My 5 wishes to improve Knight Rider

[goldbug]

1. Get rid of the subliminal & very obvious advertising of "Ford" on the show. (For crying outloud we all know "K.I.T.T." is a "Ford"!!!!!!!!!!!!!! "Give it a Rest!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!")

How is it "subliminal"? All Ford logos and vehicles get prominant placement, as do the Snake logos on KITT.

2. Eliminate the whole "Team Knight Rider" vibe of this show & break it back down to Mike, K.I.T.T., Sarah & Charles it keeps things really "simple" & preserves the essence of the way the original series was handled.

The characters you mention are the feature characters. Carrie didn't even appear in this week's episode. And since is KITT is the only "super car" in the show, how is there a TKR feel?

3. Better writing within story lines & dialogue.

Considering we're only two eps in (and the 2nd seems very well received), I'd say we're already heading that way.

4. Redo the opening credits exactly like the original series. (Instead of showing a montage of clips.)

Actually some of the footage (mostly the digital stuff) was created for the credits sequence. The original KR opening sequence did feature clips from episodes as well.

5. Pray that all of these blogs, complaints & etc. are at least taken seriously enough to the "powers that be" of this show & "NBC " & hopefully they'll "realize & maybe even have some sort of epiphany & say to themselves "perhaps we could use these suggestions that everyone's been "Ranting & Blogging about."

Except that most rants are just that, a lot of complaining with little substance. 90% of rants out there are "Do this exactly like the original show". If that was what NBC was going to do, they'd just reair the original KR and save gobs of money. I've seen few reviews that actually identify weaknesses in the show and then suggest solutions in a positive manner.

The VFX team and the KR team in general are very aware of this site and the fan comments out there. That's part of the reason we even got "Turbo Boost" back, so I'd say we are being listened to - but that doesn't mean GST and gang don't have their own stories to tell either.

[TallSox08]

My wishes for the "New Knight Rider" are:

5. Pray that all of these blogs, complaints & etc. are at least taken seriously enough to the "powers that be" of this show & "NBC " & hopefully they'll "realize & maybe even have some sort of epiphany & say to themselves "perhaps we could use these suggestions that everyone's been "Ranting & Blogging about."

That is putting a lot of faith in people that have done a real number on our show, isn't it?

[ilana]

The country is actually spelled "IRAQ".

Ah, that's my mistake. Sorry.

You seem to think he only now realizes there are holes in his memory, when in fact he admits during his 1:1 conversation with Sarah that he has known for a while he doesn't remember things and that he doesn't necesarily WANT to remember. This is not uncommon among those who have undergone battlefield trauma.

Say, it was not clear for me that he had known about really serious holes in his memory. Well, anyway, if he really had battlefield trauma, then why he worked for FBI and the organisation? He's an ill person and cannot ran with a gun, fighting with ctriminals. I don't want to say that this whole story is impossible. I want to say, his actions must be motivated. Otherwise, I don't believe!!!

Of COURSE they're going to do this covertly and try to get Mike through Sarah and not raid the entire building searching for him.

Look, these four bad guys went to the consulate by a secrete entry. They wanted to catch Mike. So they had to know that he is in the building. And it was not necessary that Sarah knew where exactly he was. They just had to wait for Mike in the room and keep the girl as a hostage.

...but you'd have a hard time convincing anyone that "Mike Traceur" is still alive when the evening news says he's dead complete with a picture of him and a body.

We don't know how, but the criminals had got secret information from the organisation. They probably are able to know that Mike is alive again. I want to say that idf Carrie really wanted to help Mike, she had to learn HOW the criminals got information first. And only then "kill" Mike.

And let's not forget that Wilton gave Michael Long the face of his not-so-nice, criminal son. Is it any more logical to give your "Knight" the face of a criminal?

I agree with Armen-Knight on the subject. I think, Wilton wanted Michael looks like his son. Psycologically it's quite possible. Maibe that idea was not ideal, but he was just a man and his heart was broken by Garth.

