Live Discussion Thread: Knight of the Iguana

[Making_Waves_of_my_Own]

I liked the episode, but please tone down the scantily-clad women and put more focus on the Mike-KITT relationship!

I thought the writers could introduce a new technology similar to a stealth cloaking device, which would make the car and its occupants invisible to outsiders! This would have been an excellent technology to use during the moments when KITT follows the two guys in the Beach Rover up the cliff. Otherwise, it's quite obvious you are being tracked when you look behind you and see a lone black car following you. The writers could show a clip of the Rover bad guys looking back through the rear window and not seeing anyone following them!! Simple to add without a lot of expense.

Also, did anyone notice that KITT's passenger door opened normally in the outside beach scenes, but in the KITT Cave scene just before Sarah/Zoe both fight to get into the car, the passenger door opens by swiveling or scissoring upwards, like a Lamborghini's? I'm surprised that dual-opening feature has not yet been mentioned here by the viewers.

[JJSoCrazy]

I liked the episode, but please tone down the scantily-clad women and put more focus on the Mike-KITT relationship!

I thought the writers could introduce a new technology similar to a stealth cloaking device, which would make the car and its occupants invisible to outsiders! This would have been an excellent technology to use during the moments when KITT follows the two guys in the Beach Rover up the cliff. Otherwise, it's quite obvious you are being tracked when you look behind you and see a lone black car following you. The writers could show a clip of the Rover bad guys looking back through the rear window and not seeing anyone following them!! Simple to add without a lot of expense.

Also, did anyone notice that KITT's passenger door opened normally in the outside beach scenes, but in the KITT Cave scene just before Sarah/Zoe both fight to get into the car, the passenger door opens by swiveling or scissoring upwards, like a Lamborghini's? I'm surprised that dual-opening feature has not yet been mentioned here by the viewers.

The doors open differently in attack mode, like a Lambo.

Joe

[Jedi Knight]

That was a much better episode than the others. CGI could still be toned down a bit, but other than that I was very pleased. Simple story, fun to watch, and not too heavy. I will even buy KITT turning into a sub, but I wouldn't touch the pickup thing with a 10ft pole. Thank you for not doing that again.

See they're getting their act together. These things just take time.

[Kram061-1]

2. The end twist was too fast...I totally missed the why they are blowing up the powerplant part, not to mention, the smart missle ended up doing so little damage I doubt it could have penetrated the concrete at the power plant...Michael should have been DEAD.

I still think Sarah drives KITT way, WAY, WAY, WAY TOO MUCH. How many times did Bonnie or April or Devon drive KITT? once, maybe twice? She isn't Daisy Duke, she is a frickin mechanic. She serves NO purpose so far on ANY of these missions, except for the one with the bikini, of course......and if she owned KITT, how come she was so surprised in the pilot? Like she'd never seen or hear of such a vehicle? If she was just sitting in KITT, and he was driving, I'd say okay. But now it's like, suddenly, she has had the same training as Mike Tracuer? He was an Army Ranger, so what? They sent her to Special Force's School?

Other than this, AND no alterted steering wheel, I am thus far pleased with the show

[KR4Life]

I liked the episode, but please tone down the scantily-clad women and put more focus on the Mike-KITT relationship!

Why does everybody have a problem with the scantily clad women?? Yeah, they don't add to the plot in any conceivable way, the exception being Sarah in "Journey to the End of Knight". I'm not saying "more, more" but since when is eye-candy a BAD thing? Can anyone tell me?

[Knight Racer]

I liked tonights episode aswell. All I want now is pics of Zoe in her bikini outfits mmmmmm.

Your wish has been granted.

[Bishop37]

Wow, the actress who plays Zoe has more chemistry with Justin than Deanna.

I'm kind of getting fed up with Sarah driving the car.

I blame this on the neutering of the male action-hero that took place in the 90s.

I thought it was one man can make a difference, not his ex-girlfriend and anyone else who wants a go behind the wheel.

I liked the satellite and missile FX but the underwater sequence was just bad. A miniature in a water tank would have been more convincing.

3/5

[KnightRiderFan1051]

My DIRECTV DVR effed up and I missed the first 16 mins thank god I bought the season pass on iTunes I just watched Iguana on my iPhone and I thought it was a great nostalgic payoff that the undercover names were Devon and Bonnie.

I wish they could make some sort of hollogram of Edward Mulhare from the old KR series footage to show up in the new series.

