| Hosts | |
| Steve "Chopper" Sedahl (himself) Wally Hotvedt (Rich Kronfeld) | |
| Queen Pins | |
| Amanda Brewer Lisa Bartholomew | |
| Broadcast | |
 KLGT 23 KARE 11 1995   | |
| Packager | |
| The Scott-Kronfeld Experience | |
Let's Bowl was originally a mid 90s local show in Minnesota (which appeared on a handful of different Twin Cities networks). Contestants would settle a conflict through a game of bowling. The regulation bowling rules applied, with a couple of caveats noted below. In the year 2001, the show was picked up for two seasons, nationally, on Comedy Central.
Let's Bowl's emphasis was more on the comedy, the music, and strange interviews or interludes than it was the bowling. Approximately 4-5 frames of the 10 frame game were actually shown. Typically, when coming back from a commercial break, a couple of frames would have been completed off-air with the viewer being updated on where the scores were currently at.
Format[]
Two contestants settle a dispute over a regulation game of bowling. The only exception to a standard round are these:
- The Distraction Option. Each contestant could use this one time during the game. It consisted of running up behind your opponent, at any time, and either: blowing an air horn at them, yelling at them through a megaphone or shooting foam darts at them in order to throw off their game.**
- Special frames included one of the following: The Polka Pin, The Combat Pin, The Beer Pin or The Death Pin. If the bowler got a strike in this frame, they won a special prize. The head pin was always the specialty pin.**
- A player behind by at least twenty points in the ninth frame got to play The Super Strike, which doubled their points in that frame, allowing them a chance to catch up.**
The winner received a full apology and sometimes a check (if financial loss of any kind was part of the disagreement between the contestants).
The loser received the "Let's Bowl Prize Pack" consisting of a new bowling ball, shirt and shoes.**
At the end of each episode, the winner was given a chance to win a grand prize by defeating the dreaded League Bowler. Each player was given one ball, and if the contestant knocked down as many or more pins than the League Bowler, they won an additional prize (typically valued between $3K and $5k). The prize was often a snowmobile, a boat, a used car or another trip.**
** These features were added when the show went national on Comedy Central. They were not part of the earlier, local Minnesota shows.
Other Notes[]
- The Queen Pins were two lovely ladies in evening gowns who stood at the end of each lane on either side of the one in use and danced and rooted for the player who was rolling. They also typically posed in spokes-model fashion with the prizes up for grabs.
- Wally Hotvedt & Steve "Chopper" Sedahl were the anchors for the show. While Chopper was the straight man with the serious commentary about the game at hand, Wally frequently had no idea what was going on with the game and was often talking to himself or Chopper about some unrelated personal issue.
- Ernie Jansen was the host of the show and provided the music on his keyboard. In the Comedy Central version, Ernie had a fancy cockpit from which he played keyboards, called "The Mega-Jam"
- Every episode featured a segment called Inside Bowling. This segment, despite its name often had nothing to do with bowling. One such segment involved Wally & Chopper hysterically disposing of old bowling balls in improper ways. Once, the pair went to a Minnesota based bowling shoe company, where Chopper interviewed the President of the company while Wally ran around eating cake and collecting money for "Bob's retirement gift."**
- Early episodes featured a character named Butch who hauled out the prizes and described them to the contestants. He looked and sounded like an angry convict.
- Another feature involved mostly Wally, sometimes Chopper interviewing the contestants in Wally's trailer or inside of a giant bowling pin that the Queen Pins locked shut once Wally & the contestant were inside. **
- The show was shot in various bowling alleys all around the Twin Cities metro area. And while the Comedy Central version of the show purported to come from Stardust Lanes in South Minneapolis, that was not always true.
- In the early shows, a local musical guest (band) would play an entire song or two. Local (Twin Cities) musical guests were also a part of the Comedy Central Shows, although because new segments were added to the show, the music was reduced to commercial bumpers.
** These features were added when the show went national on Comedy Central. They were not part of the earlier, local Minnesota shows.
The Gang[]
- Rich Kronfeld - Co-creator, writer, producer & color commentator Wally Hotvedt
- Steve "Chopper" Sedahl - commentator (as himself)
- Drew Jansen - keyboardist, announcer, host Ernie Jansen
- Amanda Brewer & Lisa Bartholomew - The Queen Pins
- Nick Shenck - Butch, The Prize Hauler (local MN episodes only)
- Berni Sarazine - Berni the Score-Keeper (local MN episodes only)
Inventor[]
Tim Scott