J.J. Abrams can save Knight Rider

This forum contains discussions about all things Knight Rider.

Moderators: neps, Matthew, Michael Pajaro

davidknightrider
Rookie
Posts: 59
Joined: Mon Feb 11, 2008 7:35 am

Re: J.J. Abrams can save Knight Rider

Post by davidknightrider » Tue Feb 17, 2015 8:37 am

The 2008 KR sucked because it was a cheap, shallow, pathetic, and useless attempt.

The original series from 1982 to 1986 was a seriously done show with high production values for the most part.
They took their job seriously those people who were involved in the show.

In 2008 we got a useless cheap HD camcorder filmed show that looked like it was filmed by an amateur student in college, complete with some of the most horrendously cheap CGI and awful Greenscreen work you will ever see.

It was an utter joke and we have to be honest.

The lead actor was serviceable, but the scripts were atrocious, the CGI and storylines were atrocious. It just looked cheap, amateur and nothing remotely like the original.

They tried to act smart by having lots of actors, but in the end they failed.

All they had to do was to have Hasselhoff from Day 1, and the young lead actor, with maybe someone else.
Keep it simple, film it with proper cameras, and no need for CGi unless absolutely neccessary.

They didn't. They insulted our intelligence and they failed miserably.

Knight Rider is Michael Knight, Black Leather Jacket, Black sleek Pontiac transam car, and action.

This new update was a total joke.

As for JJ Abrams. He is a bit of a joke as well. He turned Star Trek from a series about exploration, humanity and serious consequences, into a brain dead cgi borefest for today's braindead spoonfed audiences.

kitt34
FLAG Recruit
Posts: 341
Joined: Sun Jun 29, 2003 1:42 am
What year did the original Knight Rider start: 0
Location: Capon Bridge, WV
Contact:

Re: J.J. Abrams can save Knight Rider

Post by kitt34 » Thu Feb 19, 2015 10:15 pm

davidknightrider wrote:The 2008 KR sucked because it was a cheap, shallow, pathetic, and useless attempt.

The original series from 1982 to 1986 was a seriously done show with high production values for the most part.
They took their job seriously those people who were involved in the show.

In 2008 we got a useless cheap HD camcorder filmed show that looked like it was filmed by an amateur student in college, complete with some of the most horrendously cheap CGI and awful Greenscreen work you will ever see.

It was an utter joke and we have to be honest.

The lead actor was serviceable, but the scripts were atrocious, the CGI and storylines were atrocious. It just looked cheap, amateur and nothing remotely like the original.

They tried to act smart by having lots of actors, but in the end they failed.

All they had to do was to have Hasselhoff from Day 1, and the young lead actor, with maybe someone else.
Keep it simple, film it with proper cameras, and no need for CGi unless absolutely neccessary.

They didn't. They insulted our intelligence and they failed miserably.

Knight Rider is Michael Knight, Black Leather Jacket, Black sleek Pontiac transam car, and action.

This new update was a total joke.

As for JJ Abrams. He is a bit of a joke as well. He turned Star Trek from a series about exploration, humanity and serious consequences, into a brain dead cgi borefest for today's braindead spoonfed audiences.
actually j.j. abrams never used green screen and practical effects for star trek and a little bit of CGI.


but i agree with you about KR 2008 and here's another thing that I Hated about that show, they have the most idiotic errors in recent tv history, michael knight II gets shot by the fbi then the screen fades to black and later michael wakes up and no blood and his clothes is dry as it been freshly laundred.
and I Said let's hope this is the end of the KR TV franchise.

the original was thrilling and well acted, the rest have been garbage.

DevonStyles
FLAG Recruit
Posts: 353
Joined: Thu Mar 13, 2003 3:00 pm
What year did the original Knight Rider start: 0
Location: MI

Re: J.J. Abrams can save Knight Rider

Post by DevonStyles » Wed Apr 22, 2015 12:21 pm

Don't forget about getting hit with a missile knocked off a cliff into the ocean and the next scene driving through the ocean like it's just a Sunday drive.
edited by the good folks at knightrideronline

Robster
Recruit
Posts: 25
Joined: Mon Mar 11, 2013 7:16 am
antispam: No
What year did the original Knight Rider start: 1982

Re: J.J. Abrams can save Knight Rider

Post by Robster » Sun Apr 26, 2015 11:53 pm

Are you saying JJ never used green screen for the two Trek movies? Nah,not true. He used a lot of it,but likes to use practical effects as well. Just watch the new SW movie when it comes out,lol.

