NBC press tour event today: Knight Rider panel

[neps]

NBC has been hosting a press tour of all their different shows. Today they'll be doing Knight Rider.

3-3:30 p.m.: "Knight Rider," a shadowy flight into the world of a man... who does not exist.

source http://www.nj.com/entertainment/tv/inde ... tou_4.html

also I have this photo of justin and deanna from last nights party

[neps]

Ben Silverman and Marc Graboff quoted on Knight Rider today:

Ben on the cozy relationship between "Knight Rider" and the car company that sponsors the show.

Graboff: "If there's too much product integration, we don't even like to call it product integration...we're trying to integrate it more organically with the show, in a way that is organic to the show, something that advertisers are comfortable with and the show runners, more importantly, are comfortable with. And which the viewers are ultimately comfortable with."

Did they go too far with 'Knight Rider'?

Ben: "Well, it's about a car, ultimately. . . that was the star of the show."

http://blog.oregonlive.com/idiotbox/200 ... _a_ca.html

[Matthew]

Hmmm, that's an extremely interesting quote. On the one hand, Mr. Graboff seems to acknowledge the product placement concerns that we've all had since the pilot, but on the other hand, Mr. Silverman almost seems to rub our noses in it since the key product that's featured also happens to be one of stars of the show.

Matt

[neps]

Here is the first summary of the event:

Knight Rider

The Knight Rider series will be quite different and more evolved than the two-hour TV movie. The differences begin first with showrunner Gary Scott Thompson (who previously created Las Vegas and The Fast and the Furious), who was given carte blanche to fabricate his own world. Though the basic characters from the movie will remain, certain character backstories will change. Mostly, the lesbian subplot with Sydney Tamiia Poitier's character introduced in the movie will possibly be altered.

There are also new characters who will help to maintain the car by working in what Thompson calls the KITT Cave. Thompson added that he has a long-term mythology plan for the series through at least two seasons which is based on the origins of KITT. He posed one question that he promises to answer throughout the series: “Why would you put artificial intelligence into a car?” Finally, despite rumors on the Internet, there are no plans for Thompson to bring characters from Las Vegas onto Knight Rider.

http://www.buddytv.com/articles/my-own- ... 21404.aspx

[neps]

EW with a bit more in depth:

Knight Rider Panel
The Players: Justin Bruening, Yancy Arias, Bruce Davison, Sydney Tamiia Poitier, Paul Campbell, Deanna Russo, Smith Cho and exec producers Doug Liman, Dave Bartis and Gary Scott Thompson
3:09 pm: Thompson doesn't rule out a cameo by The Hoff later in the season.
3:11 pm: Echoing the opinion of 98 percent of the critics in this room, Thompson felt the two-hour movie was lacking several things. Among them: "a turbo-boost." Interesting. I would've said "a decent script."
3:17 pm: Regarding reports (OK, one report) that Las Vegas' Danny and Delinda might make a cameo on KR, onetime Vegas EP Thompson confirms that the idea was broached in the writers' room, but, ultimately, he decided "it would be unfair to the fans of both shows to do that."
3:30 pm: It was just a phase! It's undecided whether Poitier's character will remain bisexual in the series. KITT, on the other hand, will continue to swing both ways.

http://ausiellofiles.ew.com/2008/07/liv ... -to-5.html

[Lost Knight]

Ben on the cozy relationship between "Knight Rider" and the car company that sponsors the show.

Graboff: "If there's too much product integration, we don't even like to call it product integration...we're trying to integrate it more organically with the show, in a way that is organic to the show, something that advertisers are comfortable with and the show runners, more importantly, are comfortable with. And which the viewers are ultimately comfortable with."

Did they go too far with 'Knight Rider'?

Ben: "Well, it's about a car, ultimately. . . that was the star of the show."

Sounds good to me. Despite my comments about it recently, I don't consider myself a member of the product placement police, but I think it's good that they are at least aware that the fans are aware...

[JJSoCrazy]

So is this "long term mythology" going to indicate what happened in the past 25 years or so with the Foundation and such? Also I hope they get more deep into the original KITT and what happened exactly! I am really looking forward to bringing some of the "old school" element on the show with not only explanations but the fact of reprising older characters and most of all MK and KITT!

Joe

[Sue]

How cute!!!
(It looks like Deanna still has her beauty mark, for those wondering if it was removed. But no matter, she looks good.)

[PHOENIXZERO]

I can live with and get over the emblems staying on the car even though they don't fit with what the "K" in KITT stands for, just as long as the damn thing isn't shot like a car commercial with the paying attention and focusing on them. At least one guy recognizes what a bad idea over doing the "product integration" can be. They shouldn't be at the mercy of Ford, at this point Ford should just be thankful for the promotion and potential sales boost it might lead to.. What's the MPG rating on the Mustang (all versions) these days?

