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michael in vietnam

Posted: Sat Dec 10, 2005 12:47 am
by knightwalker
i was watching the episode (s2) where michael is in the swamp. i remember that he had been in the army or something, and then there was the fight between michael and cray... and cray says "you dont have a killer instinct" and he admits it and says, "you're damn lucky i dont"
i was on a site which said he was in vietnam... how would he have wen from soldier to cop? peace corps seems the most pheasible reason. i doubt this was every explained... how long would it have taken to finish cop school? or was he drafted or volunteered in the middle of his career, because he had a good rep, so he must have been a cop for awhile.
and if he didnt have a killer instinct, why would he be in vietnam? (i know this can be a sensitive issue, and i dont mean to start anything)
while he seems like the the type that would enlist, could he have been drafted if he didnt have a killer instinct? maybe he had seen too much killing and was against it, wanting to devote his life to protecting others.
i dont think this was ever explained or discussed anywhere, but its an interesting thought isnt it?

Posted: Sat Dec 10, 2005 9:01 am
by Knight2000
Michael was in Vietnam - he states it in the Pilot ep.

Not everyone who went to war had the 'Killer Instinct'. It's a quality that very few have. I don't know much about the Vietnam war, but in documentaries I've seen about WW1 (or was it 2?) talk about how most of the allies didn't actually shoot anyone - they just closed their eyes and pulled the trigger. Only a tiny portion (~1%) actually killed men [with their eyes open]. Of that, half were 'heroes' and half were 'psychos'.

I often think that any changes in his lifestyle were due to him getting shot in the Pilot. Being left for dead, then being revived - with a new life - probably changed his attitudes to life etc.

Posted: Wed Dec 14, 2005 12:34 am
by knightwalker
yeah, thats true. i guess its just they never made clear whether he was drafted or whatnot.
lol, another question:
in KR2000, theres the scene where Shawn is holding the shifter, and we can see all the memories... Am I nuts, or was that Michael sittin on the swing with her when they were kissing? Was there some romance before that was never explained? Because Michael's eyebrows lifted when he saw that, but I was so sure it was him in that scene...

Posted: Wed Dec 14, 2005 7:10 am
by Knight2000
I always thouhgt the swing scene was one of Shawn's fantasies. Or maybe her brain was blurring together dreams/memories?

Don't think anything was actually going on between them.

Posted: Wed Dec 14, 2005 5:54 pm
by Lost Knight
knightwalker wrote:yeah, thats true. i guess its just they never made clear whether he was drafted or whatnot.
lol, another question:
in KR2000, theres the scene where Shawn is holding the shifter, and we can see all the memories... Am I nuts, or was that Michael sittin on the swing with her when they were kissing? Was there some romance before that was never explained? Because Michael's eyebrows lifted when he saw that, but I was so sure it was him in that scene...
The first time we see her memory, it wasn't Michael swinging with her. My guess was that it was an old boyfriend or crush. The second time, she altered her memory which revealed that she was secretly attracted to Michael. At least that's the way I took it. I always hated that memory file thing in the movie, though. It seemed a little too weird and lame for the Knight Rider universe.

Posted: Wed Dec 14, 2005 9:04 pm
by FuzzieDice
Maybe it wasn't really HER that was attracted to Michael. Think about it - she had KITT's chip in her head. Maybe it was a reaction to KITT's loyalty and love for Michael as a friend and Shawn just interpreted it from a female point of view? Or something... ??