On Being a fan in the past and future

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On Being a fan in the past and future

Post by DrWho2005 » Fri Jan 11, 2008 6:05 am

When i first watched Knight Rider in Australia i was about 9 years old.
I felt this show was made for ME and every other kid in my age group.
At school we would 'play' Knight rider. Many kids in my primary school acted as if they were Michael and their desks were KITT.
In this day and age how many kids run around the playground pretending they are lost on an island? Or that they are a group of hot older ladies living suburbia? None. Tv doesnt have that effect on people anymore.
All the boys swore they would own kitt when they grew up, most of us never acheived that.
I remember as a lad getting dads car and talking to it :-)

Now I am watching all four seasons again and yes, i do realise that the show wasnt great and was quite silly in some places, but frack it..when you are 9 or 10 you just dont care. We thought KITT was real, we thought KITT was OUR buddy.
MY 6 year old has been watching KR with me and he loves it. He calls it the "Michael show" and every black car he sees he asks if thats kitt :-)
He asked me if we could make our ford wagon fly like kitt did ( TURBO BOOST)

I showed him the two minute trailer for the new show and he says " that isnt the real one. i like kitt"
God bless him for that :-)

I honestly believe that the new show will not have the same effect on his generation as the original did on mine.Tv people these days just done understand the magic the 19809's had.

We all played at being Michael, or Macgyver or Hannibal et al.
In 12 months time do you really think kids will say " hey, i'll be mike tracer and you be charles whatsisname".


Why did we love KITT when we were kids?
He was like nothing there was out there. Of course there were black transams...but to us kitt was the only one in the world. A talking car? wow, incredible. If it was a talking monaro or something i doubt we would have cared really.

Now all these years later we have a talking mustang. Big deal. I just saw a movie with a talking police car and a talking truck..both would squash that mustang in a minute.

This new car doesnt look special, it doesnt stand out and it doesnt give kids a reason to fall in love.

There are many who say the transam would have looked silly. I dont agree.
How many kids would know a transam now? not many. To them it would look futuristic, it would look special.
Kids would want one.

Put the transam and the mustand side by side and which one would look special or like something most people had never seen before ( IM talking about young folk here)?

Unless some radical changed are made i dont think the show will last past a year.

They need to create some real magic, and not just an illusion.




Oh yeah, twas my first post..sorry for the ramble :-)

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Re: On Being a fan in the past and future

Post by PaoloM » Fri Jan 11, 2008 6:28 am

I agree with your thoughts. Yes, things changed a lot since the early 80s. TV shows are generally aimed to adult people and this new Knight Rider has been clearly done to sell cars, so the mature target is understandable.

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Re: On Being a fan in the past and future

Post by DrWho2005 » Fri Jan 11, 2008 6:39 am

PaoloM wrote:I agree with your thoughts. Yes, things changed a lot since the early 80s. TV shows are generally aimed to adult people and this new Knight Rider has been clearly done to sell cars, so the mature target is understandable.
But i think they are making a huge mistake cutting out the kids like they are.
I dont think the old show was aimed towards kids, but kids loved it.

I just don't see history repeating itself.

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Re: On Being a fan in the past and future

Post by ck37 » Fri Jan 11, 2008 7:44 am

I think what the formula was back in the 80's when it came to shows like the A-Team, Night Rider etc. was not only did they do cool things, have cool cars etc. but the actors all had strong personalities. Their Vehicles had personality. Say what you will about David Hassellhoff but he had the overall package that made Knight Rider work. Also the relationship between he and KITT had was like a Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid. It was always a pleasure to watch.

I hope the new show is able to capture some of that magic. Because the biggest trap with all the advancement in technology is forgetting the human element. The need for one another so we can co-exist.

I hope this new Night Rider doesn't fall into that trap.

