September 2008 Archives

We aren't quite sure what to say about today's commercial. They're trying awfully hard to push the relationship between Michael and KITT - for a series that we've only seen one episode on. Check it out and let us know what you think.

[Watch on YouTube]

More enjoyable is this clip talking about the need for speed - but that's after the jump!

We wonder though - why we haven't seen the full teaser commercial for tomorrows episode replayed after the premier.

We've just posted the official publicity images from the next two episodes of Knight Rider: Journey to the End of Knight and Knight of the Iguana. Click on the titles or the images to see the complete galleries.

On Saturday September 13th in Denver Colorado, the Knight Rider event was held. Hosted at the Forney Museum of Transportation it drew a crowd of over 2000 people to check out the vehicles on display. An auction with signed photos from the cast of the new series graciously donated were auctioned off to help raise money for the Museum, with one lot alone that raised $400.00.

Congrats to John putting an amazing event together! We have some photos from the event and a video of John being interviewed about it after the jump.

The Fireball Run Transcontinental Rally, took off this weekend from Baton Rouge, Lousiana. Now in it's second year, this 3500 mile 9 day journey features over 100 teams on their way to their final destination of Grand Rapids, Michigan.

The race is played like a 'game' where drivers receive clues along the way to get to their next destination. The cars are sponsored by different groups but also carry a more important message of trying to help finding missing children, as each vehicle carries the image of someone who is lost.

This year's theme focuses on an 1980 theme, and carries none other than a KITT in it's midst. Darrin Cooper of Innovative Auto Design has entered his KITT that he has rebuilt from the ground up and is sporting a 383 hp engine. Joining him in his journey is David Lousiell who has helped Darrin in building his vehicle.

You can find out more about Team Innovative Auto Design from the Fireball Run website. Additionally you can follow their progress via the Foundation message boards (with additional photos) or Fireball's official tracker.

We've been pointed to this video from the Soup this weekend. Pretty funny that it talks about Hoff being the only Michael Knight as well as the attitude of the new KITT.

[Original Thread]

Twenty six years ago tonight, NBC premiered the original pilot of Knight Rider. The two hour pilot writen by series creator Glen Larson, told the story of Michael Long and his fall to rebirth as Michael Knight, leading the quest of one man making a difference against criminals who opperate above the law.

TVGuide had this to say way back then:

Knight is like the movie cowboy who would leave the girl and go off with his horse. The meaningful relationship here is between the hero and his car. It not only talks but thinks, and it has a peevish personality. They bicker constantly. Actually it's more of a marriage than a romance.

In the present day, we've lived through a few failed attempts to revive Knight Rider, but now the future looks promising with the new series premiered, and the hopes of a Motion Picture in the future.

Watch the original commercial for the premier episode (thanks to Joe Huth!) after the jump!

In an effort to continue to build online fan support for the new series, with the premier of Knight Rider NBC has launched three online initiatives that we had previously mentioned. Check them out and let us know what you think about them in the comments.

• Billy's Notes from the Underground: Knight Industries resident techie Billy blogs about - well, anything and everything.
• Knight Writers: Writers from the series will post on this behind the scenes blog. First post from Gary Scott Thompson is up.
• Knight Industries Research: To log onto your Employee Computer at Knight Industries Reseach, click here