To be honest,I don't think I would want him involved in a Knight Rider movie,or tv show. Not that I don't like his movies or aything,I do,but I would like someone who actually likes KR. JJ was never a Trek fan,as he admitted on several occasions,and a lot of people thought he was trying to make Trek into SW,and that he was practicing doing SW with the Trek movies,lol. So no,please no JJ for KR.

J-R!

User avatar
tharpdevenport
Operative
Posts: 217
Joined: Wed May 15, 2002 1:01 am
What year did the original Knight Rider start: 0
Location: U.S.A.
Contact:

Re: J.J. Abrams can save Knight Rider

Post by tharpdevenport » Wed Apr 29, 2015 10:13 am

If J.J. even so much as touches KR (if he should be offerdd), I'm DONE with KR. I'll watch re-runs of the original series, but that's it.

They gave us the terrible "Knight Rider 2000" TV movie.

They gave us that Godawful "Team Knight Rider" series.

They gave us that horrible 2008 new series.

And at one point they wanted to make a terrible movie that didn't even have a talking K.I.T.T.


Fool me once, shame on you.

Fool me twice, shame on you.

Fool me a third time, that's it -- I'm DONE.
And when things appeared to get better, they got worse, and everyday was a day to cry.

User avatar
jup
FLAG Operative
Posts: 1777
Joined: Mon Mar 18, 2002 1:01 am
antispam: No
What year did the original Knight Rider start: 1982
Location: SD, CA. USA | Web site: http://www.jupircbot.8m.com (jup's KR game project 'ghosts' here)
Contact:

Re: J.J. Abrams can save Knight Rider

Post by jup » Fri May 01, 2015 2:34 am

Is today's world even going to really identify with a new KITT? Or will it seem like a Google car on steroids? "Call me Kitt. I come from Cybertron and am here to set the law..."

User avatar
KFCreator
FLAG Recruit
Posts: 453
Joined: Wed Mar 20, 2002 1:01 am
What year did the original Knight Rider start: 0
Location: Seattle, WA

Re: J.J. Abrams can save Knight Rider

Post by KFCreator » Sun May 03, 2015 11:45 am

I'm a firm believer that Knight Rider as a franchise isn't necessarily done for yet, but none of the attempts at a revival have truly captured the essence of the original series. I'm more forgiving of the various reincarnations over the years than most, probably because I remember following every bit of news when each of them was announced and then watching them with great anticipation when they finally aired and even if they weren't like the original series, I was willing to overlook a lot and just enjoy the ride they tried to take us on.

Knight Rider 2000 was much darker in tone than I would have liked, it didn't fully reunite the whole cast, and it was set in an unfamiliar city, and it didn't have many nods to the classic series like it could and should have done. That being said, I actually didn't mind the design of the Knight 4000 or the fact that the car was red instead of black. The storyline itself could easily have been one we would have expected of a classic series episode, and there were moments of levity and comedy. For a first attempt at a revival, it got some things right but missed the mark on quite a few others.

Team Knight Rider I think changed a lot from its initial concept to what actually made it to screen. That, or Universal purposefully and masterfully misled the fans in many ways. The original promo photos showed characters with guns, and some of the vehicles looked nothing like the final Fords chosen. I remember the TKR website had an animated scanner GIF that looked updated but still at its heart was classic KITT. The series itself when it aired showed initial promise but was scripted to be cheesy when it should have toned that down several notches and been more serious. It had elements that I loved and plot twists and secrets that were slowly revealed over the season that really made me curious what the hell was going on. Again, this had promise and could have easily gotten a second season if they had just made some key changes to the way the show was written.

