Nyet! Michael Knight

Jenn is on her way to Moscow right now. I forgot to tell her to say hi to Putin for me. Me and Puts (that's what I call him) go way back. Anyway, I'm flying solo here for a while. That's why I'm sitting here in front of a keyboard instead of next to her on the couch. Wait, I can watch whatever I want now! What am I doing here?

Speaking of doing things, do you know what I did the other day? I watched the Knight Rider pilot movie thing. Why? I don't know. I had some time to kill and it popped on on Netflix so I thought I'd check out where it all started since I couldn't remember. I remembered that Michael Knight was not always his name and he was basically brought back from the dead, but that was it.

So I watched the two-parter "Knight of the Phoenix." Clever, no? I realized that the pilot was quite a bit darker than I remembered the show. The thing that threw me at first was the guy playing Michale in the beginning was not Hasselhoff at first, but they dubbed in his voice. Which I found interesting. Then, after being betrayed by a girl (isn't that always the way) she shoots him in the head! Ouch. Why not the chest or something?  Man, what a bitch!

Anyway, he's rescued by some dude that appears out of nowhere with a helicopter and is rescued. I just watched this the other day and I don't remember them saying why this guy came to find Michael and his Trans Am in the desert. Was he following him? Did he just happen to be flying over the desert looking for a special person to help him solve crimes?

Anyway, Michael wakes up and is pissed about having a new face. Dude, you are the man now, why so pissed?  Is basically what Devon and Mr. Knight say. Oh, and can you help us out? Oh, and none other than Oscar Goldman was the doctor who saved him. Yes, that guy from Six Million Dollar Man. It turns out Michael was saved by a metal plate in is head that ricocheted the bullet back out of his face. Ouch, again!

So, eventually he gets out the the garage and finds a car there. It's his Trans Am! Yes, KITT (Knight Industries Two Thousand, which sounds much cooler back in the 80's) was his car. They rebuilt it. They made it better, faster, stronger...I think you get where I'm going. I didn't remember that KITT was his car reinCARnated. (Okay, I'll stop.) The best line of the show is when Michael gets in the car and gestures toward the dashboard saying, "What's all this? It looks like Darth Vader's bathroom." Actually, he's kind of right.

Basically, he goes on to find the people who tried to kill him (evil computer geniuses) and saves the day and learns to get along with KITT, who is not so annoying and grumpy in the pilot.

After I watched the pilot I watched two other episodes to see the changes. The first real episode is odd in many ways. For one thing, Bonnie, the lady mechanic (crazy, I know!) is all of a sudden in the show like she was there in the pilot. I'm guessing there was some delay between these two so they'd assume people forgot. We TV watchers aren't so bright you know.

Also, he helps a young female lieutenant (crazy again!) out when her car conks out on the road. He drives her to the base where she is due to report to her CO who happens to be her dad. Several odd things happen in the very beginning of the episode. Like when Michael brings her to the base he comes all the way into the office with her where she is meeting her dad. Why? If I gave someone a ride, especially to a military base of some sort, I'd just drop them at the front door, or gate, or whatever.

Then, when she finds out her dad is dead, they cut to his funeral and Michael is there! What the hell? He doesn't know anyone there so why go to the funeral? Obviously, he isn't going to get anything from her now? Give it up dude. So, yeah, he ends up foiling some big arms theft ring after taking on many missiles. The end.  

The last thing I watched was the second season two-part premiere. I don't know why either, but when I saw there was an Evil Michael Knight in the episode and a giant truck made out of the same material as KITT, I knew I had to watch. The best parts of this episode was the beard that Hasselhoff to wear when he was the Evil version of himself who just happened to be the real son of the guy who saved him back in the pilot. Oh, he was sent to prison in Africa and never expected to get out. So, I guess that's why Mr. Knight made Michael look like his son? I think the guy needed therapy. He had the money to get a great shrink.

Awesome! (photo from Whatculture!)

So, this guy gets the former Mr. Knight's wife to drug some of the foundation members to get the formula for the molecular structure of KITT's outer shell. It must be more complicated than that Magic Shell stuff, I guess. 

So, they gut this stuff and build a semi-tractor with this stuff. I guess they are going to plow through a militaryKITT gets whacked hard. He's smashed and upside down and Garth keeps driving? Where they heck is he going? He doesn't go in for the kill? Somehow after Michael gets KITT upright and driving through the desert all the people are gone that come to see Garth wipe out KITT and Michael. Where did they all go? Nobody thought to check and see if they were really dead? What kind of crap revenge is this? 

