Lost American heroes

The face of television has changed in the past decade -- and not for the better. There've been some good things, for sure. We've witnessed the rise of reality television and Fox's realization of its destiny as a network of unabashed trash (well, that and The Simpsons). That's right, I think these are actually good things. Reality TV will settle into a niche over time, just as sitcoms and talk shows have done. And come on! Fox is so shamelessly over the top that it's become an art form. The vaguely Australian butler on Joe Millionaire (and the momentous pre-commercial music) blew my mind.

No, these things aren't bad, and there are other advances. We've seen new channels appear: multiple cable news networks, insanely-specialized movie choices, nostalgia networks like TV Land, the Technicolor hallucinations of the Cartoon Network. Digital cable has given us around-the-clock information on upcoming shows. TiVo has made channel surfing obsolete. Soon, high-definition television will make the drawbacks of VHS more apparent than ever.

So what do I bemoan? When I was growing up, there was a certain genre of show that I adored, and it's vanished. To me, it was the epitome of high drama on television. I'm talking about all of the lone-man-against-evil series.

Think Quantum Leap. Knight Rider. And the granddaddy of them all, MacGyver. There were my meat and potatoes, my everyday entertainment nutrition. Each followed a single character through an endless succession of nefarious plots, guest stars, mysterious and exciting locations, and occasional recurring plot lines. Sure, there were sidekicks and organizations to work with -- people like Al and Gushie and Ziggy, and shadowy institutions like the Phoenix Corporation -- but the focus was on a lone man making our world better. David Hasselhoff will never do better work than he did as Michael Knight.

It didn't matter if they involved time traveling through beauty queens and monkeys or driving around in a witty talking car or building a satellite dish out of a wet towel and the underwire from a bra. These were shows about courageous, solitary heroes. They were everywhere in the '80s, and now they've disappeared.

(Please note that I do not consider The A-Team a part of this genre. Sure, the mercenaries are a virtuous and ragtag lot and they fight injustice, but they're just too numerous. Each episode has one or two new characters at best. No dice.)

It's not that these shows have all been cancelled -- understandable after all these years -- but that no shows have stepped in to fill the void. Where's the charming, resourceful Renaissance man? Where are the serious undertones and comic montages? Shows don't even do the opening credits in the same style anymore. I could (and can) recite the entire Quantum Leap opening monologue, and hearing the music brings every clip from the credits back to mind.

These shows had nearly endless possibilities. By traveling to new locations and stepping into different roles (particularly in undercover missions) for each episode, the characters stay fresh. MacGyver could do something different every week. No getting stuck in courtrooms for him. Take that, Law & Order!

Unfortunately, shows often disappear after cancellation even when they would have a dedicated audience of one (me) in syndication. I'm glad that Scott Bakula is gainfully employed on Enterprise, but I'd trade the Star Trek spin-off for one more season of Quantum Leap. The closest I can get to a Knight Rider fix on an average day is by watching Boy Meets World and waiting for Mr. Feeny to speak. William Daniels has one of those Robert Stack kind of voices that you recognize no matter the context. It sends chills down my spine to hear his voice coming from a man rather than a scanning red light.

These shows had action, drama, morals, disguises, strange scientific twists, and affable leading men. They featured bizarre organizations with mysterious purposes and funding. And they're gone.

Some may argue that this genre still exists. They cite The Pretender and Alias as modern-day successors to the lone-crusader legacy. I cry foul. First of all, Jennifer Garner may be hot, but she isn't good-reason-to-spend-another-hour-watching-television-on-Sunday hot (besides, she's working for the CIA. A real vigilante never works for the government. See flaws in later seasons of The A-Team). Second of all, The Pretender and Alias aren't Quantum Leap or Knight Rider or MacGyver. You can't even SPELL MacGyver with The Pretender or Alias. Third of all, I don't watch either of those shows, so you're clearly wrong.

And even if you're not wrong, that isn't the point. I miss my old shows. I miss the ridiculousness and the action and the drama. Seriously, I feel that Quantum Leap was an outstanding show. It had its lighthearted moments, but its mission was a heartfelt one. I won't stand you bad-mouthing Quantum Leap in my presence. So stop it.

Some may argue that I'm still wrong, that you can watch MacGyver on TV Land at midnight, that Quantum Leap and Knight Rider can be found on the Sci Fi Channel. Hmm. Interesting point. But they're not on enough, nor are they on at convenient times. I can't take myself seriously if I stay up until 1 a.m. everyday just to watch MacGyver. Sure, he can turn a coffin into a jet ski, but he can't restore missed sleep.

So what do I really want? I want TNN to pick up these shows and run them all the time (just as they have done with Star Trek: The Next Generation, Miami Vice, and American Gladiators, to name a few), preferably in place of Blind Date and Real TV. Look around the local networks. Friends is on three times per day, but I can't watch Quantum Leap? For shame.

But there is hope! The good people at TNN have preserved some pieces of '80s cultural history already, and I have high hopes that they will continue to do so. Besides, Young MacGyver is coming this fall.