time capsule / dec. 24, 1990

AT THE MOVIES, director Brian De Palma brings Tom Wolfe's '80s epic The Bonfire of the Vanities to screens, which goes up in smoke at the box office despite stars like Tom Hanks (right) and Bruce Willis. This fall, Wolfe's hotly anticipated A Man in Full was published. ON TV, family matters matter, with 7 of the week's top 20 shows taking place in wacky households, and the Olsen twins' Full House leading the bunch. IN BOOKSTORES, Michael Crichton's Jurassic Park is a monster hit. In 1993, Steven Spielberg's film version will gross $914 million worldwide. AND IN THE NEWS, as Bob Hope prepares to leave for Saudi Arabia to entertain American troops awaiting war in the Gulf, Pentagon officials say they're worried that even the 87-year-old comic's tamest jokes may offend Saudi censors.