Live Discussion Thread: Knight of the Hunter

[neps]

I like that this episode was basically all just Michael and KITT and everyone else stayed in the cave. We got to see their relationship develop a bit more, and that was nice. Michael going undercover was good as well, though I thought they could have built that out a bit longer and shortened the ending. The fight choreography was really nice too. Mike walking on KITTs hood from one car to another was really a nice nod to the old series.

I thought KITT flipping end over head was great as well. I also liked the HUD display just before then scanning the road ahead and highlighting the terrain and mines.

I kind of agree with Michael on the bad guy issues. Why couldn't they have just had a show down at the dam, could have been interesting visually - I'm not sure the gold angle lent much to the story as crazed American mercenary would have been good too.

What I found most interesting I guess on this episode was that it was directed by Jay Chandrasekhar - while he started in comedy (with PuddleCruiser and Super Troupers) he also directed the Dukes of Hazzard movie.

[_K3000_]

Im watching a rerun of the episode right now

[Taichi]

What I found most interesting I guess on this episode was that it was directed by Jay Chandrasekhar - while he started in comedy (with PuddleCruiser and Super Troupers) he also directed the Dukes of Hazzard movie.

Wow... I didn't catch that...

That's really interesting as I liked the Dukes remake.

[BlueChaos]

This episode really hits all the right tones to me, even better than last week!

Action: 9
- All the tense stuff, they even got some "McGyver" in there with the cutting wires and bomb stopping right on the last second. Knowing KR, I thought they were gonna stop it in around second 2 or 3. There was a moment of tenseness as Mike cut the wire and then the count still moved from 2 to 1. Thought it was the wrong wire!
- They finally put Mike and KITT into some risk. Last week Mike was poisoned and this week it seems like he would have a serious injury jumping to that river. Unlike the first episodes where there was no real danger to Mike (I perceived he won't die from the fire in ep 1, he won't get killed in the desert of ep 2 and I don't think he'd die from the missile in ep 3). Seeing the risk being very real here (I know he won't die but I guessed he would get broken bones or something) adds to the tension. Especially after KITT being wrecked by the landmine.
- As everyone said, Mike jumping from KITT's hood to the bomb truck was very reminiscent of KR:TOS!

Storyline: 9
Finally, they can make a good storyline! The tone throughout the episode was good, even better than last week. I found it particularly touching when in the cave Mike said he wished he could remember, just to know what he's done. I hope the writers would continue to expand on this and not cut it out like last week. And the last bit with Sarah's birthday was nice. I don't think it's mentioned here already, but do you know that in reality, Deanna Russo (who played Sarah Graiman) just had her birthday too in real life? I love this touch, it would have been a nice gift for Deanna, she might want to keep this episode for her own private collection for life! Maybe when the writers wrote this ep, they thought "okay let's put something about Deanna's birthday here too"

VFX: 9
- Nice truck transformation with an improved truck and an all-new interior and HUD inside the truck!
- The scene where KITT flew into the air after hitting a mine was nicely done, absolutely fantastic!
- Loved KITT rockets, and those large launchers on the side of KITT's doors. Wonder what else he has in there!
- Dirty KITT = Cool KITT. He doesn't need to be always shiny, sometimes he needs to have it rough like Mike!

It's getting better and better! I have faith in this Knight Rider, let them come for a few more seasons, yeah.

[KTMCDO]

the scene where KITT changes chips
does he carry spare chips on board
and where does the damaged chip go ?
overall 10 out of 10 for me
and when the villain said i need to get one of those
i think he was talking about kitt could he somehow
help the one who brings KARR back?

[R.E.V]

Loved last nights show....For me it was classic Knight Rider. It's great watching Mike and KITT form a friendship from show to show. I give 7 out of 10 Turbo Boosts

[KRVisitor]

Again, was hoping someone could ID the actress who was Cassandra (the British agent)

[TravisKnight01]

Anyone notice the bad guy from tonight was the same bad guy from knight rider 2010.He was Robert Lee in the 2010 movie and drove the stleath bomber car.I just relized it after watching the show last night.


