Probably already been mentioned about the semi...

Karl Siniak · Post by **Karl Siniak** » Mon Dec 30, 2002 4:56 pm

Who the hell drives it???

I mean in Season 4 i though RC was given the job as the new driver but in a few episodes he is talking in the rear with Devon, Bonnie and Michael and it is still moving.

I'm confused, who drove it before anyway?

KITT · Post by **KITT** » Mon Dec 30, 2002 5:00 pm

that guy.

KITT

Karl Siniak · Post by **Karl Siniak** » Mon Dec 30, 2002 5:04 pm

Who???

That guy nobody ever sees, hears of or knows anything about.

Post by **Michael Pajaro** » Mon Dec 30, 2002 5:07 pm

Devon mentioned once that he felt a bit uneasy when RC3 left the Semi in auto-pilot mode. So by season 4 at least, the semi could drive itself.

Mike

Karl Siniak · Post by **Karl Siniak** » Mon Dec 30, 2002 5:21 pm

really, cool,they could've made a computer program forit and it could've been a friend for kitt, and if the made a mbs for it it could've been used towards goliath with kitt.

knightimmortal · Post by **knightimmortal** » Mon Dec 30, 2002 6:27 pm

I wouldn't go that far. Seeing as the semi is more like KITT's mother, and the amount of sensitive equipment inside keeps them from even thinking of going into a battle situation. I mean, imagine if one of KITT's docking stations got banged up. KITT would be in some deep poo.

And yeah, by at least season 4, there was an auto pilot. Before that, it was probably some faceless driver, a lot like the people who helped keep the Foundation running. They were support players that we never truly saw.

KI

Karl Siniak · Post by **Karl Siniak** » Mon Dec 30, 2002 6:41 pm

I was only only kiddin about the semi battle. But it could maybe be a good fanfic? Maybe not.

Anyway if in battle the semi could detach the rear area, i mean goliath never had a trailer.

Skav · Post by **Skav** » Mon Dec 30, 2002 6:58 pm

Sometimes, it annoys me that we don't get to see the mystery driver who drove the truck in the earlier seasons but sometimes it is a good thing because it's always a good thing to have that aura of mystery surrounding certain things.

remember the movie, 'duel'? we don't get to see the truck driver's face in that one and that's one of the elements that made it so good.

then again...the truck really wasn't the centre of KR but just one of the things that were needed.

but it's still good that we never saw the driver.

i mean, the show is about action and i don't think they hardly had time to have scenes where michael or devon are having a cup of coffee with the driver to talk about the day's events.

it would drag!

Skav

knightimmortal · Post by **knightimmortal** » Mon Dec 30, 2002 7:17 pm

Karl Siniak wrote: Anyway if in battle the semi could detach the rear area, i mean goliath never had a trailer.

Um, er....What do you mean Goliath never had a trailer?

Or is that another joke?

Hard to tell.

KI

Skav · Post by **Skav** » Mon Dec 30, 2002 9:46 pm

in the game, they actually left the trailer out.

don't know the reason for this but i thought it was a big letdown.

it kinda took away that intimidation factor on the game user that would have to inetivitably go against goliath.

Skav

KITT · Post by **KITT** » Tue Dec 31, 2002 4:13 am

maybe they left it out so you could see better when driving it.

KITT

SadArticle · Post by **SadArticle** » Tue Dec 31, 2002 6:36 am

Didn't we see the mystery driver hop out occasionally, like in the episodes where Michael kindly 'loaned' the semi to independent trucking companies? And in 'KITT Vs. KARR', when KARR pranged the rear doors slightly, and the semi had to pull into the side of the road for awhile

This guy should have a little history invented for him!

He'd have to know a little about the 'secret' (when the mood struck its employees) Knight project, so it would be someone trustworthy, perhaps involved from the beginning. I'm seeing a kind of Marlboro man type, a trucker at heart, who didn't mind travelling the state with the semi whenever Michael and Kitt needed back-up.

But in a way, I agree about the element of mystery. If only RCD3 had stayed that way.

Joking aside, I preferred the mechanic character in Gryph's stories (I think), who was instrumental, but didn't get in the way of the main characters, to RC3, who was surplus to requirements (and got the original truck driver fired!

)

Sarah

Post by **Michael Pajaro** » Tue Dec 31, 2002 9:58 am

The driver of the semi was named BJ McKay, played by Greg Evigan. While Michael and KITT were out on their adventures, BJ also went around helping people along with his pet monkey, Bear.

