Knight Rider Squee--The Gen Version
As I'm sure even the least attentive reader of the LJ has realized, I've been enjoying the *hell* out of my recent, erm, *reacquaintance* (and obsession, I admit) with Knight Rider.
This was one of my very most favorite shows of my childhood, and one of the few that was all my own. I have very fond memories of some shows that I watched with my mother (Starsky & Hutch and Simon & Simon, in particular). Other shows, most notably M*A*S*H, we watched as a family.
But Knight Rider was just mine. And I loved it! I'd say it was a guilty pleasure but in 1982, liking Knight Rider was *cool* and not guilty at all. It was no cheezier than anything else on TV and KITT was *miles* cooler than the General Lee. (No offense, Sassy.) I might even have gotten a few props from the boys of my acquaintance for loving it, because with the car chases and explosions and turbo boosts and all that it was definitely a boy show.
Of course, I've always had my inner 12-year-old-boy who loves all that stuff. :D So that was, and is still, part of what I'm so crazy about in the show. Excitement! Adventure! Big Bombs! Squealing Tires! Big Dramatic (and improbable) Plots! Driving Into The Semi!!
I also had a massive, massive, hot *thing* for Michael Knight. And still, I'm finding, do. ::fans self:: Which, okay, is maybe a little bit embarrassing. My official answer is that he was the first TV character I had the hots for and my hormones imprinted on him. In a very serious way. He's also got stunning long legs that just, woof, make me want to *touch* and a mouth made for kissing.
As I'm watching it again now I'm finding other things about the show that I really like, beyond the, erm, *visceral* pleasures of Michael, KITT, and car chases.
* The basic message and morality of the show is that bad people should be stopped, even if they're powerful and "above the law". I'm actually really in favor of that message. And the whole "One man can make a difference" thing that's also a pretty central theme of the show. And yes, one can clearly point out that we're talking One Man With A Really Awesome Car making a difference, but still, it's good to remind people that individual action is important and that good people can't just stand by and let bad people run amok. I like the fact that the episodes are morally reassuring in that every episode ends with the bad guys defeated and Michael and KITT (and the Foundation For Law And Government) triumphant. I realize it's not realistic, but when you're looking at a show with a sentient, talking car "realistic" doesn't really figure into it, yeah?
* Every few episodes Bonnie gives KITT some new *thing*. In one episode it was a microwave jammer (later known as the micro-jammer) that coulc interfere with electrical equipment. In another she gave him an oxygen-jet so he could enrich the oxygen levels in the cabin of the car. In proper Chekovian fashion, these new pieces of equipment are used in the episode when KITT got them. The cool thing is that after they're initially introduced, they stick around. Unlike James Bond's toys which go away at the end of each movie, KITT gets to keep his. It's a rather nice little bit of continuity on the part of the writers and I appreciate it a *lot*.
* KITT is really incredibly awesome. I mean the magic!tech gets pretty silly sometimes (though it is a little handy as a writer, I confess), but he's an interesting personality. In classic AI style he repeatedly insists that he doesn't have feelings. But he clearly *does* and I love the tension there. If he were a human character he'd've been gayer than they could get away with on prime time in 1982, which is also fun. I love him critiquing Michael's fashion sense ("A nice paisley tie would go well with that outfit").
* The Girls of the Week are often pretty cool. For one thing, they aren't all beautiful. And even the ones that *are*, are beautiful in a wholesome (rather than skanky) way. They look like the girl next door. Of course it was the 1980s, so they're the girl next door wearing too much makeup and having obviously spent about an hour (and a railroad car of mousse) doing their hair. But still, they're usually intelligent and gutsy and (often) pretty but not Hollywood!Beautiful. And they're not all (or even usually) interested in Michael. And he's not usually interested in them.
* I absolutely adore the way Michael interacts with women. He's very sweet and gentlemanly. Not, mind, that he's a Galahad or anything--but I've only seen one episode where it's *definite* that Michael and the GotW got it on and she initiated it and pursued him in a pretty determined manner. There are maybe one or two more where it even seems *possible* that they might have had sex. (I've watched close to 30 episodes now, so not an exhaustive sample, but possibly a representative one.) He clearly *likes* women, and I'm not specifically talking sexually here (though, yeah, that too) but he just seems to enjoy their company. He likes to *hug* and does it a fair amount, which I like. And in the two episodes I've seen where he's being romantic, he's *damned* good at making kind gestures and making the woman he's with feel special. That said, he's not a seducer at all, though he can be seduced. (More speculation and thought on Michael's sexuality to follow in another post.)
* Bonnie rocks like a great rocking thing. She's brilliant, witty, able to hold her own when Michael's teasing her but also able to let her guard down (especially with KITT). She's a computer geek without ever being geeky about it. And she somehow manages to work under KITT's hood without ever getting grease or road dirt on her pristine white jumpsuits. There's got to be a super-power at work there. (April, who replaced Bonnie as KITT's mechanic just for season 2, is not nearly as cool, IMO, but I haven't seen as many episodes with her.)
* The music is great. Not just the theme music which has been a nearly untouchable standard of awesome in TV show theme music for, well 26 years, but also the background music. Michael and KITT listen to The Eagles and James Taylor and Fleetwood Mac (lots of Fleetwood Mac) while they're on the road. I have very strong notions of what makes for good music to listen to on a road trip--I can't define it but I know it when I hear it--and I'm realizing as I rewatch the show that a lot of my sense of road music comes from this show.
