WB, Comedy Central roll strikes with 'Dead Last' and 'Bowling'

Last year the WB network gave insiders a preview of a new show, "Dead Last," a comic thriller about a rock band that had supernatural powers. It sounded like a parody of the WB schedule - "Buffy" meets "PopStars" - but you know what? The preview killed. I couldn't wait to see the finished episode. And so I waited ... and waited ... now, 15 months later, "Dead Last" makes its network debut at 8 p.m. Tuesday on the WB (Channel 62). So the band is rehearsing in this, like, dive, when suddenly this, like, freak thing happens, OK? There's this wild brooch the drummer picks up, only it's actually an amulet, OK, and it puts them through, like, this wormhole. Drummer, singer, guitar player - bang. Next thing you know, they're talking with ghosts. I know. It sounds like a really stupid TV show. But it's not. It's hilarious and genuinely suspenseful and has heart. But it seems the WB has given up on "Dead Last" by releasing the show during the dog days of summer, where it's almost certain to finish "dead last" in the Nielsen ratings. So catch it while you can. Oh, those Minnesotans sure are funny, ain't they? You betcha. As if "Fargo," Lake Wobegon and the governor weren't enough, Comedy Central has gone to the land of 10,000 leagues - bowling leagues, that is - to mine still more of the comedy gold that is becoming Minnesota's biggest export. The result is "Let's Bowl," a riotously funny "reality" program in which actual people settle their grievances over a line of tenpins. It airs for 10 weeks on Comedy Central beginning at 9:30 p.m. Sunday. A Jell-O salad of camp, competition and goofy spontaneity, "Let's Bowl" features two hosts, Wally and Chopper, who yap incessantly while contestants decide their real-life beef at a Minneapolis bowling alley. Not surprisingly, the bowling is secondary to the antics dropped in between frames. "Let's Bowl" adds a couple of rules; one involves the legal use of an airhorn. The whole thing is marinated in good-natured jokes at the state's expense (among the prizes contestants can win are a snowmobile and $500 of local meat). Through it all, the Minnesotans are remarkably good-natured. And why not? Do they make TV shows about North Dakota? CMT (Country Music Television) got a makeover this summer. Like most real-life makeovers, this one was clearly designed to make the channel look years younger. In fact, the whole country music business these days has dived headfirst into the fountain of youth. Country used to be known for its intergenerational appeal, but lately its motto seems to be "No One Who Looks Like They're Over 40 Allowed." So it's nice to see one of the greatest traditions in country music moving to CMT this week: the weekly broadcasts from the Grand Ole Opry in Nashville, which began in 1925. "CMT's Grand Ole Opry Live" will have its debut at 7 p.m. Saturday with guests Loretta Lynn - that's more like it! - Brad Paisley, Steve Wariner and Sonya Isaacs. Also, five Opry-themed editions of "CMT Showcase" air weeknights this week at 7 p.m., including an all-star tribute on Friday to the late bluegrass legend Bill Monroe. Alison Krauss and Union Station, Nickel Creek and Ricky Skaggs will play. If your children complain about the Lawrence brothers looking funny on the TV, don't dismiss it. What happened is that the Disney Channel - where Joey, Matt and Andy Lawrence are starring in the movie "Jumping Ship" - recently moved off Time Warner Cable's premium tier. It's now at Channel 70. But something is interfering with Channel 70's signal. Engineers are looking into it and may even have the problem fixed by 6 p.m. Friday, when "Jumping Ship" will have its premiere showing. Not every home is affected by the interference, but in some areas Channel 70 has had dozens of wavy lines running across the screen. The lines have the effect of making every movie look like an old movie - even one with the ever-youthful Lawrences in it. A reader wanted to know if the Mormon Tabernacle Choir would appear on the channel formerly known as Odyssey now that it has changed to Hallmark Channel. The answer is yes. Hallmark will continue to show more than its share of inspirational programming, reflecting the terms of the agreement by which Hallmark took control of Odyssey in 1998 from a consortium of 80 religious groups. Look for "Music and the Spoken Word" - direct from Salt Lake City - at 7:30 a.m. Sundays on Hallmark, followed by the three-hour "America at Worship," featuring services from various denominations. On the Web To read more about the shows mentioned in this column, go to kansascity.com and click on FYI. @ART CAPTION:"CowZilla"/Crown Center Shops atrium @ART:Photo (color) @ART CREDIT: