Growing up, Knight Rider was one of my favorite shows. I have been reading a lot online about the new Knight Rider movie that NBC is working on that they may turn into a tv series. With the technology today and HDTV I think this show could have some potential as long as Hoff has a role in it and William Daniels is back as the voice of K.I.T.T

NBC taps Liman for 'Knight Rider'
Network readying two-hour backdoor pilot
By JOSEF ADALIAN

Doug Liman
Liman

'Knight Rider'
Original 'Knight Rider' was a hit for NBC from 1982-86.
NBC is bringing back "Knight Rider," tapping Doug Liman to produce a "Transformers"-inspired reworking of the 1980s hit action-drama series about a man and his indestructible supercar.

Peacock is readying a two-hour backdoor pilot for the project, with tentative plans to air it as a telepic later this season. Liman is open to the idea of directing, assuming his feature sked allows. If the telepic clicks, a new-model "Knight Rider" could be on the air as early as next fall.

Dave Andron ("Raines") is writing the pilot script and will serve as supervising producer alongside exec producers Liman and Dave Bartis ("The O.C.," "Heist") for Universal Media Studios and Dutch Oven Prods.

Success of "Transformers" had a role in inspiring NBC Entertainment chief Ben Silverman's decision to revive "Knight." The thinking is that smallscreen f/x have advanced to the point where it'd be feasible to have a weekly series in which cars shift shapes.

It's also likely the new show will explore the idea of "evil" cars to offset the heroic talking K.I.T.T. car of the original skein, which starred David Hasselhoff. That said, skein is expected to essentially remain focused on the story of a single man fighting for justice with the help of his superadvanced car.

There's also huge potential for advertiser integration. General Motors was all over "Transformers," and it's easy to see NBC striking a rich deal with a single automaker to serve as the exclusive auto brand for the new "Knight." It's understood preliminary talks have already begun.

Peacock is also veering from current conventional wisdom by moving forward with a telepic/backdoor pilot for "Knight." Nets rarely produce telepics with an eye on turning them into series anymore, in part because the telepic has essentially disappeared from the broadcast network scene.

But NBC execs no doubt feel "Knight Rider" is enough of a pre-sold brand to lure an audience. What's more, the telepic could serve as a good replacement for repeats come spring, perhaps replacing an encore of "Heroes" or "Bionic Woman."

"Knight" originally aired on NBC from 1982 until 1986, with Hasselhoff playing smooth crimefighter Michael Knight. A spinoff skein, "Team Knight Rider," aired in syndication during the 1997-98 season.

Project was put together by CAA and Adam Kolbrenner of Madhouse Entertainment.

Glen Larson created the original "Knight Rider" for Universal Television.


NBC's Son of Knight Rider
by Josh Grossberg
Fri, 2 Nov 2007 11:41:02 AM PDT

It looks like KITT has himself a new partner.

NBC has tapped soap star Justin Bruening to front a new Knight Rider TV movie that could serve as a pilot to a revived series based on the '80s action-adventure about a crimefighter and his talking Trans-Am.

Per the Hollywood Reporter, the 28-year-old actor will play the son of Michael Knight, the original series' hero played by David Hasselhoff.

The 1982-86 Knight Rider chronicled how an undercover cop named Michael Long was gunned down on the job and then given a new face and identity by a secret, extragovernmental Foundation for Law and Government . Rechristened Michael Knight, after the dying billionaire behind FLAG, he is dispatched to fight baddies with his chatty sports car, KITT.

The souped-up, artificially intelligent Knight Industries Two Thousand features an arsenal that would make James Bond jealous: fire and bulletproof frame, turbo engine with superpursuit mode, spiked tires, radar and, presumably, a killer hi-fi.

This time out, the younger Knight's ride will feature more aftermarket mods, perhaps even morphing into a Transformers-like 'bot. The make and model of the new vehicle hasn't been announced, though. NBC is seeking an automaker to partner with for the retooled KITT.

Like Hasselhoff, who starred in The Young and the Restless before hitting it big in Knight Rider, NBC found its newest action hero in daytime TV. A model turned actor from Nebraska, Bruening spent four seasons on All My Children and had a brief run on One Life to Live; he has also guested on Cold Case and Hope & Faith.

Perhaps not so coincidentally, Bruening will be getting his first crack at a prime-time vehicle at the same age Hasselhoff was when the original Knight Rider launched.

The TV movie is being produced by Bourne Identity director Doug Liman, who may also direct the pilot if he can fit it into his schedule. NBC is shooting the telepic as a so-called backdoor pilot, meaning if the ratings are solid, it could become a series.

This isn't the first attempt to reboot the Knight Rider franchise.

Hasselhoff reprised his role for the 1991 TV movie Knight Rider 2000 but didn't return for two other follow-ups, 1994's Knight Rider 2010 and 1997's Team Knight Rider. His later attempts to rev up a Knight Rider movie wound up stalling in development.

NBC has not signaled whether the Hoff will make a cameo in the new TV movie. He is still in the Peacock stable, hosting America's Got Talent. He's also prepping Tales from the Hoff, a Ryan Seacrest-produced scripted series for E! that will follow his fictionalized escapades, à la Curb Your Enthusiasm.

Here is a conflicting report..

Hoff may be in new Knight Rider
By Tim Surette - TV.com
November 20, 2007 at 12:40:00 PM

David Hasselhoff "in talks" to reprise role in NBC's sequel to 1980s crime-driven show.

Knight Rider isn't Knight Rider without two things--the kick-ass sentient Trans-Am known as K.I.T.T., and the kick-ass David Hasselhoff, who starred as the show's lead.

NBC knows this, and is making efforts to secure the latter in its upcoming Knight Rider telefilm sequel. Hasselhoff is "in talks" with NBC to reprise his role as Michael Knight, according to The Hollywood Reporter.

Soap star Deanna Russo has been cast as the female lead for the film, which could be converted to a recurring television series should it perform well. Russo, who is featured in The Young & the Restless, will play the daughter of K.I.T.T.'s inventor and get Michael Knight's son (Justin Bruening) behind the wheel of the high-tech car.

Earlier this week, Sydney Poitier, the daughter of screen legend Sidney Poitier, was also cast in the film-pilot. She will play an FBI agent and antagonist to the main character.
What do you think?

I'll be checking it out. The writer's father is an AVS member and regular poster on the Hot Off the Press thread.

Cool. But will the car be?? What should the car be...

The main problem is that technology has pretty much caught up with Knight Rider as it was in the 80's.

Talking cars? Check
Cars that can drive themselves? Check
Molecular bonding making the car indestructible? Probably can be done with carbon fiber and titanium.
Remote communications back to HQ for instant information? Check

To wow the 21st century crowd, they'll need to add drifting, and probably make the new KITT an import tuner type car. Turbo-boost is too old hat - they'll need jet engines and Harrier style liftoff and hovering, with air to surface and surface to air missiles.

The damsel of the week will need to be a DOND quality supermodel.

The new hero will need to be an expert martial artist and a crack weapons expert. KITT will do the computer hacking of course.

Battlestar Galactica, Bionic Woman, now Knight Rider. What's next, The Incredible Hulk?:D

Battlestar Galactica, Bionic Woman, now Knight Rider. What's next, The Incredible Hulk?:D

LOL The Incredible Hulk will be a movie release next summer, I hope it's better then Hulk from a few years back.

Battlestar Galactica, Bionic Woman, now Knight Rider. What's next, The Incredible Hulk?:D
Airwolf would kick butt. Heck, even today, that helicopter still looks cool.

Of course, with all the movie stars wanting to do TV now, it would probably be the perfect time to bring back "The Fall Guy". A bounty hunter stunt man and countless movie star and director cameos? What could be wrong with that?

This and the A-Team were 2 of my favorite shows back inthe 80's. I am holding out hope for this, but for some reason I don't think it will survive.

Never liked the original...somehow I don't think a new version will survive as a new series.

I wish they would still use the original KITT, even today that car is so nice but im sure there arent enough around in good enough shape to use for stunts, etc..

I wish they would still use the original KITT, even today that car is so nice but im sure there arent enough around in good enough shape to use for stunts, etc..
At the very least, they had better not start off with the original KITT in a dumpster like they did with the TV movie. That pissed me off. Then they made the new car red and I was livid.

That was as insulting as Bo Duke having a sexual fetish with the General Lee in The Dukes of Hazzard film.

The problem with "rebooting" these shows is that the original concepts are WEAK, and only lasted due to the force of personality of the actors and warm nostalgia by us.

Think about it. Who did the A-team, MacGuyver, Knight Rider, Wonder Woman, Airwolf, Street Hawk, Automan, Manimal, etc fight? For the most part, petty thugs, small town unscrupulous land developers, crooked local politicians, etc. Folks you could defeat with one (or a couple) of guys and some cool tech.

But in the era of "24", we expect conflicts with massive corporations, huge terrorist cells, big conspiracies, etc. So when they reboot these older series the concept gets WAYYY to stretched out.

The new Bionic Woman is a perfect example. She has all the resources of this massive corporation behind her, yet Jaime frequently runs into trouble with no back-up, no body armor, poor intelligence, and no bionic support. So it seems retarded that if the corporation can casually make one BW, why aren't they taking trained spies/soldiers and turning THEM bionic? Why isn't Summers getting any training beyond random martial arts lessons?

Anyway, while I loved a lot of the 80's shows, trying to jazz them up just doesn't work unless they can really, really cast them correctly and keep it fresh. Unfortunately the lone wolf stuff won't cut it and saddleing Michael and KITT with a wacky team of crimesolvers is a pretty risky proposition.

And the idea of a transforming KITT is just plain retarded. If anyone could make something like that they sure as hell wouldn't let it drive around busting petty thieves.

And the idea of a transforming KITT is just plain retarded. If anyone could make something like that they sure as hell wouldn't let it drive around busting petty thieves.
If you saw the entire series, you would have seen many times when Michael and KITT were up against the "big" bad guys. The fact that they occasionally ran into small thugs was usually just in the course of their travels. Because he was part of an organization called the "Foundation for Law And Government" (essentially a private investigative force), Michael was compelled to render aid.

Michael's missions very often involved fighting the muscle from greedy land developers, environmental polluters, kidnappers, rogue members of the military or police and even terrorists. He also provided security for public figures and was called upon on a few occasions to protect the public from rogue members of FLAG itself.

Don't forget, KITT wasn't supposed to be released into the public. Michael all but stole him in the first episode to go after the organization (including Tanya) that tried to have him killed. That was the catalyst for he and KITT teaming up to fight for the oppressed. Don't forget what the opening narration says: Michael Knight, a young loner on a crusade to champion the cause of the innocent, the powerless, the helpless in a world of criminals who operate above the law.
While that implies large organizations, it can mean anyone - even petty criminals - that operates "above the law".

The main problem is that technology has pretty much caught up with Knight Rider as it was in the 80's.

Talking cars? Check
Cars that can drive themselves? Check
Molecular bonding making the car indestructible? Probably can be done with carbon fiber and titanium.
Remote communications back to HQ for instant information? Check
What car do you know that says anything other than "your door is ajar" - much less respond intelligently to a human? How many cars are actually out on the road driving themselves - especially with no one monitoring them? KITT's molecular bonded shell was designed to be applied like paint - anything else adds a great deal of weight and would not carry the "smooth as a baby's bottom" finish that KITT had. How many cars can videoconference back "home"? How many cars have fingerprint activated locks?

To wow the 21st century crowd, they'll need to add drifting, and probably make the new KITT an import tuner type car. Turbo-boost is too old hat - they'll need jet engines and Harrier style liftoff and hovering, with air to surface and surface to air missiles.

