''Let's Bowl'' is a scripted

bowling Bowling is a Throwing sports#Target sports, target sport and recreational activity in which a player rolls a bowling ball, ball toward Bowling pin, pins (in pin bowling) or another target (in target bowling). Most references to ''bowling'' are ...

game show A game show (or gameshow) is a genre of broadcast viewing entertainment where contestants compete in a game for rewards. The shows are typically directed by a game show host, host, who explains the rules of the program as well as commentating a ...

that aired on the

Comedy Central Comedy Central is an American Cable television in the United States, cable television channel, channel owned by Paramount Global through its Paramount Media Networks, network division's Paramount Media Networks#MTV Entertainment Group, MTV Ente ...

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-TV), KLGT-TV 23 (now WUCW), 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 1980s, and did play-by-play as contestants bowled against each other. Described as a cross between ''

The People's Court ''The People's Court'' is an American Court show#Arbitration-based reality court show, arbitration-based reality court show, featuring an arbitrator handling small claims court, small claims disputes in a simulation, simulated courtroom set. W ...

'' and '' Bowling for Dollars'', the show had participants play against each other to settle

feud A feud , also known in more extreme cases as a blood feud, vendetta, faida, clan war, gang war, private war, or mob war, is a long-running argument or fight, often between social groups of people, especially family, families or clans. Feuds begin ...

s and win nearly worthless

prize A prize is an award to be given to a person or a group of people (such as sporting teams and organizations) to recognize and reward their actions and achievements.

s. For example, in the second 1998 episode, a player received merchandise for a

radio station Radio broadcasting is the broadcasting of audio (sound), sometimes with related metadata, by radio waves to radio receivers belonging to a public audience. In terrestrial radio broadcasting the radio waves are broadcast by a land-based rad ...

that had been defunct for two years. Gift certificates for Old Country Buffet were common that year. Another episode gave a foodservice-sized can of tuna to the runner up, while the winner received a 2 gallon consumer-strength jug of Roundup. 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. Drew Jansen played unctuous Announcer/Musical Commentator Ernie Jansen (aka "Trip Stuyvesant" in the original pre-cable pilot). The pre-cable pilot was shot at Bryant-Lake Bowl in Minneapolis, and featured yet another host, played by John Brady. Brady's name in the pilot was "Ernie," but that name was transferred to Jansen when shooting resumed, primarily because the polyester jacket Brady sported with "Ernie" stitched on the lapel fit Jansen pretty much as well as it had Brady. 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. Schenk went on to become one of the writers for the Comedy Central episodes of ''Let's Bowl'' and also wrote the screenplay for the film '' Gran Torino''. 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'' (also produced locally in the Twin Cities) 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 An aircraft pilot or aviator is a person who controls the flight of an aircraft by operating its Aircraft flight control system, directional flight controls. Some other aircrew, aircrew members, such as navigators or flight engineers, are al ...

). The series 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 Reno ( ) is a city in the northwest section of the U.S. state of Nevada, along the Nevada–California border. It is the county seat and most populous city of Washoe County, Nevada, Washoe County. Sitting in the High Eastern Sierra foothills, ...

;

Madison, Wisconsin Madison is the List of capitals in the United States, capital city of the U.S. state of Wisconsin. It is the List of municipalities in Wisconsin by population, second-most populous city in the state, with a population of 269,840 at the 2020 Uni ...

; and

Chicago, Illinois Chicago is the List of municipalities in Illinois, most populous city in the U.S. state of Illinois and in the Midwestern United States. With a population of 2,746,388, as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the List of Unite ...

Bowling centers used

* Bryant-Lake Bowl,

Minneapolis, Minnesota Minneapolis is a city in Hennepin County, Minnesota, United States, and its county seat. With a population of 429,954 as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the state's List of cities in Minnesota, most populous city. Locat ...

* Chanhassen Lanes, Chanhassen, Minnesota (Closed) * Stardust Lanes (now Memory Lanes), Minneapolis, Minnesota (interior used for some Comedy Central

shows, exterior seen at beginning of all Comedy Central shows) * Wallaby's Lanes, Columbia Heights, Minnesota (Closed) * Wells Lanes (now Concord Lanes), South St. Paul, Minnesota * White Bear Bowl, White Bear Lake, Minnesota (Closed)

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 Vibro Champs * The Joint Chiefs * The Senders * Tina and the B-Sides * The Mouldy Figs * Martini & Olive * James "Cornbread" Harris

References

External links

Comedy Central website
* * {{Comedy Central programming 1998 American television series debuts 1998 American television series endings 2001 American television series debuts 2002 American television series endings 1990s American comedy game shows 2000s American comedy game shows 1990s American sports television series 2000s American sports television series American English-language television shows American sports comedy television series Bowling television series Comedy Central game shows Television in Minnesota