knight rider online

Well, Paul Campbell actually, but the actor playing Billy has been signed for a lead role in "No Heroics". The show revolves around a group of somewhat less than grand superheroes who live amongst the regular folks and Paul plays the leader of the group who can freeze stuff. I'm not sure how this well affect a second season of Knight Rider but as long as the show is filmed in Cali, there shouldn't be any serious scheduling problems.

I don't want to be Chicken Little here, but I do NOT see this as a good sign. Why would NBC allow him to star on an ABC comedy series if he was still under contract for Knight Rider? I can't recall an instance of an actor starring on two shows on two different (non-related) networks at the same time, but if anybody else can PLEASE tell me.

* goes into corner and sulks while waiting for better news *

CrimsonK9 wrote:I don't want to be Chicken Little here, but I do NOT see this as a good sign. Why would NBC allow him to star on an ABC comedy series if he was still under contract for Knight Rider? I can't recall an instance of an actor starring on two shows on two different (non-related) networks at the same time, but if anybody else can PLEASE tell me.

* goes into corner and sulks while waiting for better news *

Sadly this cannot be worst news because is not humanly possible!

CrimsonK9 wrote:I don't want to be Chicken Little here, but I do NOT see this as a good sign. Why would NBC allow him to star on an ABC comedy series if he was still under contract for Knight Rider? I can't recall an instance of an actor starring on two shows on two different (non-related) networks at the same time, but if anybody else can PLEASE tell me.

* goes into corner and sulks while waiting for better news *

Best case scenario is KR is renewed but Billy the character is dropped. Worst case scenario is the casts' contracts have expired via NBC exercising their option and Campbell's the first to secure a new job which means KR isn't coming back. I wouldn't put too much into this though since in 2 weeks NBC will announce the fall slate.

Well, I think the fat lady is starting to warm up. Actors don't go unto pilots unless they don't have something concrete behind them. Yes, I agree this would be great for Paul's career if it takes off...but as a KR fan, i'm not happy

Lexicon wrote:I'm not sure how this well affect a second season of Knight Rider but as long as the show is filmed in Cali, there shouldn't be any serious scheduling problems.

It's a very rare thing that an actor can be in 2 places at once. Heather Locklear did it with TJ Hooker and Dynasty...but that was over 20 years, and both shows on ABC, and I think also both shows were Aaron Spelling productions. Can anyone else think of a similar circumstance more recent than that? (Please don't use the Grey's Anatomy/Private Practice thing...since those shows do not involve the same actor in place on both shows for the entire season/series.)

It's a Pilot - which they make tons of and it's rare that they make them into production shows, so it's not necessarily a swan song yet. The ABC show is a lead role, and KR is supporting - perhaps there is something to the ability to get out of a contract there too...

Hello There Everyone,

Will you relax. This is a pilot and nothing more. We don't even know NBC's or even ABC fall schedule yet. There is no guarantee that this Pilot Heroics will even make it on the air. These people have to do something in their free time and cover themselves in the event that Knight is Cancelled, which at this point in time it is not. Besides, it not impossible for a person to work to shows. William Daniels the original voice of K.I.T.T. also did Saint Elsewhere at the same time. I am sure that there have been other examples of actors and actress's doing two shows. So, relax and wait to we see what happens here instead of this need to rush Knight Rider into the grave. As I keep saying I have this feeling that the show will be back. In couple of weeks we will find out whether or not I am right with this feeling...

Thanks and take care,
Michael P. Nepa

I loved the new KR once it got going, and more than anything I want to see it continue, but I think this is the first proof that it won't be getting picked up. Paul was signed on for a multi-year deal with NBC for KR just like the rest of them, and since the cast was reduced his role has become a greater one. No, he's not the lead, but he's not merely support either. He wouldn't have a role in a potential new series with a different network unless he was already released. There's no guarantee his new pilot will get picked up, no... but there's also no guarantee it won't be either. ABC wouldn't hire him unless he was free to star in the show if it went to series this autumn (fall), that's how the business works, ABC simply wouldn't hire an actor who could get called back to another show and end up leaving them short if their's goes to series. The William Daniels example doesn't work, as he was merely a voiceover and could record all his lines in a few hours.

