One of the biggest, most talked about, most complained about thing that was lacking in the two hour pilot back in February was "Turbo Boost." This beloved feature of KITT, which sent him many times flying over large object, was missing from the movie, and many thought that a piece of KITT was missing too.
When we interviewed Gary Scott Thompson back in April, he recognized this as well:
What exactly is the Turbo Boost? What's going to be our version of the Turbo Boost? And that's something I know the fans sorely missed. It's one of the reasons why I watched as a kid, and loved to see that car jump. But also it's problematic in terms of jumping a car (laughs)
Well now we have our first proof that something is coming for Turbo Boost. Thanks to some observant forum members, we were able to capture and bring to you this :10 second commercial hinting at the Turbo Boost to come:
Exciting times indeed.
We were tipped off by members of our forum last night, they had seen a quick teaser on NBC on Monday, but didn't get a chance to record them. So we set out tonight and taped NBC. Sure enough, we got lucky!
This ten second commercial aired 7/15 during America's Got Talent. Mostly recycled footage but new audio and graphics - just a taste of what is to come!
Sue found another one:
We brought this DVD to your attention back in June, and even then we had trouble confirming it's existence. TVShowsOnDVD started to have some trouble of their own and got the word from NBCUniversal that they decided to not package the movie separately, and to include it in the eventual season DVD.
This makes sense to us - it's not really canceled, just postponed. Besides, we were always a little disappointed that the DVD wasn't going to be released in Blu-Ray. Hopefully time will change that.
dvd cover fan image designed by msKen
One of the favorite past times in our forum recently has been to go over every Knight Rider episode with a fine tooth comb, and find the real life filming locations. With most often nothing more than screen caps, Google Maps, Microsoft Live maps, and Google Earth (with the occasional on the ground support to verify), they are quickly turning through episode after episode.
Currently pushing seven pages in length, the Locations thread has found spots from episodes such as White Line Warriors, Diamonds Aren't a Girl's Best Friend, Knight Behind Bars, Soul Survivor, Killer KITT, KITT vs KARR and many many others.
One of the most creative finds recently has been by our forum member Sue who tracked down the Knight Rider opening to El Mirage Dry Lake, where she proceeded to make this wonderful recreation of the opening credits, check it out:
If you have a keen eye for detail and are handy with geography - you should jump right in and lend a hand!
Following up our initial report about the Knight Rider 2008 Panel at Comic Con, we now have an official announcement from Comic Con themselves.
In addition to the five names we revealed, it now looks like there will be three new cast members joining them; Paul Campbell from Battlestar Galactica, Yancey Arias from Kingpin and Smith Cho from Blades of Glory
11:45-12:45 Knight Rider: First Look at the New Series and Q&A with Cast and Executive Producers--On the heels of NBC's hit sequel movie based on the iconic 1980s television classic, Knight Rider has been reinvented as a supercharged action series showcasing the new KITT (Knight Industries Three Thousand). Be the first to see exclusive footage from the new series. Moderated by Television Week deputy editor/columnist Josef Adalian, who participates in a Q&A session with executive producer/showrunner Gary Scott Thompson (The Fast and The Furious, Las Vegas); executive producer David Bartis (Heist, The OC); and the cast: Justin Bruening (Cold Case), Deanna Russo (NCIS), Sydney Tamiia Poitier (Veronica Mars), Paul Campbell (Battlestar Galactica), Yancey Arias (Kingpin), Bruce Davison (X-Men) and Smith Cho (Blades of Glory). Room 6A
Additionally it looks like the Attack KITT will be revealed on Friday and not Thursday as originally thought.
11:00am-3:00pm Knight Rider "Attack KITT" Car Reveal Location: Outside Tin Fish Restaurant
In an interview with ComingSoon, Val Kilmer was asked about how he became the voice of the new KITT.
As you might remember, Wil Arnett was originally selected as KITT, until an 11th hour contract conflict forced the actor to drop out. Val Kilmer stepped in to voice KITT for the TV movie and will be KITT for the series beginning in September. Here is his take:
He also told us how he got roped into providing the voice for KITT, the sentient car in the recent television movie and soon to be returning series "Knight Rider." "It was a really weird happy accident," he said. "It was very strange just because they called me, not Wednesday afternoon, it was Wednesday about 8:30 at night. I live in the wilderness and my private phone just never rings because if you know me, you call the cell because I travel a lot. It was ringing and I looked at the phone like, 'That's really weird. Someone's calling me.' Went over, picked it up and it was the agency saying, 'Do you want to be the voice of KITT?' and I said, 'I remember that show. It was a fun when I was a kid, sure. Should I do a tape?' 'No, it's not an audition. They're offering it to you.' I said, 'When?' 'Tomorrow at 7:00.' What had happened and I can't take any credit for it at all, is that the actor Will Arnett, someone had seen him on the commercial for a car company and called him up and said, 'I think we have a problem.' He'd signed, done the job and been paid for it, but then they found out his voice is owned for another car company, which they found out by accident."We asked if this was something he would continue doing with the upcoming "Knight Rider" series that was picked up after the success of the TV movie. "It is, they did and I am," he responded. "I'm doing it right now. I haven't done it yet, but I do the whole show in 3 or 4 hours."
TVGuide's Sci-Fi preview is out this week, and SpoilerTV was the first to bring us this clipping from the issue about Knight Rider. This might be potential spoilers, but Gary Scott Thomspon let loose a few details about improvements to KITT and how things might work in the new series.
