Back in the 80s

Michael Knight with Knight Rider, Jessy Mach with Street Hawk, Stringfellow Hawk with AirWolf and B. A. Barrackus & his van with A Team ..... my first exposure to American TV comprised mainly of these & other serials like McGuyver & Freegle Rock.

Those were the 80s & India wasn't a shadow of it's present booming-economy-IT-power self. Doordarshan ruled the airwaves, courtesy a governmant mandated monopoly. The Cold War was on & India being the USSR supporter that it was, there was no way it was going to telecast American TV shows. But I was lucky (very lucky, now that I look back at it).

You see, I happened to be neighbours with Bobby & Pappu ... 2 dudes slightly older than I was, and who were big time Americana devotees .... a craze that fed off the loads of stuff their dad used to bring back for them from the gulf where he worked. This included VHS recordings of the said TV shows & boy, did we love watching them!

The antics shown on these serials were hugely fascinating & totally never-seen-before (Hindi films had started their downward spiral into B & C Grade cinema that would continue until the mid 90s). The theme music of each of these serials also stood out (in fact, they make great ringtones these days). I remember watching the tapes for hours, & then watching them all over again at Bobby's place.

The vehicles shown were especially good to watch. All that could be seen on Indian roads then were Ambys, Padminis & Jeeps, so the American cars were an object of fascination. I think this was the time when the foundations of my current love for all things automotive were laid. Hell, I remember playing Grand Theft Auto Vice City (which was set in Florida, 1986) & choosing to drive the 'A Team' style vans even when sports cars were there for the taking.

Those were the great, carefree days of growing up & these serials are an integral part of them. No memory of those days will ever be complete for me without recalling these sleek black machines that still look so appealing.