Anyway, Bonnie outfits KITT with some awesome laser, they have another showdown and KITT wins, or something. YAY! 

My final thoughts? The show definitely took a lighter turn after the pilot. Somehow KITT was turned into an old woman and Michael became a himbo. (Do people still say that?) 

Next up, I go back and watch The Greatest American Hero! (No, I don't. I don't want to ruin that for younger me.) 

Ha! I forgot I wrote about the "NEW" Knight Rider a long time ago. 

New leaf, turned over and such

Hey! Why does it echo here! here. here...here.

Okay, let's get this done. Yes, been a long time and all that. If anyone still has this still in their feed I'd be surprised. If you do, thanks!

First off, I want to thank Florinda, Stacey, Cookie and Dreamybee (not all their real names) for their nice words on my last post about the passing of my step-mom, Mary. None of you have met her, and I've only met one of you in real life, so thanks. That was really nice.

So, yes, my year started of pretty bad. Sure, I told you about Mary, but two weeks before that Jenn's cousin, who was my age (!), passed away and two weeks after Mary my dad's cousin passed away. It had not been a fun start to the year. The worst part now is getting my dad through the grief. He and Mary were married over 40 years; you don't get over that in a month's time. He's been pretty down, obviously, and since he doesn't have any hobbies to keep him busy, it's been extra tough on him. I know he'll be okay, I just wish it would be sooner rather than later.

Oh, I forgot! We had a little health scare with Jenn's mom, too! Luckily, it has turned out okay, but we had a few weeks of waiting on that one, too.

Anyway, that's been the year so far. That is part of the reason not much has happened here in this space. Sure, I've been slacking off for a while, but I really haven't felt much like writing anything. See how depressing this started out? Did I want to make all the (4) people who read this more depressed during the long, cold winter months?! See, I was helping you all along.

So, on to the present, and what got me to write here. Yes, it's been a crappy start, and I need to turn things around. In a few areas.

First, health-wise. I have to get back to the running. I was at the doctor the other day and found out I had gained 10lbs since December. I tend to eat, as many people do, during times of stress and I certainly did my fair share these last few months. Some of the weight gain was due to some medicine for my own (minor) medical issues, but not all. So, yes, get more excerise. I had signed up for the Shamrock Shuffle next weekend, but it is not going to happen. I just finally got over a 3 week-long cold and can't run that far without hurting myself. My plan is to slowly get the mileage up and run something in April. I have a few ideas of races, we'll have to see what fits into my work schedule.

Also, I have to kick Dr. Pepper out of my life. Sorry, doc, I love ya, but you are no good for me. You fill  me with empty calories and only give me a few minutes of pleasure in return. Yes, I could try diet, but why? Oh, and don't even bring up Dr. Pepper Ten. I tried it. It tastes like cough syrup. Also, the marketing for it is way too stupid for me to acknowledge it's existence.

Second, well, I need to do more of this here blogging stuff. Not only here, but I owe John and Patrick over at Functional Nerds some music reviews. They have been nice enough not to send me e-mails asking me why I've been such a loser, so I can't let them down any longer than I have.

By the way, even though I haven't been here much I have been on Twitter and posting some photos on Google + and I do have a Tumblr. I don't know if I've ever mentioned Tumblr here.

Lastly, and I should have put this with the Dr. Pepper stuff, but I need to fix my diet. With the way I've been eating lately I fully expect cheese to come out of my veins the next time I do blood work. The nurse will need to switch out the needle for one of those taps they use to get sap out of maple trees. I've been eating some salads for lunch at work, but when I come home all bets are off. I did good today, though. I went to the grocery store and didn't buy any candy. Believe it or not. I don't. (But it's true!)

In short, (if you skipped to the end, that's okay, I wrap it all up here) I need to get moving, exercise, eat better and write some more stuff. Besides, all I've been doing at night is sitting in from of the TV with my iPad and posting stupid tweets. This is way more important.

Oh, It's been like 80 degrees here for about a week now. It's been great, but a little too good. You know what I mean? Either the bottom is going to fall out and we are going to be covered in snow in two weeks, or we are unwitting participants in some kind of experiment. Maybe something like the Stephen King book, Under the Dome, or The Simpsons Movie. Could go either way. I have started to build my very own Doomsday Bunker just to be ready.