• Forbes online has an amazing interview with Gary Scott Thompson. He talks about the difficulties in pleasing everyone and his experience bringing Knight Rider to series: "Also, everyone seems to forget we don't work in a vacuum here. We have to report to a studio and a network, which will and will not let us do certain things."
• SciFiWire had a piece on weither or not the characted of Carrie Rivai was still a lesbian like she was in the pilot, Gary Scott Thompson had this to say: "My inclination is to leave her as she was," Thompson says. "Why change it? But the thing about my argument is that, in the case of Anne Heche, she was straight, then bi, then a lesbian, then bi, then straight. If [Rivai] is actually bisexual, she would appear different ways, depending on the situation. Of course, in my book, that would make her a much more interesting character, much like Capt. Jack Harkness in Torchwood. If I could use Jack in Torchwood as a role model -- I would absolutely use him as a role model -- I love his conflictedness about... everybody. He's real cool." [Knight Rider Archive]
• SciFiWire talked with Paul Campbell who plays Billy in the about the new series and his character for a certain episode we weren't allowed to talk about yet...
• SciFiWire also has several interviews with Justin Bruening talking about how he and the rest of the cast has yet to meet Val Kilmer, Deanna Russo discussing her fight trainning as well as a smackdown between Knight Rider vs Legend of the Seeker
• ComingSoon interviewed KR stunt-coordinator Dan Wynands. "The one thing we do in Knight Rider, we do have a lot of green screen for when we put our principle actors in the car. I'm trying to tie them more into the real work we do. I've actually got some business to do this Friday with Justin Bruening who's our Michael Knight Rider guy, and I'm gonna tie him onto the hood of our Knight Rider car. I'm trying to bring some of the feature film world tricks to help sell our actors in there. It is a challenge."
• Knight Rider Archive has a summary up about the latest UK SFX Magazine's 5 page feature on the new Knight Rider.
• RadioShack has been announced as the exclusive retail destination for the Mio Knight Rider GPS until the end of October. You can read more on the device with our review and from Mio's website. The unit is also available via Amazon, where a percentage of your purchase goes back to support this site.

Press reviews of the premier episode and more after the jump!

A teaser of for the episode to come, Journey to the End of Knight

[Watch on YouTube]

Here are a few video interviews from the past couple of days you should check out:

YoungHollywood.com on set:

Justin being serenaded on PopTub

BuddyTV interviews Gary Scott Thompson

BuddyTV interviews Bruce Davison

BuddyTV interviews Justin Bruening

BuddyTV interviews Deanna Russo

Tomorrow we'll have a bunch of KITT Byte links mostly dealing with the reviews of "A Knight In Shining Armor"

With the premier of Knight Rider airing last night, today begins the bigger question of the future. As you know, Knight Rider has only been given a 13 episode approval - and the ratings will help to determine if the show gets a full season of episodes.

Here is what the overnights are saying thanks to TV by the Numbers:

The series premiere of Knight Rider only pulled a 4.9/8 at 8pm. It will be interesting to see how it did among 18-49 year olds. America's Got Talent scored a 6.8/10 at 9pm, and at 10pm the season premiere of Lipstick Jungle sunk to a 4.7/7. Ouch.

It's still too early to know what the final numbers will be or what this means. It is clear the 18-49 demo numbers will be the most important, as they were record setting in February. A show like 90210, with only 3.3 million viewers, was just picked up for a full season, but that airs on a much smaller network.

Also, these numbers do not take into account the online traffic, which we haven't heard anything about. I question too how they'll be able to judge that given that there was so many outlets providing the episode.

*UPDATE* Further analyzing of the Nielson numbers reveals that Knight Rider won the #1 in Males 18-34, #1 in Males 25-54, also #1 in Kids 2-11.

So tell us what you think in our forums or vote on the poll in our episode guide.

Also check out the tease for next weeks episode Journey to the End of Knight!

Tonight at 8/7c, for the first time in over twenty years, Knight Rider will return to the primetime airwaves and we couldn't think of a better time to do it. A proper continuation of the Knight Rider legend, it has have non-stop action, humor and the core value of one man and his team making a difference.

Like many of you, I have fond memories of Knight Rider growing up as a child. These memories are of a series of 84 episodes placed on a mantle and glorified by the rose-tinted glasses of nostaliga. It will take alot of effort for the producers of the new series to not only meet but exceed our expectations - and if this first episode is any sign, they're doing great so far.

Last week many of us in the US took advantage of an online preview week and watched from the glow of our computer monitors, the premier episode of Knight Rider. It continues the story that we left off with in February, with characters created then by David Andron, and now injected with adreneline by Gary Scott Thompson. Some characters have left, others have been added. KITT has been given some upgrades; in the pilot we saw that he was able to shift from a Mustang to a couple of other colored Mustangs using his nanotechnology. The tech in the series seems to be nano v2 as KITT can now transform into an F150 pickup truck as well as a badass version of the Attack KITT.

In regards to the story, we pick up in real time from where we left our heroes. Undercover at a gala, Sarah and Mike are looking to get their hands on some information. All is going according to plan until Sarah is captured and needs to be rescued. By three minutes in Mike is racing down hallways and kicking the stuffing out of bad guys, and so begins the pace that will barely slow down for the rest of the hour.

