Commie plot: A not-too-serious awards show

NEW YORK - Yet another awards show. It sounds like something the folks at Comedy Central would rather mock than be responsible for.

So they're trying to do both.

The ad campaign for the first Commie Awards, to be shown at 9 p.m. Sunday on Comedy Central, questions whether another awards show is really necessary.

"We really wanted to strike a balance between our comedic irreverence in acknowledging the fact that there are way too many awards shows already and actually acknowledging that these are awards for jobs well done," said Lauren Corrao, Comedy Central's programming chief, who's editing the show.

"It's tough. Part of what we're doing right now is making sure that the balance was struck."

The show honors the best in comedy for 2003. Between serious awards such as funniest person and funniest movie actor are categories such as "Oh, I thought you were dead" and the funniest unintentionally funny film of the year.

An awards show is straight out of the cable television playbook, particularly for networks owned by Viacom. Spike is televising the Video Game Awards on Thursday. Nickelodeon has its Kids' Choice Awards, and MTV has the Video Music Awards and its movie awards.

Comedy Central's idea is to generate some sort of event that will get fans excited and involved, and entice viewers that might not watch the network every day.

Bill Hilary, Comedy Central executive vice president and general manager, said it's a coincidence that the Commie Awards are beginning in the first year of Viacom's control. The idea was in development before the corporate changeover, he said.

It's not a coincidence that the Commies are scheduled for early December. That's just after a ratings sweeps month, so the competition from broadcast networks won't be as intense, and advertisers are eager for a big event during which to sell holiday presents and tout new movie releases, Hilary said.

With the Commies, the network is hoping for something that can become as big an annual event in the comedy world as MTV's video awards are in music.

"It is important that we have an awards ceremony," Hilary said. "But it's more important that it's funny."

The Commie bobblehead trophy is supposed to resemble St. Genesius, the patron saint of comedians.

Andy Richter serves as the show's host, and the Commies pay tribute to Rodney Dangerfield, giving him their first comedy idol award and throwing an 82nd birthday party for him. (His birthday was Nov. 22.)

Comedy Central wasn't quite ready to risk a live awards show, so the event was taped Nov. 22 in Los Angeles. More than 550,000 Comedy Central viewers voted on the awards, winnowing a larger list drawn up by network executives into four nominees for each award, then determining the winners.