The damsel of the week will need to be a DOND quality supermodel.

The new hero will need to be an expert martial artist and a crack weapons expert. KITT will do the computer hacking of course.

How many cars can not only jump obstacles without the aid of a ramp, but land without one and not fold in half? Turbo boost and Super Pursuit Mode are still out of reach for any vehicle not built like a rocket or a tank.

KITT is the ultimate tuner car that could outperform any nitro-equipped Civic. KITT stood for America and would have to be an American brand name. In addition, KITT was environmentally friendly after being rebuilt to run on Hydrogen fuel cells.

KITT would not EVER have rockets or even guns. It goes against everything that Michael would stand for. Remember, even he never carried one except for one or two occasions where it was part of his cover during the mission.

If you remember, the "Damsel of the Week" (and the occasional lady villain) were often hotties specifically so Michael could seduce them.

Because, as I mentioned above, Michael did not carry a gun, he often used a bit of martial arts to subdue a villain.

Previous attempts to revive this concept ('Knight Rider 2000' and 'Team Knight Rider') failed miserably. I'm not holding out too much hope.

I did like the gag in Knight Rider 2000 about "President Quayle", though. :)

nothing will bring back or come close to the original KR

You have a good memory NetworkTv :D

And I would hardly call Michael's fighting style "martial arts", all of the fighting from the 80's was cheesy, but we loved it :)

And I would hardly call Michael's fighting style "martial arts", all of the fighting from the 80's was cheesy, but we loved it :)
I didn't say it was good martial arts.... Of course, he did wear cowboy boots, jeans and a leather jacket. You try fighting someone in that... ;) :D

Here's some new info:

http://www.zap2it.com/tv/news/zap-brucedavisonknightridercasting,0,7364841.story?coll=zap-news-headlines

Something tells me there will be an episode where the new Kitt has to go up against an older version of himself.

Casting sounds cool. Not sure on the shelby mustang, seems a little boxy/short to be Kitt but the car rocks.

I didn't say it was good martial arts.... Of course, he did wear cowboy boots, jeans and a leather jacket. You try fighting someone in that... ;) :D


Good point, then I agree with you :D

The new K.I.T.T? :D
http://www.rsportscars.com/foto/04/shelbycs606_01.jpg

Exclusive First Pictures of KITT From The New Knight Rider TV Series: Yes, It's a Shelby GT500KR
http://jalopnik.com/cars/knight-rider/exclusive-first-pictures-of-kitt-from-the-new-knight-rider-tv-series-yes-its-a-shelby-gt500kr-327687.php
UPDATE: Sources with the involved companies tell us this is the real car -- the actual car to be used in the show. But, because "it wasn't working at the effects studio yesterday," someone did photoshop the red light. Our detective work's paid off on yesterday's rumor on the new KITT. Now not only do we have off the record confirmation from the "involved parties" that KITT will lose the GM third generation F-body (and legions of mullet-swinging fans), but also that he'll be moving up a few steps on the horsepower ladder. That's right, everyone's favorite talking car (no, not spelled K-A-R-R) will be played by a black-with-gray-stripes 550 HP Ford Shelby GT500KR Mustang in the new Knight Rider TV show. And thanks to a very helpful tipster who's preference is to remain anonymous (we don't blame 'em) we've got the proof to show you -- photos taken from inside of the vehicle build facility out in LA where they're prepping the new Knight Industries 'stang for Cylon-like close-ups. Yes friends, this is the new KI Two Thousand -- who wants to touch it? I said, who wants to touch it? OK, well how about just your two cents? Anybody?
http://cache.jalopnik.com/assets/images/gallery/12/2007/11/medium_2072386682_39e29522d0_o.jpg
http://cache.jalopnik.com/assets/images/gallery/12/2007/11/medium_2072386494_afc3477137_o.jpg
http://cache.jalopnik.com/assets/images/gallery/12/2007/11/medium_2072386306_aa57af468a_o.jpg

Does it have a "C" mode?

Damn that car is hot.

If this were on any channel other than NBC I'd watch it.

I don't want to see pop ups telling me what I am watching, what comes on next, what comes on in 4 days, and a commercial for tampons pop up after every other commercial break.

Oh yeah plus my local affiliate sends HD programming at 11.5 mbps.

While the car is hot, it is horrible for KITT. Looks to common for other mustangs on the road, something you see every day. Doesn't do it for me.

While the car is hot, it is horrible for KITT. Looks to common for other mustangs on the road, something you see every day. Doesn't do it for me.
Not to mention, it comes from the wrong company.

I'd rather see a concept version of a "future" Trans Am that takes cues from the old one - even if GM never developed it.

It had better at least be portrayed as an alternative fuel vehicle like the original KITT was.

Good looking car but I agree NetworkTV. I'd figure with Chevy looking to re-introduce a Camaro they'd want a shot at capitalizing on KITTS former identity as a Trans-Am as well and use it as a launch for their new platform.

They've already done the transforming Camaro thing.;)

While the car is hot, it is horrible for KITT. Looks to common for other mustangs on the road, something you see every day. Doesn't do it for me.
Ummmmmm you have seen the original Knight Rider right? From the outside K.I.T.T was basically a standard Trans Am with tinted windows and black rims. I would much rather have the Shelby than them turning K.I.T.T into that ridiculous looking red spaceship from the last tv movie. :rolleyes:

Ummmmmm you have seen the original Knight Rider right? From the outside K.I.T.T was basically a standard Trans Am with tinted windows and black rims. I would much rather have the Shelby than them turning K.I.T.T into that ridiculous looking red spaceship from the last tv movie. :rolleyes:

Yes, but at the time it looked cool, there where not that many of them. The shelby in those shots look like the other millions of mustangs on the road (I know, probably not millions but you get my point). They need something unique, not the car sitting in my neighbor's driveway.

I used to see lots of Trans-Ams on the road back when Knight Rider was on.

As for a remake... I'm not convinced it is a good idea. For as much as I liked the original when I was younger... I'm not sure a rehash would be enough better to warrant the effort.

I personally think that KITT was, and should always be, an '82 Trans-Am. It was the character. You wouldn't expect the General Lee to be updated to a new Charger would you? If they absolutely had to update KITT, I think this would be a better fit for his personallity:
http://farm1.static.flickr.com/89/228597183_0c1ffa795a.jpg?v=0
http://farm1.static.flickr.com/64/228597180_d639e63342.jpg?v=0
Of course, how are you going to eject a passenger with a fixed roof coupe?

12 episodes before it is canned...probably will go the way of Bionic Woman.

NBC is really out of ideas.

Pontiac has been thinking about bringing back the Firebird (another Muscle car by 2010 could also be the GTO), if its the Firebird someone is probably designing the concept they should have tried getting that it probably would also help launching the car.

If the tv-movies are considered... KITT hasn't been a Trans-Am for a while. I think he was a Corvette or something after the 2000 movie. KITT might complain about a downgrade! :)

If the tv-movies are considered... KITT hasn't been a Trans-Am for a while. I think he was a Corvette or something after the 2000 movie. KITT might complain about a downgrade! :)
I'd have no problem with a Corvette. It's in the same family and has the same style of sleek lines that the Trans Am did.

I'd have no problem with a Corvette. It's in the same family and has the same style of sleek lines that the Trans Am did.

If KITT is a rustang then the series is shot. I could go along with KITT as a Corvette. At least that is a respectable car.

GM IS STUPID, STUPID, MORE STUPID THAN GOMER PYLE. Why is it GM drops Camaro and Firebird just as every other car brand is building new sports cars???

Bring back the Firebird and stick a large 6 liter engine inside. :D

Pontiac has been thinking about bringing back the Firebird (another Muscle car by 2010 could also be the GTO), if its the Firebird someone is probably designing the concept they should have tried getting that it probably would also help launching the car.

When Chevy brought back the Camaro they asked Pontiac about the Firebird and their chief said no way, no how. The firebird is NOT coming back. This according to an artical in Motor Trend. We'll see.

If KITT is a rustang then the series is shot. I could go along with KITT as a Corvette. At least that is a respectable car.

I'm surprised about how passionate people are about the car. I enjoyed watching Knight Rider as a kid, but I had no idea what kind of car it was. As long as it is some type of sports car and not a ridiculous toy car like a Volkwagon Bug or a Smart Fortwo or something, I don't really see the problem.

I'm surprised about how passionate people are about the car. I enjoyed watching Knight Rider as a kid, but I had no idea what kind of car it was. As long as it is some type of sports car and not a ridiculous toy car like a Volkwagon Bug or a Smart Fortwo or something, I don't really see the problem.
People are passionate about the car because the car was a character in the show.

Michael without KITT would be like Ponch without John. KITT wouldn't be the same as a Mustang any more than as a Dodge Ram.

People are passionate about the car because the car was a character in the show. Michael without KITT would be like Ponch without John. KITT wouldn't be the same as a Mustang any more than as a Dodge Ram.

I could be totally wrong about this, because I'm not really a car person, but I suspect that for most viewers, the character was the voice coming out of the dashboard, and not the car itself. I doubt there will be much uproar among the viewers of the new series because of a change of body styling around the CPU. If TV watchers can ultimately get over Starbuck as a woman, and Boomer as a female/cylon, I imagine they'll get over KITT being a Mustang.

Of course, there aren't many mustangs as smokin' hot as Grace Park. I suppose that's a factor. ;)

Well they did change Bumblebee into a Camaro.;)

New Camaro, new Challenger, Vette or Viper. The Mustang doesn't seem right for some reason.

If they do it, I predict it will bomb anyway.

It needs to be a Bugatti, http://www.automobilemag.com/reviews/exotic/0606_2007_bugatti_veyron/photo_05.html

I could be totally wrong about this, because I'm not really a car person, but I suspect that for most viewers, the character was the voice coming out of the dashboard, and not the car itself. I doubt there will be much uproar among the viewers of the new series because of a change of body styling around the CPU. If TV watchers can ultimately get over Starbuck as a woman, and Boomer as a female/cylon, I imagine they'll get over KITT being a Mustang.

Of course, there aren't many mustangs as smokin' hot as Grace Park. I suppose that's a factor. ;)
The problem is, KITT was always a slick, black, aerodynamic bullet. The mustang is none of those things.

There were so many references throughout the series about KITT's looks as a car, it's hard to see anything but that slim, sleek missile of a vehicle.

The problem is, KITT was always a slick, black, aerodynamic bullet. The mustang is none of those things.

There were so many references throughout the series about KITT's looks as a car, it's hard to see anything but that slim, sleek missile of a vehicle.

+1. However, the original KITT was at first going to be a 280ZX. Thankfully that didn't happen!

New KITT car for Knight Rider movie unveiled
http://www.tvsquad.com/2007/12/12/new-kitt-car-for-knight-rider-movie-unveiled/
http://www.blogsmithmedia.com/www.autoblog.com/media/2007/12/nup_113130_0067-1_opt.jpg

Somehow it doesn't "look" like a talking car.

I still love it

I don't see a signature Cylon red eye on the car anywhere. Also don't dig the Fast and Furious rear spoiler. Other than that, looks pretty good.

It was announced that the TV movie will air on Feb. 17 and will act as a pilot for a potential TV series.

This is going to have to be one heck of a show to get me to watch. I was a huge fan of the original. That show got me interested in computers and TV production after reading a behind the scenes write up in a computer magazine - and I deal with both aspects as my career. I have the DVD sets and I still have a copy of that computer magazine from 1983.