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Re: On Being a fan in the past and future

Post by knightturbo » Fri Jan 11, 2008 9:16 am

I showed him the two minute trailer for the new show and he says " that isnt the real one. i like kitt"
God bless him for that
LOL. Bravo. Well written and my sentiments exactly. This new show just doesn't have the heart from what I can tell....I wish I was wrong but it's not looking that way so far. There was a sense of humor and a sense of chemistry among the cast that's gonna be difficult to match. As long as I look at it as a spinoff I might be alright with it. But I do hope it keeps the faith....and the quality of entertainment resonant with that title. For kids it was a great show. But it also had many poignant episodes that I thought took it to another level. And yeah Hoff had heart and soul and somehow made the idea of a talking car work without being silly. A tough act to follow. :dash:

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Re: On Being a fan in the past and future

Post by Shapeshifter » Fri Jan 11, 2008 10:06 am

DrWho2005 wrote:When i first watched Knight Rider in Australia i was about 9 years old.
I felt this show was made for ME and every other kid in my age group.
At school we would 'play' Knight rider. Many kids in my primary school acted as if they were Michael and their desks were KITT.
In this day and age how many kids run around the playground pretending they are lost on an island? Or that they are a group of hot older ladies living suburbia? None. Tv doesnt have that effect on people anymore.
All the boys swore they would own kitt when they grew up, most of us never acheived that.
I remember as a lad getting dads car and talking to it :-)

Now I am watching all four seasons again and yes, i do realise that the show wasnt great and was quite silly in some places, but frack it..when you are 9 or 10 you just dont care. We thought KITT was real, we thought KITT was OUR buddy.
MY 6 year old has been watching KR with me and he loves it. He calls it the "Michael show" and every black car he sees he asks if thats kitt :-)
He asked me if we could make our ford wagon fly like kitt did ( TURBO BOOST)

I showed him the two minute trailer for the new show and he says " that isnt the real one. i like kitt"
God bless him for that :-)

I honestly believe that the new show will not have the same effect on his generation as the original did on mine.Tv people these days just done understand the magic the 19809's had.

We all played at being Michael, or Macgyver or Hannibal et al.
In 12 months time do you really think kids will say " hey, i'll be mike tracer and you be charles whatsisname".


Why did we love KITT when we were kids?
He was like nothing there was out there. Of course there were black transams...but to us kitt was the only one in the world. A talking car? wow, incredible. If it was a talking monaro or something i doubt we would have cared really.

Now all these years later we have a talking mustang. Big deal. I just saw a movie with a talking police car and a talking truck..both would squash that mustang in a minute.

This new car doesnt look special, it doesnt stand out and it doesnt give kids a reason to fall in love.

There are many who say the transam would have looked silly. I dont agree.
How many kids would know a transam now? not many. To them it would look futuristic, it would look special.
Kids would want one.

Put the transam and the mustand side by side and which one would look special or like something most people had never seen before ( IM talking about young folk here)?

Unless some radical changed are made i dont think the show will last past a year.

They need to create some real magic, and not just an illusion.

Oh yeah, twas my first post..sorry for the ramble :-)
You make a lot of good points that go to the heart of the difficulty of re-doing any iconic show, especially on TV. The problem is, how much to you update it. Too much, and you risk alienating that original fans; not enough, and you risk turning off the casual viewer that makes up the vast majority of the viewing public. The problem is further compounded by the nature of TV itself, with restrictive budgets that force the creators into compromises that might appear on the surface to be detrimental to the pathos of the show. Case in point, the car. If this were the movie, they could have spent the many millions and the many months it would take to design and build the perfect car. But in TV, one can't afford to spend the money there--the car itself needs to be revenue-neutral. On that front, Ford wanted the business. So, it's an economic decision, that the creative side just has to deal with.

You're right that TV doesn't have the "pull" with the younger set that it used to. I think that's mainly two reasons: Kids are different today, and their entertainment choices are much wider. You could argue that kids are different BECAUSE of their entertainment choices; that another discussion. But your boy, in particular, has already accepted the original KR universe as the correct one. Most children watching this show won't approach it from that viewpoint. They'll simply have a glance at it before they go back to 'Halo 3', or whatever.