Mike

I'm joking.

knightimmortal · Post by **knightimmortal** » Tue Dec 31, 2002 1:33 pm

*falls off chair laughing*

Good one, Mike!

Oh...wait... what is that...sensation...oh....no.... I smell a fan fic crossover. I feel it in my bones.... arrgggh!!!!! *flops over on floor, as plot gremlin crawls out of my head, and goes along his merry way, consuming all in his path.*

KI

K.I.T.T · Post by **K.I.T.T** » Tue Dec 31, 2002 2:40 pm

Michael Pajaro wrote:The driver of the semi was named BJ McKay, played by Greg Evigan. While Michael and KITT were out on their adventures, BJ also went around helping people along with his pet monkey, Bear.

Mike

I'm joking.

LMAO!!!

Ok yeah, thats a good one Mike...made me laugh!!

K.I.T.T

knightshade · Post by **knightshade** » Wed Jan 01, 2003 4:57 pm

In one of the novelizations (I think the third one -- Hearts of Stone) they gave the driver the name Gates Cashman (or something very close to that). I don't have that book anymore so I can't look it up. Anyone else?

KnightRiderFanUK · Post by **KnightRiderFanUK** » Wed Jan 01, 2003 8:29 pm

Correct Knightshade! 10 Points. I was just about to chime in in 'Smug Mode', but you beat me to it.

Quoting...

"Who's driving the truck?"
"Gates Cashman," said Bonnie. "One of the Knight techs."
"Do I detect more than a note of passing interest in your voice for this young whiz kid?"
"No, you do not."

I personally like the idea of a group of university graduates and the like who left uni and went to work for the Knight Foundation. This except also touches on the thing I missed most after season 1 - the flirting between Bonnie and Micheal.

Oh, another thing the book hints at is that Bonnie designed the Semi.

Happy new year.

Army_F_Body · Post by **Army_F_Body** » Thu Jan 02, 2003 4:43 am

Great find, but some members of this board don't count the novels as actual cannon. I don't know why, since most were written by Glen Larson, but since most concepts never made it to the small screen they are not excepted. Just like Paramount is with Star Trek. I always assumed that auto pilot was always operational from the get-go and the driver just sat up their reading magazines or drinking a soda and was a precautionary measure in case the semi's cpu malfunctioned, kind of like what ultimately MK is to Kitt, although he proved usefull for other things too

. I remember an episode, the one where the semi is stolen, with RC3 kicking back doing just what I mentioned above as the semi's cpu did all the driving, kind of supports it

.

knightimmortal · Post by **knightimmortal** » Thu Jan 02, 2003 2:54 pm

Army_F_Body wrote:Great find, but some members of this board don't count the novels as actual cannon. I don't know why, since most were written by Glen Larson, but since most concepts never made it to the small screen they are not excepted.

The reason why several members of the board do not accept the novels as actual cannon is because:

1) Not all members have access to the novels.

2) The novels were created after the scripts, and do not reflect the script writer's intentions. In many cases, some of Larson's writings later on conflict with what we saw on the screen. Just because he was the creator doesn't mean that his word is gospel in the novelization arena. The way Larson originally had it set, there was no K.A.R.R. or even a Garthe. He wrote it in the novels later, but the parallels didn't match the eventual scripts that most of us know.

It is a lot like taking the novelizations of Star Trek, which have added history, and in some cases, change the storyline altogether. It is a lot like a fan fic writer changing history. We can do it, but not everybody should accept it as canon.

KI

SadArticle · Post by **SadArticle** » Thu Jan 02, 2003 5:23 pm

knightimmortal wrote:
The reason why several members of the board do not accept the novels as actual cannon is because:

1) Not all members have access to the novels.

2) The novels were created after the scripts, and do not reflect the script writer's intentions. In many cases, some of Larson's writings later on conflict with what we saw on the screen. Just because he was the creator doesn't mean that his word is gospel in the novelization arena. The way Larson originally had it set, there was no K.A.R.R. or even a Garthe. He wrote it in the novels later, but the parallels didn't match the eventual scripts that most of us know.

It is a lot like taking the novelizations of Star Trek, which have added history, and in some cases, change the storyline altogether. It is a lot like a fan fic writer changing history. We can do it, but not everybody should accept it as canon.