However, this is wrong. The car is wrong. The voice for KITT is wrong. The new "Michael" looks like he needs a sandwich. I'll be very surprised if the show doesn't suck. I honestly though that the fugly red KITT, having the car float on water or reviving someone through the gearshift of a 57 Chevy were the bottom of the barrel for the post-series Knight Rider productions. I'd almost even take "Team Knight Rider" of this idea.

Finally, though, where's the semi? Where's the April or Bonnie character? Does FLAG even come into the story at all?

Perhaps it's time to add another DVD to my Netflix plan to fill the time that won't be occupied by TV.

I don't see a signature Cylon red eye on the car anywhere. Also don't dig the Fast and Furious rear spoiler. Other than that, looks pretty good.

That version is known as the "KITT Attack." There are actually 3 cars they're going to use, as noted in the article.

This car is the remote car, which is remote-controllable up to 1 mile away:
http://img70.imageshack.us/img70/9403/remotevy4.jpg

And this one is the KITT Hero car, which will play the part of the everyday car:
http://img152.imageshack.us/img152/3505/herotb9.jpg

I'd almost even take "Team Knight Rider" of this idea.
.

Don't forget they had a Mustang as one of the Team Knight Rider cars. So even that idea isn't new.

I would have much preferred it if it at least the car didn't turn into other things. That's just dumb beyond Automan levels of dumb. It's even approaching Highwayman levels of truck-that-turns-into-a-helicopter stupid.

When all logic fails it's time to bring out the nanotechnology!

" the new KITT (Knight Industries Three Thousand) is absolutely the coolest car ever created: its supercomputer capable of hacking almost any system; its weapons systems efficient; and its body -- thanks to its creator's work and nanotechnology -- is capable of actually shifting shape and color."

I've been chuckling about KITT being a Mustang since I read the PR.

Too bad - it's a killer Mustang but I was sure they'd so something more exotic, or heck even keep it a GM and a (like someone mentioned) a new Z06 (all blacked out!), a new proto-Camaro, or if you're going to go a different direction, even a Viper would have been tasty.

If they wanted to go domestic *and* exotic, a Saleen S7 would have fit the bill too (though several of those for stunts and whatnot would probably exceed the shows budget by like 10X :D )

Let me take this moment to mention that the Bugatti Veyron is the most God awful piece of automotive design ever. At least the link above in a sedated gray tones helps (the bright blue two-tone scheme is the $1M clown car).

Of course, how are you going to eject a passenger with a fixed roof coupe?

Make sure it's a '06 or '07 before the roof recall. :D

;12483070']or if you're going to go a different direction, even a Viper would have been tasty.


Already done.

How quickly/thankfully we forget ....

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=suIHb6x6lDw

I forgot that VIPER changed color and shape as well so that's not new for Knight Rider 2008 either! And it was on NBC as well.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rPgHO55aYtQ&feature=related

Already done.

How quickly/thankfully we forget ....

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=suIHb6x6lDw

I forgot that VIPER changed color and shape as well so that's not new for Knight Rider 2008 either! And it was on NBC as well.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rPgHO55aYtQ&feature=related

OMG! You know how much therapy it took to forget about that?!

Hahaha, nice recall!

Wasn't there some kind of 4x4 mode?

;12483070']If they wanted to go domestic *and* exotic, a Saleen S7 would have fit the bill too (though several of those for stunts and whatnot would probably exceed the shows budget by like 10X :D )
Not necessarily. In the original, for the long jumps, they had a copy of KITT molded out of foam. They actually launched the foam copy of the car out of a big air cannon, then cut to the real car making a much more gentle landing.

;12483235']Wasn't there some kind of 4x4 mode?
On Viper or Knight Rider?

At one point KITT had to chase down some dirt bike riders and they installed retractable spikes in his tires.

Not necessarily. In the original, for the long jumps, they had a copy of KITT molded out of foam. They actually launched the foam copy of the car out of a big air cannon, then cut to the real car making a much more gentle landing.

On Viper or Knight Rider?

At one point KITT had to chase down some dirt bike riders and they installed retractable spikes in his tires.

Oh I was just kidding around, I know most shows with repetitive car stunts use models, mockups, etc. :D

Viper - I thought there was some kind of 4X4 mode? Lemme Wiki it :D

No mention of an offroad mode (but a Season 4 hovermode), it did say that nanotechnology was used for the transformation/repair modes (so another nice pilfer for the new KR).

Of course the pioneer for offroad mode tires was Speed and the Mach 5 :)

Why wreck 50 corvettes when the mustang is much more deserving ;)

I'm sure they gotta have about 30 or 40 for a full season.

that is really optimistic.

But you never know, maybe people like eating old cheese again.

You gotta remember its gotta be a car that they can wreck, so its gotta be a production car. I'm sure they gotta have about 30 or 40 for a full season. Why wreck 50 corvettes when the mustang is much more deserving ;)
Like I said above, while Knight Rider did have a few banged up cars over the years, they didn't wreck even as many cars over 4 seasons as the number of Mustangs that were wrecked in the remake of "Gone in 60 Seconds". The really big jumps were done with a full size foam replica of the car that they launched with air power. They did make a few different KITTs for stunts, beauty shots, etc (including one with back seat driving controls for some "Auto Pilot" shots), but those were mostly to allow the brakes to be modified to induce power slides in turns.

When the show started, there was only one KITT and it was horribly built. The wiring for the front scanner was a spliced in rats nest and the interior barely held together (you can see threads pulling out of the ceiling liner in a few early episodes). The hood hadn't yet been modified to even accept the front scanner. As a result, in the early episodes, the hood is actually ajar to accomidate it. Once the show was assured a full season, a few more were built to better standards - along with "CARR" for the "Trust Doesn't Rust" episode. None of the cars had working voice modulator panels - almost every dash shot was a studio shot. The dash boards were later upgrade to include the new modulator pattern and color monitors. In the fourth season, a "Super Pursuit Mode" car was also built and the beauty car was a convertable.

Even after 7 seasons of "The Dukes of Hazzard" (a show that was really rough on cars), I believe they only went through a couple of dozen General Lees - 8 of which survive today. Granted, if you look close enough, you'll see the model year change a few times throughout the series, but that's not too bad for all the hard jumping that was done. Now, the police cars were another matter.... ;)

I'm surprised about how passionate people are about the car. I enjoyed watching Knight Rider as a kid, but I had no idea what kind of car it was. As long as it is some type of sports car and not a ridiculous toy car like a Volkwagon Bug or a Smart Fortwo or something, I don't really see the problem.


I was well aware KITT was a Trans Am before I knew any other make of car.

You have to remember the 80's were very different than today. Most family cars were lucky to have 90HP or 100 HP engines that might make 60 mph in 10 seconds. The 1984 Mustang GT back then was 175 HP. The Trans Am was putting out 215 HP. The difference was Firebird had two different V8's. They had the 5.0 liter V8 that was more comprable to the Mustang GT, but Firebird also had a top of the line Trans Am with the Corvette 5.7 liter engine. The best part is these cars were cheap. A new 1984 Firebird would cost around $7,000. If you wanted the bigger engine add another $500. Anyone could afford these cars.

The rustang the show will use is a 50K car and in todays world it is not so different from other cars. Back in the 1980's if you owned a 5.7 liter Trans Am, you were probably the fastest car on the road. Today if you own a Shelby you are not that much faster than a BMW or Lexus or other 4 door family cars with 300 HP engines. This makes the rustang a less desirable car. It costs more and does less. At least if the show used a Corvette they would be getting a car that is the fastest car on the road. The newest Corvettes have 7.0 liter engines that produce over 500 HP. Granted, it is a 70K car, but at least people will believe it can outrun a Mercedes.

I was well aware KITT was a Trans Am before I knew any other make of car.
I didn't know what it was at first. However, when "CARR" came around, there was a line from KITT something along the lines of "he's an insult to the Trans-Am name". Of course, it also helped sell it that there was a firebird logo on the rear lighting panel...

The one question I have at this point is, will they reshoot the same desert shots they used in the original opening credits or will we get some flipping flashy montage? If they go with the old school look, what are the odds it'll still be purple? That was originally a specific request from Glenn Larson - he thought the purple desert shots looked futuristic.

I didn't know what it was at first. However, when "CARR" came around, there was a line from KITT something along the lines of "he's an insult to the Trans-Am name". Of course, it also helped sell it that there was a firebird logo on the rear lighting panel...

The 80's Firebird was the easiest car to identify. It had pop up headlights. The tail lights were one long peice and unlike any other car on the road at the time. When you sit inside it is like a cockpit of a fighter jet, a small tight space and when you hit the gas you really speed up much faster than anything else on the road.

The best thing about 80's Firebirds was they gave much more HP than other cars of the time, but there was no modern technology like anti-lock brakes. If you were a skilled driver you could make this car do anything. If you were unskilled you could kill yourself easily.

I have a friend who purchased a 2007 minivan with a 250+ HP engine (more than any sports car of the early 80's), it has anti-lock brakes and a computer to correct steering. It even has a LCD screen that displays what is behind the car when backing up. The cars of today take no skill to drive. Maybe Knight Rider is better left to the 1980's. It is too different a time period. In the 1980's it was believable that a police officer in a 4 door squad car could be out driven by a sports car. No anti-lock brakes means the driver must have skill to avoid sliding off the road or getting in an accident-- and at 110mph it means death. It was more exciting. Today you can't get away with anything.

The one question I have at this point is, will they reshoot the same desert shots they used in the original opening credits or will we get some flipping flashy montage? If they go with the old school look, what are the odds it'll still be purple? That was originally a specific request from Glenn Larson - he thought the purple desert shots looked futuristic.

It will probably be all new. I doubt they will reshoot any old scenes. LOL, it would be funny to see a rustang going down a desert road and hear the Knight Rider theme.

Knight Rider... a shadowy flight into the dangerous world of a man...who does not exist. Michael Knight...a young loner on a crusade to champion the cause of the innocent, the helpless, the powerless, in a world of criminals who operate above the law.

In the 1980's it was believable that a police officer in a 4 door squad car could be out driven by a sports car. No anti-lock brakes means the driver must have skill to avoid sliding off the road or getting in an accident-- and at 110mph it means death. It was more exciting. Today you can't get away with anything.

Ah but you are forgetting, the car will probably be powered by nanotechnology! The engine won't run on gas it will run on antimatter that puts the nanobots in a super excited state and and the wheels will be turned by nanobots spinning them really fast. It will be able to outrun anything as long as the nanobots don't get tired.

It's like the Flinstones on a much smaller scale.

Once this show tanks, will HDNet pick it up?

Airwolf would kick butt. Heck, even today, that helicopter still looks cool.
OT: We have quite a few Bell 222's flying around the NY Metro area. Even the stock version (without the rocket launchers/turbo's, etc...) looks really sharp.

With the state of CGI today- even Airwolf could be done at a reasonable cost now.
If you watched the original series, the first season had lots of actual flying in the helicopter. With $1 million/episode budget (that's back in 1884!) they could afford the real thing. As season 2,3 & 4 progressed the budget shrunk to $300,000/episode by season 4 and most of the flying footage was simply recycled from the first and second seasons. The tight budget limited the scripts, and pretty much made the show unwatchable at that point.
I'm actually surprised no network has shown any interest in reviving Airwolf ??

Oh... and just so this post has something to do with the original thread topic.... Airwolf would kick Kitt's butt :D:D:D

http://www.modelis.lt/images/airwolf.jpg

Already done.

How quickly/thankfully we forget ....

