WHO WAS THAT MASKED DUDE? OLD WEST MEETS YOUNG DEMO.

Byline: David Kronke TV Critic

HOW HAS THE WB reinterpreted ``The Lone Ranger'' for its youthful target audience?

Consider: After Luke Hartman (Chad Michael Murray) goes on an Apache vision quest (essentially an excuse for a New Age, hallucinogenic music-video sequence), a white horse appears. Luke, who becomes the masked man, greets it with: ``Hi - yo! Silver.''

There's little if any effort to create the Old West here. Costumes, out of their Mild West context, could pass for the conservative side of today's fashions. Contemporary pop songs clutter the soundtrack - a generic power ballad during a fantasy romantic sequence, a heavy-metal ditty during the battle sequences - and the famous ``William Tell Overture'' that has long served as the Lone Ranger's theme is played here on electric guitar.

In all, it seems a case of overreaching - 21st-century racial/historical revisionism blended with typical WB boilerplate about young characters finding their place in the world. It's all plowed into a period buddy-cop yarn that likewise promises a romantic triangle (or two) if the show goes to series.

But darned if Murray and Nathaniel Arcand, who plays Tonto, the proud Apache warrior (who, in another contemporary twist, has some martial-arts abilities), don't have a pretty agreeable chemistry. They're the main reason this show might turn up on the fall schedule. Otherwise, since it hasn't been proven that the WB demographic will particularly go for period material, you might find older fans who aren't Western purists watching this TV movie.

The story's pretty simple: Luke rides into a Western backlot set masquerading as early Dallas and meets up with his brother. Luke rescues an Apache hottie (Anita Brown) from an attack by boorish white guys, whom the Apache dismiss as ``white eyes.'' For his trouble, he is thanked by Tonto with a kick to the head. Turns out the squaw in question is Tonto's sister, Alope, who eyes Luke with desire frank enough to ratchet this up to a PG-13.

When his brother, a Texas Ranger, is killed with some companions by a group of railroad-hired scoundrels called the Regulators and Luke is rescued from certain death by Tonto, vengeance is just around the corner. But not until Luke learns the Apache art of embracing his spirit - i.e., kicking butt for the right reasons.

Throw in a young blonde (who scarcely looks as if she's ever read a newspaper) as the editor of the Dallas Tribune (her line, ``I look forward to making his acquaintance,'' is the sole moment the film flirts with period dialogue) and the whole thing could teeter perilously close to high camp. But in the rarefied world of the WB, which after all transformed a teen version of ultra-square Clark Kent into its hottest show, it just might make sense. Yo, Silver!

THE LONE RANGER - Two and one half stars

What: The masked man is reimagined for the WB generation.

Where: The WB (Channel 5).

When: 8 tonight.

In a nutshell: Hokey, sure, but Chad Michael Murray and Nathaniel Arcand have a winning rapport as the Ranger and Tonto.

CAPTION(S):

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Photo:

Chad Michael Murray, left, and Nathaniel Arcand return to those thrilling days of yesteryear on the WB's ``The Lone Ranger.''