You want Turbo Boost? You got it. Action? There are explosions, fight sequences, chases, rocket launches - all this and more before the opening credits roll at nearly ten minutes in. You want a hero that has is forced to lose his identity in order to help the innocent, you want the legend of Michael Knight to live on - you'll have it.

In a time where the economy is going down and we are living with a never-ending war, it's shows like this that should be welcomed. Movies and television give us a place to escape to. Somewhere were we can just gather with friends, eat some popcorn and strap in. Knight Rider will never be the next Lost or Hereos, and it shouldn't try to be. This is escapism at its best, heart pounding action from beginning to end. Grab some friends and enjoy the ride.

We've had a great time over these last few months covering the road to this premier. There will be more we have to share with you andthe months ahead look to to be as exciting as the previous. So keep checking in here for coverage you can not find anywhere else!

Below are some of these exclusives that we've been able to bring to you. Also check out our Knight Rider section for everything dealing with this series including upcoming episode guides:

Paul Campbell: On-Set Exclusive

A Bunch of KITT: On-Set Exclusive

Sydney Tamiia Poitier: On-Set Exclusive

Yancey Arias: On-Set Exclusive

Objects in the KITTCave: On-Set Exclusive

Bruce Davison: On-Set Exclusive

Actors in the KITTCave: On-Set Exclusive

Conference Call with Gary Scott Thompson, Justin Bruening and Deanna Russo

Exclusive KITT Transformation: Before and After

Exclusive Alternate KITT Transformation

Knight Rider 2008 Comic Con Wrap-up

Justin Bruening on the Attack KITT at San Diego Comic Con

Deanna Russo talks to us at the Attack KITT Reveal

Justin, Deanna and Gary at Attack KITT Reveal - Knight RIder at Comic Con

Gary Scott Thompson Explains Attack KITT

Attack KITT Reveal - Knight RIder at Comic Con

Interview with Bruce Davison - Knight Rider 2008 Panel at San Diego Comic-con

Interview with Gary Scott Thompson - Knight Rider 2008 Panel at San Diego Comic-con

Interview with David Bartis - Knight Rider 2008 Panel at San Diego Comic-con

Interview with Deanna Russo - Knight Rider 2008 Panel at San Diego Comic-con

Interview with Justin Bruening - Knight Rider 2008 Panel at San Diego Comic-con

Knight Rider at Comic Con: In Photos

Exclusive Interview with Gary Scott Thompson

Please stop by our forum and post in our Live Discussion thread!

Watch Justin being interviewed on the Today show this morning!

Justing Bruening stoped by the CW11 Morning News show this morning in New York City. Watch the video above and check out their post on it.

Here is that two minute clip from TV Guide's Hollywood 411 at the Knight Rider set. They interview Justin and Deanna and they talk the new series and even a little about old school Michael and KITT.

• "Hollywood 411" on TV Guide Network
  TONIGHT! Tuesday, September 23 @ 9:00pm ET/PT
  
  
• "CW11 Morning News" on CW11
  Wednesday, September 24 @ 7:40am ET
  
  
• "The Today Show" on NBC
  Wednesday, September 24 @ 9:43am
  
  
• "Dayside" on MSNBC
  Wednesday, September 24 @ 10:00am ET

The good folks behind the cameras and in front of them were on hand for an exclusive party in Los Angeles, California on Saturday night to celebrate the premier episode of Knight Rider - airing this Wednesday on NBC. Here are some images from that party for you to enjoy!

And Paul, glad you liked the buttons, you're quickly becoming our favorite!

We were invited today to speak on 168 Hours of TV - Jeremy Scott's show on Blog Talk Radio.

Included below is the 12 minute excerpt of that interview, and is a pretty decent primer for what the show on Wednesday is all about. We discuss the new series, knight rider in general and the history of this website.

You can also listen to the complete episode on their website. Thanks to Jeremy for reaching out to us, we had a lot of fun!