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=suIHb6x6lDw

I forgot that VIPER changed color and shape as well so that's not new for Knight Rider 2008 either! And it was on NBC as well.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rPgHO55aYtQ&feature=related

I didn't know it continued in syndication and had a total of 78 episodes. That Frankie guy was annoying. The transformation was a ripoff of the Batmobile shield in the Batman movies.

Maybe Knight Rider is better left to the 1980's. It is too different a time period.

That's my initial reaction. While the technology was impressive in the 80s, it's going to take more than a bulletproof car that can jump to keep an audience today.

That's my initial reaction. While the technology was impressive in the 80s, it's going to take more than a bulletproof car that can jump to keep an audience today.

I agree. The science (fictional) elements will need to be way out there and I'm afraid they'll just have to get silly.

"Michael, this is the new KITT.

It can morph into any shape, has a 3000 IQ, it can create matter, travel through time and resurrect the dead. It also has the sum total knowledge of all civilizations from the entire universe.

It is also The Creator, so feel free to call it KITT, God, Allah, Yahweh, etc.

I see there's a bank robbery occuring, good luck!"

;12483782']

Of course the pioneer for offroad mode tires was Speed and the Mach 5 :)

Hollywood has gotten a hold of that property and a CGI + live action movie is slated for 2008. Yes. It looks really dumb too.

Yes. Hollywood is going to mess up that classic too.

3rd and 4th Gen TA owner here and it is appalling to think that the Mustang will headline this show. I would much rather see a Corvette or some Pontiac concept . GM was in Transformers so I can see why NBC went with another brand for NeoKR.

I'm giving NeoKR the pilot plus 12 eps. then it will end up on SciFi as reruns right after Bionic Hymen and Flush Gordon.

This is a non-starter because it's NBC (not that the other networks are really that much better).

It will probably be bad. See Bionic Woman.
If it's good, no one will watch and it will get canceled. See Journeyman.

If a miracle happens and it's both good and stays on the air, I'll get the DVDs later. I'm tired of wasting my time.

My very first car was a bright red 1983 Firebird which I traded in for an awesome 5.7 1987 Trans Am GTA. Black!!! Coolest car I ever owned!

I wish they would still use the original KITT, even today that car is so nice but im sure there arent enough around in good enough shape to use for stunts, etc..


Yes, but they will probably use the new 08 Camaro as seen in the Transformers movie... which will be total blasphemy for any Pontiac man such as myself. :) Actually, the Chevrolet Volt (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chevrolet_Volt) properly badd-azz-ized would be a nice modern twist on the original F car.

Whatever they do, they better keep that original base-heavy theme music. No Grunge or Pixies like update!!!

Not to mention, it comes from the wrong company.

I'd rather see a concept version of a "future" Trans Am that takes cues from the old one - even if GM never developed it.

It had better at least be portrayed as an alternative fuel vehicle like the original KITT was.

Ok I just saw that they picked a Found On the Road Dead!!!!!!! This show is gonna tank big time. I would wager that I (& most other 40 somethings who were there with every episode of the original) do not want to see freaken' Ford's running in this. I can't believe that they at least did not try to get the 08 Camaro.

Pontiac has been thinking about bringing back the Firebird (another Muscle car by 2010 could also be the GTO), if its the Firebird someone is probably designing the concept they should have tried getting that it probably would also help launching the car.

They may be be thinking about it, but the only Zeta platform (rear wheel drive) Pontiac is going to get for a while is the New-New GTO & some kind of 4 door derivative. At least while Bob Lutz is still around.

That's my initial reaction. While the technology was impressive in the 80s, it's going to take more than a bulletproof car that can jump to keep an audience today.

The original KITT was believable even with all it's futuristic technology. Is it possible to make a car bulletproof? In the 1980's there were 2 cars that were bulletproof-- the USA Presidents limo and KITT. Is it possible to make a car super fast? In the 1980's all this means is to have a car that can do 0-60 in 6 seconds and it would be fast, not under 4 seconds of today top sports cars. Everything was believable. Computers were new to most Americans in the 1980's. It was the time of Apple IIe's and cassette tape drives. Is it so outrageous to put a computer in a car?

Lots of the new tech in the 80's KITT is for real in cars today. KITT had a navigation system. Cars today have GPS. Cars today have DVD players and televisions and voice enabled commands. The stuff KITT did in the 80's was believable.

What can the new Knight Rider do that is technologically advanced, but remain believable? Cars today can do 0-60 in 3.6 seconds. Will they add a jet to the back of KITT and make it to 0-60 in 1 second. Or will they add wings to KITT and make it fly? Will any of this be believable?

If they remake Knight Rider, keep it believable. Don't make it a transformer. Focus the story on crime fighting. Let the car be a background character.

There is one more reason rustang sucks. There is no WOW factor. If Knight Rider picked a Corvette there would be more WOW factor.

Yikes! Hahaha, no love for the Mustang. I guess they figure their target demographic for the show, overlaps the buyer demo they target with a Mustang.

The main problem is that technology has pretty much caught up with Knight Rider as it was in the 80's.

Talking cars? Check
Cars that can drive themselves? Check
Molecular bonding making the car indestructible? Probably can be done with carbon fiber and titanium.
Remote communications back to HQ for instant information? Check

To wow the 21st century crowd, they'll need to add drifting, and probably make the new KITT an import tuner type car. Turbo-boost is too old hat - they'll need jet engines and Harrier style liftoff and hovering, with air to surface and surface to air missiles.

The damsel of the week will need to be a DOND quality supermodel.

The new hero will need to be an expert martial artist and a crack weapons expert. KITT will do the computer hacking of course.


Hmm not quite : Talking cars Yes i agree but CLOSE YOUR DOOR OR TRUNK IS OPEN phrases are not even close to what KITT is supposed to be. Self driving cars well.... sorta , everything else i agree with you.


Now i just want to know WHO IN THE HECK!! would pick that FORD as KITT!!, obviously someone who didn't grow up watching the series in order to see that the FORD in any way resembles the REAL KITT at all. Now as someone here posted pictures of a Black Z06, i totally agree that car would it done it WAY!!! better than the Ford Gt500KR, a couple of reasons i think it has that Aerodynamic look that the Original Trans am had, the front end of the car works way better for the scanner light and is a GM vehicle, like the old Trans Am was. As a huge fan of the original tv show i don't think the new series is going to survive the public. But im sure someone already made a study of the market before they went and dumped all that money into making it. Also i found out the voice of Kitt is not being played by William Daniels which makes me very sad too because there is no reasson not to. WHAT ARE THEY GOING TO TELL ME ? hes too old to talk now?, like they said David hasselhoff is which i sorta agree but we all were hoping the return of Michael Knight played by hasselhoff. At least i did.

Now i wanted to share something i found i think 4 years ago while surfing the net and i thought it was cool and a good looking KITT for the time.

http://i82.photobucket.com/albums/j252/Boxerpower05/Boris%20Pictures/KRposter.jpg

http://www.autoblog.com/2008/01/06/nbc-releases-second-knight-rider-tv-spot/
http://www.autoblog.com/2007/12/24/video-first-knight-rider-teaser-trailer-airs/
"Hello Mike"

WTF it's "hello Michael" and that voice sounds ridiculous!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_OptexCC6Sc&feature=related

Okay, I haven't been reading this thread and I just saw the promo the other night. A FORD?!?!?!? I know comments have already been made but a FORD?!?!?!? Some things just shouldn't be. That like putting the Bandit in the General Lee. It's just wrong!

Okay, I haven't been reading this thread and I just saw the promo the other night. A FORD?!?!?!? I know comments have already been made but a FORD?!?!?!? Some things just shouldn't be. That like putting the Bandit in the General Lee. It's just wrong!

I can't say I'm a very big fan of the ford either

If they wanna make KITT Fixed Or Repaired Daily, fine by me. The show will tank, and Ford will lose out. They're going to have to have the Shelby going up against VW Bugs or Piece-of-Trash PT Cruisers in order to make it believable that KITT is the fastest car on the road.

GM is probably smart for staying 1000 miles away from this low-budget, made-for-TV, no script writers, NBC remake. They took Transformers, and I'm sure they'll take the next big budget film remake.

Well, the pansy they got to play "Mike" already hurt himself during filming, so I'm sure it won't be long until the role becomes too phyically demanding for him. Apparently he suffers an old modeling injury...

If I Recall their was a Epidode were kitt was outfitted with large tires as I recall he couldn't follow the 4x4s up a steep sand hill. So they put larger tires with spike.

This might have been the episode were they were starting wildfires or somthing.

I'm a huge KR fan but I can't get over KITT as a Mustang. I could careless about the car manufacture (Ford vs GM who cares). I just feel KITT should be a sleek car (Corvette, Ford GT, Viper, Carrera GT, etc) a Mustang just doesn't fit the bill and ruins the show for me.

If I Recall their was a Epidode were kitt was outfitted with large tires as I recall he couldn't follow the 4x4s up a steep sand hill. So they put larger tires with spike.

This might have been the episode were they were starting wildfires or somthing.
That is correct.

Online guide says it's not in HD tonight? If it were in HD I might consider watching...

Online guide says it's not in HD tonight? If it were in HD I might consider watching...
Titan TV is also saying Amercian Gladiators isn't HD, either, so I'm assuming it's a mistake.

I can't see any reason it won't be HD.

DirecTV guide says HD, which is usually accurate. I'd be floored if it weren't.

Online guide says it's not in HD tonight? If it were in HD I might consider watching...

It's not in HD on Comcast Chicago.

It's not in HD on Comcast Chicago.

IS in HD on Comcast Detroit via QAM, OTA WDIV, and D*.

I alway thought that the one thing Knight Rider was missing was lesbians:rolleyes:
Pieces of the old K.I.T.T. was a nice touch although they showed an L98 intake that wasn't introduced until the 1985 Corvette. K.I.T.T. had some kind of hydrogen engine anyway.

Why isn't Knight Rider in widescreen? It says 1080i but it's in 4X3 with the top and bottom black bars only taking up the very center of the television.

I alway thought that the one thing Knight Rider was missing was lesbians:rolleyes:


I agree! This is not "your fathers Knight Rider". I dont think I am going to let my son watch this show after seeing the opening 3some and obvious "one night" lesbian stand! (not that I am against a guy getting lucky with 2 or more woman or 2 woman together in bed...) :)

But really, why does Hollywood have to shove this down our throat?

Wow, KITT is self healing! Cool.

it is wide screen on Comcast channel 806.

Apparently only brand new Fords drive on roads near Stanford, and in the mountains apparently nearby.

;)

Apparently only brand new Fords drive on roads near Stanford, and in the mountains apparently nearby.

;)

Nope, there was a Volvo too, which of course is owned by Ford. ;)

Why isn't Knight Rider in widescreen? It says 1080i but it's in 4X3 with the top and bottom black bars only taking up the very center of the television.

It's definitely HD in Chattanooga.

I agree! This is not "your fathers Knight Rider". I dont think I am going to let my son watch this show after seeing the opening 3some and obvious "one night" lesbian stand!

But really, why does Hollywood have to shove this down our throat?


I agree.

The original Knight Rider was family friendly fun.

This new Knight Rider isn't.

IS in HD on Comcast Detroit via QAM, OTA WDIV, and D*.

OK, know it's in HD on Comcast Chicago.

I miss the old KITT voice.

Apparently only brand new Fords drive on roads near Stanford, and in the mountains apparently nearby.
I was gonna say the same thing; roads are full of frakkin' Fords. Talk about product placement.....I hope that thing (K.I.T.T.) is a hybrid.

OK, know it's in HD on Comcast Chicago.

