POLL: Grade the pilot

[KarlKnightRider]

LOVED IT!

I had no problem whatsoever with the pilot apart from its lack of mention for Devon Miles, but as has been discussed, this could (and should) still happen in the forthcoming series should there be one. Along with mentioning Devon, a mention of Bonnie at least would also be nice, and undoubtedly an explanation of what happened to K2TT too.

As for the new K3TT, the only thing I am currently unsure of is the morphing camouflage. I'm all for the colour changes and additional spoilers and skirts coming out, but actually producing new Mustang emblems and additional lights at the front as well as hiding the whole scanner area seemed a bit too extreme. Also the way the wheels change shape too, its just too unexplanbly unrealistic to me, even though the effects were stunning. Maybe its just my opinion though

Still, I hope this is broadcast in the UK soon, and a new full length season is created before the years end.

[GoodKnight]

I really enjoyed it. I like the new KI3T - and find the fact that he is little understated to be very effective. I've seen some threads that suggest that he is a "downgrade" from KI2T, and though I love the original, a flashy, high-tech car just wouldn't fly today in quite the same way it did back then. There was too much of that in the 80s. Today's KITT has to be a little understated with some vulnerabilities in order to hold the interest of today's audience. Too much flash and glitz and "super powers" would just seem cheesy in the context of today's world.

I encourage NBC to include Michael Knight as a regular guest star - and KI2T too in some form... Though Star Trek TNG was a great show in many ways, they never quite got in with the die hard original series fans because they didn't do much to honor the original characters. I hope this theory is correct and that Michael and KI2T are still active in the new KR Universe:

http://www.knightrideronline.com/forum/ ... 41&t=11102

[saulblade2]

"I enjoyed it, but could have been better" that was my choice, but for a reason. Yes I enjoyed it, it was good, but like everyone else, it had its downs too.

1. The theme song, not like the real theme song, but then again, I expected it to be a little different and in this new age, yeah, but they over did it with the tweaking of the theme song.

2. Yes it’s a nice story line, but come on, this is not a chick flick, get rid of all the "I’m sorry" crap and drama. Any time someone says the best guy show out there, it’s most the time Knight Rider, cause it’s about a killer car.

3. Continuing 2, with a cool guy show, its calling for some action. Yeah what we saw was great but lost its edge quickly with no Car showing off.

4. Mick and Michael Knight, their background and why he was not in his life just seemed like it was quickly thought of and pasted, and told at the wrong time. Do you really think you would be asking all these questions while you were being hunted down?

5. Last thing, someone said that the whole driving out of a C-130 was implausible. Well someone also said that it wasn't implausible with the semi, but it was tested by Myth Busters and it was completely possible. Plus, yeah it may be a car, but being in the military, I have seen some *?$#, and I have seen pictures of a tank coming out a C-130 so this possible. I’ll send an email to myth busters to see if they can test it out. Yeah you could see where they used a blue screen coming out, but when it showed the C-130, and the car coming out, I wandered myself then remembered the plane and tank, so it would be cool to test.

[KnightWritersSuck]

THe Writers SUUUUUUCK!

proof~ remember "Jungle Julia" yeah that girl is a way better actress with Quintin Tarantino backing her cause well her dialogue was better written. She doesn't act very "Hard". Her facial expressions do nothing. She isn't a very good FBI agent. What FBI agent who is working on a super secret Govt. Project tells LOCAL PD the where abouts of said Super Secret Guy, let alone that he has a double. NONE. Not a single real FBI agent would divulge that Info. W2G writers.

Oh yeah and the "you aren't a very good army ranger if you let some girl sneak up on you" while dood is paying last respects. who ever snuck that line in should be shot. When I'm paying last respects, don't talk to me, don't make jokes, and definitely don't crack a smile. Down right Gay!

The whole bullet thing I have to agree was cool enough to show twice in slow mo.
Get some new writers and you will have a new series.

[snafu]

Yay, another "I hate everything about the new show" troll. Welcome, KnightWritersSuck. Fascinatingly cryptic username you have there.


Saulblade 2: My dad flew C-130s and I think the car drop is very plausible. There's drop school videos on Youtube. (minus some of the crashes).
I think it's very possible and very cool that they'd use that in the series. May have to get dad to watch it.
I will ask him about getting a regular car out of the C-130 though.

[knightrover]

i totally loved the knight rider pilot, cant wait till it goes to series.