I think the only downfall to the series so far is that it seems any military people Mike encounters they freaking remember him. I thought with killing him and changing his name that would have stopped but then again unlike his dad he didn't get shot in the face and need platic surgery. I love the Series it's like watching an hour long Knight Rider movie every week. I wish they'd put the theme from the series on iTunes!!!!

[Knight 2002]

So far, this show has gone 3 for 3........for bad episodes. First off, the story in this week's broadcast simply sucks! This is the third episode in a row where the mission has involved: illegal weapons, somebody smuggling weapons, terrorist organizations, or when those aren't enough: terrorist organizations smuggling, illegal weapons; the writers are really across the board! In addition to my first gripe, the Knight Industries manufacturing weapons?!?!? This isn't in-line with the role of the Knight Industries, I realize that organizations evolve and that the Knight Industries have various streams of business but weapons manufacturing is a huge departure. They (the lovely writers) could have said that components of the missile were developed by Knight Industries for peaceful purposes but could be used for malicious intentions. I think the writers saw 'Iron Man' over the summer and decided to use the whole 'weapons manufacturer', 'chickens coming home to roost' angle, which, shows exactly how creative they are, if this is indeed the case.

Secondly, I totally agree with other posts that Michael and K.I.3.T. should be on missions alone, this Michael Knight is getting babysat wayyyyyyyyyy too much, give the guy some autonomy, plus, if he were on more missions alone, it would be a treat to fans to see Sarah, Zoe, and Billy when they are brought into the field.

On a different note, I love scantily clad girls as much as the next guy but I think it reflects on how bad the episodes really are, if the sex factor must be used in every show. The first two weeks we see Sarah strip down to her underwear, then a bikini, respectively, since we've practically seen Sarah naked the first two weeks (presumably the writers think we're bored with her already, which demostrates the audience they are appealing to), let's see Zoe this week! Who's next? Billy? Charles? Alex? Or maybe Carrie (it would be the next logical choice), oh wait! I already saw her in a bikini in the pilot, so I guess it will be one of the guys. On a positive note, Smith Cho is hot but I already noticed that in the first episode, so seeing her in a bikini, this early in the series is just plain out gratuitous. The whole reason she was brought into the field was because of her surfing ability, yet, when was she in a bodysuit? On a surfboard? Or showing Mike how to surf? Hence, gratuity! I'm all for skin but the irony is, it's being used to cover up paperthin storylines. Besides, it's nice to leave something to the imagination and have something to look forward to!

I almost forgot about the new K.I.3.T.-sub mode and that's because there's really not much to say. It's another transformation mode that is just unnecessary, give K.I.3.T. cool features to deal with attacks, as opposed to, putting K.I.3.T. in a situation that causes the producers (the blame must be shared) to create another ridiculous transformation mode. This new version of K.I.3.T. has flares, they used it in the very first episode in a similar situation with a missile fired at them but in this case, they just take the hit? WTF? Not to mention, K.I.3.T. deflected the same type of missile at the climax of the show using a feature, again, WTF? Why K.I.3.T. couldn't use this feature in the first episode or earlier on in this episode, the answer my friends is asinine logic. There is no substance to the new car, in the original series, the car looked good, it caught your attention but what kept your attention (to the car) were the features/gadgets. The current car just changes shape, this itself is supposed to be the feature. I would rather see the car keep it's basic Shelby GT form and have cool, practical features to combat attacks.

Lastly, Michael Knight does not carry/use guns!

[cloudkitt]

While I agree with a lot of what you're saying, a few things are off. As I said in the other post, Knight Industries didn't design the missiles, they designed the system that minimizes collateral damage which fits KI perfectly.

Also, is him using a gun really a big deal? He didn't bring one, he took it off that girl. The old Michael Knight used guns he had disarmed from people a few times.

As for the skin, I agree and disagree. The old show had PLENTY of either bikini montages or a camera going up and down a girl, so when they do that (like at the beach or the pool) it actually reminds me of the old show. On the other hand, what you're saying about them clearly making excuses to see the female leads in little-to-no clothing is certainly true. I don't think we ever saw Bonnie in a bikini, though we always wanted to - and that's part of the allure, lol.

[Knight-Armen]

Why does everybody have a problem with the scantily clad women?? Yeah, they don't add to the plot in any conceivable way, the exception being Sarah in "Journey to the End of Knight". I'm not saying "more, more" but since when is eye-candy a BAD thing? Can anyone tell me?