It didn't start in HD in Chicago, neither by OTA, nor by DishNetworks Local WMAQ-HD feed...both were letterboxed...

But its in HD now...

I miss the old KITT voice.
X2. It would have been nice to have the same KITT back.

And they should have used a Corvette or LT1 Firebird. A Ford Mustang is just wrong for KITT.

What I found interesting was the shot of the old Firebird in the garage. It made me wonder if the old KITT is disassembled and what happened? Why did it get taken apart?

Apparently only brand new Fords drive on roads near Stanford, and in the mountains apparently nearby.

;)


Lets hope it does well for Fords stock price....:)

Where's "The Hoff"!?

Where's "The Hoff"!?

By the bar getting hammered. ;)

Haha...NBC Tie in...did you see them leave the "Montecito"? :rolleyes:

By the bar getting hammered. ;)

Or was he the featured "lounge act"? :D:D

Haha...NBC Tie in...did you see them leave the "Montecito"? :rolleyes:

Yep! Same casino entrance set as Las Vegas as well.

i wish my car could color change on the spot :)...and be self-healing...and travel 627 miles in a little over 3 hours :)

i wish my car could color change on the spot :)...and be self-healing...and travel 627 miles in a little over 3 hours :)

I just cant wait to see what shape the car takes on when it strolls into the 'hood! :p

Wow, am I the only one finding this hard to watch? I mean, the original show was cheezy, but this new version makes it look like Shakespeare! i can't believe how BAD the acting is. And how horrible was that car "chase" on the mountain road? The Edge just happens to stop right before hitting that truck? Ridiculous...... Don't even get me started on that new KITT voice..:mad:

If it wasn't for the nice car shots, and that hot FBI agent, I'd be out of this already....:eek:

It's hard to get into this, what with 5 minutes of commercials every 10 minutes (may be exaggerating a little but it sure seems like it).

[QUOTE=rangers28;13141602]Don't even get me started on that new KITT voice..:mad:

QUOTE]

Is it true that K.I.T.T. voice is none other than Iceman himself?
http://www.hotflick.net/flicks/1986_Top_Gun/Thumb/986TGN_Val_Kilmer_006.jpg

[QUOTE=rangers28;13141602]Don't even get me started on that new KITT voice..:mad:

QUOTE]

Is it true that K.I.T.T. voice is none other than Iceman himself?
http://www.hotflick.net/flicks/1986_Top_Gun/Thumb/986TGN_Val_Kilmer_006.jpg

I read on IMDB, and heard an early commercial to confirm it, that KITT was supposed to be Will Arnett. Then I heard on Howard Stern News, that Kilmer was going to be the voice. As soon as I heard the voice tonight, it definitely was different from Arnett's voice from the commercial. Maybe it is Kilmer..... whoever it is, it's awful. Oh good, another commercial.....

K.I.T.T. - "Are you a homosexual" [Display pictures of rainbows and kite's for visuals]

What?!?!

This movie is lame.

I am also not sure of when the movie ends and the commercials start. :confused:

K.I.T.T. - "Are you a homosexual" [Display pictures of rainbows and kite's for visuals]

What?!?!

This movie is lame.

I am also not sure of when the movie ends and the commercials start. :confused:

FCC should fine NBC.

It's hard to get into this, what with 5 minutes of commercials every 10 minutes (may be exaggerating a little but it sure seems like it).

Close...it seems to be 4 mins of commercials with about 6-8mins of show....

Nope, K.I.T.T. is voiced by this guy (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Will_Arnett)...

Time to switch over to Dexter on CBS...where the worst murder taking place is that of the editing of this show for network television! ;)

[QUOTE=rangers28;13141602]Don't even get me started on that new KITT voice..:mad:

QUOTE]

Is it true that K.I.T.T. voice is none other than Iceman himself?
http://www.hotflick.net/flicks/1986_Top_Gun/Thumb/986TGN_Val_Kilmer_006.jpg

If it is Val Kilmer that's cool. Not as good as having the old voice, but better than other choices. Kilmer should add some of his humor from "Real Genius" to give KITT more personality.

Will Arnett had to abandon the role when Ford realized he's a spokesperson for GMC.

http://www.autoblog.com/2008/02/08/val-kilmer-to-voice-kitt-will-arnett-is-out/

[QUOTE=kezug;13141628]

If it is Val Kilmer that's cool. Not as good as having the old voice, but better than other choices. Kilmer should add some of his humor from "Real Genius" to give KITT more personality.

Now that I see this pic, its much better :P

http://www.worstpreviews.com/images/headlines/headline1624.gif

Will Arnett had to abandon the role when Ford realized he's a spokesperson for GMC.

http://www.autoblog.com/2008/02/08/val-kilmer-to-voice-kitt-will-arnett-is-out/

Yeah, I didn't think it was Arnett. The commercial I saw had Arnett's voice, and i thought it sounded good, a lot more rough. As soon as I heard it tonight, I was disappointed.

The red sensor lights on the hood scoops is pretty bad ass, though...:cool:

If it wasn't for the nice car shots, and that hot FBI agent, I'd be out of this already....:eek:

I'm into the hot college professor/geniouses daughter...

love those lipstick librarian types...:p

I'm into the hot college professor/geniouses daughter...

love those lipstick librarian types...:p

Yeah, she is pretty hot, wish she'd put those glasses back on, though. :p

This show has all the quality of a Cinemax After Dark skin flick....but the acting is worse.

What's with that cheesy earpiece? The Hoff used to talk into his watch....much cooler.

Amazingly.... General Motors had Wil Arnett pulled from the movie just 2 weeks ago....

Val Kilmer was a very late change...

The bad guys are driving a GM....surprise, surprise. Ok, I take it back THIS chase scene is worse thatn the other one....

Real GeniusSo tell me Doogie, do you think Knight Rider will do better in the ratings than Super Bowl XLII? :rolleyes::p:D

The Hoff!
Dun-a-Dun-a-Dun-a.
Dun-a.
Dun-a.
Dun-a-Dun-a-Dun-a.
Dun-a.
Dun-a.

:)
If he drives off in "his K.I.T.T." that would be awesome!

I'll watch the next episode to see how a regular "mission" is, but it'll have to be a big improvement over tonight's show to keep my interest.

Don't you hate how the show comes on every 10 minutes or so, and interupts the commercials??? :rolleyes:

That awful CGI airplane he backed out of was ridiculous! I was waiting to see that cool black tractor trailer. :mad: What a miserable ending to a miserable movie.

That was 2 hours of my life I will never get back. I could've just watched all the commercials with the car, and it would have been better. Ugh...

I don't know, I guess it was cheesey fun. The set up was a bit of a shocker, 3 somes and lesbian/bi relationship, it ain't the 80's anymore. I went along for the ride (obvious pun intended...) and it was fun. Basically I disengaged my brain when it came on, but from an eye candy point of view it was fun. I'd have to say it compares favorably to The Bionic Woman, but that's a pretty low bar.

I'd watch it if it returns, if I had nothing better to watch or do.

I watched the first half hour or so & it was pretty bad. I decided to watch a movie on Netflix instead. The acting is just so bad. I can't see this staying on for very long.

Thank God the writer's strike is over huh... lol

sheeesh...come on, what's with the plot induced stupidity??? No one ever calls "911", we just contact a dude we knew years ago and hope he's available and able to help us out...why? Well, because he's ex-military and his daddy was really cool--nope, no thanks, we don't need the police;)

other than that, it was fun...I'd watch it if nothing else was on.

i'll take re-runs on HDNet any day of the week. should have been will arnett or the orignal voice. val makes me think the car is a pony instead of a true mustang. although his cameo in Entourage was nothing short of epic.

this will bring him back up a level if you need it

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fNMJ61ysuhY

This isn't *as* bad as the early 90's with the red KITT but wow...

I'm disappointed in the theme song! The beginning of the song has a hint of the original, but then its just some heavy guitar. I can't hear the tune underneath the guitar, if its there at all.

Um... people watched this?

Sorry if I don't hold out for the A-Team movie that's in the pipeline.

Tried watching for about 10 min. and knew that it was going to be a complete waste of time so I turned it off. Sounds like I didn't miss much. :)

Best part of this show is Deanna Russo, other than that....

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v637/keenanj/deannarusso5qb4.jpg

I didn't expect much going in, but being as it was a fave of mine growing up I had to check it out. My God, that was some of the worst TV I have seen in a long time.

And can Ford overrate their cars anymore than they did in this movie? I don't know what that vehicle was chasing KITT up the mountain, but give me a break with that load of garbage being able to keep up with a Mustang at over 100 mph, UPHILL. Ridiculous.

It was better than Team Knight Rider.

It was better than Team Knight Rider.
That's like saying being beaten within an inch of your life is better than being beaten to death.

That's like saying being beaten within an inch of your life is better than being beaten to death.

But it is :)

Seriously though... I bought all the season sets of the original Knight Rider on DVD. I've watched through season 2... and I have to say that it is not as engaging now watching as an adult as it was when I was younger. It's not run-and-hide-and-want-to-forget bad... but it is not what I remembered looking forward to camping out in front of the TV for long ago.

So I have to say, for as much negative vibe going into tonight... I thought this movie compared favorably to the old series. Note that this is both a complement and a slam, simultaneously. That it seemed comparable, means it too is not as good... but it isn't worse! Sadly, it could have been better... but then again, I'm not sure we really need a new Knight Rider series anyway.

Knight Rider was not one of those shows that ended and had me feeling that they missed unexplored story territory... I don't have what-if fantasies of episodes that never were.

The show was about on the same level as the old tv show. They certainly tried to pull every cliche out of the box to kick things off. My main problem was the daughter could not act and made the first 30 minutes kind of painful to watch.

This was bad. Really bad. So bad, it made the original look classy.

You can excuse the original for being so damn cheesy, it was the 80's, what wasn't? But this tv movie....wow was it bad.

I turned it off after 'i brought him because you are an x-Army Ranger' and then he started busting out ninja fight skills. Sorry, i hate that, military is all about team work, nothing about Rambo American Ninja Missing in Action killer karate kicks.

I have to admit I laughed out loud when the loan shark/bookie showed up to collect and then Mike told his room mate to "just get in the car" as he prepared to drive through the garage door.....and then the car stalled out.

I bought all the season sets of the original Knight Rider on DVD. I've watched through season 2... and I have to say that it is not as engaging now watching as an adult as it was when I was younger. It's not run-and-hide-and-want-to-forget bad... but it is not what I remembered looking forward to camping out in front of the TV for long ago.

So I have to say, for as much negative vibe going into tonight... I thought this movie compared favorably to the old series. Note that this is both a complement and a slam, simultaneously. That it seemed comparable, means it too is not as good... but it isn't worse! Sadly, it could have been better... but then again, I'm not sure we really need a new Knight Rider series anyway.

It's a matter of expectations. The original "KR" was a family-friendly, harmeless dumb 8PM show that NBC was using to fill a time slot. It had good-enough ratings to last four seasons but that's about it. The fortunes of NBC weren't riding on "KR" since back in the 80's the network was flush with hit/critically acclaimed shows like "Cosby," "A-Team," "Hill Street Blues," etc. It wasn't until it became a wordwide hit and a syndication staple that "KR" got the respect it deserved, if not for being a good show (it was cheesy as hell) at least for having the elements in place to sell a pretty laughable premise. There was genuine chemistry between the actors (especially the voice of KITT), and for all the s*** he takes the Hoff took his role as Michael Knight both seriously but also tongue-in-cheek enough to let the audience know he was in on it. I also bought all the "KR" DVD Box Sets and even when the cheese gets thick a handful of episodes (particularly the classics involving Goliath, Michael's evil twin and KARR) stand out as bonafide classics.