[LadyV2000]

Yay, another "I hate everything about the new show" troll. Welcome, KnightWritersSuck. Fascinatingly cryptic username you have there.

Not very creative are they?

[BlueChaos]

My rating for the pilot is 7.5 / 10 so yeah I think it's quite good.

It should definitely be made into a series, but I am worried quite a bit that this new Knight Rider might take the Smallville path (no offense to Smallville fans) where the drama part is actually the larger part of the show and the action part is just there as eye-candy and not being an integral part of the story, as opposed to the original show where the format of the show is "mission-based", not too much drama and just a lot of action.

As a pilot, it makes sense to have a lot of the drama as an introduction to the characters and the backstory, but as the series move on, if they make every episode with the pacing of this pilot, then I'll be quite disappointed.

[offdawallncrazy]

i thik it was a awsome movie..i like how u made the kitt better withe the color changing,added spoler,and made it a mustang....i used to watch the old one all the time..hope yu'll deside to make it a series..hopefully on monday at 8:00 so i can watch it all the time

[knightridergundam]

I Liked the pilot, and I do hope that it is made into a series. And it would help put NBC back on the map. (Sorry NBC fans, I still love ya!) But, some of the things that got me during the movie were:

What happened to Bonnie?
No mention of Devon! WTF!!
What in the hell happened to Kitt again?
Why did Micheal distance himself from his son?(Hopefully explained in the series.)
RCIII? (Had to throw that into the mix)

But the overall score I would give is : 9/10

[jimknight]

i loved the pilot. it didnt happen how i thought it would but i did really like it. i have warmed to the new KITT now and im actually thinking of buying a mustang gt500kr (which is gonna take ages as im from the uk)

KITT would have been better without the silver stripes on him. I did like the conversation between micheal and mike at the end.

overall score for me: 9/10

Oh and im new here by the ways guys so hi as well

[2000man]

The pilot was disappointing. I think they could have done MUCH MUCH better, i don't think anyone on this forum could say that there isn't ways to improve on this. It did have potentially, but i think it lacks a lot of the chemistry from the original and charisma from the original. The acting was average compared to the original series but compared to current shows on the various networks today...it lacks talent, or this series pilot/movie was a rush job. It was clearly evident that Glen Larson had no creative imput, i think if NBC gave control of the seires to him, it would improve a lot. I don't even want to go on about the NEW KITT. Can someone tell me what difference there was between the K3000 and the K4000 from the movie Knight Rider 2000....if you ask me K4000 had less tv time and displayed more of its ablities then we saw of the K3000, which was the most disappointing part of the new KR pilot....which at times felt like a long dragged out ford commercial... One thing that i'm still trying to figure out...is why the creative minds of this new series pilot felt turbo boost was unrealistic and too 1980's for this new series pilot when they have a car changing colors like its a transformer.....and how do they go from a car that is completely fuel self efficient in 1982( original series pilot) to a car that needs to stop for gas half way through the show.....WHAT A WASTE OF TV TIME!!!!!!!!! who agreed to this idea....haha Lets show KITT filling up at a gas station but don't include turbo boost or any of the orginal features from 1982....i'm still scratching my head. Overall it has potiental to become a series, but lets be honest people, it could be SOOOOOOOOOOO MUCH better

[TKB]

I vote make it a series, with major changes. And I'm going to list why in case NBC sees and cares. My opinions usually aren't popular (we're pretty conservative), and that's OK, but I want to express them anyway.
1- Definitely didn't like that the car isn't a Trans AM, or at least a Pontiac of some kind. Just not right.
2- Would rather the demographics that NBC is trying to reach be reduced to the young teen/family. We remember and loved the original show and would love to watch it with our kids, but there is too much adult content (language and situations, hence the time slot).
4- Opening scene with the FBI agent having a lover in the bed was completely unnecessary. It had no purpose except to make the point that NBC is including all the politically correct demo. groups. It came across forced and offensive.
3- Was annoyed by Sarah's constant slow lidded blinks. She looked drugged. Her smart mouth attitute at the beginning was annoying too, but she seemed to settle as the show went on.
4- Didn't feel Mike's friend fit the situation. Like the point of him having a friend, but this character didn't fit.
5- The language was also unnecessarily too harsh. The scenes would have been perfectly fine without them.

I miss the days of McGyver, A-Team and such where the show was action packed and exciting but still family friendly. Would love for NBC to start a trend with Knight Rider to bring that kind of show back.