* They drive through a whole lot of damned beautiful desert southwest scenery.
Next up, Knight Rider Squee--The Slash Version. :D
This was one of my very most favorite shows of my childhood, and one of the few that was all my own. I have very fond memories of some shows that I watched with my mother (Starsky & Hutch and Simon & Simon, in particular). Other shows, most notably M*A*S*H, we watched as a family.
But Knight Rider was just mine. And I loved it! I'd say it was a guilty pleasure but in 1982, liking Knight Rider was *cool* and not guilty at all. It was no cheezier than anything else on TV and KITT was *miles* cooler than the General Lee. (No offense, Sassy.) I might even have gotten a few props from the boys of my acquaintance for loving it, because with the car chases and explosions and turbo boosts and all that it was definitely a boy show.
Of course, I've always had my inner 12-year-old-boy who loves all that stuff. :D So that was, and is still, part of what I'm so crazy about in the show. Excitement! Adventure! Big Bombs! Squealing Tires! Big Dramatic (and improbable) Plots! Driving Into The Semi!!
I also had a massive, massive, hot *thing* for Michael Knight. And still, I'm finding, do. ::fans self:: Which, okay, is maybe a little bit embarrassing. My official answer is that he was the first TV character I had the hots for and my hormones imprinted on him. In a very serious way. He's also got stunning long legs that just, woof, make me want to *touch* and a mouth made for kissing.
As I'm watching it again now I'm finding other things about the show that I really like, beyond the, erm, *visceral* pleasures of Michael, KITT, and car chases.
* The basic message and morality of the show is that bad people should be stopped, even if they're powerful and "above the law". I'm actually really in favor of that message. And the whole "One man can make a difference" thing that's also a pretty central theme of the show. And yes, one can clearly point out that we're talking One Man With A Really Awesome Car making a difference, but still, it's good to remind people that individual action is important and that good people can't just stand by and let bad people run amok. I like the fact that the episodes are morally reassuring in that every episode ends with the bad guys defeated and Michael and KITT (and the Foundation For Law And Government) triumphant. I realize it's not realistic, but when you're looking at a show with a sentient, talking car "realistic" doesn't really figure into it, yeah?
* Every few episodes Bonnie gives KITT some new *thing*. In one episode it was a microwave jammer (later known as the micro-jammer) that coulc interfere with electrical equipment. In another she gave him an oxygen-jet so he could enrich the oxygen levels in the cabin of the car. In proper Chekovian fashion, these new pieces of equipment are used in the episode when KITT got them. The cool thing is that after they're initially introduced, they stick around. Unlike James Bond's toys which go away at the end of each movie, KITT gets to keep his. It's a rather nice little bit of continuity on the part of the writers and I appreciate it a *lot*.
* KITT is really incredibly awesome. I mean the magic!tech gets pretty silly sometimes (though it is a little handy as a writer, I confess), but he's an interesting personality. In classic AI style he repeatedly insists that he doesn't have feelings. But he clearly *does* and I love the tension there. If he were a human character he'd've been gayer than they could get away with on prime time in 1982, which is also fun. I love him critiquing Michael's fashion sense ("A nice paisley tie would go well with that outfit").
* The Girls of the Week are often pretty cool. For one thing, they aren't all beautiful. And even the ones that *are*, are beautiful in a wholesome (rather than skanky) way. They look like the girl next door. Of course it was the 1980s, so they're the girl next door wearing too much makeup and having obviously spent about an hour (and a railroad car of mousse) doing their hair. But still, they're usually intelligent and gutsy and (often) pretty but not Hollywood!Beautiful. And they're not all (or even usually) interested in Michael. And he's not usually interested in them.
* I absolutely adore the way Michael interacts with women. He's very sweet and gentlemanly. Not, mind, that he's a Galahad or anything--but I've only seen one episode where it's *definite* that Michael and the GotW got it on and she initiated it and pursued him in a pretty determined manner. There are maybe one or two more where it even seems *possible* that they might have had sex. (I've watched close to 30 episodes now, so not an exhaustive sample, but possibly a representative one.) He clearly *likes* women, and I'm not specifically talking sexually here (though, yeah, that too) but he just seems to enjoy their company. He likes to *hug* and does it a fair amount, which I like. And in the two episodes I've seen where he's being romantic, he's *damned* good at making kind gestures and making the woman he's with feel special. That said, he's not a seducer at all, though he can be seduced. (More speculation and thought on Michael's sexuality to follow in another post.)
* Bonnie rocks like a great rocking thing. She's brilliant, witty, able to hold her own when Michael's teasing her but also able to let her guard down (especially with KITT). She's a computer geek without ever being geeky about it. And she somehow manages to work under KITT's hood without ever getting grease or road dirt on her pristine white jumpsuits. There's got to be a super-power at work there. (April, who replaced Bonnie as KITT's mechanic just for season 2, is not nearly as cool, IMO, but I haven't seen as many episodes with her.)
* The music is great. Not just the theme music which has been a nearly untouchable standard of awesome in TV show theme music for, well 26 years, but also the background music. Michael and KITT listen to The Eagles and James Taylor and Fleetwood Mac (lots of Fleetwood Mac) while they're on the road. I have very strong notions of what makes for good music to listen to on a road trip--I can't define it but I know it when I hear it--and I'm realizing as I rewatch the show that a lot of my sense of road music comes from this show.
* They drive through a whole lot of damned beautiful desert southwest scenery.
Next up, Knight Rider Squee--The Slash Version. :D