THURSDAY 9 P.M. Video Game Awards, Spike TV. David "I Had Nothing Else on My Plate" Spade hosts this awards show, which honors the best of gamedom (whatever that is) in 16 categories. "Pong" is scheduled to receive a Lifetime Achievement Award.

SUNDAY 8 P.M. Playboy's 50th Anniversary Celebration, A&E. The man. The magazine. The mansion. From the site of the hippest parties of the past 50 years comes the ultimate anniversary celebration. With Playboy's epoch-making 1953 debut issue and its pin-up of blossoming star Marilyn Monroe, Hugh Hefner fired the sexual revolution's opening salvo. Now guest stars Drew Carey and Jenny McCarthy join Hef at the preeminent Playboy party in a two-hour special with greetings from George Clooney, Bill Maher, KISS, Pamela Anderson, Anna Nicole Smith and more. Sadly, all the good stuff will be pixeled out.

SATURDAY 11:30 P.M. The Alamo: Making History & Hollywood, The History Channel. Go behind the scenes to witness how history and Hollywood each re-create the story of one of America's most recognizable battles -- the siege of the Alamo, a converted Franciscan mission in San Antonio, by Mexican forces during the Texan war for independence. Dennis Quaid, who plays Sam Houston in the Disney movie Alamo, hosts from the film set as we delve into the 1836 battle that would set the stage for countless songs, novels, poems, documentaries and, of course, movies. Perhaps he'll also explain why Disney has delayed the film's release.

SUNDAY 9 P.M. The Commies, Comedy Central. You couldn't have had an awards show with this name back in the '80s. "Live from Moscow..." Honoring the biggest names in comedy and funniest moments of the year, these awards honor the best comedy performances in movies and television as well as some unintentional moments of hilarity across the pop culture landscape. "The Commies" also purport to bring a distinctly original CC-take on the traditional awards show genre. All winners will be chosen by viewers who vote online at comedycentral. com. Will Joan Rivers be on the red carpet?

MONDAY 9 P.M. Battlestar Galactica, Sci-Fi. A "re-imagining" of the 1978 movie (and subsequent TV series) makes a few changes in the basic plot. This time around the Cylons were created by man, then went nuts and tried to kill us. Edward James Almos plays a much more reflective Adama, and this time Starbuck is a chick. Part Two airs Tuesday at this very same time.

WEDNESDAY 10 P.M. Time Travel, TLC. You gotta love a great tie-in. On the heels of Timeline, TLC brings us this program. The possibility of time travel has excited storytellers as much as scientists. Next year Steven Spielberg will release his version of H.G. Well's Time Machine (at which point this program will no doubt repeat) and a professor will attempt to move sub-atomic particles forward through time, using lasers. It's always about lasers.

NEWS & NOTES: ABC insists Karen Sisco, shelved before sweeps, will be back in the spring. ... Despite poor ratings, FOX's Arrested Development has been extended to a full season of 22 episodes. ... Sci-Fi plans a spin-off of its popular Stargate SG-1 series called Stargate Atlantis; production begins early in 2004.