When Knight Rider news falls through the cracks, our weekly KITT Bytes sweeps them up:

• MJKnight's somewhat weekly YouTube feature Knight Watch posted his 22nd issue and talks about "A recap of the road to the new series that will Premier next week September 24th at 8 PM only on NBC."
• Deanna Russo's official website has been given a slight kick ass makeover. Gone are some of the softer images that greeted you when you first loaded the site - now it's 110% Sarah Graimen badass. [Knight Rider Archive]
• SciFiWire , Interviewed Justin Bruening and Deanna Russo the discussion gets into their martial-arts tranning. Bruening warned about crossing Deanna: "To borrow a phrase, I pity the fool who ever tries to hurt her." [Knight Rider Archive]
• If you have seen the premier episode of Knight Rider, we suggest you check out out forum as there is alot of fun discussions going on such as this photoshop challenge, HUD Discussion, New VOX, Turbo Boost as well as the episode discussion itself.
• Knight Rider 2008 actor Paul Campbell was spotted last week racing the Nautica Malibu Triathalon. Campbell raced as part of a relay to raise money for The Children's Lifesaving Foundation
• NBC announced that they will have a digital compliment to the Knight Rider series this fall which includes: Fans will be able to investigate the back stories of some of their favorite characters in the Knight Industries micro-site. Plus, a new behind-the-scenes production blog featuring the writing staff and Billy's Blog will provide even more insight. Additionally, users will find an all-new KITT game and interactive Attack KITT and KITT cave.
• Stu Phillip's CD is now available on iTunes. Containing 40 DRM tracks from the early episodes of the series, it costs you only $19.99.
• We will be on 168 Hours of TV this afternoon at approx 5:30EST to discuss the rebirth of Knight Rider. Tune and call in!
• It was revealed that the KITT being stolen in Toronto last week was just part of E!'s promotion for the series, details that we've included after the jump. But below you can see KITT being spotted in the Ikea parking lot below.

The responsibility of much of the light hearted comedy, as well as helping KITT save the day, falls to Billy Morgan (played by Paul Campbell) who is the head research technician at Knight Industries. We spoke with Paul a bit about his role, and got quite a few chuckles out of our time with him.

Note that some of this interview, as well as Smith Cho's interview, has been held to a later date due to revealing information about a future episode.

[Watch our interview on YouTube]

Many thanks to Paul, Smith, Bruce, Yancey and Sydney for spending some of their limited time with us! We still have more to come, so check back!

Rounding out our coverage of the NBC press kit is a couple of short 1 minute first looks at Knight Rider. These clips played in movie theaters, taxis and many other places over the last few weeks. The first one is about the series itself, while the second gets into Justin learning to stunt drive.

In order to save on page load times for those with smaller connections, the videos are after the jump!

From NBCs press kit we have a number of onset interviews to share with you. Included are Justin Bruening, Deanna Russo, Sydney Tamiia Poitier, Bruce Davison, Yancey Arias, Smith Cho, Paul Campbell, Gary Scott Thompson and Elan & Rajeev Dassani.

In order to save on page load times for those with smaller connections, the videos are after the jump!

We are happy to bring to you a few select clips from the premier episode of Knight Rider airing this Wednesday on NBC!

In order to save on page load times for those with smaller connections, the videos are after the jump!

NBC has started to let out some of their official video press material for the premier episode. One item that caught our eye is this gem, with the brothers who head the VFX team for Knight Rider.

We were very fortunate to meet with them (and several other talented individuals) at our recent trip to set, but unfortunately can't reveal any of our interview just yet. This helps tide us over until then.

During our time on set - we saw four different KITTs. A green screen KITT called a buck that has interchangable parts (which we'll post about later), a KITT we didn't see, and these two KITTs here.

The one at the top is used in the KITTCave, and if you look closely - you can see it's missing an engine. We were told on set that the removed engine from the KITT that they use on the gymbal because when they would spin KITT, the fluids would come out.

The other KITT we saw them photographing to shoot the plates for the transformation process to Attack KITT.

Also - check out that old school signage on a production trailer!

As one of the four cast members from the original February pilot, Sydney Tamiia Poitier is back as FBI Agent Carrie Rivai. We had the pleasure of interviewing Sydney before the two hour pilot, so we were able to talk to her more now about where her character has come from since then - and why she's in the SSC.

[Watch our interview on YouTube]

Tomorrow we will have our interview with Paul Campbell!, but for now - here is a preview after the jump!