Travis

[PHOENIXZERO]

I think I liked the episode for the most part and the VFX were good and IMO the greenscreen has improved nicely, still not perfect but still much better than the first two episodes, though I don't think I'm a fan of what seems like a Star Trek-esqe shield from when the bullets were supposed to be hitting the body of the car, I'm guessing the blue ring/halo effect is to show energy displacement but it just isn't enough. If the effect from the backdoor pilot can't be used on a larger scale than just a bullet time impact like the BDP then it just makes me miss the old sparks effect even more and I'm the one who was writing explanations as to why there could be a logical move away from the MBS (aside from losing the formula) and using nanotech in a way so bullets wouldn't ricochet off the car like they did in the original series with the nanotech skin absorbed the impact as shown in the BDP. The apparent effect now just doesn't look right to me and lacks any sort of excitement.. Other than that, the rest of the effects were very good, especially the landmine explosion, flipping/flying in the air and crash and of course the HUD as usual.

[Radicalas]

Anyone notice the bad guy from tonight was the same bad guy from knight rider 2010.He was Robert Lee in the 2010 movie and drove the stleath bomber car.I just relized it after watching the show last night.


Travis

Thanks for information. When i read what you written i remembered him at once! It's interesting coincidence. He's Mark Pellegrino.

[Radicalas]

Here he is:

[goldbug]

Anyone notice the bad guy from tonight was the same bad guy from knight rider 2010.He was Robert Lee in the 2010 movie and drove the stleath bomber car.I just relized it after watching the show last night.
Travis

I KNEW I recognized him from somewhere! IMDB doesn't have his KR08 listing yet however, but great to know I wasn't imagining things.

[NeoRanger]

Now we're talking. So far I've been supporting the show, mostly based on the potential it showed. Here, it's seriously starting to realize it. All in all, I couldn't easily happier. Great stuff.

Minor nitpick? That feed that KITT played for Sarah toward the end. The one with Mike and Cassandra. That was really bad. I mean, "don't ever do that again" bad. Really.

PS: See how better things work when people who aren't Michael stay where they're supposed to?

[FLAGCEO]

I too agree with the comments about KITT being damaged while transforming. Yes the mines were stealth, but just before they entered the road, we saw KITT scan the road and red dots appeared where the mines were supposed to be. So KITT clearly knew where the mines were, and it was KITT that suggested transforming. Okay, so perhaps KITT couldn't predict whether he'd "go flying" while transforming, but it seems logical that KITT is most vulnerable in mid-transformation. So why would KITT suggest transforming while driving over high explosives? because the writers didn't give us enough credit.

[NeoRanger]

^^ Uhm, actually I think he'd go flying even if he wasn't in mid-transformation. He suggested the transformation, to increase his mobility. I don't know about you, but if I was driving a truck in a narrow road, at that speed, around carefully placed mines, I'd hit several. Even I were a super-advanced computer.

[n1elkyfan]

I thought this show was definitly the way it should be with it mostly being about Mike and KITT. But I think it would have been cool if KITT would have turbo boosted over the river.

[KTMCDO]

Again, was hoping someone could ID the actress who was Cassandra (the British agent)

Kristen Bush: Cassandra

[cajunknight0153]

LOVED IT!!! TRUE KNIGHT RIDER!!! lots of homage to TOS! its becoming more and more like the original!

[FLAGCEO]

LOVED IT!!! TRUE KNIGHT RIDER!!! lots of homage to TOS! its becoming more and more like the original!

Don't get me wrong, I am definately a fan of the new series, but there's one major thing that has pervaded every episode so far, and it is the complete opposite of TOS - namely that FLAG/KI is now a pseudo-government agency, Mike is a "Federal Agent" (as per our resident FBI agent in the end of "Hard Day's Night"), and that in every episode thus far he's "undercover" infiltrating some group. The original KR was the poor man's champion, in that 90% of the episodes were FLAG sending Mike and KITT (2K) to a small town where some poor, law-abiding person was being harassed by outlaws or thugs (very much like the A-Team except cooler - this was a theme at NBC at the time it appears). But that was part of the "Knight" motif. With the exception of episodes with KARR and Goliath, most followed this "help the small fry" theme. Remember Wilton Knight's famous words - "One man can make a difference."