Now we're in 2008, when creative ideas and the network TV business are in such creative/financial turmoil that old ideas revived and cheap-to-make reality shows are considered not only acceptable but strong-enough to build a franchise around. Unlike the 80's, when NBC could afford to toss "KR" at 8PM one night a week and forget about it until its ratings got too low four years later, the new "Knight Rider" and a revival of "American Gladiators" are hyped as important-enough to air on Sunday night (the most watched night of television besides Thursday). In the current TV enviromnent the new "KR" (both the premise and its execution based on last night's movie) might thrive on a niche station like MyNetwork, Spike TV or Sci-Fi Channel. On NBC in 2008 though, a new "KR" that's just as badly-acted and cheesy as the original was in 1982 is just not going to fly. Then again, NBC has tried twice in one season to get away with it (first "Bionic Woman" and now with "KR") and it isn't ashamed to be the home of such abominations like "The Biggest Loser" and "Las Vegas."

And for what its worth the few minutes of "KR" I watched (while "Dexter" on CBS was in commercials) looked pretty good and nice in HD (and yes, the bad acting came through in just those few minutes of "KR" I saw). WNBC-DT OTA with Surround Sound in NYC.

I didn't notice the bad acting, and wasn't really bothered by the lousy plot. I was too busy staring at the car and the babe.

The plot did suck though. They just expect you to believe too many unbelievable things, but once the "explanation" is out of the way and the show can settle into the weekly adventures, I think I'll really enjoy it.

It was cheesy.

It had bad acting.

But I liked it.

I grew up watching the original NR along with other cheesy yet fun TV shows.

I think fun TV shows is something that is missing these days.

Will this new NR survive...nope. Because the business is different today than it was back then.. Just look at the "other TV shows" that were advertised during commercials.

Absolutely terrible acting, and the plot had so many holes, you could drive Kitt through them sideways. I want to say something along the lines of "Worst movie I've seen in some time", but that honor belongs to "Son of the Mask", so I can't quite get away with such a claim.

I couldn't get over how none of the characters acted rationally (e.g. "I'm going back to my father's house to find out what happened myself!"), or that a matter of national security is delegated to one lone FBI agent. And what was with the "we know where you are at all times" villains? They lose track of Kitt heading 600 miles away to an unknown destination, and yet triangulate where the girl is using only her cell phone within a minute of her arriving at the casino?

Considering the writers strike, perhaps Ford wrote the script themselves, since it was basically one continuous product placement?...

Ugh. That was awful. The only redeeming factor was the appearance by The Hoff at the end. Man, he looks bad these days. Guess it is all the drunken nights eating cheeseburgers off the floor.


(ouch)

I don't know how much that "nonotechnology" that KITT is built with would cost to mass produce IRL, but it seems to me that if such a thing were to really exist there would be a huge market for it if you sold/licensed the technology. You wouldn't have to worry about random hitmen driving a Ford SUV chasing you up a mountain, because you'd be bloody stinking rich.

It was cheesy.

It had bad acting.

But I liked it..

Same here. I'll take that over the bulk of the reality crap that's out there any day.

It's a matter of expectations. The original "KR" was a family-friendly, harmeless dumb 8PM show that NBC was using to fill a time slot. It had good-enough ratings to last four seasons but that's about it. The fortunes of NBC weren't riding on "KR" since back in the 80's the network was flush with hit/critically acclaimed shows like "Cosby," "A-Team," "Hill Street Blues," etc. It wasn't until it became a wordwide hit and a syndication staple that "KR" got the respect it deserved, if not for being a good show (it was cheesy as hell) at least for having the elements in place to sell a pretty laughable premise. There was genuine chemistry between the actors (especially the voice of KITT), and for all the s*** he takes the Hoff took his role as Michael Knight both seriously but also tongue-in-cheek enough to let the audience know he was in on it. I also bought all the "KR" DVD Box Sets and even when the cheese gets thick a handful of episodes (particularly the classics involving Goliath, Michael's evil twin and KARR) stand out as bonafide classics.

Now we're in 2008, when creative ideas and the network TV business are in such creative/financial turmoil that old ideas revived and cheap-to-make reality shows are considered not only acceptable but strong-enough to build a franchise around. Unlike the 80's, when NBC could afford to toss "KR" at 8PM one night a week and forget about it until its ratings got too low four years later, the new "Knight Rider" and a revival of "American Gladiators" are hyped as important-enough to air on Sunday night (the most watched night of television besides Thursday). In the current TV enviromnent the new "KR" (both the premise and its execution based on last night's movie) might thrive on a niche station like MyNetwork, Spike TV or Sci-Fi Channel. On NBC in 2008 though, a new "KR" that's just as badly-acted and cheesy as the original was in 1982 is just not going to fly. Then again, NBC has tried twice in one season to get away with it (first "Bionic Woman" and now with "KR") and it isn't ashamed to be the home of such abominations like "The Biggest Loser" and "Las Vegas."

And for what its worth the few minutes of "KR" I watched (while "Dexter" on CBS was in commercials) looked pretty good and nice in HD (and yes, the bad acting came through in just those few minutes of "KR" I saw). WNBC-DT OTA with Surround Sound in NYC.


LOL forgot about Michael's twin. i do remember always making sure i was home to watch the show. but i guess with age it doesnt seem the same with BSG, Dexter, Rescue Me, etc.

It is hilarious that the man who developed the military's main computer code would only have one agent assigned to him and only because she "knew" him.

LOLOLOLOLOLOLOLOL

Wasnt in HD for the first 10 minutes on WNCN in Raleigh. This is what bugs me though: if it had been preceded by a SD show, I would understand what happened...not excusable, but understandable. But it was preceded by an HD show! With no commercial break in between either! Why does NBC inexplicably switch to SD for no reason whatsoever at the end of a program? Ive noticed often between two shows that they drop to SD for a second and then back to HD. This seems like an issue that should have been corrected a long time ago. It would be one thing if it was completely local, but if I was to complain about it in the local thread, the answer would be "blame Miami" basically.

Ok, I've had all night to sleep it over, but I just can't get over how bad that show really was! I mean, just those car chases themselves......how stupid!! And all those quick motion camera shots were absurd. What did they have like two weeks to shoot this thing?

The only redeeming shot in the whole movie was when the GMC hit KITT. That was a very cool scene. Why bother spending all that money on writers and effects, when we can use all the money on one crash scene?

Oh, and I don't even think this KR and Bionic Woman are in the same league, here. I think I'm one of the only fans of the new BW. I thought it was pretty good, and had a very good production value. This KR looks like it was shot on some back lot of a porn set. No comparison in my book. Now if the BW could drive KITT.......hey, I may be on to something here......;)

Wasnt in HD for the first 10 minutes on WNCN in Raleigh. This is what bugs me though: if it had been preceded by a SD show, I would understand what happened...not excusable, but understandable. But it was preceded by an HD show! With no commercial break in between either! Why does NBC inexplicably switch to SD for no reason whatsoever at the end of a program? Ive noticed often between two shows that they drop to SD for a second and then back to HD. This seems like an issue that should have been corrected a long time ago. It would be one thing if it was completely local, but if I was to complain about it in the local thread, the answer would be "blame Miami" basically.

The same thing happened here in Chicago via Comcast and OTA. It was weird, though, as it was pillar-boxed and letter-boxed at the same time (black on all 4 sides).

The only redeeming shot in the whole movie was when the GMC hit KITT. That was a very cool scene. Why bother spending all that money on writers and effects, when we can use all the money on one crash scene?

...kind of subliminal, don't you think? :rolleyes:

The whole movie was one two hour long Ford commercial...

When Ford can make a muscle car that run 120+MPG I'll buy it..

Back to the show it was an entertaining movie, loved the female lead actress (her eyes killed me), the special effects, although that crash at the end has no physics explanation at all, KITT should have at least slided a few inches, but stood there like a solid steel wall. Was the SUV a GMC? I thought it was a Ford Edge? (the one that chased KITT at the beginning).

Nice appearence by "The Hoff" who looks to worn off IMO.

I watched about 30 minutes of this and had to turn it off. TERRIBLE!!!!!!


I don't understand why our TV shows over here have to always follow the same formula, use the same stereotypes, and try to be overly dramatic. I was actually looking forward to this show coming back, but after seeing the car debut I kind of lost some hope. Now I've lost ALL hope.

Anyone watch the new Doctor Who series thats been on the last 3 years? I was a huge fan of the original series growing up and have been LOVING the last 3 seasons of the new series. They brought back the show CORRECTLY, by bringing back the heart of the show and not messing with the things that made it a success and memorable to being with.

What a disappointment.... the Hoff must have sh*t himself last night.

When Ford can make a muscle car that run 120+MPG I'll buy it..


I'll buy any car that gets 120+MPG. I don't care who makes it or what it looks like. As long as it's less than 35k, of course.

The show was horrible. Knight Rider is one of those shows that's better in memories than it actually was.

http://gizmodo.com/assets/resources/2007/12/kitt-thissucks.jpg


With thanks to Gizmodo... this pretty much sums up the show for me.

Well at least no one posted the infamous 'Hoff animated gif that zooms into his colorful speedo over and over again. :)

I dvred it, and might just skip it. Now I'm looking forward to the remakes of Airwolf and Street Hawk.

I would say there is a very good chance we'll be seeing more of "Knight Rider".

It gained viewers in each half hour, was #1 in the 18-49 in three of its four half hours (and a very close #2 in the fourth) and beat the combined 18-49 numbers of "Dexter" and "Brothers & Sisters" at 10:30.

Go check for yourself:

Sunday’s fast affiliate prime-time ratings (which include the 18-49 demographic estimates) have been posted near the top of Ratings News -- the second post in the "Hot Off The Press" sticky.

http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?p=10367387&&#post10367387

Wrong car. The mustang was already used in the transformers. I bet the transformer would kick Knight 3000 any day. It talks, drives itself, has weapons, walks, and doesnt need a Michael Knight. Whos tougher eh?

Should of been a conceptcar . The car is the main character and if the main character can be had from a local junk yard, the TV series will fail. It was the dark TransAm in the 80s that did it. You couldnt really get a TransAm from factory that looked like the KITT in the show with smoked taillights, Cylon like lights, ground effects. Even after market kits were not exactly the same. The cheesey acting is still there in the new series so that doesnt help.

BTW the series interest for me ended when KITT had that stupid super duper mode with the flares.

I would say there is a very good chance we'll be seeing more of "Knight Rider".

It gained viewers in each half hour, was #1 in the 18-49 in three of its four half hours (and a very close #2 in the fourth) and beat the combined 18-49 numbers of "Dexter" and "Brothers & Sisters" at 10:30.

Go check for yourself:

Sunday’s fast affiliate prime-time ratings (which include the 18-49 demographic estimates) have been posted near the top of Ratings News -- the second post in the "Hot Off The Press" sticky.

http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?p=10367387&&#post10367387



http://www.zap2it.com/tv/ratings/zap-ratings021708,0,1401481.story

Although nothing was written in the past 3 months (supposedly), so I don't think they will make the Fall season, perhaps until next year...

I would say there is a very good chance we'll be seeing more of "Knight Rider".
Only if NBC has nothing else to put on.

Of course, it only had a lot of viewers because it's a remake of a popular show and there wasn't much up against it. And it was put on Sunday night which really helped.

So far, I haven't seen many favorable reviews in this thread. If NBC keeps running with it I would bet that they stick it on Friday or Saturday night for filler.

Although nothing was written in the past 3 months (supposedly), so I don't think they will make the Fall season, perhaps until next year...

Actually, you've got it backwards. Since this movie was a backdoor pilot, and the writer's strike really put development season behind schedule, this probably has a pretty good chance of making the Fall '08 schedule, if they decide to go to series with it.

It's hard to get into this, what with 5 minutes of commercials every 10 minutes (may be exaggerating a little but it sure seems like it).

I was seeing commercials (a few times) every 5 mins.:mad:

I agree with others, this was pretty painful, but I still sat through it. I don't understand the gratuitous 3 some and lesbian one night stand at the beginning. It did not have much to do with anything else that happended in the show other than knowing, in part, why the female FBI agent rejected the advances of her dopey partner.

If they do decide to put this on the air again, I can see it as Friday night filler along side Las Vegas. They already had their first "cross over" show with the Montecito scene.

I was seeing commercials (a few times) every 5 mins.:mad:
I wasn't surprised. It just added to the horror of this abomination they called a "remake."

It did not have much to do with anything else that happended in the show other than knowing, in part, why the female FBI agent rejected the advances of her dopey partner.
I could see them trying humor in Mike's dopey friend trying to hit on the FBI agent, and she rejects his advances. Every episode. Until it got old.

I could see them trying humor in Mike's dopey friend trying to hit on the FBI agent, and she rejects his advances. Every episode. Until it got old.
You mean around episode 3?

I have to say, I really didn't like this show at all. However, since a lot can happen between a pilot and episode 2, I'll give it one more chance if it comes back for another. If it keeps up like this, it goes away on my schedule.

If they do decide to put this on the air again, I can see it as Friday night filler along side Las Vegas. They already had their first "cross over" show with the Montecito scene.

Montecito seems the only set NBC has of a Las Vegas casino, they used the set on Heroes, now on Knight Rider, I wonder what other shows? (they also did some Crossing Jordan crossover)

The pilot episode was so painfull I'm counting this series OUT right now. Never again, writers strike or not. With a pilot that lame, the regular episodes will be very very bad.

When Val Kilmer gets tired of the role... they can replace him with George Clooney... and then K.I.T.T. can get nipples on his eyebeams ;)

I couldn't tell when the show ended and the commercials began.

I could tell when the show ended and the commercials began.

Really? I couldn't, Edge running like a Mustang and a GMC crashing and killing 3/4 of the occupants?

I could tell when the show ended and the commercials began.


Wonder how much the two hour prime time commercial cost Ford?

Really? I couldn't, Edge running like a Mustang and a GMC crashing and killing 3/4 of the occupants?

Oops. Typo corrected.:eek:

Which comes to a question, I don't remember if the GMC deployed its airbags at all... screen caps pls?

I can't imagine anyone sitting through all those commercials for two hours. I don't think I've ever skipped so many in a two-hour period. Thanks TiVo.

I thought NBC had a real opportunity for a hit with NR, but based on others' comments, it sounds like they blew it.

Which comes to a question, I don't remember if the GMC deployed its airbags at all... screen caps pls?


Not unless they deployed and then somehow managed to vanish. I love how the stang never budged an inch when it was hit. Conservation of momentum must have been sacrificed to the same Gods that let an SUV keep up with a super car on a windy road over a mountain.

They made me answer the questions online, I bet I will not win anything.. a free car is a free car!!!! (I could use a Mustang Shelby wit "KITT" kit)

They made me answer the questions online, I bet I will not win anything.. a free car is a free car!!!! (I could use a Mustang Shelby wit "KITT" kit)
If I win, can I trade it in for a new Chevy Camaro?

They made me answer the questions online, I bet I will not win anything.. a free car is a free car!!!! (I could use a Mustang Shelby wit "KITT" kit)
Of course you'll win something: a free Ford catalog... ;)

When Val Kilmer gets tired of the role... they can replace him with George Clooney... and then K.I.T.T. can get nipples on his eyebeams ;)

I barely got that.

Funny. :D

Being a huge Mustang fan I will say that this show was an insult to people's intelligence. Yes it was a 2 hr commercial for Fords as much as Transformers was for GM cars. Poorly acted, not very exciting and a lot of awful CG. That girl was pretty hot though, especially like the eyes. Thanks to keenan for posting the picture of her in a bikini. :D

Wow. Was it that bad? I'm contemplating not watching it tonight.

Wrong car. The mustang was already used in the transformers. I bet the transformer would kick Knight 3000 any day. It talks, drives itself, has weapons, walks, and doesnt need a Michael Knight. Whos tougher eh?

Should of been a conceptcar . The car is the main character and if the main character can be had from a local junk yard, the TV series will fail. It was the dark TransAm in the 80s that did it. You couldnt really get a TransAm from factory that looked like the KITT in the show with smoked taillights, Cylon like lights, ground effects. Even after market kits were not exactly the same. The cheesey acting is still there in the new series so that doesnt help.

BTW the series interest for me ended when KITT had that stupid super duper mode with the flares.

That was a Camaro that was used in the transformers, not a Mustang! Also that was a Shelby GT500 KR, not your everyday Mustang that you can buy off the lot. It's a sweet car!

As for the show, i've seen a lot better but i did enjoy it for what it was. A remake of a cheesy 80's show:D

Damn! I forgot to program my D*HDTivo to start 2 minutes early and missed the "gratuitous 3 some and lesbian one night stand" at the beginning!

When FFing with the Tivo it was hard to tell where the commercials ended and the show restarted!

[QUOTE=Javelin;13150245]That was a Camaro that was used in the transformers, not a Mustang! Also that was a Shelby GT500 KR, not your everyday Mustang that you can buy off the lot. It's a sweet car!

He's referring to the Decepticon police car, which was also a Mustang Shelby, although not a GT500 KR (King of the Road, not Knight Rider...:)).

I think that's why Ford put the bad guys in KR to be driving a GM. That was their way of getting even at GM for making a Ford one of sthe main bad 'bots in Transformers. Anyone who knows anything about the old GM/Ford pony car battles would've gotten that. I don't think it was purely a "casting" issue for the cars. As soon as I saw the police car in Transformers, I laughed out loud....:)

Oh, but please DO NOT compare that wretched thing I watched last night with my beloved Transformers. Now THAT'S how to do a remake, Ford!!

And to make it even worse, the writers are now getting paid MORE money.

Forgot about the police car in transformers, my bad! No way i was comparing the two movies, not even worth mentioning in the same sentence.

That Shelby still is a sweet ride though:cool:

Interesting, that despite all the negative comments here, "Knight Rider" had the highest 18-49 ratings for any TV movie in the last three years.

Go figure.

I didn't think it was all that bad, better than Bionic Woman, and what I'd expect from NBC nowadays. Set your expectations low and you'll not be disappointed when it comes to NBC. :D

You can watch it all online now.

http://www.nbc.com/Knight_Rider/video/episodes.shtml

Maybe they can remake The Six Million Dollar Man next. Wonder what he'd be worth now after 20 or so years of inflation.

Ugh. That was awful. The only redeeming factor was the appearance by The Hoff at the end. Man, he looks bad these days. Guess it is all the drunken nights eating cheeseburgers off the floor.


(ouch)

That just made me laugh out loud. :D

I'm pretty tolerant of shows - hey, I even liked the Bionic Woman. But this show was just... bad. Story sucked, dialog sucked, acting sucked. The only reason I kept watching was because I didn't think it would be that bad for 80 min (thankfully I recorded it and zipped through what seemed like a ton of commercials).

Hey, doesn't the girl look like Rebecca Gayheart?

He's referring to the Decepticon police car, which was also a Mustang Shelby, although not a GT500 KR (King of the Road, not Knight Rider...:)).

I think that's why Ford put the bad guys in KR to be driving a GM. That was their way of getting even at GM for making a Ford one of sthe main bad 'bots in Transformers. Anyone who knows anything about the old GM/Ford pony car battles would've gotten that. I don't think it was purely a "casting" issue for the cars. As soon as I saw the police car in Transformers, I laughed out loud....:)

Actually the Mustang in Transformers was a Saleen S281 Extreme, not a Shelby.

I also thought that Ford was getting back at GM for making the Mustang a bad guy in Transformers by making it a good guy in KR. Either way, the Shelby and Saleen are 2 models you don't see all that often or go in and buy everyday. Both would fit perfectly in my garage if I had the funds.

Wow, the AVS naysayers have definitely come out for this show. Congratulations, this is almost as much vitriole as BW received. I suppose that means this is considered a better show, not having quite as much hate spewed at AVS?

Little known fact: Pilots always suck. Firefly excepted, of course.

What exactly are you guys expecting from a remake of a lame-idea 80s B TV show? I thought this was fun. It was better than Viper. I watched the original mostly for KITT's snide comments to Michael. and I enjoyed the 3000's comments to Mike, as well. The last scene was painful, just like all the scenes in the semi 20 years ago. Hopefully they'll focus more on witty computers and less on a stupid love thread.

It seems strange that you all desperately want to watch a dumb show about a cool car, then come here to mock it when it turns out to be a dumb show about a cool car. And at this point in TV history, claiming a show is simply a commercial for anybody is just as lame as the painfully acted/written kiss at the end of this show. What, are they supposed to have KITT morph into a Mustang, Camaro, Z, and a 911....on alternating shots? Maybe throw in a 1965 Aston Martin just to annoy some Bond fans? It can only be one car. Christ! Come up with some original material in your rants. [enter Cyrano mockery here, I'm too tired to come up with it]

What I really can't believe is that no one has yet compared this to Wraith. Maybe everyone missed that flick. (by comparison, this KR is Shakespearean)


Actually, wait. maybe having the car morph into a bunch of models would be cool. hmm.... Just not fiscally possible in this era.

I have to admit I laughed out loud when the loan shark/bookie showed up to collect and then Mike told his room mate to "just get in the car" as he prepared to drive through the garage door.....and then the car stalled out.

I liked when the bookie said "You know that I can see you?" through the window

Wow, the AVS naysayers have definitely come out for this show. Congratulations, this is almost as much vitriole as BW received. I suppose that means this is considered a better show, not having quite as much hate spewed at AVS?

Little known fact: Pilots always suck. Firefly excepted, of course.

What exactly are you guys expecting from a remake of a lame-idea 80s B TV show? I thought this was fun. It was better than Viper. I watched the original mostly for KITT's snide comments to Michael. and I enjoyed the 3000's comments to Mike, as well. The last scene was painful, just like all the scenes in the semi 20 years ago. Hopefully they'll focus more on witty computers and less on a stupid love thread.

It seems strange that you all desperately want to watch a dumb show about a cool car, then come here to mock it when it turns out to be a dumb show about a cool car. And at this point in TV history, claiming a show is simply a commercial for anybody is just as lame as the painfully acted/written kiss at the end of this show. What, are they supposed to have KITT morph into a Mustang, Camaro, Z, and a 911....on alternating shots? Maybe throw in a 1965 Aston Martin just to annoy some Bond fans? It can only be one car. Christ! Come up with some original material in your rants. [enter Cyrano mockery here, I'm too tired to come up with it]

What I really can't believe is that no one has yet compared this to Wraith. Maybe everyone missed that flick. (by comparison, this KR is Shakespearean)


Actually, wait. maybe having the car morph into a bunch of models would be cool. hmm.... Just not fiscally possible in this era.


So...tell us how you really feel... :D

and then we can untangle the logic later... :D

It seems strange that you all desperately want to watch a dumb show about a cool car, then come here to mock it when it turns out to be a dumb show about a cool car.

+1

I've never seen Knight Rider(the original) before.. but I tuned in to watch the remake, and I thought it was pretty good.

Little known fact: Pilots always suck. Firefly excepted, of course.



Hmmm, I don't think I was completely drawn into 24 because the pilot sucked. Same goes for a bunch of other shows like The Shield, Jericho, The Sopranos, Alias, Battlestar Galactica, etc.

The pilot of Knight Rider sucked because it was a combination of bad writing, bad acting and pretty much bad everything. No amount of episodes is going to cure that lethal concoction.

Little known fact: Pilots always suck.
Fact or making stuff up?


What exactly are you guys expecting from a remake of a lame-idea 80s B TV show?
Similar characters. Mainly K.I.T.T. and Michael. In the original KR, they didn't sound like they were reading from a script. Plus, the acting was rather good compared to the remake. I don't think anyone here was expecting a lot because the original wasn't exactly a "must see" every week. I knew it was going to be train wreck... but, it turned out to be WORSE than that. :eek:


It seems strange that you all desperately want to watch a dumb show about a cool car, then come here to mock it when it turns out to be a dumb show about a cool car.
Who here was desperate to watch it? I certainly wasn't it. For most people it was probably for nostalgic reasons--or just to see how terrible it was going to be. I had company over and we had a few good laughs (picture MST 3000).

I suppose diehard KR fans might be the only ones that will give it another chance if the network picks it up.

I wanted to like Knight Rider. I was a fan of the original. I wanted action/adventure with a little humor thrown in. What I got was a Ford commercial and homosexual + threesomes thrown in. Not cool! I don't want to watch Jerry Springer, I want something fun that people can watch without getting offended.

The original show never went any further than a kiss on the cheek in open daylight. This new series has the hero in bed with two women, and his living room covered with open beer bottles, and he has to repay $90,000 to loansharks. What kind of honor does this guy have?

The only good part of the new Knight Rider was getting a glimpse of the trans am. The rest of the movie sucked.

And I agree with what others have posted. How can a ford focus the bad guys drive keep up with a Mustang Shelby? My guess is Ford wanted people to say "Wow, that's a really cool focus". My thoughts were "Gee, the Mustang with a super computer can't shake a four banger?". Now if Knight Rider was realistic, the ford focus would have broken down on the side of the road leaving the bad guys without a car. :)

A Knight Rider revision without William Daniels as the REAL voice of KITT. Sorry, not worth watching.

Which comes to a question, I don't remember if the GMC deployed its airbags at all... screen caps pls?
It didn't. My wife specifically said, "What, no air bags?!" when the villains were shown sitting stunned and bleeding in the car. The steering wheel was visible, and there was no air bag anywhere in sight.

Now if Knight Rider was realistic, the ford focus would have broken down on the side of the road leaving the bad guys without a car. :)
It's a shame that once proud Ford has gotten such a bad (and maybe well deserved) rep.
We have an Expedition, and my wife is pretty tired of it's little nagging issues all the time- fix one thing... something else starts to act up the very next day. It just never ends with this vehicle, it's gotten to the point that we take my Honda CR-V on trips now because it's never let us down like the Expedition has.

Back on topic.... Knight Rider had 12-13 million viewers for the pilot. Guess the "Knight Rider" name is a sentimental favorite :) but with the pretty awful reviews the movie got, how would it ever draw more than 2-3 million on a weekly basis?

I liked the trick car, but its "tricks" are going to get really old without more creative writing. The cast of characters was a copy of the kind you find on just about any dozen other shows.

The picture quality was mostly excellent, but that's not enough for me to check all other discretions at the door.

Actually the Mustang in Transformers was a Saleen S281 Extreme, not a Shelby.
I was about to reply and say the same thing. In fact, when Transformers was filming at Edwards AFB, a friend of mine took a picture with the Saleen and a couple of the other cars from the movie.

What, are they supposed to have KITT morph into a Mustang, Camaro, Z, and a 911....on alternating shots? Maybe throw in a 1965 Aston Martin just to annoy some Bond fans?
I did think it was funny when they were leaving the hotel and KITT painted himself purple. Mike replies "I didn't know this thing came in cholo!"

KITT can change car color but can't tint his windows? :confused:

I don't think anyone here was expecting a lot because the original wasn't exactly a "must see" every week. I knew it was going to be train wreck... but, it turned out to be WORSE than that. :eek:
This wasn't a train wreck: train wrecks are actually really cool to watch. Just do a search for them on YouTube and your productivity will be finished for the day... ;)

I suppose diehard KR fans might be the only ones that will give it another chance if the network picks it up.
Actually, based on the comments here, it seems most die hard fans of the original hated the new version.

This wasn't a train wreck: train wrecks are actually really cool to watch. Just do a search for them on YouTube and your productivity will be finished for the day... ;)

I used it as a metaphor and not the real thing. ;)


Actually, based on the comments here, it seems most die hard fans of the original hated the new version.
It doesn't mean they won't continue to watch it if it comes back on. After all, fans are generally the most critical but also the most forgiving.

And there isn't much else on.

It doesn't mean they won't continue to watch it if it comes back on. After all, fans are generally the most critical but also the most forgiving.
Fans are generally the most forgiving of the show they were a fan of, not a remake.

I plan to check out episode 2 only because pilots often are quite different than the rest of the series (look at how much darker the pilot of the original KR was compared to the rest of the series). I'm not holding out much hope for enough improvement to keep me watching, though.

To campy for my likes. Lame acting. Car was cool looking. Voice of KITT didn't fit. Loved the SUV slamming into it, that was particularly cool. KITT didn't even budge. Wicked cool. The rest, not so much.

Repeat this Sat 2/23 @ 9:00 p.m. on NBC.

Repeat this Sat 2/23 @ 9:00 p.m. on NBC.
Sorry but who would want to catch that crap again?

Little known fact: Pilots always suck. Firefly excepted, of course.

Lots of us wouldn't have liked such shows as Journeyman and Jericho if the pilots sucked. I've never seen Firefly but I'm sure it's as good as or better than Serenity so I will check it out one day.

Personally I wasn't desperate to see this show. Curious, but not desperate. The only major draw for me was the Mustang... and the HOFF!!:rolleyes:

Interesting, that despite all the negative comments here, "Knight Rider" had the highest 18-49 ratings for any TV movie in the last three years.

The one night stand for the FBI agent was the best draw for the male part of that segment.

Don't rag on the commercials too much; I thought the bluetooth ones had substantially better writing and acting than the pilot itself.

Halfway decent PQ for NBC these days. Was hard to notice it since I was laughing so hard during too many scenes.

I think Fred is right though on the outcome of this, though - it's probably pretty cheap to produce for a drama (the CGI stuff doesn't look that bad, and it's basically just a dude and his car for locations), has a guaranteed major revenue source from product placement (no small deal in these days of DVRs), and it's been shown previously that the Universal honchos think they can fix any "small" problems with minor matters like a plot that had every bad cliche in the history of television.

We'll see.

Sorry, I don't buy it. If in the original series KITT had much more advanced, human-like emotions, and this supposedly "more advanced" version of KITT has practically none, it makes no sense.
Didn't they think that one huge plot device through?

The rest of the show, well, lame acting and just a few cool stunts doesn't really do it for me.

Sorry but who would want to catch that crap again?

We only caught the first hour of it because Big Brother and the Fox cartoons have a higher priority on our DVR. I'd like to catch the second hour. My wife really likes Big Brother and I like the Fox Sunday lineup, so...

I will usually give any show at least 4 episodes worth to see if the characters build or anything. Usually the first season of any series has the actors stumbling somewhat to find their characters.

Of course, we watched every episode of Viva Laughlin as well, and yet were unable to give it 4 episodes (I think it was cancelled in 3...).

In the original KR, they didn't sound like they were reading from a script. Plus, the acting was rather good compared to the remake.

I think you are letting nostalgia influence your memories. May I suggest that you re-watch the original Knight Rider pilot episode? It was painful to watch. While I did like the series as a kid, and can still watch it for a campy diversion as an adult, the acting in that first episode was every bit as awful as this remake. It took a while for the chemistry between the cast and writers to develop.

I wanted action/adventure with a little humor thrown in. What I got was a Ford commercial and homosexual + threesomes thrown in.

I think Ford would sell a lot more cars if their commercials showed lesbians and guys having threesomes in the back seat. At least then I wouldn't skip the commercials on my Tivo like I do now.

I think you are letting nostalgia influence your memories. May I suggest that you re-watch the original Knight Rider pilot episode? It was painful to watch. While I did like the series as a kid, and can still watch it for a campy diversion as an adult, the acting in that first episode was every bit as awful as this remake. It took a while for the chemistry between the cast and writers to develop.

You are right on the mark. Incredibly wooden acting early in the original series.

I quite enjoyed this tonight. I did mis the Pilot, but while this episode wasn't superb, I did find the show entertaining. There was even a sighting of the Hoff.

I quite enjoyed this tonight. I did mis the Pilot, but while this episode wasn't superb, I did find the show entertaining. There was even a sighting of the Hoff.Same episode.

Same episode.

That makes sense, it did seem odd that it would be 2 hours, and on a saturday. That said, I don't see what the fuss is about, it was certainly better than a lot of the other new shows I have seen recently.

I do wish however, Verizon would get a real quide data provider that actually marked shows correctly regarding new status, and HD status. /rant.

I do wish however, Verizon would get a real quide data provider that actually marked shows correctly regarding new status, and HD status. /rant.
For what it's worth, I don't think any guide information showed this as being in HD.

I think you are letting nostalgia influence your memories. May I suggest that you re-watch the original Knight Rider pilot episode? It was painful to watch. While I did like the series as a kid, and can still watch it for a campy diversion as an adult, the acting in that first episode was every bit as awful as this remake. It took a while for the chemistry between the cast and writers to develop.
But it's been 25 years and they've got more to work with. Plus, Val Kilmer is a good actor. You'd think he would have made KITT sound more lifelike. Maybe the producers or director wanted the car to sound dull and lifeless. Sorry, but it doesn't live up to the original. Basing the new series pilot on the original pilot is a weak argument unless it was intentional to make it just as bad.

But it's been 25 years and they've got more to work with. Plus, Val Kilmer is a good actor. You'd think he would have made KITT sound more lifelike. Maybe the producers or director wanted the car to sound dull and lifeless. Sorry, but it doesn't live up to the original. Basing the new series pilot on the original pilot is a weak argument unless it was intentional to make it just as bad.

How do you figure they have more to work with? That argument makes no sense. New cast, new writers, new director, new production team. They are starting from scratch and need to find their rhythm just like any other new show. It’s very rare for a show to click in the first episode. It’s not like they’ve been working together for 25 years. TV shows and MOWs are a lot different than feature films. You get something like 3 weeks to work with and get to know all the creatives that collaborate on the pilot, and then you go your separate ways. It’s not like a feature film where you have months to develop chemistry. That’s why so many first episodes of TV shows are weak compared to later episodes.

How do you figure they have more to work with? That argument makes no sense. New cast, new writers, new director, new production team. They are starting from scratch and need to find their rhythm just like any other new show. It’s very rare for a show to click in the first episode. It’s not like they’ve been working together for 25 years. TV shows and MOWs are a lot different than feature films. You get something like 3 weeks to work with and get to know all the creatives that collaborate on the pilot, and then you go your separate ways. It’s not like a feature film where you have months to develop chemistry. That’s why so many first episodes of TV shows are weak compared to later episodes.

With that being the case why don't more tv stations give shows more time to develop instead of being so quick on the trigger?