If this is the first sign of bad news, in my opinion there's only one person to blame: GST. The pilot left off in a good position for a great series, but in my own opinion it felt like GST didn't do his research and as a result ended up producing something that people weren't expecting, or wanting.

Such a shame, there was so much potential in that cast, in Kilmer, in the Mustang etc etc etc. Fingers crossed, but doubts are plentiful.

There's a possibility that he left KR, or he's doing both shows IMO. In KR he doesn't get much screen time. If this is a 30 minute show, then I guess he could do both roles.

All I know is if I were Billy Morgan, I wouldn't get on any C-130's anytime soon....

it doesen't sound too good for kr08 coming back for a second season if billy is going to a different network to shoot a pilot!

Bad sign.

I'll wait for the NBC's word, but this doesn't look good. There is the possibility that Knight Rider will be a midseason replacement or return in the summer of 2010 if it does well in other countries, but again, this is a bad sign.

I agree with Neps, this should not be a bad sign at all. its just a pilot.
I remember when Michel J. Fox was shooting "Back to the Future", he was already working on his comedy show "dont remember the title of the show". so I dont think this is a bad sign.
Remember something, even the actors dont know if their will be another season yet "correct me if I am wrong here" So maybe he is making some backup plans for him self.

Well look at it like this....

Look how easily Charles, Alex and Carrie were wote out of the show... We accepted it and moved on. They can write ole billy out just as quickly.

Looking at the kind of personality Mr. Campbell had he seemed to be the most accessale member of the cast. He made little videos and all that.

Seems to me that a pilot not quite started now would be too late to be considered for the fall schedule. This may be something to file away for a mid-season or following season. If NBC is announcing around April or May, I suspect ABC will as well. Too close to produce, evaluate and/or tweak a pilot I think. Also, I believe characters in pilots can be added or dropped and actors swapped out. I won't take this as a negative just yet. Ever the optimist.

Sorry folks, but the only way ABC would consider hiring Paul Campbell is that either he's been released from his contract on Knight Rider (which is bad news as his character is great and it means KR is getting ANOTHER cast shake-up!) or that his character is only due to appear in the pilot episode and not the full series, but seeing as it's being reported in several places that he's to LEAD the cast, this looks doubtful.

I wouldn't sweat it.

If it's anything like the UK version of "No Heroics" it won't get past the pilot episode.

It was a neat idea but not terribly well executed and I'm surprised it's even being considered in the US, especially considering a) UK series remade into US shows RARELY succeed and b) it wasn't even on a prime UK network - it was something like ITV2 which only gets a relatively tiny viewership.

I guess they're desperate for another "The Office" but I reckon it'd end up more like "Life on Mars", which, though brilliant as the UK show, missed the point altogether in the US remake - and I believe has now been cancelled?

Knight007 wrote:I agree with Neps, this should not be a bad sign at all. its just a pilot.
I remember when Michel J. Fox was shooting "Back to the Future", he was already working on his comedy show "dont remember the title of the show". so I dont think this is a bad sign.
Remember something, even the actors dont know if their will be another season yet "correct me if I am wrong here" So maybe he is making some backup plans for him self.

Michael J. Fox almost didn't get to be in Back to the Future due to his contract for Family Ties and how his filming the movie could disrupt production of the series, they wouldn't let him do it. It was after a lot of back and fourth and Eric Stoltz not working out as Marty McFly, they finally convinced the producers of Family Ties to let him make the movie they figured that the publicity it would get could attract more viewers to the show. He then spent that time killing himself with doing both and getting almost zero sleep.

Super Flash wrote:Hello There Everyone,

William Daniels the original voice of K.I.T.T. also did Saint Elsewhere at the same time.

Well, to be fair, St. Elsewhere was another NBC production which actually premiered a month after Knight Rider though I'm sure he was working on it well before they had him do KITT. Plus since it was only voice work it really didn't take him all that long to read his lines that it would disrupt production of the other show. WD pretty much saw it, IIRC as a fun thing to do on the side, like a weekend gig.


Anyway, since this is only a pilot that has a higher chance of not making it to series or air than actually doing so, it's really nothing to worry about and besides even if it did get picked up it's not a guarantee he'd be coming along with it. Plus, I'm sure their contracts don't restrict them from working completely while the show isn't in production so it really does mean nothing.

