO-AM for Allan Prell, the host who only in January replaced Dave Ross' 9 a.m.-to-noon slot when Ross moved to afternoons.

Prell was dropped because of unsatisfactory ratings, listener and advertiser feedback, as well as a style and views that KIRO general manager Dave Pridemore called "jarring" in comparison with the station's other content.

Prell could not be reached for comment. Pridemore said the station will name a permanent replacement for Prell within the next few weeks. Don O'Neill is filling in temporarily.

Formerly a longtime Boston radio personality, Prell never seemed to gel with Seattle listeners. In recent months, he had alluded on-air to difficult feedback.

Mark Rahner: 206-464-8259 or mrahner@seattletimes.com

First ax of TV season falls on "Head Cases"

The ax fell quickly on Fox's "Head Cases," the first series of the new TV season to be canceled.

The legal comedy-drama starring Chris O'Donnell and Adam Goldberg was yanked after its second airing, last Wednesday, for which its audience dropped by about half from the first episode.

The series finished in fifth place for its 9 p.m. time slot, drawing just about 3 million viewers, according to Nielsen Media Research figures. Its competition included ABC's "Lost," which drew a series-best audience of about 23 million in its season premiere.

For now, new episodes of the reality series "Nanny 911" will air in its time slot, Fox said Friday.

Donald Trump drew the smallest audience yet for his reality show, "The Apprentice," which began its fourth season Thursday on NBC (KING).

"The Apprentice" lured 9.9 million viewers, 39 percent fewer than last television season's average for the show, NBC said, citing data from Nielsen Media Research. CBS' "CSI: Crime Scene Investigation," which aired opposite Trump's show, drew the most viewers in that time slot with 29 million, CBS said.

Winfrey producing Broadway "Purple"

"The Color Purple," a musical based on Alice Walker's Pulitzer Prize-winning novel, will have Oprah Winfrey as a producer and investor when it opens on Broadway in December.

In Winfrey's first Broadway venture, she will contribute more than $1 million of the musical's $10 million production cost, The New York Times reported Sunday on its Web site.

The musical, which has been revised since receiving some bad reviews when it opened in Atlanta last year, will be called "Oprah Winfrey Presents: 'The Color Purple.' " Walker's book has been adapted by Marsha Norman, author of " 'night, Mother"; the score is by Brenda Russell, Allee Willis and Stephen Bray.

Winfrey was nominated for an Oscar for her role in the film version of "The Color Purple," directed by Steven Spielberg.

Tony Awards get new acting category

A new category will be added to the 2006 Tony Awards — best performance by an actor or actress re-creating a role in a production. In other words, a prize for best replacement.

The new re-created-role Tony means the nominee must not have appeared in the role when the original production opened on Broadway and must be contracted to play the role for a minimum of six months of public performances.

Among replacements who were greeted with critical and audience approval were Reba McEntire in "Annie Get Your Gun" and Brooke Shields in "Wonderful Town."

The 2006 Tonys will air June 11 on CBS.

Also

Steve Carell ("The 40-Year-Old Virgin") will host the season premiere of NBC's "Saturday Night Live" at 11:35 p.m. Saturday (KING), with Kanye West as the musical guest. "SNL" is returning for its 31st season.

Sci Fi is offering two marathons this week. "Firefly" runs today from noon to 10 p.m., followed by a special on the movie version of the show, "Serenity," which opens Friday. Darren McGavin's 1970s original series of "Kolchak: The Night Stalker" will air Thursday from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. The remake of "Night Stalker" debuts that night at 9 on ABC (KOMO). (The original series, which ran in 1974 and '75, comes out on DVD Oct. 4.)

Compiled from The Associated Press, Bloomberg News, Newsday and Seattle Times staff.