Except that Mike doesn't know that's what they did, and frankly, the fate of "The Package" is ambiguous.

Mike does not look like a little lamb. This guy is very dangerous for FBI. Of cause, I hope that he will not be killed though... Even though he is one more very stupid person in the company.

In general, I just can say I DON'T BELIEVE! People actions are not clearly motivated or rational.

[Space]

I'm hoping they improve on the red light in front of the car. There using the old sound with a new light and for me thats not working. If they were going to use the old sound, they should have made the light go back and forth like the old light....

[Knight-Armen]

The new scanner is not even in sync with the sound!

If I may comment on the voice provided by Kilmer, I'd like to add that it's not very representative of a computer. I mean we all appreciate Robert De Niro, Al Pacino, Clint Eastwood and Christian Bale etc. but none of them are suited for the voice of Ki3t and neither is Val Kilmer. A computer must act and talk like one which the old Kitt did! The same thing goes for the vehicles in TKR, they all sounded like humans and... well, if this is where we are heading then they might as well have somebody talk to Justin through a cell phone with the speakers on.

Wouldn't make any difference, right?

[Space]

I hope the redo the attack mode the car and have Chip Foose design it. he has work a lot with the new Mustangs and I think he can make it look way nicer then it does now....

[goldbug]

Say, it was not clear for me that he had known about really serious holes in his memory.

I'm paraphrasing b/c I don't have the episode here, but he basically says "There are things I don't remember.", so I'm quite sure he's aware.

Look, these four bad guys went to the consulate by a secrete entry. They wanted to catch Mike. So they had to know that he is in the building. And it was not necessary that Sarah knew where exactly he was. They just had to wait for Mike in the room and keep the girl as a hostage.

They knew he was in the building, but from the looks of it on the outside, it had at least 8 floors. To search every floor and get past ALL building security would take way too much effort and wind up with many hurt people (including their own guys), so why risk that when you can grab one woman and make her tell you where your target is? It's simple tactics: use minimum resources to achieve maximum results.

And of course they could assume Sarah knew where Mike was. They were partners and had a way to communicate with each other. They were clearly there to get "the package" and the files and had a plan. When you do undercover work, you have to know where your backup is. It was a logical assumption on the part of the military-bad-guys.

We don't know how, but the criminals had got secret information from the organisation. They probably are able to know that Mike is alive again. I want to say that idf Carrie really wanted to help Mike, she had to learn HOW the criminals got information first. And only then "kill" Mike.

"Probably", but we don't know for sure. And how do we know that Carrie isn't working on just that? We know Mike's memory issues are part of the overall arc for the season - so why not wait to see how that story pans out before judging?

I agree with Armen-Knight on the subject. I think, Wilton wanted Michael looks like his son. Psycologically it's quite possible. Maibe that idea was not ideal, but he was just a man and his heart was broken by Garth.

Then we'll agree to disagree. To me, it makes as much sense as Bruce Wayne taking on the face of the Joker.

Mike does not look like a little lamb. This guy is very dangerous for FBI. Of cause, I hope that he will not be killed though... Even though he is one more very stupid person in the company.

I'm not saying if the FBI kept him alive it would be for altruistic reasons. I'm sure the FBI would only keep him alive to keep him in check and extract more information from him down the line. A guy who can encrypt something in his DNA sounds pretty intelligent, and I can see the shadowy organizations within the government wanting control over such an asset and not necesarily his death.

[Stealthwalker]

1. Get rid of the subliminal & very obvious advertising of "Ford" on the show. (For crying outloud we all know "K.I.T.T." is a "Ford"!!!!!!!!!!!!!! "Give it a Rest!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!")

How is it "subliminal"? All Ford logos and vehicles get prominant placement, as do the Snake logos on KITT.

A: The other little vehicles that are around K.I.T.T. during the driving scenes, but I understand "Ford is sponsoring the show".

