Anything the 2-hour movie did BETTER?

Archive for discussions from 2008. Please post new discussions in the appropriate forum.

Moderators: neps, Matthew, Michael Pajaro

Locked
User avatar
Michael Pajaro
Advisor
Posts: 3082
Joined: Mon Mar 18, 2002 1:01 am
What year did the original Knight Rider start: 0
Location: Los Angeles
Contact:

Anything the 2-hour movie did BETTER?

Post by Michael Pajaro » Thu Sep 25, 2008 2:59 am

It's safe to say that the premiere episode improved upon February's 2-hour movie in just about every way. But there were a few nice touches in the movie which were missing in the premiere:

There were a lot of long driving scenes in the movie. But some of the shots were filmed (rendered) really nicely. Artistically even. There were some beautiful shots of KITT racing down the road with desert mountains in the background. And remember that cool "wind tunnel" effect with the stream of smoke curving over KITT's hood? The new show was paced very quickly and didn't have time for some of those longer shots but I liked them in the movie.

We never saw the empty driver's seat. Yes, we saw KITT driving himself in the premiere but if it's at night or behind tinted glass it doesn't really count. In the movie, we saw a LOT of shots of KITT's steering wheel twisting back and forth on its own. Do they still have that remote-controlled Mustang? Or that driver's cage that sits on the roof? Use it. It's cool.

The movie mentioned the Foundation specifically. And the Trans Am. And Wilton Knight... I know, I know, the series has to establish itself first before they can start filling in the backstories. This is just a reminder that we'll be waiting...

Anything else?
Join me at Las Vegas Car Stars!
May 14-16 • Las Vegas, NV
http://lasvegascarstars.com

User avatar
BlueChaos
FLAG Recruit
Posts: 382
Joined: Sat Feb 23, 2008 11:07 pm
What year did the original Knight Rider start: 0
Location: Knight Research Mobile Rig (KRMR)

Re: Anything the 2-hour movie did BETTER?

Post by BlueChaos » Thu Sep 25, 2008 3:13 am

The 2-hour movies had more conversation between KITT and Sarah. Made it more emotional. I know many people didn't like it, but I, for one, felt that the Sarah-KITT conversation on the topic of "sadness" where the VOX turns blue was particularly strong. This premiere episode lost almost all of that. I didn't feel A SINGLE BIT emotional in this one, whereas in the 2-hour movie there were a lot of emotional scenes: Sarah meeting her father alive, Mike's mom getting killed etc.

I don't want Knight Rider to get all soapy, but please, we also need some emotional scenes to care about the characters. People say that the 2-hour movie got too much talk and no action, but this one there is all action and no talk, and honestly I don't think that's good either. I cared about the characters more during the 2-hour movie than during this premiere episode. I think GST brings too much of the F&F formula into Knight Rider, because as we all know F&F is all action and not very emotional (except only on some parts).

Did they think we would get all emotional when Mike and Sarah were burned alive inside KITT? No.
Did they think we would get all emotional when Carrie shot Mike? No.
Did they think we would get all emotional when Sarah told Mike that he asked her to marry him? No.
No_emotional_feelings_at_all. Nothing_nada_zip.

GST please make us care more about your characters, don't just go hellbent on making new stunts.
"If Darth Vader had a KITT bathroom, then he would have ruled the galaxy far far away since a long long time ago..." *LASER!* :good:

Space
Volunteer
Posts: 14
Joined: Thu Sep 25, 2008 3:20 am
What year did the original Knight Rider start: 0
Location: SAn Jose
Contact:

Re: Anything the 2-hour movie did BETTER?

Post by Space » Thu Sep 25, 2008 3:26 am

Is the movie out or when will it be airing????

User avatar
knightfever
Operative
Posts: 191
Joined: Sat Aug 16, 2008 3:58 pm

Re: Anything the 2-hour movie did BETTER?