Now Mike is a super domestic spy with an awesome car. He's an extension of the government, rather than a helpful but shadowy figure dedicated to justice. The KITT Kave and the KR team is reflective of this theme. The Pilot, on the other hand, was true to the original concept. But in the seven months between the pilot and the series premire, somehow there was this huge shift.

It's true that some of TOS episodes had the Hoff going undercover, but the majority did not. He would introduce himself as "I'm Michael Knight. Devon Miles sent me." Okay, so this is a new series. And it's pretty good so far. But it's most certainly not a true continuation of the original, even if it is a "sequel" as Breunning said. Aside from little technical things, I think comparing it to the original is simply not legitimate - it's like comparing apples and pears - somewhat related, but markedly different.

While the concept is cool and interesting in itself, it is NOT true to TOS. While the action and problems that KITT encounters may be true to TOS, the foundational premise is not. That's my main criticism of this show. If any of the writers/producers read this blog, I hope they would consider finding a way to, at least occasionally even, have a mission that doesn't require infiltration of something, and do an episode that is true to the basic premise of knight rider.

[Bishop37]

The show is getting better.

Sorry, I could tell the truck flip was CG, but the VFX on the whole are very good, though not yet excellent.

Liked the classic style riding the hood and jump to another vehicle.

The Wonder Twin moments were pretty funny too but two cast members were missing – a sure sign that the cast is too big for the type of story being told and it looks like they don't know what to do with some of the characters.

The trouble is role duplication. Sarah functions as the tech person but so do Billy and Zoe. Alex and Carrie are coming from the law enforcement angle, while Charles and Alex are in the guy who tells Mike what to do role, the original Devon Miles sort of character. It's just overkill, so this means you've got an actor of Bruce Davision's calibre with nothing to do basically.

That said, I'd still give this ep 4/5 and as I'm English, they should bring back the "Jane Bond".

[calhoun24]

The Wonder Twin moments were pretty funny too but two cast members were missing – a sure sign that the cast is too big for the type of story being told and it looks like they don't know what to do with some of the characters.

The trouble is role duplication. Sarah functions as the tech person but so do Billy and Zoe. Alex and Carrie are coming from the law enforcement angle, while Charles and Alex are in the guy who tells Mike what to do role, the original Devon Miles sort of character. It's just overkill, so this means you've got an actor of Bruce Davision's calibre with nothing to do basically.

They are trying to make it work, but I have to agree. Too many characters, and it seems like some can be served by eliminating others eventually. I understand Michael, the Graimans, and and Carrie. The only character that I like that's new is Billy. Torres' place in this cast seems superfluous, but let's see. Zoe seems to be there to torture Billy, and together, be the "tech peanut gallery". I understand the purpose of Zoe and Torres, but it seems like they would work better in an advisory manner, being brought in on occasion, not as regulars.

But as I said, let's see... It seemed OK last night.

[FLAGCEO]

^^ Uhm, actually I think he'd go flying even if he wasn't in mid-transformation. He suggested the transformation, to increase his mobility. I don't know about you, but if I was driving a truck in a narrow road, at that speed, around carefully placed mines, I'd hit several. Even I were a super-advanced computer.

This is a matter of opinion. I too think he would go flying - it was because he hit a mine. I'm not saying it would be better for him to be a truck in that situation. But I'd much rather be in truck mode hitting several mines (and even catching some air) than to transform, hit a mine, go flying and be rendered useless. KITT should know better.

[Rockatteer]

Again, was hoping someone could ID the actress who was Cassandra (the British agent)

Her name is kristen bush

This episode was a real Knight Rider episode. Loved it.

I hope theres plenty more like this to come.

Looks like the production team are in the groove.

[KnightIndustriesTT]

I like that this episode was basically all just Michael and KITT and everyone else stayed in the cave. We got to see their relationship develop a bit more, and that was nice.

Great point, we need more of this. Everything was just super-focused last night with the drama and character development of KITT and Michael being alone out in the field and all of the supporting character's contributing in their proper roles.

Looks like the production team are in the groove.

I agree, you can almost tangibly feel the refinement each week which is very promising now that the show is getting it's full first season, hopefully it can pull in the ratings and get more so we can continue to see this show deliver the goods.

[Kram061-1]

I actually really liked this version of the pick-up truck....I hope they keep this version of the truck.