Two more commercials coming your way via NBC. The one at the top shows the complete Turbo Boost for the first time on network television - pretty crazy that they let that one out, but I guess if it's online everywhere now anyway. The second video lets us know that the only thing that can give an ex army ranger (Mike) more muscle is KITT.

[Watch on first video YouTube]

We've been following the coverage of the first episode's online premier all day - and now that the episode is finally on Hulu, we are able to stream it for your direct from our site! Please check it out and enjoy!

Let us know in our forum or chat room how you feel about it, let your voices be heard!

While "The Wait is Over" is the theme of the video we are highlighting above, this statement is very true for viewers across the US. With a week to go for the official broadcast premier, starting tomorrow many outlets will be offering a free "Online Premier" for the Season 1 premier of Knight Rider.

Entitled Knight in Shinning Armor, it picks up in real time from where we saw our characters in February, some 7 months later. We have seen the synopsis of this episode, but here is what is more important: where to find it.

Starting approximately noon EST tomorrow, Hulu, NBC, iTunes, IMDB and Amazon UnBoxed will provide free streams and or downloads of the first episode of Knight Rider. iTunes will even give the episode to us in HD for free - very cool.

Be sure to check these links tomorrow - and let us know if you get one to work!

• NBC NOW AVAILABLE
• Hulu NOW AVAILABLE
• iTunes NOW AVAILABLE (in HD too!)
• IMDB NOW AVAILABLE
• Amazon Unboxed NOW AVAILABLE

Tomorrow is shaping up to be a very interesting day!

**UPDATE** We've been informed via the forums that Amazon is first to live with the premier episode!

**UPDATE 12:30EST** Episode now live on NBC.com as well

**UPDATE 14:00EST** Episode now live on HULU.com

**UPDATE EVENING** All sites are now online. iTunes 720p HD clocks in at 1.34gb!

Yancey Arias comes to Knight Rider very eager to play the role of Alex Torres. His character is in charge of the Satellite Surveillance Center (SSC) or what everyone else likes to call the KITTCave.

In real life, Yancey created a charity called Lives to Save Foundation. Started in the wake of Hurricane Katrina, the foundation gives donations to those families in need.

[Watch our interview on YouTube]

Tomorrow we will have our interview with Sydney Tamiia Poitier, but for now - here is a preview after the jump!

When walking around the KITTCave (Satellite Surveillance Center) there is alot to see and undoubtably there is things that you wont be able to catch on TV. When we could, we tried to capture these things, which you can checkout in our gallery below.

There is just a few hours over a day left in the Clothes Off Our Back auction to help children's charities. Jeans worn by Justin Bruening, Sydney Tamiia Poitier, and Yancey Arias are signed and available to bid on. Currently, Justin's jeans are leading the bids, going for $100. Bid while you can, and you'll be helping some very needy children.

The ever talented Bruce Davison was the first of many kind actors to speak with us on set. Bruce is one of four actors that are carrying over from the pilot in February. In this interview, Bruce discusses how he memorizes all the technobable he needs to sprout - and the changes from the pilot to now for his character.

We first got the chance to finally speak with Bruce back at the Comic Con in July - but this time the location was a lot more inspiring.

What we enjoyed most with talking with Bruce was the many off camera stories he had to tell from his many years as an actor. He was also extremely kind to us and walked us around the set pointing out alot of fun detail - some of which we will post in a few days. It will be one of our favorite memories of our time on set.

[Watch our interview on YouTube]

Tomorrow we will have our interview with Yancey Arias, but for now - here is a preview after the jump!

We were recently welcomed to the Santa Clarita studios hosting the filming of Knight Rider. This was a very exciting and revealing experience for us, one that we soon wont forget. Over the coming days (and weeks for stuff that we just can't reveal just yet) we will be showing you what we saw. First off are some images of the majority of the cast filming a scene in the KITTCave - or Satellite Surveillance Center. While we can't reveal just yet what scene is taking place, we can say that it is a critical reveal of life or death for our heros.

We've caught another commercial! For those of you that have grown weary of these teasers, and are hoping for some new candy to feast your eyes on - then you are in for a treat. A quick estimate reveals only two clips that we've seen before, but everything else is fresh.