[Niggle Snoosh]

I can live with and get over the emblems staying on the car even though they don't fit with what the "K" in KITT stands for, just as long as the damn thing isn't shot like a car commercial with the paying attention and focusing on them. At least one guy recognizes what a bad idea over doing the "product integration" can be. They shouldn't be at the mercy of Ford, at this point Ford should just be thankful for the promotion and potential sales boost it might lead to.. What's the MPG rating on the Mustang (all versions) these days?

My opinion exactly, considering the show is about a car, the simple fact that at most shots and action scenes will involve KI3T being the the hero and of course just being plain cool throughout should be enough to appease ford.

I do wonder if the fact that KI3T possibly being given a KITT scanner has something to do with making it easier for a fan to mod their Mustang into a KITT

[weeezl]

KITT, on the other hand, will continue to swing both ways.

[neps]

I've consolidated all this information as well ass added some new photos here: http://shadowyflight.com/news/2008/07/n ... -rider.php

They really brought everyone out: http://shadowyflight.com/news/bfu.php?i ... ess%20Tour

[Sue]

http://shadowyflight.com/news/bfu.php?i ... ess%20Tour

Oh look the Brady Bunch.

[neps]

More on it: http://www.tvsquad.com/2008/07/22/forge ... s-tca-rep/

Look, even Ford said it was way too much in the two-hour, and we are trying to avoid doing that. But we have a Ford car, and we are going to use the Ford product for that car, and that's just because we think the car is cool." The other cars on the roads, though, won't necessarily be Fords, which is at least an improvement from the movie.

[neps]

More from Silverman: http://www.tvsquad.com/2008/07/22/nbc-e ... ronts-tca/

Silverman thinks that the network may have "activated" too much product-placement in the Knight Rider movie. "But the star of the show is the car, so that was a case where it felt like low-hanging fruit to bring in an automotive partner on a certain level, because you know they're going to be part of that show no matter how you look at it." The contest ads during the commercial breaks, he cited, were probably what was the tipping point there. I dunno; I thought it was the fact that every car in the KR universe was a Ford.

[KRAvengerII]

I've consolidated all this information as well ass added some new photos here: http://shadowyflight.com/news/2008/07/n ... -rider.php

They really brought everyone out: http://shadowyflight.com/news/bfu.php?i ... ess%20Tour

Seeing the photo of (I assume) the full cast, i'm starting to get "Bionic Woman" flashbacks... i wonder if ALL the cast members will be at comic-con, or just the main four? "fast and furious?" Oh man, I'm not sure about this...

[Matthew]

Seeing the photo of (I assume) the full cast, i'm starting to get "Bionic Woman" flashbacks... i wonder if ALL the cast members will be at comic-con, or just the main four? "fast and furious?" Oh man, I'm not sure about this...

I'm hopeful that rather than being a reference to the culture within the film series itself, that Gary Scott Thompson is merely emphasizing the need for the show to be an hour of wall to wall high octane entertainment every week.

Matt

[Mango19]

More from Gary Scott Thompson at scifi.com: http://www.scifi.com/scifiwire/index.php?category=1&id=57979&type=0

Knight Rider Gets Turbo-Boosted

Gary Scott Thompson, the new executive producer and show runner of NBC's upcoming Knight Rider TV series, told SCI FI Wire that he's revamping the original concept from the two-hour telemovie/backdoor pilot that aired in February, mainly by beefing up the cast and amping up the action, after consulting the original 1980s series.

"I sat down and I looked at the first entire season before I wrote word one," Thompson (NBC's Las Vegas) said in an interview at the Television Critics Association summer press tour in Beverly Hills, Calif., on July 21. "I looked that the two-hour [movie] two or three times. ... And I really, seriously, read all the reviews, and I read all the online stuff, and tried to figure out exactly how you satisfy everybody. It's very difficult to satisfy everybody."

The main thing fans missed in the telemovie? "No turbo boost," Thompson said immediately. "No turbo boost. That was a million times: No turbo boost." He added that, in addition to people griping about using a Ford Mustang instead of the original Pontiac Trans Am as K.I.T.T., "they missed the Hoff [original Knight Rider star David Hasselhoff]. But, again, it's 25 years later, and you have to take the next step." Even though Hasselhoff had a cameo in the telemovie, he won't be in the series.

Mainly, though, the new series will introduce an ensemble cast as a support team for K.I.T.T. and his driver, Mike Traceur, played again by Justin Bruening. The cast will include telemovie stars Deanna Russo, Bruce Davison and Sydney Tamiia Poitier and will add Yancey Arias, Paul Campbell and Smith Cho.

And the series will amp up the action from the telemovie, in which the main characters spent a lot of time driving from point A to point B. "It was a lot of time driving, and you can't do that with an audience today," Thompson admitted. "I mean, look, our competition is not the other shows on TV. Our competition is Xbox. Simple as that. And when you look at what happens on an Xbox, if we're not emulating [or] at least getting someone to pay attention that way, then we're going to lose audiences completely."

Knight Rider debuts Sept. 24 and will air Wednesdays at 8 p.m. ET/PT.

I like that he says he "read all the online stuff." Wonder where (hi, Gary!)

