One highlight of this year's show, Mohr says, is more stand-up comedy, including his own two-minute bit in each episode. And the show has become more interactive, "American Idol" style, with the public voting on five ousted comics to give one a wild-card shot at winning. Results will air at 8 p.m. tomorrow.

Stand-up and its close counterpart, sketch comedy, have had a place on television through the years. "Saturday Night Live" is the granddaddy of them all, and "Mad TV," Fox's version of "SNL," will celebrate its 10th anniversary in August. Drew Carey has been showcasing improv comedy with his ABC show, "Whose Line Is It Anyway?," since 1998.

But stand-up and sketch clearly are seeing a resurgence:

• Comedy Central's growth and popularity as a channel shows that laughs can be lucrative; one of the hottest shows of the moment is "Chappelle's Show," based on the stand-up of Dave Chappelle.
• The Stand-Up Comedy Television channel will launch in January with six original series, three devoted to showcasing stand-up.
• Carey's innovative "Green Screen" debuts on WB in the fall. The comedian and a team of improv comics, including a number of veterans of "Whose Line Is It Anyway?," are filming 20 hours of improvised comedy games. The funniest will be edited to 4 1/2 hours and sent to dozens of animation houses that will illustrate the sketches. The animated material and improv then will be combined for the show's 13 half-hour episodes.
• Premiering at 7 p.m. tomorrow on WB: "Blue Collar Comedy," a stand-up/sketch show starring Jeff Foxworthy, Bill Engvall and Larry the Cable Guy, all longtime stand-up comics.

The time is ripe for a show like this, says Larry the Cable Guy (no real name given), both because its lowbrow humor such as food fights and jokes about body functions appeals to the masses and because viewers increasingly have short attention spans.

"People like things short and quick. My stand-up is all quick one liners, set-up, punch, set-up, punch. That's the kind of comedian I've always liked — Dick Shawn, Shecky Greene. My favorite ever was Steve Martin: 'Let's get small.' Quick. Goofy," Larry says.

"I think people like sketch comedy shows for that reason: It's boom-boom. In just two minutes, there are 30 jokes. With a sitcom, if you're three or four minutes into it, and you haven't laughed, you're turning the channel."

A studio audience gives a stand-up show a more intimate feel — much different than a sitcom, Larry says. "When Jay Leno took over 'The Tonight Show,' the first thing he did was move the audience up close to the stage. When Johnny (Carson) did it, they were in the bleachers. Jay had people sit right there, so when he came out and did his monologue he had that nightclub feel."

That nightclub feel will be the cornerstone of the programming on Stand-up Comedy Television, says Joe Fox, who is starting the Chicago-based channel with his brother, Avi.

"When I go to Comcast or any kind of cable system and say we're a comedy channel, they say, 'What makes your comedy so special that it keeps subscribers?' When I say we're stand-up comedy television, they say, 'Oh, we get it.' "

The time is ripe for a comedy channel geared toward a mature audience, Fox says. " 'Last Comic Standing' is doing extremely well. There's no question that there's a need to laugh now."

One show will be called "The Big Break" with four venues set up across the country, allowing comedians to get on the air and allowing local cable outlets to sell local advertising. Other shows planned include "Nightly Comedy News" and "Green Card" "Comedy," showcasing international talent.

"It's low-cost, high-quality entertainment," Fox says. And that's part of stand-up's appeal.

Says Mohr, "I think people are tired of the mediocrity of sitcoms. Every neighbor comes in and walks to the fridge. The guy's an idiot. The wife's always right. At the end they make nice."