Knight Rider - Season 1 on DVD - General vs KITT thoughts

[Brian Coltrane]

While testing out the Dukes DVD link that takes ya over to Amazon.com - I noticed that there's a whole lot of 80's tv for sale in addition to the DOH DVD. Man, nostalgia has hit mass distribution! Considering all the reality tv on the air today, I'm predicting strong sales. Heh heh.

And it's no accident that the Knight Rider DVD is shown available underneath the Dukes DVD on the Amazon page. (So is the A-Team, in case that excites ya. ) Anyhow, Knight Rider is a show that many of us Dukes fans feel some affinity for. KR didn't have the longevity of DOH, and one of it's weak points in my humble opinion - besides the season where April replaced Bonnie Barstow ( yaaaugh! ) - was that KITT kept getting some superpart that ended up being critical to one ep and ep only. Gee, how handy is that!

The General Lee, in contrast, had it's own unique magic where it could jump an expanse of three miles and still land intact. Well, that was cool because it wasn't taken to beyond it's criteria set. We accepted that the General was fast, could spin on a dime, and could jump darn near anything and not bust into pieces. It was consistent. The General would also do things like get a tire blown out, and have an engine stall, and if shot in the radiator, would overheat. And some of the most refreshing sights in the show were the ones where the General went crashing into a pond. ( Ghost of General Lee, Canterbury Crock ) There was also an ep where Bo and Luke had the General on a raft and were trying to cross a river to escape the law....and the General slowly sank underwater. If the General Lee could talk, it probably would have been saying, "@#$&*!"

So the General was not impervious to everything, and for that reason, we could better appreciate the moments where the car did manage a spectacular jump, or executed a great manuever to shake the law from it's orange tail.

KITT, on the other wheel, was impervious to darn near everything except it's driver. ( Bahahaha! ) KITT seemed to have no middle-of-the-road problems ( shameless pun ) because either it triumphed over all, or it was darn near utterly destroyed.

We saw KITT nearly buy the junkyard in "Goliath" because Michael insisted on playing chicken with a molecular-bonded-shell semi truck of doom. Hello, bad idea. *WHAM!* "Michael, you sonofa...."

Okay, that's not what KITT really said, but you get the nuances. There was also an ep, I believe it was Junkyard Dog, where KITT is pushed into a pit of acid and melted alive. This moment had a scene that was unique to the show; KITT was calling for help, and of course there wasn't anything Michael could do. Man, I would not have wanted to face Bonnie after THAT one.

KITT recovers from all this to be completely trashed once more in the opening ep of the last season. ( Title evades me. ) The damage is also symbolic, as the show seemed to taking some desperate turns and veered away from what made it a success in the first place. KITT became over-enhanced and seemed bored with himself. You know the one thing KITT really needed was one of those nice automatic cup holders but I don't think Bonnie ever installed it.

Anyhow! I'm waiting for a computer graphics genius to create the General Lee vs. KITT scenarios that we'd all like to see. I'd pay a few bucks to see KITT go flying into Hazzard Pond..... "Michael! My trajectory indicates we will land in a body of water thrity feet deep - " *SPLASH!!*

[Chet Duke]

Thats a great piece of handy work there Brian, an Kitt sure sounds like one awesome car. But are you forgetting something very important? General Lee is not alone with his fantastic agility and character anymore, there are some great cars in Hazzard now.

An I know, you were talking about original General Lee the one from the show that all of us know and love so well. The General Lee that could do millions of stunts and get aways an stuff. But what about Ghost? General Lee's Ghost is son of the General Lee, he has a story of his own too. An hes up to date, he can compete with the modern day world and not the 80's.

There has never been a fic where General Lee and General Lee's Ghost have met head to head because General Lee existed in a whole other world, a world where the 440 magnum (GL's Engine) was highly respected as a great engine of its day. An i hate to put a damper on ya, but the 440 is outta date.

Kitt and General Lee were great cars, but what do you think about the modern day cars that we are all surrounded by? The modern American muscle that has been recreated from the original molds. (You know, like stock cars. Still got the old shell like a ol' Charger but a sooped up with a modern day engine that could rock the old engines)

Please take no offense by what I have said, I was just wondering what you think about the modern day stock that has taken over the old stock, like General Lee and Kitt.

[Brian Coltrane]

Chet, I was speakin' more towards the orthodox Dukes world, not fanfic forays, but that's awright. The General Lee vs. KITT scenario remains a fascinatin' "what - if " scenario.