KI

I quite enjoyed what was revealed via the novelisations, because the one thing the actual show lacked was character depth or history, particularly with Bonnie, Devon et al. I don't know about most of the books (although I would love to learn), because I only have 'Trust Doesn't Rust', but I thought the 'introductory' banter between Michael and Devon, KITT's perspective (especially at the end, reviewing his meeting with KARR), and the added affection between the partners was better than the episode itself. The characters just seemed more rounded in the book. But I guess I've always preferred books to films

And the fact that not all members own these novelisations shouldn't stop the additional information being accepted. The little SOE/OSS tidbit sprung up from a source outside the series (OK, so not one of the books), but I don't think that detracts from the potential of such 'background'. The people who have these books should feel free to include what they know, and then the fan fiction writers could bear it mind with their stories.

Glen Larson created the whole Knight Rider concept. I personally think the series needed a bit of a boost, detail-wise, and I'm guessing Glen did too, or else he would have stuck to the scripts. I think the novelisations provided an outlet for what the episodes couldn't fit in. Michael couldn't have spent half an hour rattling on about his feelings in the series, because that would have cut down on the action, somewhat dramatically. Which is where books, and reader's imaginations, come in.

Sarah

P.S. Oh, and I liked the idea behind one of the Star Trek novelisations too, which provided the history behind Riker and Troi's relationship!

knightimmortal · Post by **knightimmortal** » Thu Jan 02, 2003 5:32 pm

To each their own when it comes to preferrence, I was just explaining why no novelization is considered canon. It is just a general fic writer thing, because they aren't official. If I published a book on Knight Rider with my character suddenly appearing, would it make it canon? No. That is how it is generally accepted. The books are creative license, not stated canon. Just because the creator did it, doesn't make a difference, because he bailed out of KR for the most part after the first episode, therefore allowing other writers to create canon for him.

KI

SadArticle · Post by **SadArticle** » Thu Jan 02, 2003 6:00 pm

But I think the creator might have had a better idea about how he saw his characters than the scriptwriters who picked up the baton after he set the ball rolling (how's that for mixing metaphors?

) That's why I think, in this case, the novelisations should be allowed into the Knight Rider canon. I know that Knight Rider was created as an idea for a television show, and not a series of books, but as I said, Glen Larson had a hand in both, and the books merely approach the episodes with greater narrated detail than the series allowed.

Sarah[/i]

Post by **Michael Pajaro** » Thu Jan 02, 2003 6:22 pm

For me personally, I only consider the aired episodes to be canon. I think the novels are useful for exploring some of the intentions of the writers, however. One old debate is whether or not KITT literally was Michael Long's old car. In the episode, I think it is strongly implied that KITT is Michael's car, but it is not definite. In the book version, it is almost blatant.

I don't look at the novels as adding information to Knight Rider canon, but they can be used to clarify some of it.

Mike

knightimmortal · Post by **knightimmortal** » Thu Jan 02, 2003 7:30 pm

SadArticle wrote:But I think the creator might have had a better idea about how he saw his characters than the scriptwriters who picked up the baton after he set the ball rolling (how's that for mixing metaphors? ) That's why I think, in this case, the novelisations should be allowed into the Knight Rider canon. I know that Knight Rider was created as an idea for a television show, and not a series of books, but as I said, Glen Larson had a hand in both, and the books merely approach the episodes with greater narrated detail than the series allowed.

Sarah[/i]

The creator didn't have KARR created in the first place. But when TDR came up, he went and created back history that went over his own thoughts and principles. Originally, Larson did want KITT to be Michael's car, but then KARR existed, so that sort of screwed up what Larson wanted from his very own pilot episode. Same thing about Garthe. Originally, Michael was supposed to look like a young Wilton, then some script writer came up with Garthe. Glen Larson wrote to try to make up some history to comply, but it went against his initial wishes that were on the screen.

So, no, it doesn't feature the creator's original vision, and the books are still not canon. It's just generally accepted across fandoms. It is even mentioned at Writer's University's guide on fan fic. It's not me. I can't change it, but I do see the logic behind it.

KI

Army_F_Body · Post by **Army_F_Body** » Thu Jan 02, 2003 7:32 pm

"The similarities between this car and your own are purely cosmetic."
I always thought that meant that they were both Trans Am, not the same Trans Am. Now you've got me thinking. Both man and machine rising from the ashes to become something better. Anyway, never would've worked. I really don't think that Devon went to the local Pontiac dealer to pick up the car, or just use Michael's. It would make more sense to build it from scratch and use the body style as a guidline. Besides MK's original car was alluminum and fiberglass. We still don't really what Kitt is made from, or do we?

Probably already been mentioned about the semi...

Probably already been mentioned about the semi...

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