Billboard’s Routine Music Awards : Pop music: Boos and brevity were the only surprises at the Universal Amphitheatre show. The telecast’s comparative short length covered a multitude of sins.

Move over, Sinead, and make room for Shannen.

For no immediately obvious reason, “Beverly Hills 90210” star Shannen Doherty was booed by hundreds of paying fans in the rear sections of the Universal Amphitheatre throughout her brief appearance as a presenter at Wednesday night’s Billboard Music Awards. Now that fellow boo-ee O’Connor seems ready to slip into obscurity, it would appear that Doherty, a frequent anti-heroine in the gossip tabloids these days, may be the new gal the kids love to hate.

This mass jeering was one of the telecast’s few surprises. The Billboard show rewards acts that have logged the most time at the top of the trade weekly’s very public sales and radio charts, so there’s no excruciating suspense over secret balloting by a jury of peers.

Still, if the show was short on surprises, it was short , which made it an instant awards-show favorite among many of the industry denizens on hand. Coming in only a few minutes longer than its two-hour time slot, the telecast’s comparative brevity covered a multitude of sins.

One way length was kept in check was by simply not handing out many awards on the air. Anyone who watched the news later and heard that Garth Brooks won seven awards while U2 got five never would’ve guessed that tally of compounding trophies from watching the telecast itself.

The most unaffected moments of the evening came with the presentation of an honorary Century Award to George Harrison. Following an in-jokey but affectionate introduction by Tom Petty, Harrison waxed appreciative and self-deprecating: “When I first heard about this Century Award, I thought it was me that was 100 years old,” he joked.

The most stilted moments came with host Phil Collins’ taped presentation of two awards to Michael Jackson, who feigned surprise at getting a second trophy (“More? Wow!”) during an otherwise canned thank-you speech. Jackson’s appearance was a subject of considerable crowd concern, with whisperings that the King of Pop looked scarily pallid, even next to an English paleface like Collins.

As a first-time host, Collins proved a suitable compromise facilitator for this sort of Hollywood self-congratulation--at times seeming to have the acerbic tone of a Dennis Miller, but underneath it all always demonstrating the cuddly supportiveness of an Arsenio Hall.

This proved true even when his goodwill wasn’t entirely returned. Collins presented awards via live satellite to members of U2, seen sitting at a Dublin bar and looking like they’d been there a while. Nodding toward the graying, balding bartender, Adam Clayton impishly told Collins, “Paddy’s a very big fan of yours, and so are our parents.” Retorted beer-pouring Paddy, “I’m not that old!” Back in L.A., poor Phil remained a good sport through this sloshed joshing.

Collins’ group Genesis opened the telecast with its novelty song “I Can’t Dance,” featuring Collins not once, not twice, but thrice reaching into his pants to simulate self-stimulation while singing the line “checking everything is in place.” Having announced his intention to move to L.A. to pursue acting, this mugging was apparently his spec comedy audition tape.

Arrested Development and Travis Tritt turned in the most galvanizing live performances; Richard Marx, Kris Kross and Boyz II Men also appeared.

Other concert bits weren’t as live as promised: Guns N’ Roses’ “You Could Be Mine” turned out to be on tape. So did Michael Jackson’s “Black or White”; not only that, it was the same tape seen on the last MTV Awards, complete with craftily inserted footage of hysterical European fans re-enacting Beatlemania. Least live of all, U2’s performance turned out to be a jumble of excerpts and outtakes from Fox’s “Zoo TV” special.

The presenters and acceptees provided the most spontaneously watchable cameos. A few citations from the fashion police:

* Jodeci members thanked their mothers while wearing black face masks, black caps and exposed undies, looking like they might be about to knock off a liquor store to buy mom a Christmas present.

* There was the fellow from Cypress Hill who likewise thanked his Maker and his mom right before blurting, “ Le-gal-ize it!” Practicing what they preach, the pro-dope rappers strolled through the VIP party afterward passing a stinky joint.

* Self-impressed rap trio TLC seemed to be enacting some strange comedy routine existing only in their heads, with one of the gals cloyingly bopping to a Walkman instead of delivering her lines.

* Christie Brinkley has made herself over exactly like Claudia Schiffer, lock, stock and bangs.

Meanwhile, memo to Doherty, who is emerging as one of the leading young anti-heroines in tabloid land: Better try to make those “90210” writers have Brenda make up with Dylan quick--and avoid Roxbury.