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By Richard Hamilton, March 30, 2009 12:08 pm

TV still dominates viewable media, but young people want more social media options. Read more at ReadWriteWeb.

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By Richard Hamilton, September 29, 2008 7:18 pm

Another one of my childhood TV staples has been resurrected. Despite the absence of the Hoff, Mr. Feenie’s voice and the Trans Am. In spite of the terrible two-hour made for TV movie. Against all odds, I managed to be excited about the return of Knight Rider as a series. I know that puts me in the vast minority or TV viewers, but I was truly excited.

Let’s dispense with the bad news first. The dialogue was cheesy, the plot was thin, and most of the characters were forgettable. No one should be surprised by this; I know I wasn’t. The same criticisms could be launched against the original show, (along with 99% of shows form the 80’s for that matter). Face it. Options were limited. Americans were bored. The car was cool. We still watched. Today, however, this is a much graver crime.

I also thought some of the effects were thin in this new Knight Rider. KITT jumps?? Not well. And the napalm-like bomb…what was that all about?

And I’m not sold on the new storyline either. Michael Knight’s “estranged” son, Mike Traceur, played by former soap star Justin Bruening, lost part of his memory in Iraq. (Apparently not the how to kick butt part.) His past comes back to haunt him in the middle of a mission and his FBI watchdog fakes his death. Of course, he now takes on his dad’s name (that seems like a good cover) and returns to the covert business of international hardcore-ness.

Now, I’m not a prude, but the sexuality of this episode seemed a little forced and unnecessary. Okay, a lot forced and not at all necessary to move the story along. I guess they thought that would attract a few more views.

With all of that out of the way, the good stuff. KITT looked good. The Cobra was tough. The transformations were great (even the truck…it was all very slick). I’m looking into getting an attack-mode kit for the Volvo.

I haven’t given up hope; you can’t judge a series by its premiere (we can collectively agree to ignore the two-hour “special,” can’t we? and pretend this was the very first we had seen of this new Knight Rider). Honestly though, NBC needs to kick Knight Rider up a notch. Today’s audience won’t tolerate shallow characters, cheesy dialogue, and meandering plots…at least not for long. Just ask disenchanted Lost fans. Let’s be open-minded and give it a few episodes and see where Knight Rider takes us.

I wonder how Germans feel about Justin?

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By Richard Hamilton, March 19, 2007 10:32 pm

Last fall I came home and turned on my television to find that my networks (CBS, NBC, ABC, and FOX) were no longer on my Dish package. In their place was a message from the CEO of my provider, reassuring the public and giving up instructions on how to help remedy this issue. When someone has a mini-dish, they may receive networks from another area. The networks sued the dish providers, claiming that this is illegal distribution of their product. Our civil servants in Congress were working hard to pass a bill to remedy this disservice to the American public.

The implications began to dawn on me: no 24, Lost, The Office. It would have to find a place other than my home to watch my OSU Buckeyes play in the national championship game (I wish I had missed the game altogether.)

So I did something I had never done before: I called my representative and senator and urged them strongly to remedy this situation as quickly as possible.

Several thoughts dawned on me later.

How sad is it with all the things that should motivate me to apply pressure to political leaders, the only thing that ousted me from my apathy were the loss of four channels on my TV.

As disturbing as that may be, I vote every election and many people don’t even do that. The 2006-midterm elections marked a rise in voter turnout because just over 40% of registered voters voted. That number doesn’t even include those who are not even registered. It is always a mistake to rely on the government for anything, but it is an arena where we can influence what takes place in our country and around the world.

Equally as disappointing was the trivial nature of the things that motivate me. I didn’t call anyone about foreign policy, civil rights, disaster and hunger relief, or even the war on terror, because those things are only a mild irritant to a selfish person like myself. It was only when my routine was interrupted as I spurred to action.

I know there are many people like me, but justifying my apathy does not change it.