2. Eliminate the whole "Team Knight Rider" vibe of this show & break it back down to Mike, K.I.T.T., Sarah & Charles it keeps things really "simple" & preserves the essence of the way the original series was handled.

The characters you mention are the feature characters. Carrie didn't even appear in this week's episode. And since is KITT is the only "super car" in the show, how is there a TKR feel?

A: It's just the fact that there's a team operating alongside "Mike & K.I.T.T.", I'm starting digest them a little better despite the fact some of their dialogue gets a little "cheesy" at times, but hey the Original Series had "cheesy" moments as well.

3. Better writing within story lines & dialogue.

Considering we're only two eps in (and the 2nd seems very well received), I'd say we're already heading that way.

A: Good Point

4. Redo the opening credits exactly like the original series. (Instead of showing a montage of clips.)

Actually some of the footage (mostly the digital stuff) was created for the credits sequence. The original KR opening sequence did feature clips from episodes as well.

A: I was talking about having KI3T driving toward the camera in the desert & highlighting KI3T's interior like they did for KI2T & then showing the montage of clips.

But these are just "wishes" of my own & if I don't like the show, I don't watch it, but I think that "GST & Gang" are saving the best stuff for last.

[RobWolf]

1. Cancel Show
2. Destroy all copies of existing episodes including Pilot
3. A good kicking to all involoved in the show
4. Erase memory of show from Humanity
5. Start over again

[PunkMaister]

Now this is funny most supposedly, supposedly want the show to succeed but hate everything about for what I've read here...

[Garthe Knight]

Well, that's because we all want a Knight Rider show, but we want one that delivers what fans want.
And there are some parts of the new show that are disappointing.

[Rockatteer]

I would be really interested to hear what people who don't know anything about Knight Rider, think of this new show.

[Garthe Knight]

So, here are the results this far, and in my opinion you can see a trend what we think needs the most changes.
Hope someone from the sees this, it's the only way that we can help them make the show better (or at least what we think would be better).
The number gives the number of votes.

No Transforming 12
No Truck Mode 12
One Man - One Car (no team) 11
No Attack Mode 11
No KR logo 10
No Logos on KITT (Shelby/Mustang/GT 500/Cobra) 9
more KITT functions 9
better dashboard with buttons/monitors 7
less green screen/CGI and better quality 7
more nods to TOS 6
no neon (or at least make it red) 6
redesign attack mode, more subtle 6
no cave, no plane, but a semi 4
modified steering wheel 3
no fishbowl voicebox 2
nano paint 2
old Theme song / redo opening credits 2
bring back MBS 2
Engine startup sequence 2

Edit: BTW, to be honest, I didn't count RobWolf's votes.

[David]

1. Use more REAL driving sequences - what happened to the car in the pilot where the stunt driver was on the roof and the actors were filmed pretending to drive? The green screen stuff at the moment looks *?$#.
2. More REAL stunts - we need to see a realistic TURBO BOOST and NOW!
3. Coherent editing - quick-cut "MTV style" kinetic editing is OK, but what we have right now is an often incoherent mess.
4. Better dialogue - most of the stuff we've heard so far makes the original KR seem like Shakespeare.
5. A coherent explanation of what Mike and KITT are all about - I'm not sure that right now anyone is clear about who they work for? A Knight Industries project co-opted by the Feds is it?

[Rockatteer]

Edit: BTW, to be honest, I didn't count RobWolf's votes.

LOL good call.

[David]

I would be really interested to hear what people who don't know anything about Knight Rider, think of this new show.

My girlfriend watched the second episode with me and repeatedly laughed out loud at the special effects (turbo boost and faked driving scenes) and the corny dialogue.

Hard to defend, really.

[PunkMaister]

So, here are the results this far, and in my opinion you can see a trend what we think needs the most changes.
Hope someone from the sees this, it's the only way that we can help them make the show better (or at least what we think would be better).
The number gives the number of votes.

