Scared silly? No, just plain silly

Baseball, splashy musicals and “Lawrence of Arabia” are among the many things whose impact can be diminished in the translation to television.

Apparently, we can add scary practical jokes to the list.

“Scare Tactics,” Sci Fi’s new half-hour hidden-camera show in the “Candid Camera” tradition, has its amusing moments but musters precious little in the fright department. It figures to appeal mainly to hard-core prank show aficionados.

Hosted by Shannen Doherty from “Beverly Hills 90210” and produced by the team behind NBC’s “Spy TV,” the series premieres with back-to-back episodes at 10 tonight.

The gimmick of “Scare Tactics” is that ordinary folks -- set up by their, uh, friends -- unwittingly find themselves in scenarios designed to tap into their deepest fears, supposedly inspired by science-fiction and horror movies.

“Scare Tactics” employs actors to facilitate these elaborate creep-outs and films the results on the sly.

Appearing in some of the gags (as herself), Doherty pokes fun at her abrasive reputation to entertaining effect.

In one of tonight’s better bits, she is apparently kidnapped and her wide-eyed, would-be new assistant becomes the prime suspect. In another, Doherty’s uncle gets blown up by a sucker -- er, weapons tester -- using a “plasma gun,” and she hates when that happens.

The best segment in the preview tape sent out by the network, a deliriously funny take on paranoia called “Lab Lockdown,” has been rescheduled for a future show.

Unfortunately, many of the segments still in tonight’s lineup are simply banal. In one, an enraged alien attacks a car packed with partygoers; in another, Bigfoot goes after an RV full of campers who apparently never got the memo about him not existing.

You may be cringing, but not in terror.