Knight Rider 2008, in my opinion, hit the mark closest to the original series than the prior 2 attempts, even over Knight Rider 2000. The initial TV movie wasn't widely panned by critics like I expected and it was able to get several million viewers, which showed that audiences wanted more Knight Rider and it's the reason we even got the series in the first place. Then the series came along and while they listened to the suggestions that the die-hard fans made for changes from the TV movie (specifically in regards to KITT), they missed capturing the magic of the original in several ways. Again, the show went for obvious cheesiness when it could have taken a more serious approach overall. They initially had too many characters for their own good. The writing was largely weak (again, at least in the initial half of the season). However, the CGI wasn't bad in every scene (and actually could be quite good when used in the right way). I personally would have loved more practical effects and shots but I imagine budget is what nixed much of that. Some episodes had very strong stories and there were plenty of moments where the tone of the show was exactly what it should have been from the get-go. There were many nods to the original series and the producers did actually listen to us fans and tried to incorporate those changes (again, about KITT and his design/features, about the stories, about wanting to see old characters brought back like KARR, about trimming back the supporting characters, about having a base of operations, in which we got the SSC, etc.). I don't fault the production team entirely for the failure of this series, nor the actors, I think it was mostly conflicts with what network and Universal wanted. Had this show gone on to a second season, I think it would have gotten tighter in all respects and we would have seen even more throwbacks to the classic series and the show would have really found its legs.

As far as the future holds for Knight Rider, I think at this point it's good that we haven't had a show or revival attempt done in several years now. Letting it sit idle for a number of years a la Star Trek 2009 is probably best so that the public will largely forget the past attempts. But if they do decide to bring it to the big screen eventually or back to TV, I really think they either need to go in a completely different direction entirely that would only resemble the franchise in name and basic concept only, or they dig deep and go for a serious action drama series with strong dialogue and stories, more practical effects, and more ties to the classic series than anything we've gotten so far. Hasselhoff would need to be a must-have regular, as would William Daniels, and it would be smart to try to bring in Patricia McPherson, Rebecca Holden, or Peter Parros and maybe others (like Ann Turkel or Catherine Hickland) in some way. My guess is that we'll get the first option where any revival will largely be a complete reboot and resemblance will be in name only and the basic concept. Whether that succeeds or not depends on how it is handled. I think there's room for die-hard fans to love even an incarnation like that but it'd have to strike a very fine balance of a lot of elements.

Keep in mind that it's nearly impossible to recapture lightning in a bottle, which is what he original series was. It was high-concept, action-oriented, cheesy but grew to be more serious over time, had the exact right mixture of actors and characters, had emotional moments, and technology that, at the time, most people could only ever dream of. It was very much a product of its time and doesn't hold up as well today as it did then (although I still love it every bit as much as I always have, maybe more). But the thing is many die-hard fans are unwilling to let go of the past and acknowledge that the classic series can never be recaptured now, even if we wanted to. There's likely no way KITT will ever show up in his original Trans Am body again, as much as we would all love to see it. Edward Mulhare is long gone and the other actors are now all in their fifties and sixties. William Daniels is still thankfully with us but he's getting up there in terms of age and may not physically be up for doing voiceover work as KITT anymore. Knight Rider was my childhood and it saddens me to come to that realization but maybe there are other ways and media in which the franchise can live on. I don't see Knight Rider as being over yet, just momentarily down for the count.
"One man can make a difference. You can make a difference in someone else's life. You can make a difference in your own life." -- David Hasselhoff

Dozer789
Recruit
Posts: 30
Joined: Tue Jul 29, 2014 9:16 am
antispam: No
What year did the original Knight Rider start: 1982

Re: J.J. Abrams can save Knight Rider

Post by Dozer789 » Sun May 03, 2015 4:57 pm

I agree with what you said KFCreator. The sad thing is that we don't have much of a say how the series are made.

User avatar
KFCreator
FLAG Recruit
Posts: 453
Joined: Wed Mar 20, 2002 1:01 am
What year did the original Knight Rider start: 0
Location: Seattle, WA

Re: J.J. Abrams can save Knight Rider

Post by KFCreator » Sun May 03, 2015 8:06 pm

Dozer789 -- Actually, at least on the 2008 series, the creators of the show followed this board a lot and even contributed posts on here to gauge what we all thought of the direction of the show with each passing episode and to see what ideas and suggestions we had. We also had people from this board who were privileged to go get behind-the-scenes access while they were shooting and also to tour the VFX offices and interview the staff. At least for me, I thought that showed a great deal how much they really cared about making the show as good as possible. As for the future, I agree with you that we may not have that same level of input but it would remain to be seen since nothing new has really been announced and the movie is in quasi-development hell.
"One man can make a difference. You can make a difference in someone else's life. You can make a difference in your own life." -- David Hasselhoff

