Let's Bowl

"Let's Bowl" was a shortlived bowling game show that aired on the Comedy Central television network from 2001 to 2002 after a brief run on several TV stations across the U.S. in the mid-1990s, the first three being Minneapolis-St. Paul stations: KXLI-TV 41 (Now KPXM), KLGT-TV 23 (now KMWB), and KARE channel 11.

Overview

Hosts Steve "Chopper" Sedahl (himself) and Wally Hotvedt (Rich Kronfeld) wore outfits and headsets reminiscent of sportscasters of the 1970s and early '80s, and did play-by-play as contestants bowled against each other. Described as a cross between "The People's Court" and "Bowling for Dollars", the show had participants play against each other to settle feuds and win nearly worthless prizes (in the second 1998 episode, a player received merchandise for a radio station that had been defunct for two years; gift certificates for Old Country Buffet were common that year).

Two women known as the "Queen Pins" were on each show — while women are often used to provide visual stimuli in TV programs, these two acted differently, usually taunting the contestants as they tried to compete. Another character in the show was "The Pig" played by Matt Sarazine. The original shows, pre-Comedy Central also featured "Butch" the janitor played by Nick Schenk and "Berni the Scorekeeper" played by Berni Sarazine. Nick Schenk went on to become one of the writers for the Comedy Central episodes of "Let's Bowl".

The show also included a halftime performance by a local musical band, most notably Ruth Adams and The World's Most Dangerous Polka Band, a fixture from northeast Minneapolis. It would be followed by a special "Inside Bowling" segment where Chopper and Wally interviewed unusual people and participated in bizarre escapades. Michael J. Nelson of "Mystery Science Theater 3000" fame was one of the writers for the show, both in 1998 and during the run on Comedy Central (though possibly only for the pilot).

It was filmed in several different bowling alleys in the Twin Cities. Outside of the region, the 1998 season was carried on stations in markets such as Reno, Nevada; Madison, Wisconsin; and Chicago, Illinois.

Bowling centers used

* Bryant-Lake Bowl, Minneapolis, Minnesota
* Chanhassen Lanes, Chanhassen, Minnesota (Closed)
* Stardust Lanes, Minneapolis, Minnesota (interior used for unaired Comedy Central pilot only, exterior seen at beginning of all Comedy Central shows)
* Wallaby's Lanes, Columbia Heights, Minnesota
* Wells Lanes, South St. Paul, Minnesota
* White Bear Bowl, White Bear Lake, Minnesota

Bands showcased

* Man or Astro-man?
* The Blue Up?
* Soul Asylum
* Manplanet
* Ruth Adams and the World's Most Dangerous Polka Band
* Trailer Trash
* House of Large Sizes
* Detroit (no relation to Mitch Ryder's band from the 1970s)
* The Dust Bunnies
* Jack Knife and the Sharps
* Flipp
* The VibroChamps
* The Joint Chiefs
* The Senders
* Tina and the B-Sides
* The Mouldy Figs
* Martini & Olive
* James "Cornbread" Harris

"Ways to Get Rid of a Bowling Ball"

One of the more popular sketches of "Inside Bowling" dealt with various ways of getting rid of a bowling ball. The segment was actually filmed 3 different times: once for Channel 41, once for the Comedy Central pilot, and once for the first show that Comedy Central aired. :"Suggestions:"
* Throw it in a ditch (wildlife can nest in the finger holes)
* Paint it like a soccer ball to play a funny trick on your neighbor (footage is shown of a man hurting his foot trying to kick it out of way)
* Leave it in a Port-O-Potty
* Give it to your brother-in-law who smokes too much weed
* Put one on your neighbor's sewer vent (Hotvedt sadistically states "It'll back up the sewer gases and "blow up" the house!")
* Donate it to a local thrift store (when the lady working at the thrift store tells them they no longer take bowling balls, Hotvedt throws a doll to distract her and runs out of the store, leaving the bowling ball behind)
* Hotvedt, dressed in his undergarments, smoking, and chugging booze, says: "Mail it your ex-wife, and let "her" deal with it! Apparently, she's some sort of "superwoman" who can deal with "anything", and doesn't come from a shame-based, alcoholic family, and doesn't have any sexual disfunction!"
*Crush it with a backhoe
*Leave it in a flower shop, putting ferns in the finger holes
*Leave it in a newspaper dispenser
*Drop a bunch off at one of the many failed dot com companies (Hotvedt exclaims "Cuz look who's laughing "now"?")
*Chuck it into a lake (the lake was frozen over while filming the pilot episode, which prompted the third retaping of the segment in the first place)

External links

* [http://www.letsbowl.com "Let's Bowl"]
* [http://press.comedycentral.com/press/ccseries/series.jhtml?s=letsbowl Comedy Central Press Central]
* [http://press.comedycentral.com/press/imagegallery/sgallery.jhtml?s=letsbowl Comedy Central Press Central - Pictures of Let's Bowl Cast]
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* Digital Archive Project
* [http://www.tvsquad.com/2006/02/25/short-lived-shows-lets-bowl/ TV Squad - Short-Lived Shows: Let's Bowl!]