Nighty Knight Rider, by Dennis O'Neil
The Four-Color Answer #54
Once again, the other day, I found myself wishing I’d spent less of my youth with, as folks might have said back then, my nose buried in some silly book and more time in the company of hammers, saws, wrenches. You know. Manly stuff. Tools. The reason was, something in the bathtub wasn’t working and we had to call the plumber, who is one of the nicest guys I know and might be the best plumber in Rockland County New York, and we had a chat while the water was running to accomplish something arcane and, well, plumberish. If I hadn’t wasted my youth, maybe I could tell you what.
Anyway: because he knows what I did and sometimes still do to earn money, we discussed movies and television. He’s of the opinion that nobody in the media has any new ideas.
I didn’t argue, and I won’t. With a few reservations, and looking at the evidence, I agree, kind of.
Of course, one could assert that there are no new ideas, an assertion borne out by the fact that treatise after treatise has demonstrated that there are only seven plots, or five, or eleven – some very finite number, in any case. But even given that near = truism, there doesn’t seem to be a lot that’s genuinely fresh around these days.
For instance: As I type this, I’m about two hours away from experiencing the latest incarnation of Knight Rider. Twenty-plus years ago, this saga of a young man and his talking car launched the career of David Hasselhoff, who later became world-famous as the tanned and buff father figure to a lot of equally tanned and buff, but younger, lifeguards. This is the latest of a seemingly endless catalogue of old films and TV shows revamped for the Twenty First Century. Some I’ve liked; the remake of the old Glenn Ford western, 3:10 to Yuma, was, by any reasonable criterion, a good movie. Others…well…
The trick, now and forever, is not to merely remake – as Gus Van Sant did with his almost shot-by-shot redo of the Hitchcock classic Psycho – but to reinvent: recreate the basic idea in a contemporary idiom.
Deep, devoted fans of the original will object, even if the reinvention is done well, but they might qualify as a special group with special needs whose opinion should be respected, but not necessarily heeded. And they’re in luck: given the prevalence of DVD packages, and cable outlets devoted to the old and beloved, they can always go back and experience the original, as print freaks can reread books and/or comics and/or whatever.
Maybe we’ll return to this subject after I’ve seen Knight Rider. Only about 90 minutes to wait…
RECOMMENDED READING: Hey, if it’s good enough for Oprah…At the top of one of the New York Times’ numerous best-seller lists is A New Earth, by Eckhart Tolle, so blessed, I’m told, because Ms. Winfrey recommended it. I read the book a while ago, and Mari’s reading it for a course she’s taking, and we both like it. I’m wary of self-help gurus, but Tolle asks that we take nothing on faith, and, I think, culls a lot of what’s valid from several traditions and adds something of his own while leaving sectarian trappings behind.
Dennis O'Neil is an award-winning editor and writer of Batman, The Question, Iron Man, Green Lantern, Green Arrow, and The Shadow – among many others – as well as many novels, stories and articles. The Question: Zen and Violence
, reprinting the first six issues of his classic series with artist Denys Cowan, is on sale right now, the second volume, Poisoned Ground, will be on sale April 30, and his novelization of The Dark Knight will be available this summer, and you can pre-order them now.
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Comments (6)
Glenn Hauman (3:54 PM on Tue Feb 19, 2008)
So-- was it worth the wait? Or are you going to forget ever mentioning the show?
Marilee J. Layman (4:07 PM on Tue Feb 19, 2008)
I don't know about the show, but I watched the first 10 mimutes of the movie on Sunday and switched the channel.
Mike Gold (4:24 PM on Tue Feb 19, 2008)
I didn't see it, but it did well in the overnights. As if there was anything else new on. Following in the footprints of the Bionic Woman revival...
Tom Fitzpatrick (6:33 PM on Tue Feb 19, 2008)
It wasn't bad. Don't remember too much of the old version, but the new version definitely fits into the alternative lifestyles of the 21st century.
Cool car, though.
May check out the series if it gets that far.
Elayne Riggs (9:28 PM on Tue Feb 19, 2008)
I never watched the original, so I'm not likely to watch this version either, but as far as I'm concerned, William Daniels made that show. :)
Alistair Robb (10:33 PM on Sun Feb 24, 2008)
Hmmmm.
"He’s of the opinion that nobody in the media has any new ideas."
I would actually dispute that, though it is generally true, over the last few years there have been exciting and original shows. It started with 'Alias' then came 'Lost' then 'Heroes' and 'Jericho' '24' 'Prison Break'. All had new formulas or new spins on old formulas.