Dozer789
Recruit
Posts: 30
Joined: Tue Jul 29, 2014 9:16 am
antispam: No
What year did the original Knight Rider start: 1982

Re: J.J. Abrams can save Knight Rider

Post by Dozer789 » Mon May 04, 2015 7:56 pm

KFCreator wrote:Dozer789 -- Actually, at least on the 2008 series, the creators of the show followed this board a lot and even contributed posts on here to gauge what we all thought of the direction of the show with each passing episode and to see what ideas and suggestions we had. We also had people from this board who were privileged to go get behind-the-scenes access while they were shooting and also to tour the VFX offices and interview the staff. At least for me, I thought that showed a great deal how much they really cared about making the show as good as possible. As for the future, I agree with you that we may not have that same level of input but it would remain to be seen since nothing new has really been announced and the movie is in quasi-development hell.
Ah, I didn't realize that they asked about stuff like that.
I just wish it would be possible to get a group of fans together and make an awesome TV Series, or Movie, that would be how WE wanted it, instead of how someone else wanted to produce it!

User avatar
David Whiteheart
Operative
Posts: 186
Joined: Wed Mar 20, 2002 1:01 am
What year did the original Knight Rider start: 0
Location: Kings Mountain, NC, USA

Re: J.J. Abrams can save Knight Rider

Post by David Whiteheart » Fri May 08, 2015 1:02 am

What ever car they use is fine with me. I just don't want KITT to be the next show to get screwed up on the big screen. The Dukes of Hazzard wasn't that great, that's why no one from the original cast didn't do the movie, except the guy who played the DJ at WHOGG on the original show. Or have the same guys who did the remake of Starsky and Hutch turning it into a crappy comedy. I don't want to see KITT as a comedy on the big screen. The A-Team wasn't that great either but it still had the same concept as the original show with an updated time line.

User avatar
jup
FLAG Operative
Posts: 1777
Joined: Mon Mar 18, 2002 1:01 am
antispam: No
What year did the original Knight Rider start: 1982
Location: SD, CA. USA | Web site: http://www.jupircbot.8m.com (jup's KR game project 'ghosts' here)
Contact:

Re: J.J. Abrams can save Knight Rider

Post by jup » Fri May 08, 2015 6:22 am

I said it before and I'll say it again. Glen A. Larson wrote the best Knight Rider. The pilot. Knight of the Phoenix. Sure. That script will need touching up and a little overhauling. Silicon Valley is by no means the cutting edge it used to be. And the world is catching up to what made Kitt so advanced. But, the story of one man, falling from grace and being given a second chance is timeless. Having that chance with the state of the art is still valid. And, let's face it...the joke line about how Kitt looks like the inside of Darth Vader's bathroom can somehow still be valid.

I'm reminded of something David Hasselhoff once said. The kids, today. They either don't remember Knight Rider or it was something their father once mentioned. Enough time has passed for the original to be given a fresh paint job.

Sure. We're about to step into the age where one's car can self drive. But, it's going to have all the relationship of a taxi driver and a fare vs. two friendships that grow stronger with time and are always there to protect each other...even if one isn't Human.

And, for Pete's sake...no catching the car on fire, requiring the Humans inside to strip down to undies or hitting the dash to disable the AI plots. And, I swear if fifty pop up windows flood the windshield while doing 150 MPH stunt driving occurs...

AppleMacri1980
Operative
Posts: 133
Joined: Thu Mar 07, 2013 6:26 pm
antispam: No
What year did the original Knight Rider start: 1982

Re: J.J. Abrams can save Knight Rider

Post by AppleMacri1980 » Fri Dec 28, 2018 11:01 pm

i do not know...

AppleMacri1980
Operative
Posts: 133
Joined: Thu Mar 07, 2013 6:26 pm
antispam: No
What year did the original Knight Rider start: 1982

Re: J.J. Abrams can save Knight Rider

Post by AppleMacri1980 » Fri Dec 28, 2018 11:02 pm

i do not know...

Post Reply