Daily News from New York, New York • 338

Ch. 13 presents 'Triumph of the Nerds a look at the evolution of ike personal computer business; 8 p.qi. LOOK WHO'S UmzsEsdHIFs Piraote hmm fainfe TALKING THE NEWEST MTV series, "Buzz-kill," is prefaced by a viewer advisory, like the same network's "Beavis and Butt-head." The conspiratorial and playful tone is the same; only the words are different. "These are covert recordings of real pranks done to real people in real situations," warns the "Buzzkill" advisory. "Do not try any of this at home." Not to worry.

ASM1.1 ft1 fX IV I A DAVID BIANCULLI The only people who might think of trying any of this stuff at home would be Beavis and Butt-Head themselves. In fact, if you turned those cartoon buffoons into flesh and blood, and sent them out in THREE STOOGES: From left, Travis Draft, Dave Sheridan Frank Hudetz in "Buzzkill" a van full ol props and costumes to pull some practical jokes, you'd pretty much wind up with "Buzzkill." "Buzzkill," which gets a sneak preview tomorrow night at 11 after the "MTV Movie Awards," has three terminal pranksters, not two. Travis Draft, Frank Hudetz and Dave Sheridan have hit the road to accomplish the same mission: to meld the sensibility of "The Jerky Boys" (that is to say, no sensibility at all, except for in-your-face aggression) with the gimmick of "Candid Camera" (stage pranks and jokes on unsuspecting victims). In theory, "Buzzkill" sounds like a level of ad libs seem equally low, and "Buzzkill" is neither as smart nor as funny as it ought, and needs, to be. In the opener, set on the streets of Miami Beach, producer R.

Greg John-ston presents three major segments. In Prank 1, the trio impersonates some well-meaning, but intolerably cautious, safety instructors. In Prank 2, they pretend to be photographers chasing celebrities at hot area clubs. In Prank 3, the most ambitious and best of the lot, they pass one of them (Hudetz) off as designer Isaac Mizrahi and stage a fashion show on the beach, using gullible real people as both models and observers. The first prank falls flat and is incomplete; once it succeeds in irritat ing and angering its selected victims, it never shows them being let in on the joke which must have happened for them to end up on TV.

The second prank is stupid in every sense, from superimposed misspellings to lame ad libs (calling a bald guy Yul Brynner, in 1996, is as lazy as a joke can get). The third, with a fashion show in which models wear garment bags and bathroom mats, at least includes some visual humor, as well as a clear take oh the excesses granted to celebrity eccentrics. But even here, there's no evidence that any of the three "Buzzkill" pranksters is remotely humorous in his own right. And that should be the whole point, right? MORNING 7:00 This Morning. Knee regeneration; celebrity think tank; Dr.

Harold Koplewicz. 2 Today. Kids intoxicants; Jim Carrey; Martha Stewart. 4 Good Day New York. Medicines and the sun; Morgan Freeman.

5 Good Morning America. Fred and Kim Goldman. 7 9:00 George Alana. Actress Kim Cat-trail. 2 Real Life.

Singer Teddy Pender-grass. 4 Gordon Elliott. Kids of imprisoned moms.5 Live With Regis Kathie Lee. Gloria Estefan. 7 v.

10:00 Leeza. Success stories. 4 Mark Walberg. Women controlled by mates. 5- Rosie O'Donnell.

Actors Dennis Franz and Fran Drescher. 7 Rolonda. Romance regrets. 11 11:00 Jerry Springer. Mother-daughter conflict.

4 Montel Williams. Ex-lovers feud over gifts. Caryl Marilyn: Real Friends. Summer movies. 7 AFTERNOON Noon Ricki Lake.

Teens disagree with house rules. 9 12:30 Carol Jenkins Live. The News' George Rush Joanna Molloy; talk-radio panel. 5 1:00 Jenny Jones. Wedding disasters.

9 3:00 Geraldo. Joe Jackson's Las Vegas revue. 2 Maury Povich. Bacteria in food. 4 Deadbeat dads want a second chance.

9 4:00 Sally. Makeovers for fathers. 4 Oprah Winfrey. Women abused dur- ing pregnancy. 7 Richard Bey.

Past shows. 9 1 I 5:00 Montel Williams. Assaulted with razor blades. 5 Ricki Lake. Women prove mates' in- fidelities.

9 EVENING 11:00 Jenny Jones. Infidelity. 9 Politically Incorrect. Ray Manzarek (The Doors); authorcritic Harlan Elli- son; George Hamilton. COM Charlie Rose.

Roundt able on arson and black churches; directoractor Ben Stiller. 13 11:35 Late Show. Model Liv Tyler; chef Douglas Rodriguez. 2 v. 12:05 Tonight Show.

