FEELING A LITTLE SKITTISH

Sketch comedy shows may well be to the '90s what stand-up was to the '80s, but out of the plethora of groups now acting silly on the airwaves, which one will have the last laugh? ABC has entered the comedic fray with She TV, adding a female slant to what has so far been mainly a boys thing. Below, the other contenders: the funny, the could-be-funny-with-one-eye-closed, and the not- funny-at-all. Is there an inheritor of the Saturday Night Live mantle in the house? *The Kids In The Hall (Comedy Central, Fridays, 9-9:30 p.m.) This all-male Canadian quintet was a discovery of SNL producer Lorne Michaels (who now also produces The Kids). A poor man's Monty Python, the show revels in skits that allow cast members to don ladies' dresses, and enough graphic, homoerotic humor to unsettle CBS execs during the Kids' 1992-94 late-night stint at the network. This is the last season of new material; come fall, members Bruce McCullouch and Mark McKinney are said to be heading off to the major leagues, SNL. C *Limboland (Comedy Central, Fridays, 6-6:30 p.m.) This new series' revved-up format includes a skeleton as a host, skits that last a mere 30 to 60 seconds, a stark all-white backdrop (hence ''limboland''), slick animated transition sequences, and cool guest stars like ex-Police-man Stewart Copeland. Why, then, do Limboland and its cast of 12 leave us cold? For one thing, if we wanted Laugh-In we'd watch it in reruns. For another, the show has an unpleasant, pre-digested quality. This is instant gratification comedy-grab a joke before running out the door. When it comes to being entertained, we're not in that much of a hurry. C-

*Small Doses (Comedy Central, Wednesdays, 9:30-10 p.m.) More than a collection of skits, but less than a half-hour sitcom, Doses has seven continuing comedic mini-shows, any one of which may prove to be ''a prototype for a full series,'' says the network. Doses is a welcome reprieve from sketch show monotony, but it remains to be seen whether these intriguing but rough ''small doses'' can be sustained. The 35-member cast presents stories that include the adventures of two supermarket clerks; a byzantine family saga; the dating perils of two women roommates; a nature show spoof; and a mock cop drama, the last two being the weakest. B

*The State (MTV, Wednesdays, 10:30-11 p.m.) The hippest, most accessible, and most consistently funny of the sketch troupes, The State's gang of 10 twentysomething men and one woman came together as students at New York University. Their eight-month-old show's mandate was to amuse the MTV set, and they do offer plenty of teen-oriented fare. But way-grown-ups (over 25) will appreciate the zany satire of such sketches as the fast food restaurant with sadistic managers; Doug, the determinedly rebellious teenager whose constant refrain is, ''I'm outta heeere''; and anthropomorphized hormones who react to what a couple are doing on a couch. B+

*The Vacant Lot (Comedy Central, Fridays, 9:30-10 p.m.) Lorne Michaels doesn't do it again. This comedy garage band made up of four Canadians discovered by Michaels is nowhere near ready for prime time-and barely ready for public- access TV. Fortunately, we're patient. We're willing to believe that skits like ''Slept on His Arms,'' about a guy who slept on his arms, or ''Boxing 1,'' about a guy fighting a guy who thinks he's a cat, are forerunners of absurdist greatness to come. Yeah, and Chevy Chase will return to SNL. For now, ''Vacant Lot'' seems too accurate a title. D