My opinions on classic cars vs. modern are pretty opinionated. Heh! Give me a car built out of genuine steel, with a cast-iron engine block, and no electronic crap whatsoever, any day. That's just where I'm at. I honestly think there was more pleasure in drivin' before cars became so complex and expensive.

I am impressed by some modern cars, don't get me wrong. But they ain't my thang.

Brian

[dukesfan1979]

Hey Ya'll,

Just reading some of these older posts here about KITT vs The General Lee here....I remember back in about ohhh 1982 or 1983 I was going through the TV channels and distinctly remember stopping at NBC and there was a Gentleman standing by a orange 1969 Dodge Charger with the numerals "00" on the doors. I thought to myself "what the hell is this"

he goes on to say "you all know this car, It USED to be the hottest car

on television" he then turns to a brand new (at the time) black 1982 Pontiac Trans Am and says "This is Knight Rider and it can do more than jump puddles" he then goes to pat the Trans Am on the roof and it takes off like

a cat shot in the rump. End of commercial. This is how NBC decided the marketing of their new show "Knight Rider". To me it was a below the belt shot to CBS and The Dukes of Hazzard and The General Lee because NBC knew that CBS had such a winning show on their hands. First off in real life the 69 Dodge charger was a honest to goodness muscle car especially in the 383, 440 and 426 Hemi forms. It has the nicest body lines on an automoblie and is just a downright great looking car. The 1982 pontiac Trans Am was never a muscle car and it never will be. Ive driven these cars and they handle well but engine performance is lackluster to say the least. Pontiac lovers of the day were disappointed totally by this car. Nice looking, handled well, and excelerated like a 305V8 Chevy Caprice. The 69 Charger is by far, a much higher respected automobile than the lethargic early 80's Trans Ams> I dont even consider them to be in the same catagory. NBC tried to steal the Dukes of Hazzard audience with Knight Rider and what they really did was created a whole other fan base for an entirely different show with an entirely different car.

It all depends on what kind of show tickles your fancy. As far as the General Lee vs. KITT, there just isnt a comparison. The General Lee Dodge Charger is a automobile and television legend. The Knight Rider Trans Am is just a Trans Am with a fancy dashboard and that red scanner light built into the front nosepiece. Now, which car would you like to own?

Ill take the General.

[R.J.1984]

Ya' know - I myself happen to own a 1984 firebird with T-tops. I would love to own a General Lee but there are not to many kicking around that can be rebuilt. At least not here in Manitoba Canada. I myself am a hudge fan of both K.I.T.T as well as the General Lee. When I first started watching the shows I wasn't watching one more than the other, I would watch both as often as I could. Some people may think that if you watch both you are a traitor to one or the other but I happen to love both shows as well as both cars. Yes the General Lee was one of a kind as far as genuine muscle cars go - but K.I.T.T was one of a kind as well. In some wats K.I.T.T was a muscle car - it was sleek, stylish and fast. It may not have had the torque that G.L had but it also wasn't ment for racing as much as it was to look like it was fast. Power wise G.L is the winner - speedwise - I think K.I.T.T would win. Any engine can be suped up - thats no problem, but G.L could not jump three miles and nether could K.I.T.T.

K.I.T.T was supposed to be indistructable - in the show, but G.L was just a stock car built for racing. Trying to compare the two is in my opinion like trying to compare apples to oranges. They are two totally different things with almost nothing in common. Both Knight Rider and Dukes of Hazzard were great shows - I enjoyed watching them both. I would not take one over the other. Just like I enjoy watching the A-Team, SmallVille, 21 JumpStreet, Magnum P.I and others as well. I don't watch them because I like one more than the other - I just enjoy watching them.

[dukesfan1979]

Thanks for your views. In all honesty I wasnt trying to degrade anyones

personal vehicle with what I said. Really I didnt like what NBC did back in the early 80's to promote their new show. Also the 69 Dodge Charger is really my favortie car of all time. We all have different tastes in vehicles and that is cool.

[Brian Coltrane]

NBC was purposely trying to grab the Dukes audience, no doubt about that.

I'll give KITT this much, though. He had the vocabulary to hold his own at social occassions. Whereas if the General could talk, he would probably be limited to traditional Duke-speak like:

"Yeeehaaa!"

"You got that right."

"Uh-oh. There's Rosco."

Brian

[Julieduke]

I would like to see Rosco try to give Michael a ticket, or worse yet Michael would probaly get lost in the Yuchey Swamp.

[DukesFan82]

Ahhh, I remember "Knight Rider"! I watched the show since I was a little kid. I remember Kitt!