Post by knightfever » Thu Sep 25, 2008 10:09 am

Space wrote:Is the movie out or when will it be airing????
You can still watch it at nbc.com, when you go to watch full episodes of Knight Rider, there is a panel under the view screen where you can "Select an Episode" and the Pilot is there.

User avatar
Lost Knight
FLAG Special Ops
Posts: 2719
Joined: Fri Aug 20, 2004 7:45 pm
What year did the original Knight Rider start: 0
Location: Long Island, NY

Re: Anything the 2-hour movie did BETTER?

Post by Lost Knight » Thu Sep 25, 2008 10:57 am

BlueChaos wrote:The 2-hour movies had more conversation between KITT and Sarah. Made it more emotional. I know many people didn't like it, but I, for one, felt that the Sarah-KITT conversation on the topic of "sadness" where the VOX turns blue was particularly strong. This premiere episode lost almost all of that. I didn't feel A SINGLE BIT emotional in this one, whereas in the 2-hour movie there were a lot of emotional scenes: Sarah meeting her father alive, Mike's mom getting killed etc.

I don't want Knight Rider to get all soapy, but please, we also need some emotional scenes to care about the characters. People say that the 2-hour movie got too much talk and no action, but this one there is all action and no talk, and honestly I don't think that's good either. I cared about the characters more during the 2-hour movie than during this premiere episode. I think GST brings too much of the F&F formula into Knight Rider, because as we all know F&F is all action and not very emotional (except only on some parts).

Did they think we would get all emotional when Mike and Sarah were burned alive inside KITT? No.
Did they think we would get all emotional when Carrie shot Mike? No.
Did they think we would get all emotional when Sarah told Mike that he asked her to marry him? No.
No_emotional_feelings_at_all. Nothing_nada_zip.

GST please make us care more about your characters, don't just go hellbent on making new stunts.
I pretty much echo your point. There needs to be a proper balance of drama and action. Although there is a lot of much needed action now, it takes away any emotional connections with the characters and/or real sense of danger. Also, the overall tone of the 2-hour seemed to take itself more seriously than the first episode which seemed to be more about careless, over-the-top fun. If the show keeps going like this, it may burn itself out just like that nuclear fireball on K.I.T.T.

Bottom line: Find the proper balance of action, story and drama. Don't turn this show into a live action cartoon that will be laughed at by any non-Knight Rider fans. The show doesn't need to be campy to still be fun.
“Gimme maximum turbo thrust and blast me outta here, will ya!?”
:kitt: :dash4:

User avatar
KRAvengerII
FLAG Recruit
Posts: 445
Joined: Mon Apr 12, 2004 4:16 pm
What year did the original Knight Rider start: 0
Location: Chandler az

Re: Anything the 2-hour movie did BETTER?

Post by KRAvengerII » Thu Sep 25, 2008 11:15 am

well, this is a minor nitpick off the top of my head- but I liked the effects better in the movie when the bad guys were shooting at KITT, and they bounced off him. Here, I don't think we had that effect, unless I missed something.
KITT: I walked right into that one, didn't I?
Michael: More like Turbo Boosted.

User avatar
JJSoCrazy
FLAG Assistant
Posts: 741
Joined: Sat Apr 17, 2004 11:12 pm
What year did the original Knight Rider start: 0
Location: Yonkers, NY
Contact:

Re: Anything the 2-hour movie did BETTER?

Post by JJSoCrazy » Thu Sep 25, 2008 12:07 pm

Michael Pajaro wrote:It's safe to say that the premiere episode improved upon February's 2-hour movie in just about every way. But there were a few nice touches in the movie which were missing in the premiere:

There were a lot of long driving scenes in the movie. But some of the shots were filmed (rendered) really nicely. Artistically even. There were some beautiful shots of KITT racing down the road with desert mountains in the background. And remember that cool "wind tunnel" effect with the stream of smoke curving over KITT's hood? The new show was paced very quickly and didn't have time for some of those longer shots but I liked them in the movie.

