This is an argument that;'s been done to death on the KnightRiderOnline forum. It wouldn't work.
David Hasselhoff is now in his mid 50's, and William Daniels, voice of the original KITT, is now 81.
Don't forget, the last regular episode of classic KR was 22 years ago. If the original Michael
and KITT were the lead characters in the new KR, the show would essentially be a flop.
Over at the forums at Knight Rider Online ... those who've now seen episode 2 of the new series say
it's a definite improvement over the Season 1 premiere. Apparently, despite still having some of the
dodgy CGI'd FX (albeit improved upon) from the premiere that had a somewhat less than positive
response, this episode seems to have a lot more of what you'd expect from the original series.
Ive just watched episode 2 and didnt enjoy it that much. Instead of 42 minutes in length it seemed I had been wwatching the episode for a whole day! The plot was weak, although it did have that feel that 80s shows like the original Knight Rider and The A team had - that thing where the heroes go to some out of town place and meet the locals, attach themselves to a local and end up involved in some complication lol. But then agian, here I am talking bout a weak plot in terms of Knight Rider (2008) lol. Il give episode 3 a try though. One thing is they have tried to make this updated version slightly more interesting by introducing a series long story arc concerning Mike's past and those years which have been erased from his memory. Oh, and some sort of spy/enemy/conspiracy within the team
I had to laugh at this scene when the car was stolen from the party, about 10 people just starting to shoot the shit out of the car as it was driving away!
the goons started a-shooting and a-firing like Yosemite Sam!!
(yeehaww blam blam blam)
I mean really is that the best way to protect your vehicle?
'we got your car back boss'
'WTF????? - why is it full of bullet holes? I could have claimed it on the insurance but now it's been shot to s**t you numb nuts'
...that (in hindsight) might not have been as exciting tho....
Car gets stolen --> cut to guy calling his car insurance company
Ive just watched episode 2 and didnt enjoy it that much. Instead of 42 minutes in length it seemed I had been wwatching the episode for a whole day! The plot was weak, although it did have that feel that 80s shows like the original Knight Rider and The A team had - that thing where the heroes go to some out of town place and meet the locals, attach themselves to a local and end up involved in some complication lol. But then agian, here I am talking bout a weak plot in terms of Knight Rider (2008) lol. Il give episode 3 a try though. One thing is they have tried to make this updated version slightly more interesting by introducing a series long story arc concerning Mike's past and those years which have been erased from his memory. Oh, and some sort of spy/enemy/conspiracy within the team
I agree while Episode 1 was two steps forward from the TV Movie, Episode 2 was a step back2
Just watched episode 3 and it seems that the writers are stuck in a timewarp! The show seems to adhere to the "80s PrimeTime TV Drama" formula which was so exploited by shows such as The a team, Murder She Wrote an numerous others.
In order to keep us interested they should pace up that storyline regarding Mike's "absent and forgotten" years, and also work BIG TIME on that storyline regarding someone having infiltrated Knight Industries.
The wink at the Original KR series was cool - the undercover names chosen were Devon (Boss in the original KR) and Bonnie (KITTs mechanic in the original).
Episode 3 was ok. But its not appointment viewing. i tuned in cos we had a massive storm today and was forced to stay indoors. Hope the show picks up next week.
Hmmm i think it will get canned as its too much of a kids show .... mind you i was a kid when I watched the original all those years ago. As far as I'm concerned its all too fake, the CGI for kitt and explosions, the in car shots which are filmed in the studio which takes the tension out of scenes especially car chases, the rather short car chases, the fact that we know they won't actually put the car in any real danger due to their budget\sponsor\reliance on cgi. I'm not convinced about the static bat cave either as the original was rather nomadic and suited, generally, not having to return to base every 5 minutes. The whole thing reminds me of team KR and thats bad.
Hmmm i think it will get canned as its too much of a kids show .... mind you i was a kid when I watched the original all those years ago. As far as I'm concerned its all too fake, the CGI for kitt and explosions, the in car shots which are filmed in the studio which takes the tension out of scenes especially car chases, the rather short car chases, the fact that we know they won't actually put the car in any real danger due to their budget\sponsor\reliance on cgi. I'm not convinced about the static bat cave either as the original was rather nomadic and suited, generally, not having to return to base every 5 minutes. The whole thing reminds me of team KR and thats bad.
Just my thoughts
Rob
I like the kitt cave.
There is obviously a big finale coming as they keep talking about who Mike was, it has been mentioned in all 3 episodes now.
What happend to the FBI woman this week in episode 3, she wasnt in it.
The CGI is not working for me, more car chases are needed, that is what the original was about.
It seems that David Hasselhoff has been talked to about reprising his role. So far he's been too busy, but he has not outwardly say he wont return (he put in a blink and ul miss him appearance in the TV Movie pilot). So far, 11 scripts have been written already, and cannot be changed to accomodate any return. Also, in an interview somewhere, the guy responisble for KR (2008) has sais he has tried to contact Bonnie, the original mechanic for KITT in the original series about reprising her role, but so far, he has been unable to find any contact details for her. The actress is no longer active in Hollywood - but still, not being able to find a contact for her sounds rather lame!
Hmmm i think it will get canned as its too much of a kids show .... mind you i was a kid when I watched the original all those years ago. As far as I'm concerned its all too fake, the CGI for kitt and explosions, the in car shots which are filmed in the studio which takes the tension out of scenes especially car chases, the rather short car chases, the fact that we know they won't actually put the car in any real danger due to their budget\sponsor\reliance on cgi. I'm not convinced about the static bat cave either as the original was rather nomadic and suited, generally, not having to return to base every 5 minutes. The whole thing reminds me of team KR and thats bad.
Just my thoughts
Rob
The CGI issue is a general problem with action based tv and drama these days. It gives too much freedom to do what they want and it just leads to things becoming a bit silly.
Die Hard 4 showed that. While it wasnt up there with the original for much of the movie it showed modern movies exactly how to do an action movie, yes some of it was OTT but until the end nothing felt unnatural as they were actual stunts as they wanted to keep the CG to a minimum. Then you get the 'Plane Surfing' scene. While models (scale and full size) were built that was clearly a scene that replied on the modern CGI to pull off and it was the silly and not routed in any reality whatsoever and let the movie down.
IMHO directors and producers should stick to the following rule, if you couldnt under any circumstance pull of the stunt practically don't use CG. CG should be used either to enhance practical stunts or because whats stopping you doing the stunt practically isnt the stunt but the time and resources you have at hand
The CGI issue is a general problem with action based tv and drama these days. It gives too much freedom to do what they want and it just leads to things becoming a bit silly.
Die Hard 4 showed that. While it wasnt up there with the original for much of the movie it showed modern movies exactly how to do an action movie, yes some of it was OTT but until the end nothing felt unnatural as they were actual stunts as they wanted to keep the CG to a minimum. Then you get the 'Plane Surfing' scene. While models (scale and full size) were built that was clearly a scene that replied on the modern CGI to pull off and it was the silly and not routed in any reality whatsoever and let the movie down.
IMHO directors and producers should stick to the following rule, if you couldnt under any circumstance pull of the stunt practically don't use CG. CG should be used either to enhance practical stunts or because whats stopping you doing the stunt practically isnt the stunt but the time and resources you have at hand
yes use it for volcanoes, tornadoes, space flights, etc but not a car chase.
A comment quoted from the Knight Rider Online forum about the latest episode of the new
series of Knight Rider "A Hard Day's Knight" that was premiered on NBC a few hours ago:
LOVED IT !!!!!!! lots of homage to the original! KITT chasing a SUV with a big hi-tech
gun in the back firing at him, Michael being poisoned and almost dying ... Michael
calling KITT to come pick him up, and KITT responding w/ somethin like "on my
way Michael" and rushing to him, and a few other things that i can't think
of right now but all in all, GREAT EPISODE!!!!!!!!!!
(I added the spoiler tags ... the full original comment is unspoilered in the KRO forum.)
NBC seem to have a bit more faith in the show than some of the viewers. They have ordered a further 4 more episodes, which I think takes it to around 15 episodes so far. Not quite a full season yet, but promising.
It looks like it is hitting the spot with regard to their viewing demo's with young men tuning in.
NBC originally commissioned a run of 13 episodes, and the last 2-3 episodes are effectively still
being made. The network have ordered 4 more scripts, which brings the tally to 17 episodes,
if they go into production. Another 5 or so would need to be ordered for a full season.
NBC seem to have a bit more faith in the show than some of the viewers. They have ordered a further 4 more episodes, which I think takes it to around 15 episodes so far. Not quite a full season yet, but promising.
It looks like it is hitting the spot with regard to their viewing demo's with young men tuning in.
Script orders mean very little. As ive said the T:SCC threads most shows unless they are 100% dead will have additional script orders by this time. Without them production would have to shut down while the wait for scripts once the 13th episode is filmed which costs them more than the cost of commissioning the scripts.
Shows like Bionic Women last year also got additional script orders, due to the strike im not sure how many of the order got written but certainly none got a shooting commitment.
It gives the studios a few extra weeks to decide the fate, if they are still on the fence they can greenlight the scripts and commision a few more or they can cut their losses with a tiny outlay.
This year preventing a production shut down is even more important. With the actors looking like they may start striking in November the networks certainly wont want to miss a single day of production otherwise they will lose many of their stars as they wont be able to use any actor whos a member of SAG
I love the new "Knight Rider" - Its sooo bad its good. The new theme musics the best bit.
But its in a 7pm Wednesday kids slot in the states, I think its deliberate the way its done cheesey style
Unlike "Flash Gordon" which took itself seriously and didn't realise we were laughing at the bad acting, changing colours of sets each week and everything.....
"Knight Rider" is laughing at itself and is ace for doing it.....a Kitt that can go underwater (of course)...can replacate keys and medicines (why not...)....and is a transformer in disguise....ace ace ace
Just hope we get a second season (cant see it lasting as long as the original).....
I love the new "Knight Rider" - Its sooo bad its good. The new theme musics the best bit.
But its in a 7pm Wednesday kids slot in the states, I think its deliberate the way its done cheesey style
Unlike "Flash Gordon" which took itself seriously and didn't realise we were laughing at the bad acting, changing colours of sets each week and everything.....
"Knight Rider" is laughing at itself and is ace for doing it.....a Kitt that can go underwater (of course)...can replacate keys and medicines (why not...)....and is a transformer in disguise....ace ace ace
Just hope we get a second season (cant see it lasting as long as the original).....
It airs at 8pm not 7pm (Although if your in the Central Timezone it is 7pm but in general everything is an hour earlier)
And ofc its trying to be cheesy, its what Knight Rider is about and its why they put Gary Scott Thompson in charge of the season as he got the balance of being cheesy in a good way correct with Las Vegas.
Problem is with Knight Rider is they havent got the balance right, its so far been cheesy in the bad ways and not in the good ways yet
It airs at 8pm not 7pm (Although if your in the Central Timezone it is 7pm but in general everything is an hour earlier)
It is also at 7pm in the mountain time zone, as they also run an hour earlier than eastern and pacific.
Personally, Gary Scott Thompson is my problem with the new Knight Rider, because he still seems to think he is making Las Vegas. The same soundtrack and the same overly stylized use of effects. It worked then because it was something different for TV and was unique to that series.
Knight Rider though is not a new show though and to me trying to make it fit that style just does not work. It also comes across as unoriginal and an attempt to repeat two old formats (KR and LV) rather than reinvent one (KR).
Some people can get away with making essentially the same show over and again, the likes of Bochco and Bruckheimer, because they make it about the characters and stories.
Thompson is big on style but low on substance. And while there is a place for that when done well, if the characters and stories and subordinate to that it quickly becomes tedious when you everything you do is the same.
When Knight Rider originally aired there were a lot of similar shows around. But right now, when primetime drama is dominated by conspiracies and big arc stories, there is a place for an updated version that is true to the style of the former. It would be different to what is currently available and if done well could certainly find its own place.
Sadly instead of a homage it is a Thompson showing that he only has one idea and he is going to run it into the ground.
It is also at 7pm in the mountain time zone, as they also run an hour earlier than eastern and pacific.
Personally, Gary Scott Thompson is my problem with the new Knight Rider, because he still seems to think he is making Las Vegas. The same soundtrack and the same overly stylized use of effects. It worked then because it was something different for TV and was unique to that series.
Knight Rider though is not a new show though and to me trying to make it fit that style just does not work. It also comes across as unoriginal and an attempt to repeat two old formats (KR and LV) rather than reinvent one (KR).
Some people can get away with making essentially the same show over and again, the likes of Bochco and Bruckheimer, because they make it about the characters and stories.
Thompson is big on style but low on substance. And while there is a place for that when done well, if the characters and stories and subordinate to that it quickly becomes tedious when you everything you do is the same.
When Knight Rider originally aired there were a lot of similar shows around. But right now, when primetime drama is dominated by conspiracies and big arc stories, there is a place for an updated version that is true to the style of the former. It would be different to what is currently available and if done well could certainly find its own place.
Sadly instead of a homage it is a Thompson showing that he only has one idea and he is going to run it into the ground.
Michael.
I don't think its really his fault, even old Knight Rider is a show of style over substance.
The problem comes from the TV Movie, the TV movie tried to do 1980's Knight Rider in the modern day and Thompson has clearly been briefed with the task of bringing the 'fun and style' that he was successful with in Las Vegas to the style of the original and the TV Movie. I don't personally believe that he would have made the show we are seeing if he completely had his own way.
It needed to be a little cleverer, not be so hamstrung by what had gone before it and found its own way. It didnt need to after all try and be the same, its 20 years and the world has moved on.
Comments
Among the kids.
ahhh loved automan too!
Agree that the transformation is a bit too much.
Will give it another go,
it's a definite improvement over the Season 1 premiere. Apparently, despite still having some of the
dodgy CGI'd FX (albeit improved upon) from the premiere that had a somewhat less than positive
response, this episode seems to have a lot more of what you'd expect from the original series.
Still, things can only get better!
Or cancelled.
the goons started a-shooting and a-firing like Yosemite Sam!!
(yeehaww blam blam blam)
I mean really is that the best way to protect your vehicle?
'we got your car back boss'
'WTF????? - why is it full of bullet holes? I could have claimed it on the insurance but now it's been shot to s**t you numb nuts'
...that (in hindsight) might not have been as exciting tho....
Car gets stolen --> cut to guy calling his car insurance company
I agree while Episode 1 was two steps forward from the TV Movie, Episode 2 was a step back2
In order to keep us interested they should pace up that storyline regarding Mike's "absent and forgotten" years, and also work BIG TIME on that storyline regarding someone having infiltrated Knight Industries.
The wink at the Original KR series was cool - the undercover names chosen were Devon (Boss in the original KR) and Bonnie (KITTs mechanic in the original).
Episode 3 was ok. But its not appointment viewing. i tuned in cos we had a massive storm today and was forced to stay indoors. Hope the show picks up next week.
Just my thoughts
Rob
episode 2 i give 6/10
episode 3 i give 8/10
I like the kitt cave.
There is obviously a big finale coming as they keep talking about who Mike was, it has been mentioned in all 3 episodes now.
What happend to the FBI woman this week in episode 3, she wasnt in it.
The CGI is not working for me, more car chases are needed, that is what the original was about.
I am also not interested in any love stories.
excellent writing, imo
bad show is bad - will get canceled.
The CGI issue is a general problem with action based tv and drama these days. It gives too much freedom to do what they want and it just leads to things becoming a bit silly.
Die Hard 4 showed that. While it wasnt up there with the original for much of the movie it showed modern movies exactly how to do an action movie, yes some of it was OTT but until the end nothing felt unnatural as they were actual stunts as they wanted to keep the CG to a minimum. Then you get the 'Plane Surfing' scene. While models (scale and full size) were built that was clearly a scene that replied on the modern CGI to pull off and it was the silly and not routed in any reality whatsoever and let the movie down.
IMHO directors and producers should stick to the following rule, if you couldnt under any circumstance pull of the stunt practically don't use CG. CG should be used either to enhance practical stunts or because whats stopping you doing the stunt practically isnt the stunt but the time and resources you have at hand
yes use it for volcanoes, tornadoes, space flights, etc but not a car chase.
series of Knight Rider "A Hard Day's Knight" that was premiered on NBC a few hours ago:
(I added the spoiler tags ... the full original comment is unspoilered in the KRO forum.)
It looks like it is hitting the spot with regard to their viewing demo's with young men tuning in.
http://www.scifi.com/scifiwire/index.php?category=0&id=61211
being made. The network have ordered 4 more scripts, which brings the tally to 17 episodes,
if they go into production. Another 5 or so would need to be ordered for a full season.
Script orders mean very little. As ive said the T:SCC threads most shows unless they are 100% dead will have additional script orders by this time. Without them production would have to shut down while the wait for scripts once the 13th episode is filmed which costs them more than the cost of commissioning the scripts.
Shows like Bionic Women last year also got additional script orders, due to the strike im not sure how many of the order got written but certainly none got a shooting commitment.
It gives the studios a few extra weeks to decide the fate, if they are still on the fence they can greenlight the scripts and commision a few more or they can cut their losses with a tiny outlay.
This year preventing a production shut down is even more important. With the actors looking like they may start striking in November the networks certainly wont want to miss a single day of production otherwise they will lose many of their stars as they wont be able to use any actor whos a member of SAG
But its in a 7pm Wednesday kids slot in the states, I think its deliberate the way its done cheesey style
Unlike "Flash Gordon" which took itself seriously and didn't realise we were laughing at the bad acting, changing colours of sets each week and everything.....
"Knight Rider" is laughing at itself and is ace for doing it.....a Kitt that can go underwater (of course)...can replacate keys and medicines (why not...)....and is a transformer in disguise....ace ace ace
Just hope we get a second season (cant see it lasting as long as the original).....
It airs at 8pm not 7pm (Although if your in the Central Timezone it is 7pm but in general everything is an hour earlier)
And ofc its trying to be cheesy, its what Knight Rider is about and its why they put Gary Scott Thompson in charge of the season as he got the balance of being cheesy in a good way correct with Las Vegas.
Problem is with Knight Rider is they havent got the balance right, its so far been cheesy in the bad ways and not in the good ways yet
It is also at 7pm in the mountain time zone, as they also run an hour earlier than eastern and pacific.
Personally, Gary Scott Thompson is my problem with the new Knight Rider, because he still seems to think he is making Las Vegas. The same soundtrack and the same overly stylized use of effects. It worked then because it was something different for TV and was unique to that series.
Knight Rider though is not a new show though and to me trying to make it fit that style just does not work. It also comes across as unoriginal and an attempt to repeat two old formats (KR and LV) rather than reinvent one (KR).
Some people can get away with making essentially the same show over and again, the likes of Bochco and Bruckheimer, because they make it about the characters and stories.
Thompson is big on style but low on substance. And while there is a place for that when done well, if the characters and stories and subordinate to that it quickly becomes tedious when you everything you do is the same.
When Knight Rider originally aired there were a lot of similar shows around. But right now, when primetime drama is dominated by conspiracies and big arc stories, there is a place for an updated version that is true to the style of the former. It would be different to what is currently available and if done well could certainly find its own place.
Sadly instead of a homage it is a Thompson showing that he only has one idea and he is going to run it into the ground.
Michael.
I don't think its really his fault, even old Knight Rider is a show of style over substance.
The problem comes from the TV Movie, the TV movie tried to do 1980's Knight Rider in the modern day and Thompson has clearly been briefed with the task of bringing the 'fun and style' that he was successful with in Las Vegas to the style of the original and the TV Movie. I don't personally believe that he would have made the show we are seeing if he completely had his own way.
It needed to be a little cleverer, not be so hamstrung by what had gone before it and found its own way. It didnt need to after all try and be the same, its 20 years and the world has moved on.