This is KNIGHT RIDER not Two and a half men and most importantly it's not supposed to put focus on scantily clad women! We've had that in every single episode upontil this point and I'm starting to wonder what kind of message that gives to young viewers around the world. This is about one man and his car set out to make a difference and the semi naked girls do certainly not fit in that picture.

My 5-year-old nephew is watching the show for crying out loud and every 5 minutes I have to ask him to cover his eyes!

[knightriderfan80]

I am extremely disappointed. I was hoping things would get better. The lack of substance and continuity is far worse than I could imagine. The submarine scene was pathetic. No transformation and bringing KITT out from a inclined beach with seaweed hanging off his mirror! WOW!! That took some skill there! I don't like how these girls ALWAYS have to be on missions. This is a ONE MAN with his car making a difference. Your tearing apart the legacy we know. This is not acceptable. Either fix it or accept failure and cancel the show. I understand things need to be up to todays standards and were not in the 80's, but like the previous poster said, having to cover your childs or nephews eyes because of the over-abundant sexual content is absolutely ridiculous. Knight Rider of the 80's had bikinis and such but none of the content that is way over the line like now. If I had a child, I guarantee I would not be letting him/her watch this monstrosity. I was optimistic this series would get better, but in fact, it has shown what writers and producers will do to get the highest ratings possible which in fact hasnt been very good.

Either keep the story in line with the old series and ONE MAN with his car, or stop now. The sex, crappy CGI and poor continuity is horrible. Although, you want to fix this mess, bring back the Hoff and KI2T.

I am ranting because I was VERY optimistic, but after seeing how 50 people in the cave hasnt changed, poor CGI and continuity along with the fact that Sarah has more interaction with KI3T than Justin does, makes this very disappointing.

[NeoRanger]

Your five year old nephew will be better off not covering his eyes, just because there is skin. It won't corrupt him, I promise.

He probably should when Zoe jumps Mike, though.

[Knight 2002]

I think Michael Knight using a gun is a big deal, in the first episode Mike brought a gun when he was picking up the 'package', last night he shot the bad guy to stop him from firing the missile. What's next? He's going to fatally shoot the next bad guy? That's where it appears to be heading. The same idea works for Batman, the character has been around for roughly 70 years, since an editor of DC comics (back in early 1940) declared that Batman will not use/kill anyone with a gun, the character has never done so, despite various incarnations, re-imagings, alternate storylines, etc. The same can be said for 'Michael Knight', he's supposed to be an updated version of the Michael Knight we knew, so why should he start carrying a piece? I've come to realize that this is not Knight Rider, so I shouldn't expect it to have good morals, good stories, good ideas, and a sleek car! I wish they would call it what it really is, "The Fast and the Furious presents, The Longest Running Ford Commerical Ever!"

[goldbug]

My 5-year-old nephew is watching the show for crying out loud and every 5 minutes I have to ask him to cover his eyes!

Then don't let him watch, or explain to him that sometimes men and women are attracted to each other and kiss (because frankly, that's all they showed).

[goldbug]

I think Michael Knight using a gun is a big deal, in the first episode Mike brought a gun when he was picking up the 'package', last night he shot the bad guy to stop him from firing the missile. What's next? He's going to fatally shoot the next bad guy?

If it means saving innocent lives, then yes. Mike is a soldier, and that is where he differs from his father. He was combat trained and that means he was trained to shoot people in battle situations. I would actually find it odd if he didn't use a gun now and then.

[NeoRanger]

I think Michael Knight using a gun is a big deal, in the first episode Mike brought a gun when he was picking up the 'package', last night he shot the bad guy to stop him from firing the missile. What's next? He's going to fatally shoot the next bad guy?

In all fairness, this time it wasn't his gun and he could've fatally shot the bad guy and not only did he choose not to, but he also tried to get him out of the rocket's way.

Mike brought a gun to a mission only once in the first episode. Considering that he could be packing a piece at any other time easily and he didn't, we can hope that they dropped the idea.

[NeoRanger]

Mike is a soldier, and that is where he differs from his father. He was combat trained and that means he was trained to shoot people in battle situations.

Didn't Michael fight in the Vietnam War? I seem to recall he did.

[zero]

I thought the episode was good, no real complaints. I enjoyed, it was fun.

Knight-Armen: What is wrong with you? Why are you so uptight about girls in bikinis? You don't like girls or what?

[Knight-Armen]

Oh, no don't get me wrong I like girls too. I just think that everything has their own time and place.

