HAPPINESS ISN'T UNIVERSAL FOR KEVIN SORBO.

Byline: Marilyn Beck & Stacy Jenel Smith

Plans for Kevin Sorbo to guest in the special ``Xena'' episode in which the warrior princess gives birth next year are still up in the air.

``That may happen, and it may not happen,'' says Sorbo. ``They haven't sent me a script, and I haven't signed a contract. If it does happen, fine. If it doesn't, fine. After six years of wearing those leather pants, I'm not in a real big hurry to put them back on.''

Sorbo reportedly opted not to sign for a seventh season of ``Hercules'' when he couldn't get the pay raise he'd have liked, but he blames Universal for the show's demise.

``It's still a mystery to me why Universal pulled the plug. I know it's a huge cash cow for the studio - in 115 countries, for crying out loud, but Universal just figured they got 122 hours of `Hercules' the show, they can run it in syndication forever.''

He also blames Universal for the fact that he only did seven of the eight episodes he was contracted to do this season. ``I would have finished the season at least, but they asked me to take a pay cut for the eighth. When they said, `Will you take less money?' I said, `Will you?' '' He adds that when the show wrapped, all he got was ``a letter from the company saying, 'Thank you.' My agent said that letter should have been attached to a Porsche.''

Be that as it may, Sorbo says, ``I'm very thankful for the series and thankful for the people I got to work with.''

The final episode of ``Hercules,'' titled ``Full Circle,'' airs the week of Nov. 22.

Paltrow gets personal

Gwyneth Paltrow, who recently shot the big-screen ``Bounce'' with Ben Affleck, reaffirms her single status - despite conjectures that she and Ben have quietly remained romantically involved. ``We're close friends. We really understand each other,'' she says.

But she also says, ``I'm not in love now, and I'm feeling, finally, for the first time in my life, that my inner and outer lives are aligned. If you're not a complete person, and you're not happy with who you are, you're never going to be happy in a relationship,'' observes the Oscar-winning actress, in the Women in Hollywood issue of Premiere magazine that hits stands next week.

``To be happy by yourself, to be fulfilled and know that you don't need anybody but yourself, is really an empowering thing. It's been great.''

Gwyneth also addresses - carefully - her not-so-friendly status with Sharon Stone. Commenting on Stone's complaints about her sendup on ``Saturday Night Live,'' Gwyneth says, ``Her behavior toward me in the past would in no way predispose me to have a protective instinct toward her.''

What a classy, ladylike way to put it.

Call for Stooges

Casting has begun - and what a slapping, poking, punching and tweaking fest it must be! - on the ABC telepic biography of the Three Stooges, which is being produced by Mel Gibson's company.

Yep, they're looking at candidates to play Larry Fine, Moe Howard, Jerome ``Curly'' Howard, Samuel ``Shemp'' Howard, Joe Besser and Joe DeRita for the movie, based on Michael Fleming's biography, chronicling the Stooges' long, difficult climb to get to the top of the show-biz heap, their rebirth via TV and the decline they suffered after ``Curly Joe'' DeRita had an incapacitating stroke. Production is set to commence Jan. 10.

Will work with kids

Ken Olin tells us that one of the reasons he was attracted to the USA Network's ``Evolution's Child'' movie that airs Friday is that it gave him a chance to work with a juvenile actor, ``Party of Five's'' Jacob Smith. ``Children bring out a spontaneous quality I enjoy exploring as an actor,'' says Ken, who plays a scientist working with a boy grown out of DNA that predates modern man in the telepic.

Olin's own 16-year-old son and 13-year-old daughter, with wife Patricia Wettig, appeared on his now-defunct ``L.A. Docs'' series last year - and want to do more acting. Ken and Patty don't dissuade them.

``I would prefer they explore other things, but it's hard to tell them it's a tough profession when both their parents have been fortunate in it,'' he notes. ``They're really talented and interesting, and certainly now is the time if they want to get involved - given the movies and TV shows everyone's making these days.''

That '70s miniseries

Having already zeroed in on the '60s as miniseries fodder, now NBC is getting ready to bring us - what else? - ``The '70s.''

It's a two-part miniseries about the lives of four students who witness the Kent State shootings and strike out on their own into the middle of the Me Decade.

With reports by Stephanie DuBois.

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4 Photos

Photo: (1) SORBO

(2) PALTROW

(3) MOE

(4) OLIN