Knights of the Flat Screen
Retro fashion. Retro cars. Retro movies. Retro TV shows being turned into movies. And now, the trend toward retro TV shows being turned back into TV shows (which might be redundant, like "chicken fried chicken"). The SciFi Channel brought "Battlestar Galactica" out of moth balls (also, if you haven't watched Tin Man, it's an interesting "Wicked-esque" reinterpretation on "The Wizard of Oz"); NBC brought us the "Bionic Woman"; and now, per our friends at Jalopnik, Michael Knight will be gracing our screens again as the "Knight Rider."
But there's a Starbuck-like twist (on the new Battle Star Galactica, Starbuck, formerly played by Dirk Benedict of "A-Team" fame is now played by a woman): The new KITT will be played by none other than a Mustang Shelby GT500KR.
Some might consider this sacrilege—like my buddy Oren, who was really upset by this news. These are probably the same people who after 30 years still bitch about the designated hitter. At the time "Knight Rider" was first introduced—1982—the Trans Am was still a cool car. It still should be, but it's no longer an option. Plus, take yourself back to 1982: If you're the producer and you're looking for a cool car, can you imagine choosing a Mustang of that vintage? The early 1980s was not exactly the Mustang's finest hour from an exterior design standpoint (hindsight being 20/20 and all).
Oren's argument was twofold. First, how can they possibly switch from a GM product to a Ford product? (His suggestion: KITT should be a Corvette.) Uh, what is "Ford probably paid more for the product placement,"Alex? I don't know that for a fact, but I'd say it's solid real-world speculation. The producers aren't paid to care about automotive lineage. And maybe, as I mentioned above, the producer cared about the automotive lineage, but GM just didn't have a product that would work. His second argument had more logic to it. At the time, the Trans Am was about slickness and technology. The Mustang has always been about pure, unadulterated power. It's like asking whom you want to represent your product: Hulk Hogan or Andre the Giant. I'll buy that argument, but at the end of the day, the Mustang is by far one of the coolest cars that's relatively affordable, and has broad appeal—especially with that all important male 18—34 age demographic.
So, if you're really bummed about this, read my prior blog about the Trans Am, and write to GM. (Incidentally, I found a really cool site that is taking GM's design into their own hands For the rest of you, enjoy the fact that there's a little bit more of the 80's to love right here in 2007!