KRO, in general, has been very open-minded and accepting of the new show. As a group, they seem to be willing to watch it first and then make their judgement. I think that's all anyone could ask.

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Re: On Being a fan in the past and future

Post by ckeller22 » Fri Jan 11, 2008 11:31 am

Things have changed a lot since we were kids in the 80's. We used a lot of imagination back then. Today they have x-box and a myriad of assorted electronic games. They pretend they are navy seals and play with people all over the world via internet, we didn't have that as kids. You made some points but sometime in history you need to move on. Remember the past and honor it which I think the new show is doing and move on. I don't understand everyone If you want everything the same and not changed than go buy the season 1-4 dvd's like I did and watch them. I want to see something new and yes different but keeping with passion of the original if I didn't want to see something new I would just pop in one of my Knight Rider dvd's. I wasn't a big fan of the new car but you know what I did I started talking to people and got a perspective on it and the Kids like the Mustang. And The Mustang believe it or not is one of hottest cars. Today the car they want is a Mustang. The Trans AM as enduring as it is for us is not the car this generation goes crazy for. New times, New standards......just give the show a shot and reserve judgment after you see it. Than call it for what it is.

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Re: On Being a fan in the past and future

Post by Michael Pajaro » Fri Jan 11, 2008 12:06 pm

I have to play Devil's Advocate a bit here:
DrWho2005 wrote:]I honestly believe that the new show will not have the same effect on his generation as the original did on mine.Tv people these days just done understand the magic the 19809's had.
Every generation thinks their generation was the Golden Age.
We all played at being Michael, or Macgyver or Hannibal et al.
In 12 months time do you really think kids will say " hey, i'll be mike tracer and you be charles whatsisname".
I don't think many kids will want to play Charles, just as I doubt many boys wanted to play Devon over Michael. But it looks like the female leads would be a much bigger role in this series. So maybe boys and girls can play together this time: "You be Mike & I'll be Sarah."
Why did we love KITT when we were kids?
He was like nothing there was out there. Of course there were black transams...but to us kitt was the only one in the world. A talking car? wow, incredible.
These were the shows/movies I watched as a kid: Speed Buggy. Wheelie & the Chopper Bunch. Wonderbug. The Herbie movies. All of them featured living/talking cars. When children of the 70s outgrew the Saturday morning shows, Knight Rider took over. Was KITT unique? In a sense, but we watched plenty of talking cars before that.
How many kids would know a transam now? not many. To them it would look futuristic, it would look special.
Kids would want one.
Putting KITT in the '82 Trans Am now would like having the original series premiere featuring a '57 Chevy. I know I wasn't interested in seeing my parents' cars on TV when I was growing up.

Knight Rider as we know and love it is a product of the 80s. A young loner picking up girls in diners and helping them save their Daddy's farm just isn't going to cut it any more. The show needs to be brought up to date and that involves a new car and a new attitude. And I think a Mustang fits pretty well with the "Project Gotham Racing 4" mentality of today's youth.
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Re: On Being a fan in the past and future

Post by Yetiii98 » Fri Jan 11, 2008 9:19 pm

You make a lot of good points that go to the heart of the difficulty of re-doing any iconic show, especially on TV. The problem is, how much to you update it. Too much, and you risk alienating that original fans; not enough, and you risk turning off the casual viewer that makes up the vast majority of the viewing public
i agree in a sense with what your saying, but look at the new Battlestar Galactica, i know Glena LArson was involved, but they took the same characters and the history of the original show, the same storyline from the original and have updated it and i think it is a better show than the original. Now im not saying this will be the case with the new Knight Rider show, but im keeping an open mind as i was very skeptical about Galactica and now i cant believe i had doubts. Saying that i wasnt as involved in the show asi was with the original Knight Rider, so yah it kinda feels weird witha new car taking the star role, but i agree with others, the Mustang is THE car at the moment for kids, and its growing on me everytime i see it.

