WORTH NOTING ON TV

SUNDAY

The Annual People's Choice Awards (CBS, 9-11 p.m., EST): Award shows on TV lately have become a programming end in themselves. Some are cooked up to capture a little of the glitter and ``suspense'' of better-known versions like the Academy Awards (which take place later this month).

But ``The People's Choice Awards'' is legitimate, ranking in stature a little below, say, the Emmys, but well above the more contrived formats. Two of the interesting features of this program are its breadth - it covers TV, film, and music - and the fact that winners are chosen through a national survey by the Gallup Organization.

Annie Potts and Tim Daly cohost this edition, the 21st, to be aired live from Universal Studios in Hollywood. Candice Bergen is the top vote-getter among nominees for Favorite Female Television Performer for the fourth consecutive year.

Other nominees include Tim Allen, Kelsey Grammer, and Jerry Seinfeld for Favorite Male Television Performer; and Bergen, Brett Butler, and Roseanne Barr for Favorite Female Television Performer.

Carrier: Fortress at Sea (The Discovery Channel, 9-11 p.m.): Its weight: 95,000 tons. Its height: 24 stories. Its length: 1,100 feet. Its crew: 6,000.

The ship we're talking about - the aircraft carrier USS Carl Vinson - is so huge and complex it might seem impossible to command, yet it can move effectively to the world's trouble spots, delivering air power and weaponry of awesome potential.

This documentary goes aboard to see what life is like above and below decks. The documentary includes interviews with everyone from Capt. John Payne to the cooks and aviators. The jobs on board are so varied and sometimes seemingly unrelated that the environment - as has been noted by some observers past - is like that of a small town.

Martin Sheen is the narrator, with an original score by Russ Landau.

Please check local listings for these programs