[pheonix_knight]

KI3Ts abilities have not been fully explored as in the original series, there were features that shown as capabilities but not actually used...

for example, the controversial keyboard on the passenger side only popped out when Sarah got the earpiece but wasnt actually used...

point being, its highly plausible Ki3T will be able to turbo boost and ski but it is something that may be included later on (actually it should DEFFO be included in there)

oh and why is the new ki3t so slow?? (relatively speaking)

200+MPH as a quoted maximum speed (im not doing the maths but you all know the part i mean before sarah and ki3t go to find Mike...)

Ford could still use KR08 as a vehicle platform but i dont want to see the shapeshifting wasted on going from one mustang to..... another mustang. Ford do make other cars... and "c" mode Ki3t is a distinct possibility

lose the 'adult orientated' content as it serves no purpose other than to alienate the audience to whom this series is best suited (from a non nostalgia point of view, its gotta be aimed at TODAYs 5-12 year olds...)

throw in a jump or two (and as ive just written, i dont mean the kind the promo started with...) maybe lose the stripes on the 'hero' car...

get some more back story on Mike, like what MK meant by 'from the first day...' which kind of reminds me of the comment made by Devon in KOTP about MK's new face reminding him of a younger Wilton and then we had the Garthe storyline... it was very ambiguous, was Mike adopted...???

[Xebec]

I'm a HUGE fan of the OS. I enjoyed this pilot, but it had a LOT of problems.

* If there was a hiding place, why did they bother with the double answering the door? Why didn't they both just hide?

* I can't accept that, with the level of intelligence of the designer, Kitt could be hacked so quickly and easily.

* Once Kitt was aware of being hacked, I can't accept that he couldn't stop it -- or at least CUT the wireless connection.

* No way the bad guys could keep up with Kitt in that early chase. The city was bad enough, but It showed Kitt approaching 100 MPH on canyon roads, WITH traffic, and the bad guys managed to stay right on his tail. I don't think so.

* Even with tracking the girl's cell phone, there's no way the bad guys were in the hotel as soon as they were.

* I agree with an earlier post that there's no way a highly trained FBI agent shares so much info with a local sheriff.

* I don't buy that the sheriff could have been bought so completely. He was obviously a long time resident. No reason for him to have been a long-time plant. So, the best they could have done was buy some info-- not turn him into a killer.

* I like the reproductive nanites, but why completely get rid of the original indestructable material? Computer goes down and now it's vulnerable? I don't think so.

* Being indestructable doesn't mean the car won't budge when hit at full speed by an SUV. Good grief!

* I agree with an earlier poster -- get in the CAR already! Hug later.

* Too much techology lying around unprotected at the inventor's house. Careless.

* I totally did not buy the father/son reunion. No emotion. No explanations. No apologies. No questions. Let's just shake hands. "Will I ever see you again?" "Could be." That's IT? Good grief.

* I sure didn't see the transition in Mike's emotions from "No Way I'm Joining the Team" to "Let's go on a mission!"

* No reason for the sidekick friend to be involved with Kitt. If he was such a good mechanic, why did their race car break down while trying to escape the loan sharks?

Great potential, but I really think there was some lazy writing in this pilot. I had no problem with the Mustang. Liked the transform, but, within reason, more dramatic changes would make more sense.

[wrathchild-jc]

I thought it was amazing. I mean, bringing back an old classic, about a talking car that fights crime into 2008 is a hard thing to do, but I think it was done brilliantly.

I just hope that The Hoff has more cameo appearances.

[McTrooper]

Well, I loved it. Bought back the original theme in a new remixed way, the car is black, it's KITT (albeit a new version), there are mentions of the original TA, the hoff was in it etc.

It had everything a KR fan could want except to have the TA back in it's true form but that's not going to happen unless he makes a cameo somewhere down the line.

They got it right this time.

The ending was totally old school and I can clear up the confusion about the plane. They were not in the USA, they were in Peru and were being transported to another country...that's what the plane was for.

I caught that too. I re-watched the ending and I realized that the new show could have an international setting.
But the original was just in the US. This will add a whole new dimension of story and plot if it goes to series.

I voted I loved it and minimal changes too. I can quibble a bit here and there, but over all it was compelling and well done. This is the best shot it has of becoming a high quality tv series. I look forward to seeing the Glen's alternate theatrical version too, but it has tough competition.

[spyhunter]

Ok, I was wrong, it turned out ok, I still think they should have used a different car.

