Can it really be time for the 44th Annual Grammy Awards (7 p.m., CBS)? It sure doesn’t seem like a whole year since the 43rd Annual Grammy Awards. Remember last year’s stink about Eminem’s nomination? Remember Eminem? Of course you don’t. That’s because of all of the major awards, the Grammy Awards have become the most instantly forgettable. Really, they should call them the amnesia awards.

The Grammys have the nefarious ability to make some of their biggest recipients vanish from memory. Sometimes winning a Grammy award for new artist is like being sent to the witness protection program. Wasn’t it just yesterday that Lauryn Hill (1999) was about to become the biggest thing ever? How about Arrested Development (1993)? Hootie & the Blowfish (1996)? And I won’t even get started about Milli Vanilli (1990).

But even that lip-synching duo wasn’t as horrible as The Best New Artists of 1977. During that most seminal year of punk rock and new wave, the Grammy geniuses decided to reward The Starland Vocal Band. Remember their one big hit “Afternoon Delight”? Unfortunately I do, and I’d gladly undergo a lobotomy to rip that ditty from my frontal lobe.

In addition to ignoring obvious talent and sending young artists into early obscurity, the Grammys like to salute mainstream talent years after their best work. It took the Grammys two and a half decades to honor Steely Dan. Santana and Bonnie Raitt also received belated nods. And have they really nominated yet another Bob Dylan album for “Album of the Year”? Where was Grammy when he was writing “Highway 61 Revisited” back in 1965? Why, they were giving Frank Sinatra his best Album Grammy for “September of My Years.” That act, and that album’s title pretty much sums up the Grammy philosophy.

And speaking of rattling on for far too long, CBS is not content to broadcast the Grammys for a full three hours. A 90-minute “Grammy Pre-show” will air on both VH-1 and most CBS stations (check local listings) beginning 5:30 p.m. VH-1’s correspondent Rebecca Rankin and People Magazine’s Stephen Cojacaru will assess outfits and make snide remarks about fashion disasters from the red carpet.

Not to be outdone in the caustic appraisal department, the toxic tag team of Joan and Melissa Rivers will host “Live from the Red Carpet: The 2002 Grammy Awards” (5 p.m., E!). Jon Stewart will host the Grammy Awards for the second year in a row. You can bet that on tomorrow night’s “Daily Show” he’ll be joking about the pointlessness of tonight’s Grammys.

Featuring gorgeous historic re-creations and insightful interviews with enthusiastic scholars, “Egypt’s Golden Empire” (8 p.m., PBS) surveys the 500-year era of Egypt’s New Kingdom from 1560 to 1080 B.C. when the empire was the center of the world’s science, culture, politics and commerce.

Tonight’s other highlights

Jackie Chan and Chris Tucker star in the 1998 martial arts buddy cop comedy “Rush Hour” (7 p.m., Fox).

Jim Carrey and Jeff Daniels star in the 1994 comedy “Dumb and Dumber” (7 p.m., WB).