Whether this series gets picked up or not is irrelevant (sp?) as the main point here is that ABC have hired him, and they wouldn't do so if he was still tied to KR. They don't hire people for the lead roles on the off-chance it'll go to series and their main lead's current series might get canned!

ABC would be hiring cast that would be free to record a series as soon as the opportunity arose. Even if No Heroes doesn't get picked up, the cast would have to be available if it did. I'm sorry, I love the new KR but this is bad news folks. GST said the cast hadn't been released a week or so ago... sounds like now they have.

knightendo77 wrote:Whether this series gets picked up or not is irrelevant (sp?) as the main point here is that ABC have hired him, and they wouldn't do so if he was still tied to KR. They don't hire people for the lead roles on the off-chance it'll go to series and their main lead's current series might get canned!

ABC would be hiring cast that would be free to record a series as soon as the opportunity arose. Even if No Heroes doesn't get picked up, the cast would have to be available if it did. I'm sorry, I love the new KR but this is bad news folks. GST said the cast hadn't been released a week or so ago... sounds like now they have.

As others have pointed out this is not necessarily the case.

Hello There Everyone,

I am left scratching my head here. The guy is hired to do a pilot for one show for ABC and that is it. If this show Heroics does not get picked up then what? Billy has to do something with his time and making a pilot that was filmed probably sometime back is no big deal. You amaze on how you say love the show Knight Rider which I do too but, are quick to bury it when news like this comes out. This is not bad news or the end. Again, please relax here. Until the fall schedules are announced here, Knight Rider is still alive and kicking. I believe that NBC didn't have a problem with Billy going and filming a pilot figuring it would not see the light of day. Now, let us think happy thoughts and believe that Knight Rider will be back.

Thanks And Take Care,
Michael P. Nepa

Knight007 wrote:I agree with Neps, this should not be a bad sign at all. its just a pilot.
I remember when Michel J. Fox was shooting "Back to the Future", he was already working on his comedy show "dont remember the title of the show".

Family Ties, which he was already had a season under his belt. MJF picked up BTTF after Eric Stoltz was dismissed. If memory serves, Robert Zemeckis and Gary David Goldberg worked something out so that MJF missed minimal work from Family Ties, but he did a lot of shooting at night.

Please also remember that actors on TV shows usually have the summer off to shoot movies, if they so wish...but this isn't a movie. It's a pilot, so there exists the possibility of it going to a full order.

edit...Phoenix Zero said it...oops...i guess i should read all the posts before firing off my cannons...

my bad...

Hey guys - I've been in the entertainment business for s few years and have seen this happen a few times. So the way this works is like this...

Paul is under contract with NBC until they officially release him, whether it be in two weeks or six years. In the event that both Knight Rider and No Heroics are picked up for the fall season NBC has first right of refusal. If they decide they will not release Paul to the other network then No Heroics has to recast the role. The reason you don't see this happen very often is because it"s pretty tough to replace a lead actor after a pilot is already shot. But it happens. So this isn't necessarily a bad sign, it just means that Paul has a backup plan in case KR isn't coming back. I say - you go boyee!!!!

fatkidskinnyman wrote:Hey guys - I've been in the entertainment business for s few years and have seen this happen a few times. So the way this works is like this...

Paul is under contract with NBC until they officially release him, whether it be in two weeks or six years. In the event that both Knight Rider and No Heroics are picked up for the fall season NBC has first right of refusal. If they decide they will not release Paul to the other network then No Heroics has to recast the role. The reason you don't see this happen very often is because it"s pretty tough to replace a lead actor after a pilot is already shot. But it happens. So this isn't necessarily a bad sign, it just means that Paul has a backup plan in case KR isn't coming back. I say - you go boyee!!!!

I really hope you're right I work for a broadcast company and find it unlikely ABC would cast someone who hasn't been released yet if they're hoping their show will go to season. They could've cast someone else who would be guaranteed to be available after they've sunk their money in it. It would've been like NBC casting Justin Bruening as Mike Traceur in the pilot film before he was guaranteed to be released from his previous job in time for season one. But like I said, I hope you're right in this - maybe ABC think KR won't be back, and we can't blame Paul for hedging his bets -and that KR stays on the air.