No Transforming 12
No Truck Mode 12
One Man - One Car (no team) 11
No Attack Mode 11
No KR logo 10
No Logos on KITT (Shelby/Mustang/GT 500/Cobra) 9
more KITT functions 9
better dashboard with buttons/monitors 7
less green screen/CGI and better quality 7
more nods to TOS 6
no neon (or at least make it red) 6
redesign attack mode, more subtle 6
no cave, no plane, but a semi 4
modified steering wheel 3
no fishbowl voicebox 2
nano paint 2
old Theme song / redo opening credits 2
bring back MBS 2
Engine startup sequence 2

Edit: BTW, to be honest, I didn't count RobWolf's votes.

In short cancel the show and make the 80's show as it was all during the 80's foreva, period as there is no way for Kiit to exist in the 21st century, the end...

[Garthe Knight]

In short cancel the show and make the 80's show as it was all during the 80's foreva, period as there is no way for Kiit to exist in the 21st century, the end...

Well, No.
Most wishes are not about the plot, I personaly think the background story is interesting and the episodes so far were not bad, storywise.

I like the Mustang as KITT, I like Mike Knight and so far noone said anything else.
It's the details that make it hard to love the show. That's because the blue neon light under the car jus screams "SILLY". KR was never fully serious, but back in the 80s they had serious episodes with a funny tone.
Now they try so hard to be cool, that all the serious and funny parts seem ridiculous, and that's what makes it so hard to love the show, even if we all want to.
And we all complain and think of things to improve because we care for KR and want it to succeed.

[Rockatteer]

Exactly!

My girlfriend watched the second episode with me and repeatedly laughed out loud at the special effects (turbo boost and faked driving scenes) and the corny dialogue.

Oh dear.. that's kind of what I expected.

The producers really need to pull their finger out before it's too late.

[PunkMaister]

In short cancel the show and make the 80's show as it was all during the 80's foreva, period as there is no way for Kiit to exist in the 21st century, the end...

Well, No.
Most wishes are not about the plot, I personaly think the background story is interesting and the episodes so far were not bad, storywise.

I like the Mustang as KITT, I like Mike Knight and so far noone said anything else.
It's the details that make it hard to love the show. That's because the blue neon light under the car jus screams "SILLY". KR was never fully serious, but back in the 80s they had serious episodes with a funny tone.
Now they try so hard to be cool, that all the serious and funny parts seem ridiculous, and that's what makes it so hard to love the show, even if we all want to.
And we all complain and think of things to improve because we care for KR and want it to succeed.

Maybe so but the person I quoted made it cristal clear that it wants a total return to the 80's look and timeperiod of the show.

[321C-Button]

Ok so after watching Knight of the Iguana I think that the show is beginning to get into the swing of things. I liked the first few episodes but there were definitely some "campy" parts that were not realistic, including the computer generated stuff! But Iguana I thought began more dialogue between "serious" dialogue between characters and less use of computer generated stuff, which made the show more believable and watchable. The transforming stuff is cool but used correctly the writers will soon learn that the show is about the relationship between Michael and KITT and both of them kicking butt!

[wheresmurphy]

I wanted to add some of my own rants about the new show.
One of the biggest problems I have is the scanner sound. I'm fine with it being out of sync with the light bar, and I'm fine with the old school sound it makes. My biggest gripe is that the sound is always going. They need to tone it down with the SFX, the Old school Kitt's scanner didn't make a sound every 2 seconds.

Next I know alot of people are wishing for a high tech dashboard, but the problem is were not in the 1980's and having a bunch of buttons to push to push isn't as futuristic as being able to say.. Kitt turbo boost or having the display come across the windshield. I mean back in the day that was crazy but if were getting a futuristic car than it seems old school to have to push the button for turbo boost instead of just saying it. Oh yeah speaking of turbo boost I miss the pulled to the back of the seat look the Hoff gave it when he pushed the button and the jumping around in the seat when he landed, they should bring that back.

