Reviews

They should have changed the name of this program to "Ahmad Rashad & Reggie Miller's Show" a long time ago. I remember when NBA Inside Stuff first premiered back in 1990, as a kid I used to get up and channel surf on Saturday mornings. Invariably I would come across this show with Ahmad Rashad and the stunning and leggy Julie Moran, who remains my favorite sexy co-host (too bad she was only on for a year). Julie Moran we miss you! I will say that Summer Sanders is a great replacement for Willow Bay though, and not just because of her looks.

It seems like every other episode is about the overrated Reggie Miller and the lame Indiana Pacers. Somethings haven't changed in 15 years, because 80% of the shows are still about the over the hill Reggie Miller and the eternally boring Indiana Pacers. If that much air time was committed to Michael Jordan, Magic Johnson or Larry Bird I could totally understand it, or even Shaquille O'Neal. But Reggie Miller? WTF was/is that all about? Just like in 1990, the show is still slanted towards covering the east coast teams (which if you follow the NBA you know that Eastern Conference teams have been AWFUL since the late 80s), the Indiana Pacers, the New York Knicks, the New Jersey Nets, the Philadelphia 76ers, the Boston Celtics, all terrible basketball teams both in 1990 and still today in 2005. It will always be an east coast mentality in the world of sports, and especially with Ahmad Rashad and NBA Inside Stuff. While the show could be informative at times, they would nearly always pick obscure Eastern Confrence players and devote a couple of segments to them and how they are helping out some inner city youth league by donating time and money to them. Back then it was always about Dee Brown, Xavier McDaniel, Horace Grant or some other lukewarm early 90s Eastern Conference star, today it's a never ending series about Vince Carter, Jason Kidd or once AGAIN all about Reggie Miller and his ass ugly 6'10 man-sister.

Ahmad Rashad still remains the biggest suck up in sports, everyone who is a star in the NBA and any other sport for that matter is "his main man". Everyone is Rashad's "main man". Remember how embarrassing he would get with his ass kissing of Michael Jordan back in the early 90s? Yeah well somethings never change.

Let's face it, we have seen The O.C. many times before. It's nothing new. In the 80s it was called Dynasty. In the 90s it was Beverly Hills 90210. Soap operas about rich people in California leading fake and unrealistic lives, especially rich high school kids will always be popular. Nevermind that the typical O.C. viewer probably has a room temperature I.Q., somehow they were able to work their TVs enough to get this show to become a ratings smash hit. A young woman I teach, who is kinda too old to be watching a high school show at age 22, constantly talks about this show and how great it supposedly is. She's the typical O.C. viewer I am guessing, a party girl (young woman) who drinks and smokes weed non-stop and is basically lost in life. Lost and stuck wishing she was still a teenager, and probably thinks she still is one.

These kind of loser people embellish themselves in a show like The O.C., hoping this fantasy world could someday become their own reality. Hey it beats just sitting around getting trashed with your friends right? I decided to sit down and watched a few episodes before I passed judgment. Didn't take me too long to figure out that this was simply moron TV. It's completely shallow and superficial, built for the extra shallow and superficial high school kids and loser 20 somethings that have nothing better to do. The series revolves around a 35 year old man that is from "the wrong side of the tracks" and gets adopted by the attorney that was handling his case. This man then moves in with the attorney and his family, ooops I'm sorry, did I say 35 year old man? I meant to say he was a high school boy. Anyways this "boy" has a 5 o'clock shadow, a receding hairline, a couple of wrinkles under his eyes and is overall far too old looking to be a convincing high school kid. The actor who plays him is pushing 30 himself. Talk about a 90210 wannabe, right down to casting over the hill "teenagers" in roles.

Right away we are treated to several clichés in The O.C. The kid is adopted into the rich family and makes friends and girlfriends while picking fights and getting bullied. These are all things we have seen so many times before, and The O.C. does not do them in any kind of original way. By the way, 90210 was awfully lily White Anglo 10 years ago in 1995, and so too is The O.C. today in 2005. It seems like FOX has learned nothing in 10 years, and The O.C. actually seems worse then 90210 in this area, because the only non-Whites around are the servants and maids.

Stay away from this show, unless you want to see how it's loaded with all kinds of unintentional hilarity. If you are a high school kid and watching this show, I feel sorry for you. But at least you have an excuse, and well the show was made for "the cool people" of your demographic. So knock yourself out with this garbage. But if you are age 21 or over and watching this show, you are a loser. Grow up and get a life.

I give The O.C. a 2 rating instead of 0 because at least it's not a reality TV series.

2/10

In 1982 an unknown actor named David Hasselhoff burst onto the scene in a weekly Friday night series aired on NBC. Hasselhoff played Michael Knight on a brand new 80s vehicle oriented TV show (that frequently targeted boys) called Knight Rider to rival The Dukes of Hazzard on CBS.

Hasselhoff was what many in the industry call an "8 x 10", a perfect hunky man with shoulder length wavy hair and beaming smile. Hasselhoff was also gifted with a keen sense of humor and wit, which allowed many of the outrageous stories of Knight Rider to work and not be taken too seriously. Knight Rider was about an undercover cop named Michael Long who was betrayed and left for dead in the desert. Long was rescued by an eccentric billionaire by the name of Wilton Knight, who nursed Long back to health. Wilton Knight also gave Long a new face and identity as "Michael Knight". Knight convinced Long to use his police officer skills to help his private organization (The Foundation for Law and Government), and equipped him with a super car with artificial intelligence named KITT (Knight Industries Two-Thousand). The supporting actors like Edward Mulhare, Patricia McPherson complemented Hasselhoff wonderfully as Devon Miles and Bonnie Barstow. It is rare that a cast gels so well like this, and in many ways KR was more about the characters then the stories or KITT.

Despite some negative and absurdly over the top reviews here, Knight Rider remains one of the most fondly remembered action adventure TV shows of the 1980s. Knight Rider was not an L.A. Law or St. Elsewhere type drama, nor was it Harlan Ellison level science fiction, and it never tried to be. Knight Rider had some camp, but campy doesn't mean a dog meat series. Every single one of those action/adventure shows from the 80s like A-Team, Dukes of Hazzard, Blue Thunder, Airwolf, Hunter and MacGyver had plenty of instances of overt stupidity. They ALL had their "what the hell was that about?" moments. Every one of those 80s shows. So why is Knight Rider singled out and getting ridiculously picked on like this?

The show was a fun yet not too serious one hour adventure series. Many people here seem to be overly concerned with "looking cool" as adults and join in on the over the top teasing of a series that you know everyone loved back in the 80s. Stop trying to be so cool just because you're now an adult in the 2000s versus being the young kid that watched this show every week back in 80s. I highly recommend Knight Rider, (it will blow you away!) and check out the newly released DVD if you can. The Season 1 DVD has rich vibrant colors and sound, complete with an assortment of extra features that will keep you busy for days.

My Rating:

9/10