Culture|Garage

So the movie is over, and my question for today is: Did you watch NBC’s shameless plug Knight Rider, and what do you think?

First, because I’m oh so important, I thought I’d share my thoughts with you after reading some of the feedback at The Mustang Source forums. Now then- I had an inkling-call me crazy- that this whole “Knight Rider” business was a result of the writer’s strike and a “Bold Move” by Fo-Mo-Co to get some airtime (both literally AND figuratively) for it’s various products. As a result, my bar was set low. Very, very low.

As someone who faintly remembers the original Knight Rider, I can tell you that this was without a doubt, leaps and bounds better than the original. This, coming from someone who had a family member who owned K.I.T.T., or at least a car that came as close as can be to being that car. I remember it well- the rattling wheel covers, the spoiler with a missing chunk, the spotty HVAC operation (my fault via marble) but I remember it as being cool to my childish mind, which by the way, hasn’t changed much since those days. Anyhow, I think choosing the Mustang to play the hero car wasn’t that far fetched, after all, GM hasn’t had the good graces to put something interesting with 2 doors on the road lately, unless one wants to be saved from the baddies by a jerk in a Solstice- not my idea of “action hero.” Maybe some bemoan the choice of vehicle because there are so many hi-po import cars out there, but keep in mind the audience here, okay? I’ll lump myself in with that crowd, as entertainment, at least for me, can be pretty “stupid,” as long as I enjoy watching it. That said, I don’t habitually watch and then quote Family Guy at every opportunity, and then snub something like Knight Rider because I am somehow above that, but not cartoon humor. I tend to watch something because it entertains me, like football, NASCAR, or whatever’s on the microwave. I’m the shows “target demographic,” see? For me, a tire-frying burnout and a physics-defying car wreck is more entertaining than a four-door with a wing clipping an apex at 100+MPH. Call me simple, call me old-fashioned, call me Ishmael, but dammit, I enjoyed seeing bullets ricochet off of that mirror-perfect paint job. I wasn’t crazy about that strange spoiler, but when your car TALKS to you whilst whisking you from place to place in some vast California desert, it doesn’t really matter.

As far as the acting is concerned, I hafta ask- what DID you expect, exactly? This isn’t Hamlet and the actors aren’t up for any sort of nomination, so relax and enjoy the paper-thin plot and in-your-face agenda. I actually appreciated one line that went something like this: “He’s [KITT] not powered by plutonium because gasoline is simple, and sometimes, simple is just better.” Damn, what a line, I couldn’t of said it better. On top of that, the car had the Holy Bible programmed into it’s onboard computer, citing scripture while changing gears. That oughta come in handy when rescuing evangelicals from the clutches of some fiend in a future episode, no doubt!

The truth of the matter is that yes, I DID enjoy the show, movie, whatever, because it entertained me and reminded me how much fun television used to be. So what if the CG was awful, or if the plot was a bit flimsy, I had a good time- and isn’t that what television is for? If you take nothing else from this review- just remember that at least you know I’m being honest with my readership (at the risk of my, well, nonexistent reputation).

What say you?

pictures stolen borrowed from: TVGuide, Hollywood Chicago, Enterprise-Dashboard

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