Can somebody tell me how pilots work, because according to statistics, the original series pilot aired only a week before episode 2 aired. Did the original series pilot actually get aired much earlier the first time, or is the process different nowadays? Yes, this means I'm all for a series

SH

[Michael Pajaro]

Spyhunter: The traditional way a series is made is that they make a pilot episode and show it to the network bigwigs. The executives then say "ok, we love it, maybe change this and that and we'll pay for 6 (or 13, or 20, or whatever) more episodes." Then they air the pilot episode and already have several other episodes ready to go.

With the new Knight Rider, they said "OK, let's just make a 2-hour movie. We're going to structure it so that it can be made into a series, but we're not going to commit to it until AFTER it airs." It was a way for NBC to test the waters and see if there really was interest in a new Knight Rider. Even by today's standards, it is an unusual way to launch a series, but NBC is trying out a lot of new things lately. (They will be announcing a 52 week schedule in April, rather than just their fall line-up as most netwroks do.)

[jup]

How many other series pilots get double runnings on network television?

[K2000kid]

I def agree more KITT action maybe a new gadget reveal every few episodes
and more sense of speed not CG just wind lines going ovr the car

Mike: anyone else hungry
Sarah: God I'm starving
KITT: The closest dining establishment is 116 miles from our current position
Mike: We're never gonna make it
KITT: Don't be so sure Mike

Cut to Onscreen display AUTOCRUISE ENGAGED
followed by the words SUPER PURSUIT ENGAGED flashing onscreen
accompanied buy jet engine sound effect

Mike: Kitt, what are you doing???
KITT: watch this

Sonic boom is heard and car pulls away
cut to speedometer ticking upwards past 300mph
for effect show Mike and sarah pinned to their seats
and show KITT passing other cars at insane speed

Less is definately not more

[Judd]

I did enjoy it and think it could work as a new series. Many have already pointed out some of it's flaws. I don't think the lesbian scene was necessary. It would have been interesting-funny if there was a man, maybe a nerdy type, in her bed. Some here want a family action series like the 80's version. Sadly today the fact is American TV networks create primetime shows for 18-49 year olds and not a family audience like they used to.

My biggest complaint (I did like it overall) is the fact it was only escapist entertainment. I had hoped the story would have more substance to it. At the end of the day it wasn't really about anything.

I do hope it becomes a series.

[seeker78]

1- Definitely didn't like that the car isn't a Trans AM, or at least a Pontiac of some kind. Just not right.

Well we've talked about this a lot...basically for US made (not just us company) high performance cars, you have Mustang, Viper, Corvette. Mustang is the only one with a backseat. Though I do agree with your sentiment there...remember this is not the Two Thousand, it's the Three Thousand.

2- Would rather the demographics that NBC is trying to reach be reduced to the young teen/family. We remember and loved the original show and would love to watch it with our kids, but there is too much adult content (language and situations, hence the time slot).

Yeah, I agree with that. We need shows to go back to that.

4- Opening scene with the FBI agent having a lover in the bed was completely unnecessary. It had no purpose except to make the point that NBC is including all the politically correct demo. groups. It came across forced and offensive.

Well, I don't think there's anything wrong with the FBI agent being a lesbian, even with a younger demographic. We will definitely disagree, but I feel that homosexuality is something that should be accepted in society as not being "evil". It is not her being a lesbian that makes the scene bad for younger viewers, it is the implied casual sexual activity.

Still, with the naked girl and all that, I agree, if it is going to be an 8 pm show they shouldn't have stuff like that. But that would apply to the the implied threesome in the beginning as well.

I miss the days of McGyver, A-Team and such where the show was action packed and exciting but still family friendly. Would love for NBC to start a trend with Knight Rider to bring that kind of show back.

Definitely agree here...

--Brian

[Stylez]

That's exactly it guys, one of the bigger problems with the pilot for sure.

It is not her being a lesbian that makes the scene bad for younger viewers, it is the implied casual sexual activity.

Still, with the naked girl and all that, I agree, if it is going to be an 8 pm show they shouldn't have stuff like that. But that would apply to the the implied threesome in the beginning as well.

I miss the days of McGyver, A-Team and such where the show was action packed and exciting but still family friendly. Would love for NBC to start a trend with Knight Rider to bring that kind of show back.

[evangeline5432]

I enjoyed it, but could have been better. For one thing I did not think a Mustang was a very good choice for KITT.