Im gonna wait until i have seen the first episode/bacdoor pilot or whatever it is lol, then pass judgement on how well i think it goes.

There will only ever be one Knight Rider for me as im a kid from the 80's, but doesnt mean there isnt room for a second show to slip into the number 2 slot.

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Re: On Being a fan in the past and future

Post by KnightLady » Sat Jan 12, 2008 9:19 am

There has been a lot of good points in this thread. I am too a child of the 80s. And grew up with KITT being a beautiful TA. While I have seen the previews of this new KR it takes me back and I end up comparing the two. For right now, I'm not impressed with anything I have seen. But, I am going to see the show when it comes on in February. It may change my mind and it may not. It just seems to me that the new KR has a lot of big shoes to fill. :kitt:

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Re: On Being a fan in the past and future

Post by DrWho2005 » Fri Jan 18, 2008 4:38 pm

KnightLady wrote:There has been a lot of good points in this thread. I am too a child of the 80s. And grew up with KITT being a beautiful TA. While I have seen the previews of this new KR it takes me back and I end up comparing the two. For right now, I'm not impressed with anything I have seen. But, I am going to see the show when it comes on in February. It may change my mind and it may not. It just seems to me that the new KR has a lot of big shoes to fill. :kitt:

The other day i was on holiday and down by the beach we saw at GT Cobra..maybe it was this year or last years model because at a glance it looked similar to the new one.

I told my 6 year old it was KITT and he told me it wasnt.
He has seen the trailers and previews and still wont call the new car KITT.

This is coming from a child who thinks every semi-trailer he sees on the road is Optimus Prime ( funny side note here, there was a cream coloured VW bug parked two doors down and he shouted out ' it's bumblee" <even though it wasnt yellow!.)

I think this raises an important thing.
Yes, the tv film will probably do ok with new fans..but it could have done so much more.

There are now second and third generation fans who have been exposed to the old show via their parents.
Even 6 years olds know who KITT is.

Ok, maybe a transam would have been silly ( not that i think that ) but a special looking car would have gone down a trat with children. Hell, even a Lambroghini would have looked mor elike KITT than the matchbox car they have now.

Yes, i harp on a lot about what children think ...thats because i know a lot of parents like to show their kids what they liked as a child.

For me it was Doctor Who, Transformers, Knight Rider and The A Team. Guess which shows he loves now?

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Re: On Being a fan in the past and future

Post by ckeller22 » Fri Jan 18, 2008 5:20 pm

No offense I mean none. But that is only your son that says that and probably cause you have shown him a ton of the original. Most kids these days that are 5-10 years old don't know who Kitt is or that he is a Trans am. I can say that because I work with kids all age groups from all over and the majority don't know what Knight Rider is unless they were shown by adults. I am not putting your kid down at all and it is cool he knows the original. This show is not...and I say again not the knight Industries two thousand,It is not the same A.I. that was in the original. This is a new character updated and aimed at todays generation. I know first hand that the kids today are into cars like the mustang and charger. Chevy wants in on this craze so they are coming out with the Camero. Like I said your son is right it's not the two thousand,it's the three thousand. Theres been so much negativity all ready about this tv movie I can't believe your finally getting something that looks decent and complaining. How about watching it then give a review. Hey if it sucks I am sure everybody will voice it February 18th and I will be as well.

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Re: On Being a fan in the past and future

Post by PHOENIXZERO » Fri Jan 18, 2008 6:13 pm

The way I see it, just as Mike Traceur is the son of Michael Knight, the new KITT is the "son" of the original KITT.
The new and again improved evil's advertisement is currently too long and too badass to display here. But let's just say that with now 50% more evil, this **** is great! :twisted: :skar:

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Re: On Being a fan in the past and future

Post by MJknight » Fri Jan 18, 2008 6:16 pm

I agree with both sides of the topic in question; true the Mustang is the hottest car around at the moment, and yes, the Trans Am is old-skool now, but it looks mile better by comparison.