Instead of focusing on the girls they should put their heads into making better action scenes at hand. I mean so far Sarah seem to do most of the driving, well atleast the donuts. Kitt has a horrible sense of humor (I know that he's learning and bla bla bla). Mike seem to be fine without Ki3t when surrounded by bad guys and all he needs is to do some martial arts and they will be all over the floor (now he uses a weapon to get rid of them too). Remember how Hasselhoff did that in the 80's? He had Kitt perform some distraction which made him a part of the fight! Michael had Kitt beat up Berio in Killer Kitt, again involvement and they made great partners. Mike and Ki3t are not partners as such and don't get me any of that learning crap becuase If you were to draw a comparrisson between the original series and the new one you would know that Knight of the Iguana is parallell to Good Day at White Rock (or Slammin' Sammy's Stunt Show Spectacular if you don't want to count the KR08 pilot separately) which means that Ki2t and Ki3t has had the exact same amount of time to get to know their drivers. By that time Michael and Ki2t got along much better that of Mike and Ki3t.

[Amir]

I think a lot of people just want the old Knight Rider back, and that isn't happening. So everyone complains about something he's missing - whether it's about the story, the characters, the equipment (the steering wheel was mentioned here). Well, it's not going to happen. This Knight Rider is based a lot on the original, but it has to be different, to suit today's audience, there's no way around it. Most of us would probably just love to see a young David Hasselhoff as Michael Knight and KI2T going on missions as stars of the show. But that's not going to happen.

I think it's a good show and it has potential. Do I like everything about it? No, not at all. When Mike (I'm still struggling to see him as 'Michael Knight', to be honest) got into KITT late in the show, I was thinking 'great, finally some action with just the two of them'. And then the two girls came in and I was thinking 'arghhhhhhhhhhhhh'.

I hope NBC gives it time and if anyone should be giving it time rather than dissing it completly it's people HERE. Frankly you look at first episodes the original had - Deadly Maneuvers, Good day at White Rock, Slammin's Sammy's. Can you tell me they were great episodes? They were ok, but they wouldn't get into Knight Rider's top 10. Heck, I'm not even sure about top 40.

It takes time to build up everything and while I don't think the producers are doing themselves any favours with the amound of characters they decided to use, this is definately the best Knight Rider we've seen since the original was cancelled, and we should be supportive. So give it a REAL chance. Look how many people actually got to like the Mustang. It takes time.

[Kram061-1]

I still want a new steering wheel, ski mode and Sarah NOT DRIVING.....but that won't happen, at the very least, 'till the already filmed episodes are out of they way..........
But I still don't think the show is bad....I like it.

[KFCreator]

I thought this episode was actually a bit weaker than last week's in terms of the overall storyline but overall it was enjoyable. I love the fact that we have this new series and I love the premise of this new show and the angle they took on it and moving it forward but my main gripes that I have that have been pretty consistent from episode 1 are:

1. Improve the green screening of the outside world through the windows for interior scenes with KITT. I don't know enough about SFX to know whether this is the cheapest effect to do from a budget perspective but the problem is that it so far has looked cheap and unrealistic in every single shot. Why is it so hard to get this right in 2008? If good green screening can't be done, stick cameras on a stunt car and film actual footage instead, like they did in TOS!
2. Please, please, please, reduce the volume of the songs used in the episodes so they don't overpower the dialogue. Also, it wouldn't be a bad idea to also reduce the sheer number of songs used in the episodes either in favor of an actual score. I was really hoping that this new series would have a fantastic score to accompany the episodes and I think it would improve the quality of the episodes drastically if a score was implemented sometimes rather than some rock or heavy metal song. Periodically sticking in the theme music as a substitute for a score doesn't fly well in most cases IMO.
3. Get most of the actors to stop giving way over-the-top performances when they act. I like most of the actors but I am frankly embarrassed by this show sometimes when I see scenes with the likes of Zoe and Billy who ham it up much too often and are overacting most of the time we see them on screen. More serious acting would be a plus!
4. A more solid season-long (or series-long, depending on how long this show lasts) story arc would be fantastic. So far, I feel like the episodes are disjointed for the most part and have nothing to do with each other from one episode to the next. And to go along with point 3, more serious storylines would be a plus!

Don't get me wrong, I am an avid supporter of this show and will tune in every week to see it and show my love for it. I love the new KITT, most of the new actors, the new theme song and 99% of the SFX! I just wish the writers, producers and the studio would get these points into their heads and realize that with changes like these, they could have one hell of a knockout show instead of a decent show. Maybe I'm just spoiled by Smallville, which is my other love and has the 4 points I made above down to a science.