Check out KITT transforming at night and on the road. See the internals of KITT. And not to forget the great HUD shots!

Less than two weeks remain and just days till the premier is available on Hulu and iTunes!

A YouTube embed is available after the jump for those who want it.

With less than two weeks to go to the official airing, we've learned about an additional way to see the episode early in the US. Following up the news that we reported last week about the premier of Knight Rider being available on Hulu a week early, comes word that iTunes will also be joining in on the fun.

Rebuilding the bridge that allows NBC content to be sold via iTunes once again, NBC and Apple announced a partnership to allow the free download of the premier episodes of their shows.

NBC Universal will offer one free download from each of its top series--in standard or HD--during the next two weeks. The premiere episodes of upcoming NBC shows, such as "Knight Rider ," "My Own Worst Enemy" and "Kath & Kim" will also be made available on iTunes a week before their broadcast premieres later in September and October, with subsequent episodes available the day after broadcast.

This is ads a whole other level of coolness to the Hulu stream, because with iTunes, you can keep the episode forever.

[AppleInsider]

• BuddyTV released another video from the set of Knight Rider. This time they are on the green screen stage, talking with Justin Bruening about the techniques behind reacting to what isn't there. [BuddyTV]
• Stu Phillips announced that his album of Knight Rider music will be available in iTunes during the last week of September. Stu wrote the theme with Glen Larson for the original series, as well as composing the score for many of the first episodes [Knight Rider Online]
• The website for the Knight Rider Festival in Las Vegas next march, has recieved a large update with itinerary, appreances and more. [Knight Rider Festival]
• A Michagan womans' Mustang was bought on eBay by NBC to be used as a KITT car in the new Knight Rider series. [Jalopnik]
• Knight Rider Legacy Author Joe Huth has started a blog detailing his transformation of a 1982 Firebird into a screen acruate season three hero car. [The Chronicales of KITT]
• A huge update was posted to the Knight Rider Archive, detailing in great length every incarnation of Knight Rider with updated episode guides, behind the scenes photos, articles and more. This site always stands apart from the pack. [Knight Rider Archive]
• Voices from Krypton posted a audio interview they did with Gary Scott Thompson, where they discuss the new series. [VFK with GST]
• Navtones, who with Mio, is releasing the Knight Rider GPS this month, was at the Knight Rider Car show at Saugus last week, and they made this video to show, with Glen Larson checking out the GPS unit! More interesting to us though - is the :30 second commercial set to air this week in radio outlets in the US:

NBC revealed the synopsis for the third episode of Knight Rider - set to air on October 8, 2008. We've posted this information after the jump to keep those of you who want to be spoiler free.

  As many of you may know, we at Knight Rider Online were part of a conference call with Gary Scott Thompson, Justin Bruening and Deanna Russo a couple of days ago.  Whilst it's taken us a bit longer than usual, we're now able to bring you the entire transcript, which comes in at a massive 35 pages in document form.

Given the length of the transcript, you'll have to hit the jump to see it in its entirety.

We have some great footage of the Knight Rider Car Show event that took place out at Saugus Speedway yesterday. In the video above we have Glen Larson (creator of Knight Rider), Michael Scheffe (Designer of KITT), Stu Phillips (Composer of the original theme) and Ron Martinez (Producer) talking about working on Knight Rider. Below is interviews with the replica owners and fans who came down for the day. After the jump is a video of Paul Casey talking about the Knight Rider Festival, and Nick Nuggent (who with Knights of the West Coast, was the lynchpin of this event) talking about his Knight Rider Companion book.

Many many thanks to Sue for capturing these videos, as well as the photos we posted earlier.

The Knights of the West Coast held their third annual Knight Rider car show at Saugus Speedway. In attendance were Glen Larson, Michael Scheffe, Stu Phillips and Ron Martinez as well as 5 replicas of various states and fans of all ages.

These images are thanks to Sue, who went above and beyond as always with her coverage. We'll have video as well later on. In the meantime enjoy the gallery below!

We've mentioned it before, but today is 'the' day for the Knight Rider Car Show at Saugus Speedway!