The other thing that bugged me was where's the grappling hook? I just finished the 2nd episode the other day and Kitt and Mike made no attempt to save Sean from going over the cliff.. I mean they could have hit the gas pedal or something. Old school Kitt and Micheal would have shot a grappling hook from a football field away connected with the bumper with ease and pulled the wheels from right under the vehicle saving a life and putting another criminal behind bars.
These are just my own opinions. Thanks for reading

[toby412]

1) Get rid of the ridiculous looking cheap and horribly designed attack mode and go back to the original design from the pilot when KITT transformed into something that actually looked like it was crafted in 2008 and not 1975 (especially that silly plastic looking excuse for ram air on the hood)

This was a beautifully designed and well thought out (and aggressive looking) vehicle:
http://l.yimg.com/img.tv.yahoo.com/tv/u ... 134204.jpg" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

not this:
http://carscoop.blogspot.com/2008/07/gh ... ttack.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

2)GET BETTER ACTORS. Are you kidding me? Watching this is even more painful than watching Beverly Hills 90210.

3)Stop with the hoochie mama scenes. Every episode has one or multiple women in bathing suits with their chest hanging out (or something else). Look, I understand that attracts certain people, but come on, this isn't BAYWATCH.

4)Make it more realistic and believable. Who in the world acts like these people? These are supposedly special ops forces, undercover agents and serious criminals. The level of maturity this program exhibits and attracts is probably focused around the ages of 10 and under. They try to be funny, but it's not a comedy. If I want comedy I'll watch Chuck. CGI can be very well received and makes things look very realistic. You're spending millions on CGI for a cheap show for kids. Why not make it for adults and have a serious plot with serious actors in serious roles. Kids will watch the show if the CGI is cool. I mean really, who from the FBI that you know of works and talks like that? The pilot program was actually more of a serious show than the series. That caught my interest, with the exception of some horrible scripts and acting of the criminals.

One other thing - are you kidding me with the guns and shooting? Some of the scenes are so horribly filmed it is painful to view. The criminals are unloading barrels of bullets from their machine guns, 20 feet from Michael and Sarah, and they can't hit them? It's as if they're impenetrable. I was especially annoyed during one episode when someone was shooting at Sarah and she crawled back to close a door (right before KITT transformed for the first time into a truck - yea don't get me started on that one) without ever getting hit by a bullet. Reminds me of the slapstick humor comedy movies like "Naked Gun" when actors are shooting and no one gets hit, but the one guy can walk through the bullets calmly, take out another gun and with one shot, kill everyone who was shooting at them.

5) plot. Yea, exactly.... GET ONE! Seems very silly and poorly scripted.

When I first saw the pilot, I was actually very excited. It looked like Knight Rider 2008. Now it just reminds me of Power Rangers. I will be VERY amazed if this show stays on for another season. I've actually lost all interest in watching this show any longer. I only hope the writers/producers and NBC will see these recommendations and fix them.

oh and BTW, I agree with an earlier post - go back to nano KITT, not this crummy stuff.....

[Knight-Armen]

toby412 - I totally agree with you on all points. Especially this one:

"3)Stop with the hoochie mama scenes. Every episode has one or multiple women in bathing suits with their chest hanging out (or something else). Look, I understand that attracts certain people, but come on, this isn't BAYWATCH."

Back when everything was yet unannounced (on KR08) I thought they were actually going to give us something that was a lot more serious that of TOS. Almost like the transition between the original Batman movies by Tim Burton and Joel Schumacher to the new one with Christian Bale. What you see is a Batman with a darker personality which made everything a lot more credible. Of course to begin with you must determine your target audience, is it for kids or adults or yet maybe even both?

People got upset when I said they need to cut down on "women with bathing suits" as you mentioned and this is not because of a resentment towards them but along with other aspects of the show they make everything look overdone and stereotype. They all seem too young and unexperienced for this kind of crime fighting TV show and that takes away of what TOS was percieved so unique in.

[PHOENIXZERO]

Who are you to call anyone here too young when most of us are older than you?