On a side note, and I may be a complete moron for not realizing this before,I was watching MSNBC the other night briefly and realized that since that network is a joint venture between Microsoft and NBC, that would make sense why NBC went with Microsoft rather than say, Apple, for providing the inspiration and computers and technology behind KITT and the Knight Foundation. I guess business is business, as they say.

[Milkman]

I share a lot of the same opinions others have here.

• Sarah does drive KITT way too much (more than once a season is way too much by the way). If she is in the drivers seat KITT should be in Auto Cruise or something. I only remember Bonnie driving KITT one time, and she literally moved it up 10 feet, and that was it!
• There isn't enough Michael/KITT time. In TOS they spent more time with the interaction between Michael/KITT, and by the end of season 4, it is clear that interaction is what formed KITT's personality.
• I am really not sure how much I like the stuff on the window. I think it needs to be a LOT more transparent at the least. I DEFINITELY didn't like the video appearing on KITT when he rubbed his tattoo on the hood (last episode).
• I liked the old KITT, since he had a real souped up interior. Very digital and very cool. This KITT really doesn't have anything. Maybe future seasons (crossing fingers) will have that since in theory there should be more money.
• I too could use a lot less CGI. Again, maybe future seasons will have that.
• Finally lets see more of what makes KITT, KITT.......... KITT!!!! Let's see him interacting with typical people (TOS always had someone trying to break into him, a cop, SOMETHING). ALSO, let's see him do more things himself! Establishing a personality (like I discussed earlier).

Finally, when KITT was breaching the surface of the water, I kept thinking to myself, "OK, let's see how they do this". I knew it wasn't going to be anything "real" due to the price of the car, so it is about what I expected. To be honest though, I would rather that they just skipped the entire water scene entirely, rather than do what they did.

[Solid Snake]

I have been reading all the postings here for a while and tonight I decided to join and post. My take on tonights episode is pretty much how I have felt about the whole new show from the begining. Its a train wreck I cant help but watch. I think its because I grew up with the old show and loved it that I just cant let myself be disapointed. Dont get me wrong Deanna Russo is so hot I cant stand it, and Smith Cho aint bad either. I found it funny in tonights episode how they called the Land Cruiser a Beach Cruiser and how the letters on the grill of the Land Cruiser read oota. Ford is so involved in the show it almost wrecks the show for me. My other problem is how it is just so unbelievable at times. Like in tonights episode Kitt ends up in the water after the mistle hits him. Before the rocket was launched at Kitt it did not look to me like there was water anywhere around him. Also in the end fight sceen where Mike just appears out of the air to fight the badguys seemed kinda odd. The whole show just doesnt flow well and is way to driven by Ford. I am like all of you I want the show to get picked up for a whole season. I would like to keep seeing Deanna in her underwear and in a bikini, but I fear the show is just to awkward to make it.

Hi and welcome. I do not agree with you at all about the Ford comments and I am getting quite angry with people trying to push it onto Ford without whom the franchise would not have been revived, FACT, well not this year anyway. Your remark about the missing letters on the Toyota car, most likely Toyota did not want to comply either... Calling a car Toyota anyway will infringe branding rights... so they need to work around that... what would you have prefered then? A Ford Escape instead of the Toyota... and then people b*tch about it being a commercial... there is always something wrong, isn't there. For the record, there were plenty of episodes in the Original series where Ford cars and vans driven by the bad guys had either removed markings or were called "For" or "Ord"... and that was in the 80's? So there is nothing new there.

About the episode, it was ok, but inferior to the second episode. They should stick to trying to be more serious like the second episode. The humour was ok, but a bit to much again... yet I think the show was still better than the premiere. Even the green screen stuff was "ok" this time around... still that needs improving. And yes an actual car driving out of the ocean would have been cooler... and very easy to do too... I mean they have a stunt Mustang for that... which was retro fitted to look as a GT500KR... so if they have one, use it!!! My tips... good to see the series slow down in terms of tempo... makes it much more pleasant to watch, but try to cut back on the cheese a little. Make it a bit more like the second episode, fun, entertaining but also a little serious... i liked some sections very much of this episode... but the humour intervals with Zoe and Sarah are way to frequent. It's almost like the show is not sure if it wants to be a comedy action series... or a serious Sci Fi car show... But other than that, I see potential because the stories are being told at an ok speed. Oww and Val Kilmer is doing AWESOME as KITT, as does the Mustang!!! Val and the Mustang just work for this KI3T. And Justin looked real good in those fight scenes, some nice action. And well... Deanna... what can I say... I love Deanna.