We never saw the empty driver's seat. Yes, we saw KITT driving himself in the premiere but if it's at night or behind tinted glass it doesn't really count. In the movie, we saw a LOT of shots of KITT's steering wheel twisting back and forth on its own. Do they still have that remote-controlled Mustang? Or that driver's cage that sits on the roof? Use it. It's cool.

The movie mentioned the Foundation specifically. And the Trans Am. And Wilton Knight... I know, I know, the series has to establish itself first before they can start filling in the backstories. This is just a reminder that we'll be waiting...

Anything else?
The idea with the desert and driving with that in the background I wish we had, but I guess they needed to rush and get MT to change to MK. I believe hearing GST from the interviews and what you may have heard personally Mike, that he has an iconic shot of KITT flying into the desert going to save Mike which might be in episode two.

The fact with KITT on his own going to get Mike, I believe in the next episode we will see that from what I saw in the preview, it's hard not to judge based on one episode because were are used to what happened in the 2 hour and the original. But hopefully if we give it time we will get what we want!

I do agree with you Mike, and believe me I can't wait to hear about the Foundation, MK, Bonnie, Devon, etc. but the fact is this show needs to help attract the audience before they get to that, if they do that right away they wont have people to sink into the "new mythology" before they bring back the "old mythology" but they did mention Michael Long. I hear you and I am waiting just as much....... :D

Joe

Space
Volunteer
Posts: 14
Joined: Thu Sep 25, 2008 3:20 am
What year did the original Knight Rider start: 0
Location: SAn Jose
Contact:

Re: Anything the 2-hour movie did BETTER?

Post by Space » Thu Sep 25, 2008 3:31 pm

knightfever wrote:
Space wrote:Is the movie out or when will it be airing????
You can still watch it at nbc.com, when you go to watch full episodes of Knight Rider, there is a panel under the view screen where you can "Select an Episode" and the Pilot is there.
Cool thanks man, I will right now....

User avatar
knightofthephoenix
Operative
Posts: 205
Joined: Sun Feb 17, 2008 8:20 pm

Re: Anything the 2-hour movie did BETTER?

Post by knightofthephoenix » Thu Sep 25, 2008 3:33 pm

Still not a Mustang fan, but I think the 2-hour movie had a better ATTACK MODE.

Sorry GST.

Space
Volunteer
Posts: 14
Joined: Thu Sep 25, 2008 3:20 am
What year did the original Knight Rider start: 0
Location: SAn Jose
Contact:

Re: Anything the 2-hour movie did BETTER?

Post by Space » Thu Sep 25, 2008 3:39 pm

Space wrote:
knightfever wrote:
Space wrote:Is the movie out or when will it be airing????
You can still watch it at nbc.com, when you go to watch full episodes of Knight Rider, there is a panel under the view screen where you can "Select an Episode" and the Pilot is there.
Cool thanks man, I will right now....
I couldn't find it....

User avatar
weeezl
KRO Podcaster (retired)
Posts: 1346
Joined: Wed Feb 06, 2008 11:43 am
What year did the original Knight Rider start: 0
Location: Weeezlville
Contact:

Re: Anything the 2-hour movie did BETTER?

Post by weeezl » Thu Sep 25, 2008 3:42 pm

The dashboard.

User avatar
knightprobe89
FLAG Recruit
Posts: 365
Joined: Sat Oct 06, 2007 12:14 am
What year did the original Knight Rider start: 0
Location: tucson, az

Re: Anything the 2-hour movie did BETTER?

Post by knightprobe89 » Fri Sep 26, 2008 12:24 am

in the movie kitt had a better steering wheel. and the voice modulator was easier to see, the new voice modulator is hard to see behind the glass ball there is too much glare.
in glen larson we trust.