Heavyweight boxer George Foreman. 4 12:35 Late Late Show. Writer Chris Mat- thews; actress Amanda Plummer. 2 1:05 Late Night. Actor Dennis Franz; comic Dave Chapelle; storm chaser JackCorso.

4 1:35 Lauren Hutton And Model Fre- derique. 2 2:05 Later. Milton Berle. 4 perfect MTV show, especially during the hazy days of summer. What happens with the pilot episode, at least, is that the budget commitment and the Reader attacks Samuels on naval basis By DAVID HINCKLEY on WNEW (a rock station, of course) played "Watching the Detectives" and dedicated it to Jessica Fletcher.

Lori Harrington Atlantic Beach: Bob Grant was taken off WABC, and rightly so. He always crosses the line of decency. So another money-grubbing network took him. I am not Mary Poppins, but there has to be someone or something who can stop Daily News Staff Writer TODAY, readers get their turn: Brooklyn: The talented and charismatic Lynn Samuels on WABC last week, speaking of the naval visitors, proclaimed that if she were younger, she'd like to "do all the sailors." Where was she when brains were given out? No doubt in some cheap him. Greenwich Village bar.

She rejoices because there are i lifii I I and the public don't have a now more hosts with a "liber- forum for attacking him back. the Starship Enterprise tuning in to John X. Gambling. Ira Shprintzen Staten Island: It's great to know Bill Owen is back on the air. Bill was one of the great ABC staff announcers and one of the original "Swingin' Seven on 77" at WABC before they became the Good Guys.

When Bill left the Swingin' Seven, he did Action Central News, was on WABC-FM and did many things for ABC radio and TV. ABC staff announcers were true masters they could do network or local news, a dee-jay show, voiceover promos. They could do it all. Terry Morgan Brooklyn: Bob Grant's national show has become a colossal bore. He isn't speaking his mind, because the callers don't generate enough anger in him.

We have enjoyed Bob because of his interaction with New Yorkers. The New York audience is more opinionated and controversial. I now listen to music in the afternoon. JohnTruisi al" point of view on the station. Before she starts to crow, let her wait for the ratings.

Doris Wasser Astoria: In a last tweak at shortsighted network executives, the final "Murder She Wrote" was called "Death by Demographics" and concerned a radio station that changes its format overnight from classical to rock, in search of higher ad revenue. I wonder if anyone else caught this delicious piece of irony: The next morning, Pat St. John He is a tyrant, like John McLaughlin. Millie Nadell Pelham: I take offense at one thing in your Don McNeil tribute: comparing him to Arthur Godfrey. Don was never the bigot and McCarthyite Godfrey was.

Godfrey had a major interest in several Miami Beach hotels that were restricted. If you want to compare Don McNeil to anybody, it should be John John B. and John R. Gambling. I can see in the 24th century someone on ui FLICK PICKS CD cn TO thwart marauding Indians.

5:45 (TMC) "The Lady From Shanghai" (1948). Orson Welles, Rita Hayworth. Welles' visually dizzying (see the climactic hall of mirrors scene) pulp thriller packs enough perverse touches and charismatic perfs to hide the fact that the storyline's fairly routine. 8:00 (SHO) "A Low Down Dirty Shame" (1994). While not as sharp as his earlier "blaxploita-tion" spoof "I'm Gonna Git You Sucka," actorauteur Keenen Ivory Wayans' action comedy yields a fair number of yuks and features a scene-stealing perf by Jada Pinkett as our hero's feisty ga! Friday.

12:05 a.m. (TBS) "Warlock" (1991). Julian Sands, Lori Singer. Sands makes for a suave and unstoppable personification of evil in -Steve Miner's clever time-traveling terror tale, which mixes genuinely -gruesome tableaux with moments- of wry mirth. 2:00 (USA) "Black Sunday" (1977).

Robert Shaw, Bruce Dern. Dem's at his loony best as a blimp borne terrorist who threatens to -'-blow up the Super Bowt in John Manchurian Frankenheimer's gala suspenser. 3:40 (MAX) "The Blob" (1988). -Kevin Dillon, Shawnee Smith. While Sticking (quite literally at times) to -the original storyline, directorChuck Russell's remake easily outslimes its 1958 model.

The Phantom 4:00 p.m. (TNT) "Rio Grande" (1950). John Wayne, Maureen O'Hara. John Ford runs his alfresco repertory troupe through another excellent grand-scale Western, with Duke in standard swaggering form as a cavalry commander deter-mined to cross the titular river to Mil BLOB -STOPPER: Dillon re to jfT -X iq k. ll-il) I Hw Pf kS.2i32.5!2f.S fj Ss i-' at sir rfl i.

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