[neps]

i wonder if ALL the cast members will be at comic-con, or just the main four? "fast and furious?" Oh man, I'm not sure about this...

Everyone there is scheduled to be at the panel except Doug Liman. I think it will be similar to this event, the majority of the questions answered will be coming from GST, Justin and Deanna. While it is nice that the others come down, they'll no doubt participate in the panel answers, I just think GST is going to be the man answering most everything.

[Lost Knight]

I have a little bit of a hard time believing that even Ford thought the product placement was too much when 8 out of every 10 cars was a Ford, coupled with the fact that there were those K.I.T.T. commercials every break, but whatever. I'm optimistic because Gary Scott Thompson is aware of the main complaints and it sounds like those are the first things he wants to take care of.

[March2875]

Gary Scott Thompson sure is confusing on the Hasselhoff question isn't He. Anyone have any ideas what he could really mean by the 3 different answers.

Thompson said that David Hasselhoff has "given his blessing" to the show, but has no plans to participate for the time being. This makes it sound like David currently wants to wait and see how the changes go first.


Thompson hasn't ruled out a cameo by Hasselhoff later in the season. This would also support the above statement

and finally Although Hasselhoff was in the Pilot He will not be in the series. This one shuts the door on it completely I don't know what to believe anyone else?

All 3 of these statements are in the above topic at the different links the last being on the SCifi link.

[PHOENIXZERO]

Personally, I didn't mind the commercials, the KITT/Mike ones were at least well done and amusing. Glad to see at least they're aware of it, you know it's bad when even the sponsor is like "WHOA! That was way too much!"

Yeah, almost all the cars being brand new looking, fresh off the lot Fords was an annoyance and a definitely think they could do just fine completely removing all emblems from the car and not focus on them so much, which is still my main complaint about the commercial aspect of the TV movie.

I really do hope that the "Fast and the Furious" thing isn't along the lines what I feared it would mean. Changing things from the pilot is understandable, that happens all the time, I think they have their work cut out for them when it comes to doing Turbo Boost and making it look good. What was that about his only watching the first season before writing? I hope he finished the series before filming started. Oh and yeah the idea of the "KITT Cave" doesn't sound good, wasn't the HQ for Bionic Woman also placed in a cave? Or at least underground? Knight Rider isn't Batman.

The most important thing, aside from good stories (and some continuity) and cast, is fun and a sense of escapism. I doubt many will tune into Knight Rider looking for something deep either.

[Sue]

Co-executive producers Doug Liman and Dave Bartis brought in Thompson, who was a writer for The Fast and the Furious movie franchise, after the two-hour movie was picked up as a series, to bring in a little juice. His goal is to make the show as "fast and furious" as those movies. To that end, he's expanded the cast to create a whole team of people to support Mike Traceur and KITT. Thompson said they'll work from a headquarters called the "KITT cave."

"The idea is to assemble a whole team," said Thompson, somewhat dismissively to a question about the additional cast members. "And it's going to get pretty boring in today's age to watch a guy in a car talk for 43 minutes. No offense to anyone, but we live in an age where you have seen Mission: Impossible, Bourne Identity, the new Batman movies, Iron Man, and the audience wants that, and they are looking for that."

I really dislike the term KITT cave, they are just jokingly calling it that right? Or is it really what they are calling it in the show? I think KR has enough of its own history and lore to go on that it doesn’t need to steal from other franchises.
As for a modern audience needing the show to have a larger team… I don’t know, James Bond was a loner. And Iron Man was mostly a one man show, aside from some talking computers.
Come to think of it, we could have said of the original KR, “we live in a world of A-Team and Mission Impossible.”
Well, perhaps I will complexly change my mind once I get to see it at comic con.

[Lost Knight]

What was that about his only watching the first season before writing? I hope he finished the series before filming started. Oh and yeah the idea of the "KITT Cave" doesn't sound good, wasn't the HQ for Bionic Woman also placed in a cave? Or at least underground? Knight Rider isn't Batman.

I was thinking that, too, but then I realized it doesn't matter. Season 1 was the slowest of all the seasons, in my opinion, so after watching that it isn't very hard to be inspired to inject a little more action into things or make the pace of the episodes more snappy. In terms of following storyline and plot and connecting the dots better, there are at least many other writers who may have watched more of the original series to connect the dots better, if needed.

As it stands now, my impression is that Gary Scott Thompson doesn't want to bring David Hasselhoff back (at least for now), therefore much of the connections to the original series will probably not be focused on. I think his focus will be more on why artificial intelligence was installed into the car in the first place and things of that nature.

[weeezl]

[quote="PHOENIXZERO"] Oh and yeah the idea of the "KITT Cave" doesn't sound good, wasn't the HQ for Bionic Woman also placed in a cave? Or at least underground? Knight Rider isn't Batman.

quote]

Youre right, My first thought was Batman, trouble is I remember hearing about the cave a while ago and its popped up again, theres a good chance they r gonna go with it, lets hope they dont make it too cheesy.