I don't know how the ending is going to go for the TV Movie/pilot, but the word I've been hearing on the wire is that KITT, the original fully restored, will show up with Michael and save the day.

Mind you, that is just a word on the wire, but that's what I've been hearing. And oddly enough; that was the ending for the Feature Movie if David Hasselhoff had gotten his way and had stayed on with the project.

Was KITT unique? yes and no.

No, because there were other talking cars on TV shows and cartoons.

Yes, because he was probably the only car that had the personality that he did.


And like most people here, I too am a child of the 1980's and I do agree that our generation in regards to the quality of entertainment was miles better in comparison today.

For example:
* Shows were a little more innocent back then. i.e. these days you notice some words creeping in to dialogue today that would never have shown up in 80's shows.
* Shows weren't as suggestive as they are now. Granted, at times in Knight Rider actresses looked very suggestive in the swim suits they wore. Season 1's 'forget me not' and Season 3's 'dead of Knight' are prime examples. But these days, those would be considered 'tame' by comparison to what some people wear today.
* Shows didn't worry excessively about costs as much as they do today. Maybe this is why we won't see the Second Gen' KITT Turbo boosting.
* Saturday nights (particularly in the UK) were great- you'd have the A-Team, the Incredible Hulk, Miami Vice and Knight Rider. Not necessarily in that order, but that would make a great line up for the evening. Whereas now; studio executives are boring us to death with reality TV programming ranging from X-Factor (American Idol for those in the US) watching people with little or no talent at all torturing Simon Cowel with their "singing" (although in fairness, I couldn't think of anyone more deserving for that), to a bunch of nobodies on Big Brother having their breakfast. What do I care about some Joe Tuesday in a house isolated from society with 10 other people whom I know I won't know or care about 7 months after that show's annual run finishes. I say to this Studio Exec's around the world: Give us what we really want and that is quality entertainment back on Networks around the globe, and hopefully Knight Rider will be the one to start that the revolt against poor programming that has plagued TV for the last few years. I haven't watched anywhere as much as TV in the last few years because of the state it's gotten into it. TV is meant to be an escape from reality. When I come from work I that is want to do-escape. Not jump back heard first into reality!


Sorry about that. Just something I needed to vent.

I think as long as Knight Rider Second Generation stays true to it's root whilst making a leap forward by modernising it, I don't think it will have a problem. The biggest problem as far as the new potential Season 5 is being faced with is getting established fans and potential fans to fully accept the new Knight car. I am steadily accepting the KITT-Stang as the new KITT. But with the reported notable absence of Turbo Boost in the second generation, that has already hacked off many Knight Rider purists, the Transformers side of the new Pilot is going to be have to be over-the-top amazing to conpensate the lack of the original KITT's trademark trick.


But, I am a fair dude, so I am going to reserve judgement until I have fully seen the Pilot Movie on February 17th. No doubt will Youtube or veoh.com it.

But until then...we await for the arrival of a shadowy flight of a man against the odds.
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Re: On Being a fan in the past and future

Post by DrWho2005 » Fri Jan 18, 2008 6:35 pm

PHOENIXZERO wrote:The way I see it, just as Mike Traceur is the son of Michael Knight, the new KITT is the "son" of the original KITT.

Geez, i feel sorry for the dad- My son isnt that ugly

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Re: On Being a fan in the past and future

Post by DrWho2005 » Fri Jan 18, 2008 6:39 pm

MJknight wrote:I agree with both sides of the topic in question; true the Mustang is the hottest car around at the moment, and yes, the Trans Am is old-skool now, but it looks mile better by comparison.

I don't know how the ending is going to go for the TV Movie/pilot, but the word I've been hearing on the wire is that KITT, the original fully restored, will show up with Michael and save the day.

.

If that happens my neighbours will have me arrested for making strange yelling noises at the top of my lungs.

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