Re: The Knight Rider 2008 Constructive Criticism Thread
Posted: Mon Jan 26, 2009 2:34 am
I'm new to this forum and have read through many of the posts regarding this new Knight Rider series and I feel the need to add my 2 cents. Some of this may be repetitive and I apologize for that. I grew up with the classics like Knight Rider, Battlestar Galactica, Star Trek, Doctor Who, Airwolf, etc and although some of those may not be considered award winning, they were captivating and took you into another world for an hour. I have really tried to like this new Knight Rider and given it a chance to win me over but there is a key word in this sentence that sums up my overall impression; "tried". I find myself saying things like, "Oh my god that was horrible", "I can't believe I just watched that", and "I know they're trying to get this right but it just isn't working". I've broken this down to why it isn't working for me and please forgive me as I don't know the actors real names so I'll use their show names.
Why isn't this show working?
1. Acting. This show has extremely poor actors and their lack of enthusiasm really shows. The only 2 that seem to be 'getting it' and growing with the show and their roles are Michael and Billy. I have to give those 2 alot of credit as this is a tough, critical audience but what is seperating them from the rest is passion and it shows. This show isn't just about a fantastic talking car, there are stories to be told and it's the acting that is going to draw people in for an hour or make them want to turn it off. Michael is growing into his role and his passion for the show is starting to come out in these latest episodes. It is obvious that he is really trying and I think it's the writing that is binding him from really exploring the character. I have the same to say about Billy. He's a character that I find myself genuinly becoming interested in. He too is doing a good job and it's obvious that he wants to do this. Graiman (sp) has been alright but he's dead (maybe) so he doesn't count anymore.
As for the rest, well.
Zoey -- please make her go away. She cannot act and comes across as "hey look at me I'm in Knight Rider aren't I just the coolest". She brings nothing to the show and nothing to the group that Billy couldn't take up in his role.
Torres -- all I can say is I'm glad he's dead. No passion, no ability to draw people into the character, no more.
The Other FBI Female -- as above, I'm glad she's dead. What was her function other then some excitement for the viewers who happen to like lesbians in the pilot. She can not act and is another character that has failed to draw people in.
Sarah -- i know I'm going to get alot of flack for this one -- her only function in this show seems to be for sex appeal. Yes she has some talent, but I'm not seeing very much passion from her in this role. She comes across as a flake, phoney and only there so that viewers will look at her flesh. I find myself wanting her to get out of the shots so that Micheal and Kitt can have more screen time to work on their relationship and partnership which should be the focus of this show.
That brings me to the second point
2. Too many bad characters and not enough focus on Michael and Kitt. There is too much going on with trying to write in story lines for these bad actors that Michael and Kitt aren't getting enough time to grow on the audience and draw us into their growing friendship.
Which brings me to point three.
3. Writing -- I can't put all the fault on the writers. They have the task of trying to develop all these characters that don't really serve any functional purpose and it's taking away from what this show is, Michael Knight and the fantastic car duo that are inseperable. I give Michael credit for doing the best he can with what's been given to him. These past few episodes could have been fantastic with Michael exploring more of his past with Karr and building up to a battle with more depth and feeling because we would have been drawn in deeper to the story of Michael and Karr and Kitt's desire to want to help Mike overcome his past and beat down this uber evil Karr. But it all got lost due to trying to focus on other characters and left us with a multitude of questions.
On to point four.
4. Questions -- I feel this is something that has contributed to how this show is coming across. We are left with way too many questions and trying to figure things out on our own. Yes, a degree of mystery is warranted with things like Mike's past and the character discovering key points along the way with us the audience, however; certain things have gotten lost that us Knight Rider fans shouldn't be questioning and I think is part of the reason that we are having troubles with this show. Why are we questioning the new Karr's origins, why did graimen build another Karr, did graimen build it or the nsa, did Mike like being Karr's driver, did Karr take over Mike, etc. This I feel goes back to too many characters and the writing. There just hasn't been time in these shows to answer those questions and take us deeper into the personality of Mike and the world of Karr, Mike and Kitt.
I read another post about why some sequel shows are successful and others are not or something like that. There was a great comparison using Doctor Who as an example. One of the key points was the actors passion for the role and his obvious enthusiasm for the whole history of Doctor Who. He didn't have to 'try' to be the new Doctor, he simply 'was' the new Doctor. He drew us into the world of Doctor Who right from the start and it's gone on from there. Brilliant!
I feel the actor playing Michael has this ability as well. He simply has not been given the scripting and freedom to accomplish this. He's competing with too many other characters cast by poor actors and it really does show. One of the major factors in fantastic shows such as these is the actors ability to bring you into that space. Star Trek started with a poor budget but a good concept. What turned it into something that became a cult? The actors. Their enthusiam for the show and the roles they played took you into that universe. Each role served a function and the personalities they brought to the characters really pulled you in making you smile, laugh, feel concerned and identify with who they were in those roles. The old Knight Rider did the same. A show about a fantastic talking car? How ridiculus. But what made it popular? Hasslehoffs ability to bring you along for the ride and genuinely care about his character and his friendship with Kitt. Same with Bonnie and Devon. There was passion in their roles.
I do feel this new Knight Rider could have a future and I do hope they can work out these bugs.