User avatar
Sue
KRO Field Correspondent
Posts: 1450
Joined: Fri Apr 11, 2008 6:20 pm
What year did the original Knight Rider start: 0
Location: From NJ now in LA
Contact:

Re: Anything the 2-hour movie did BETTER?

Post by Sue » Fri Sep 26, 2008 1:27 am

Your right they really did have some nice scenic shots in the BD pilot. There was a bit too much green screen in this one. I really did like the BD VM, but I don’t miss the monitor in the dash, the HUD has won me over.
I’m glad they are keeping the story going between Mike and Sarah, that was a part of the pilot that I really enjoyed.
Hello, I am Sue’s Hybrid Automated Droid One-thousand. But you may call me SHADO.

User avatar
MrPayner
Operative
Posts: 247
Joined: Wed Jan 01, 2003 5:08 am
What year did the original Knight Rider start: 0
Location: Melb, Australia
Contact:

Re: Anything the 2-hour movie did BETTER?

Post by MrPayner » Fri Sep 26, 2008 8:54 am

knightofthephoenix wrote:Still not a Mustang fan, but I think the 2-hour movie had a better ATTACK MODE.

Sorry GST.
I like the Mustang, however I couldn't agree with you more on this aspect of the season premiere.

Isn't the idea of KITT supposed to be that he's subtle? So he's not drawing unwanted attention to himself? A quiet word to the CGI guys perhaps?? Leave the Fast'n'Furious style KITT out. Aside from the bad appendages, he's lit up like Las Vegas!

Even though SPM in the 80's had little wings and flairs everywhere, there were no corny lighting on/around or underneath the car [except the red lighting in the wheel arches but it was RED and it suited the original KI2T], there was no terrible excuse for a "top fuel style" hood ornament, and most certainly not a hint of those really really bad wheels..

C'mon guys, there's no class with this "F'n'F Attack Mode" KITT. It's not appealing, sleek or sexy. The "Classic Attack" KITT from the 2 hour pilot is miles ahead. Please change it back, for the sake of your audience and ratings.

Shapeshifter
FLAG Recruit
Posts: 318
Joined: Wed Oct 17, 2007 11:31 pm

Re: Anything the 2-hour movie did BETTER?

Post by Shapeshifter » Fri Sep 26, 2008 10:35 am

The 2 hour at least made an attempt to give us more character development and story. It may not have fully pulled it off, but I think it becomes obvious from watching the series premier that doing a re-make is a lot harder than it looks.

The GST interview where he mentions the battles that the producers had with the studio and network over the tone of the show is consistent with what I'd heard from my sources. There have been a several last-minute decisions from NBC to remove and re-shoot scenes that they felt were "too dark". But regardless, there's no excuse for characters to be as poorly written at they were in the series premier. I really think almost everything else can be forgiven, but if you don't give the public believable characters, you're dead, especially if you want people to take the show seriously. That is what I think the 2 hour pilot did better, it fleshed out the characters more.

User avatar
Lost Knight
FLAG Special Ops
Posts: 2719
Joined: Fri Aug 20, 2004 7:45 pm
What year did the original Knight Rider start: 0
Location: Long Island, NY

Re: Anything the 2-hour movie did BETTER?

Post by Lost Knight » Fri Sep 26, 2008 11:39 am

I also wanted to add that on top of the better character development as Shapeshifter pointed out, K.I.T.T.'s morphing was more grounded to reality. We had in-depth explanations of the nanotechnology and how K.I.T.T. used it. Now, it seems as if the Knight 3000 is a bullet proof Transformer. Turning the car into an F-150 is going a little too far, I think. While morphing into only different color Mustangs wasn't quite enough, I do agree with the concept of keeping the vehicle at the same mass. If it can only turn into other Ford vehicles for obvious reasons, that's fine, but just keep them at roughly the same size and mass.
“Gimme maximum turbo thrust and blast me outta here, will ya!?”
:kitt: :dash4:

Locked