Taking place at the raceway made famous in episodes such as Slammin' Sammy's Stunt Show and the original pilot - this event will be talked about for some time to come! In it's third year, the Knights of the West Coast Knight Rider Car show will bring replicas of the Knight Industries 2000 in touch with fans of the series. Additionally, special guests who worked on the series will be there.

Who you ask? Well only Glen Larson (creator of Knight Rider), Michael Scheffe (creator of KITTs design), Don Peake, and Ron Martinez who will be there to answer your Knight Rider related questions as well as sign autographs.

So if you are a Knight Rider fan and live near Santa Clarita, California - then head over to Saugus Speedway (22500 Soledad Canyon Rd
Santa Clarita, California. Five miles from Magic Mountain) between 5pm-10pm tonight. Glen and Michael are scheduled to arrive at 6-7pm, traffic depending. Proceeds from the event will go to the Make A Wish Foundation of LA.

We'll be covering the event for those of you who can not make it down, and hope to have that up for you in the next day or so. And if you are going, and you see someone in a KRO t-shirt, do say hello!

[Saugus Special Announcement]

A couple of new teasers aired during the football game on NBC last night. Above is a 15 second commercial showing a stationary shot of KITT transforming into Attack KITT. Similar but different to the exclusive preview we showed you a couple of weeks back of KITT transforming in the parking lot.

Also, after the jump is a video that shoots a close up scanner, similar in style to the You Can Call Me KITT commercial from almost a month ago. In it, we are told to "Prepare for Turbo Boost"

It's a given that we don't have enough people to cover everything Knight Rider - no matter how hard we try! Here are some stories we missed this week - or didn't get a chance to write about:

• The Mio Knight Rider GPS that we've reviewed has been available for pre-order from Radio Shack. Members in our forum just began receiving their units yesterday.
• Ford scores key placements in fall TV shows: "Taking a higher profile will be Ford's Shelby GT500KR in the new television series Knight Rider. In the show, the character of Michael Knight, played by actor Justin Bruening, teams up with the Shelby to fight criminal forces that operate above the reach of traditional law enforcement." [driving.ca]
• David Boreanaz complains about Knight Rider as competition in the 8pm time slot: "Should I go down my list of overrated shows that are coming out? Knight Rider, please, don't give it a chance. Who cares about a car that can talk? I did - in the '80s." [digital spy]
• Magazines SciFiNow, SFX Magazine and TVGuide all have articles on the new series in their latest issues. [Knight Rider Archive]
• Autoblog also took KITT on a drive through Detriot, they also made this pretty entertaining video to complement it. [Autoblog]
• Don LaFontaine passed away on Monday due to complications from pneumothorax. Don voiced the narration for over 5000 film and TV trailers including the Knight Rider 2000 commercial and the opening for Team Knight Rider [Knight Rider Archive]
• Interviews from Comic Con are still being rolled out, even over a month and a half later. This interview with David Bartis talks about the new episodes: "But this is fun. It's something you can watch with your whole family. My kids happen to think this is the coolest thing I've ever done. They've never said that about anything I've ever done before" [KITTSite]
• In an article on audience awearness of rookie shows, Variety says that more audiences are aware of the new Knight Rider series than any other new show so far. "More than 60% of viewers are aware that the action series is zooming back into primetime -- perhaps no surprise, given the talking car franchise's place in pop culture history." [Knight Rider Archive]
• BuddyTV continues their time on the set with an interview with Yancey Arias: "As a child, Arias was a big fan of Knight Rider and other shows of that style, which helps to explain his love for and fascination with the technology of the series." [BuddyTV]

News from TVShowsOnDVD brings word that the thought canceled Knight Rider Pilot DVD is alive and well, sort of.

Shoppers of FYE or Suncoast, only have to purchase one of a selection of TV on DVD from one of their stores (online included) and they will receive a copy of the Knight Rider 2008 Pilot free (while supplies last).

From TSOD:

The free-with-purchase release goes under the title "Knight Rider - An Icon Reborn," which certainly sounds fitting! DVD titles to purchase, which qualify you to get this disc, include any of the first four seasons of the original Knight Rider series, either season of Friday Night Lights, the first season of Heroes on DVD (the Blu-ray version isn't included), any of the first three seasons of The Office, the first season of 30 Rock, or the first two seasons of either Miami Vice or Law & Order: Special Victims Unit. Purchase any one of the above, and you should be able to drive off with K.I.T.T.! See your local store, or the chain's website, for complete details. Our thanks to "Jeff " for sending us the heads-up about this promotion.