Kudos to Billy and Mike. I like what you are doing and maybe it's time you two stood up and said "Come on, let's get back to Knight Rider. A show about a man and his fantastic talking car that can do all kinds of cool things and take down the evil guys as inseperable partners with his genuis mechanic/tech that cares for Kitt as much as a best friend."
p.s. To the effects team. Outstanding. You're doing a fantastic job. It's simply that you aren't given enough time and resources to bring us these epic battles and more flash in the shows due to the afore mentioned points. I hope you are kept on if the show survives and that you too are given more time within the series to show your talents and help Michael and Kitt be the fantastic duo that is potentially there.
Why isn't this show working?
1. Acting. This show has extremely poor actors and their lack of enthusiasm really shows. The only 2 that seem to be 'getting it' and growing with the show and their roles are Michael and Billy. I have to give those 2 alot of credit as this is a tough, critical audience but what is seperating them from the rest is passion and it shows. This show isn't just about a fantastic talking car, there are stories to be told and it's the acting that is going to draw people in for an hour or make them want to turn it off. Michael is growing into his role and his passion for the show is starting to come out in these latest episodes. It is obvious that he is really trying and I think it's the writing that is binding him from really exploring the character. I have the same to say about Billy. He's a character that I find myself genuinly becoming interested in. He too is doing a good job and it's obvious that he wants to do this. Graiman (sp) has been alright but he's dead (maybe) so he doesn't count anymore.
As for the rest, well.
Zoey -- please make her go away. She cannot act and comes across as "hey look at me I'm in Knight Rider aren't I just the coolest". She brings nothing to the show and nothing to the group that Billy couldn't take up in his role.
Torres -- all I can say is I'm glad he's dead. No passion, no ability to draw people into the character, no more.
The Other FBI Female -- as above, I'm glad she's dead. What was her function other then some excitement for the viewers who happen to like lesbians in the pilot. She can not act and is another character that has failed to draw people in.
Sarah -- i know I'm going to get alot of flack for this one -- her only function in this show seems to be for sex appeal. Yes she has some talent, but I'm not seeing very much passion from her in this role. She comes across as a flake, phoney and only there so that viewers will look at her flesh. I find myself wanting her to get out of the shots so that Micheal and Kitt can have more screen time to work on their relationship and partnership which should be the focus of this show.
That brings me to the second point
2. Too many bad characters and not enough focus on Michael and Kitt. There is too much going on with trying to write in story lines for these bad actors that Michael and Kitt aren't getting enough time to grow on the audience and draw us into their growing friendship.
Which brings me to point three.
3. Writing -- I can't put all the fault on the writers. They have the task of trying to develop all these characters that don't really serve any functional purpose and it's taking away from what this show is, Michael Knight and the fantastic car duo that are inseperable. I give Michael credit for doing the best he can with what's been given to him. These past few episodes could have been fantastic with Michael exploring more of his past with Karr and building up to a battle with more depth and feeling because we would have been drawn in deeper to the story of Michael and Karr and Kitt's desire to want to help Mike overcome his past and beat down this uber evil Karr. But it all got lost due to trying to focus on other characters and left us with a multitude of questions.
On to point four.
4. Questions -- I feel this is something that has contributed to how this show is coming across. We are left with way too many questions and trying to figure things out on our own. Yes, a degree of mystery is warranted with things like Mike's past and the character discovering key points along the way with us the audience, however; certain things have gotten lost that us Knight Rider fans shouldn't be questioning and I think is part of the reason that we are having troubles with this show. Why are we questioning the new Karr's origins, why did graimen build another Karr, did graimen build it or the nsa, did Mike like being Karr's driver, did Karr take over Mike, etc. This I feel goes back to too many characters and the writing. There just hasn't been time in these shows to answer those questions and take us deeper into the personality of Mike and the world of Karr, Mike and Kitt.
I read another post about why some sequel shows are successful and others are not or something like that. There was a great comparison using Doctor Who as an example. One of the key points was the actors passion for the role and his obvious enthusiasm for the whole history of Doctor Who. He didn't have to 'try' to be the new Doctor, he simply 'was' the new Doctor. He drew us into the world of Doctor Who right from the start and it's gone on from there. Brilliant!
I feel the actor playing Michael has this ability as well. He simply has not been given the scripting and freedom to accomplish this. He's competing with too many other characters cast by poor actors and it really does show. One of the major factors in fantastic shows such as these is the actors ability to bring you into that space. Star Trek started with a poor budget but a good concept. What turned it into something that became a cult? The actors. Their enthusiam for the show and the roles they played took you into that universe. Each role served a function and the personalities they brought to the characters really pulled you in making you smile, laugh, feel concerned and identify with who they were in those roles. The old Knight Rider did the same. A show about a fantastic talking car? How ridiculus. But what made it popular? Hasslehoffs ability to bring you along for the ride and genuinely care about his character and his friendship with Kitt. Same with Bonnie and Devon. There was passion in their roles.
I do feel this new Knight Rider could have a future and I do hope they can work out these bugs.
Kudos to Billy and Mike. I like what you are doing and maybe it's time you two stood up and said "Come on, let's get back to Knight Rider. A show about a man and his fantastic talking car that can do all kinds of cool things and take down the evil guys as inseperable partners with his genuis mechanic/tech that cares for Kitt as much as a best friend."
p.s. To the effects team. Outstanding. You're doing a fantastic job. It's simply that you aren't given enough time and resources to bring us these epic battles and more flash in the shows due to the afore mentioned points. I hope you are kept on if the show survives and that you too are given more time within the series to show your talents and help Michael and Kitt be the fantastic duo that is potentially there.