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Okay, maybe I'm just geeking out too much and maybe it's a slow day at work, but I swear to god I'm starting to see serious similarities between Man from UNCLE and Knight Rider. Check it out:
- The three corner structure (good guys, innocent, bad guys).In every episode I've rewatched so far, this structure which is so strong in MFU is present in KR ( Read more... )
Comments 7
You know, Nix, I was seeing similarities in MFU and Dark Wing Duck. So no, I would say that you are not nuts.
Jane
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I guess once the brain gets going, it starts seeing these things everywhere. ::grins::
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Since television tends to be more formulaic than other media, many series follow similar patterns. So, no, it's not suprising.
When I wrote the essay on MFU's three corner structure, however, the point I was making is that all three corners must be filled. If they aren't ---ie: if you're missing an innocent and/or villain --- one or both of the agents will move into the space.
In GFU, the TV series, one of the problems was finding a proper innocent who could relate to a leading female character (imaginations were limited in the 1960s). This led to April being in jeopardy like a pseduo-innocent all the time.
I've theorized that in fanfic, a lack of innocent and/or villain can lead to a mean Napoleon or a wussy Illya.
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This is true, especially patterns that have been proven to work.
I've theorized that in fanfic, a lack of innocent and/or villain can lead to a mean Napoleon or a wussy Illya.
While this makes sense, I don't think it's the primary reason that those two incarnations of the characters appears. I say this because I've seen the same thing happen (to a lesser degree) in several other fandoms that don't have the three-corner structure in canon at all.
It always seems to be the fan favorite that gets a little wussy, and the other guy that gets mean. I suppose this could be because the fan favorite is usually the sidekick and therefore usually the guy that gets captured a lot in canon, which could lead to the wussyness. And because the fans are "supposed" to like the central character, that character gets bashed in order to show, by contrast, how much cooler the fan favorite is.
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Sidekicks are often 'alien' characters, the "marked" characters that are notably distinct in some way from the "unmarked" hero. These characters are often much different than the lead character: ie, much older or younger, shorter or taller, smarter or dumber, female (or male if the hero is female), have different ethnic or racial background, mechanical (as in computers or robots) or nonhuman (animal or alien).
KITT might also qualify as a 'sexy nerd' :)
So: is there Knightrider slash? :)
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::nods:: Which actually sidesteps a lot of the problems that usually arise with sidekicks and fan reactions to them. For example, it's possible that one of the reasons wussy Illya (and other comparable characters--I'm thinking specifically of Blair, from The Sentinel) shows up so often in fic is because he's hurt so often on the show. Well, KITT is physically mistreated in every single episode--but that happens in the course of protecting Michael. He is by his very nature there to take damage on behalf of his partner, because he's stronger, more durable. So it all sort of balances out.
So: is there Knightrider slash? :)
You know something scary? There is. Even scarier is that some of it is really very good.
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