Knight Rider (Premieres Wednesday, 9/24, 8/7c, NBC) In February's TV-Movie update of the '80s supercar show, fans got a new KITT, a Ford Mustang driven by Justin Bruening and voiced by Val Kilmer. Now comes the caboodle, as the ongoing series further tricks out it centerpiece. "The car's windshield turns into a touch screen you can interact with while driving 300 miles an hour," executive producer Gary Scott Thompson says. Bruening's Mike Traceur will give up some secrets about his past as an Iraq War vet, and three additional characters join the cast, including techie Billy Morgan (Paul Campbell of Battlestar Galactica). "It won't just be like Michael Knight calling Devon from jail when he needed help," Thompson says. "They'll be pulling off missions as an actual team." -- Tom Russo
SpolierTV has also been pretty forthcoming with information about the first three episodes of Knight Rider. You can check them out here.
A new guessing game, started by Victor Kros begin this week. The bi-daily game hopes to entice participants to discover the secret behind their clues.
If you want to check out the discussion in our forums as to what this might be you can do so, otherwise try and discover the Summer of Secrets
As you have already heard, we are going to be at Comic Con! To support this, we are producing tshirts and buttons that will be gifting to the cast and crew, and wearing at the event itself. We've also decided to make these products available to the public. There are two items:
Knight Rider Online Comic Con Shirt:
Uniting the past with the present is shirt contains both the Knight 2000 and the Knight 3000. This custom tee is printed on American Apparel Black shirt with red ink, professionally silk screened.
This is a unique piece, so once the initial run is done, it's done! Price is $15 (plus $4 shipping to the US, $8 for international) +$2 if you need XXL or larger.
Four pack of Buttons:
These four pack of retro themed buttons will look great on any piece of apparel!
This is a minimum run of 24 shirts - of which we have 5 shirts left - but if the demand necessitates, we can easily add more shirts. But I need a total count in the next 36 hrs, so we don't incur any additional print fees or miss the Comic Con deadline. $4 for the set (plus $1 for US - $3 for international shipping)
Pre-Order yours today! (orders will ship the week of July 28th) (payments securely accepted by paypal!)
We have word of the complete lineup of panelists for the Knight Rider event being held on Thursday, July 24th at Comic Con. Scheduled to appear are:
- Gary Scott Thomspon (Showrunner/ExecProducer)
- Justin Bruening (Mike Traceur)
- Deanna Russo (Sarah Graiman)
- Sydney Tamiia Poitier (Carrie Rivai)
- Bruce Davidson (Charles Graiman)
- David Bartis (ExecProducer)
I'm posting this quick video to point something out with the Mio Knight Rider GPS. I thought the device only had 3 led bars on each side. Turns out there is a lot more, I just needed to turn the volume way up!
Check it out and KITT Rules for more.
When we were first contacted by Mio about their Knight Rider device, we couldn't wait till the day that we could finally tell you. An officially licensed GPS unit with the original voice of KITT behind it, how could you lose?
Thankfully, you can't! We have been very fortunate to get this exclusive extensive look at the Mio Knight Rider GPS. No longer will you have a boring list of computerized voices telling you directions on your GPS - now you can have KITT himself!
It's the first time since the TV Movie Knight Rider 2000 - has William Daniels been involved in anything officially Knight Rider. In fact it had been rumored for quite some time that Daniels wanted nothing to do with the series. We are thrilled that this was not the case, and now we have this device here, complete with newly recorded dialog by Mr. Daniels (this isn't reused TV clipings, it's 100% original recordings!)
One of the great unique features with this concept, is that KITT will address the driver by their first name. Simply set your name from the pre-recorded list of hundreds, and off you go. You can be Michael if you want to be a purist, but if your name is Aaron, Joe or David, you can have that personalized experience. (Unfortunately Devon, Bonnie, Wilton are missing from the list, but Mio hopes to address this error)
They've also taken several design cues from the Knight 2000. The device has dual nose type designs on the left and right, complete with a red type of scanner insert. However, the actual use of this scanners LEDs is to be KITTs voice box. It's a pretty neat effect, and initially we were bummed that it wasn't more accurate to the voice box to the series, but in the end the effect still felt the same.
The device is going to be for Canada and the US, however additional maps are available for purchase (for our global fans) via Mio's website for their other devices, so we imagine this unit would be the same.
We must admit it was pretty enjoyable driving around with KITT, that we kept getting lost on purpose, just so we could hear him make more announcements. Which was probably the only annoyance - we wish KITT would talk more. Have KITT nag me when I get lost, have him keep his scanners peeled and determine the best course to our destination - keep him vocal, keep him fun. Michael always told KITT to shadup, we love to be at the place to do that too.
MSRP is about $270, and we expect the final product to be released in the fall. Check out KITTRules for more information.
We're pretty sweet on this new GPS unit that was just announced. Here is a closer look at some of its curves.
Just a brief note to stop the emails: Yes, we know. What do you think KITTRULES.com was all about?
We think it's very cool too, but we've been asked to keep further details under wraps until the clock strikes 0. So check back in the early morning for some exclusive first look and details!
The Knight Rider panel is scheduled to take place on Thursday July 24th. Final panel arrangements are still being made, but
Gary Scott Thompson is confirmed. Also what is confirmed? The big
unveiling of footage from the series plus the new Attack-KITT, live and
in person!The theater holds 1000 people, so it shouldn't be too hard to get a seat, but I hear they don't clear the room from panel to panel. This will also be a moderated panel - where a moderator asks pre-submitted questions to the panel (vs the ask the question in the audience type thing), so we'll have more information on how to get your question asked as we get closer to the date.
Tickets are available from http://www.comic-con.org - and it looks like 80% sold out for Thursday, so place your orders now!