Get your free dvd at FYE

[TVShowsOnDVD Article]

Live in Toronto and fancy seeing the new KITT? Well it looks like you will have your chance. Starting this weekend, he will be on a 7 day tour of the city - and you will be able to check him out and have a photo opportunity.

Saturday, September 6 and Sunday, September 7 (11am-4pm) Virgin Music Festival - Ferry Terminal Harbour Street and Bay Street

Monday, September 8 (11am-4pm)
Gardiner Museum - 111 Queen's Park

Tuesday, September 9 (11am-4pm)
Corner of Front and Simcoe

Wednesday, September 10 (11am-4pm)
Corner of Bay and Dundas

Thursday, September 11 (8-10am)
CHCH News Studio - 163 Jackson Street West (Hamilton)

Friday, September 12 (11am-2pm)
Union Station - 65 Front Street West

Visitors will also get the chance to enter to win a 2008 Mustang as well as a Mio Knight Rider GPS unit, that we've mentioned in the past.

This also is the same KITT that Jalopnik and Autoblog recently reviewed.

Read the full release after the jump

Last week, we saw a five foot story billboard in Burbank, CA - and now NYC gets some Knight Rider Love.

Our pal Ben (aka goldbug) was the first to spot these advertisements in Times Square today and posted them to our forum. Very sweet!

NBC just released these official photos of the Knight Rider 2008 cast in character. You can view all the promotional photos below and enlarged upon click. Knight Rider premiers in 21 days on September 24th!

As we mentioned a few weeks back, Jalopnik got to spend some 1-on-1 time with a GT500KR inspired KITT. Today they've put up their review and one of the most drool worthy Knight 3000 galleries we have yet to see.

But the cosmetics are still what makes this one-off car something special. Ford's turned this $80,000 Shelby into KITT thanks to a sweet-looking black-on-black paint job, the addition of 20" Shelby "Super Snake" wheels, 90% tinted windows all-around and of course, the Auto Indulgence 15" LED "Knight Rider" security scanner lightbar. Sure, it's all stuff you can buy off the rack -- but when combined together, it makes this "King of the Road" look bad-ass.

So when can we take this bad boy for a spin, please dad?

KITT: First Drive on Jalopnik

Broadcasting & Cable has learned that Hulu will be airing the season premier of Knight Rider one week earlier, airing them online before debuting anywhere else.

Series premiere of Knight Rider, season premieres of Chuck, Life, Lipstick Jungle to be available on Hulu one week before appearing on NBC's primetime lineup. By Alex Weprin -- Broadcasting & Cable, 9/2/2008 7:26:00 AM

NBC is giving users of Hulu, the video-streaming site it cofounded with News Corp., a sneak peek at some of its fall shows, streaming them before they debut on the network.

The series premiere of Knight Rider and the season premieres of Chuck, Life and Lipstick Jungle will be available on Hulu one week before they appear on NBC's primetime lineup.

Hulu is setting up a dedicated section of the site for new fall programming, where it will aggregate all of the season and series premieres from its participating networks, most notably NBC and Fox.

The Hulu Fall Lineup, as it is being called, will premiere new episodes of primetime shows for seven straight weeks beginning Sept. 2.

NBC Gives Hulu Sneak Peek at Fall Shows

[Thanks to Knight Rider Archive for the first catch of this story!]

With three prominent events scheduled for this month, we've decided to take a break from our regularly scheduled programming for a few minutes, in an effort to ensure that you're aware of what's going on in your area.

On Saturday 6th September, 2008, the Knights of the West Coast will present their third annual All Knight Rider Car Show from the Saugus Speedway, in Santa Clarita, California.

Also, on Saturday 13th September, 2008, the Forney Museum of Transportation will bring us The Knight Rider Event, which emanates from their home in Denver, Colorado.

And finally, on the neibouring side of the Atlantic Ocean In the United Kingdom, on Saturday 27th September, 2008, the second annual KnightCon UK event will emanate from the Halifax Watermill Premiere Inn.

We'll have more coverage throughout the course of the month, so stay tuned.