We've been snooping around this Knight Industries Research page for a few weeks now, and up until today it was this video that quickly flashed on your screen with images of Michael in Iraq.
Today it's been given a bit of an overhaul. We now have access to the dossiers of all of the Knight Industries characters we have been following over these last 5 episodes. Click around and let us know if you find anything - there must be something hiding in here.
Back in September, we were very thrilled to be given the chance to go behind the scenes to the Knight Rider set. The problem however was that what we saw filming would not air till a couple months later, because doing so would reveal details of upcoming plots. The teaser for this episode that is now airing has shown her costume, so we can now put up our video.
Our interview with Smith Cho was shot while she was in character for next weeks episode "Knight of the Living Dead." Smith Cho plays Zoe Chae - assistant to Torres she is well versed in multiple languages and although she comes off as ditzy, Zoe is very intelligent.
We conducted this interview before any of us got to see footage of the show, so Ms. Cho is understandably hesitant with some questions. We didn't know then that Zoe would be quite a polarizing character, as fan reaction was initially very negative of the character based on the premier episode alone.
However as fans continue to watch the series, and are exposed to more of Zoe (and specifically Zoe and Billy's relationship) the support continues to grow, as too does our enjoyment of Smith Cho.
As we've mentioned a few times now, there is no new episode tonight. Knight Rider will return next week will Knight of the Living Dead.
In the meantime, the writers at the Knight Writers blog have given us some behind the scenes images, including the one you see above. Head over there to see who KITT is facing down and see Justin causing some of his own damage.
When Knight Rider returns from its political break on November 5th, it will be without its follow up shows of "Deal or No Deal" and "Lipstick Jungle". NBC is shuffling the primetime schedule and has created a crime-centric focus on Wednesdays that can only help Knight Rider.
NBC is shuffling its primetime sked, creating a crime-centric Wednesday night lineup and exiling the struggling "Lipstick Jungle" to Fridays.
As part of the change, Peacock stalwart "Law & Order" is returning to the sked sooner than expected. "Law & Order" is back in a familiar spot for the show, Wednesdays at 10 p.m., beginning Nov. 5.
Also on the same night, the soph drama "Life" will move to its new Wednesday time slot, at 9 p.m., behind "Knight Rider," which stays put at 8 p.m.
"Lipstick," which is being bumped from Wednesday 10 p.m. berth by "Law & Order," will move to Friday nights, filling "Life's" old 10 p.m. slot beginning Oct. 31.
In a statement, NBC Entertainment/Universal Media Studios co-chairmen Ben Silverman and Marc Graboff said they hoped the shuffle would improve the Peacock's fortunes by turning its Wednesday lineup into "wall-to-wall satisfying mysteries."
We've posted a few new images from the episode "I Wanna Rock & Roll All Knight" in its episode guide page. There is also an episode synopsis for those who wish to be spoiled.
This should air on 11/12, which makes it the next episode to air after the Halloween episode "Knight of the Living Dead" on 11/5.
Last night's episode Knight of the Hunter faced some tough competition in the first game of the World Series and was able to hold its average in viewership. 7.23 million viewers watched last nights episode. While it was down from last week, it was up against the 13.37 million draw of baseball. It was the top non-sports in all male demos.
Here are the numbers in millions of viewers so far:
The chart below is from TV by the Numbers. Check out the comments of this article on their site, some interesting discussion about KR and it's numbers in demos.
The only regular shows last week that did better for NBC among men 18-34 were Heroes, Office and Sunday Night Football. We don't know how exactly valuable those young men are, but Knight Rider does over deliver them for NBC.
When you compare Knight Rider in the hour it airs, its performance with men 18-34 and 18-49 is even better. Often number one, but always number one or number two.
Check out these images from the next episode Knight of the Living Dead in our episode guide!
To help you with your fix over these next two weeks, we will be posting some more footage from out visit on set. This was the episode we saw filming at the time, so we have a little bit more exclusives to wet your appetite with, including an interview with Smith Cho in costume.
Like clockwork, Billy's Notes from the Underground received a new post last night. Billy continues the weekly ritual of commenting on the events we just saw in the episode and is always a fun read - so check it out!
The last move Zoe simply calls "the Harold." She apparently named it after an ex-boyfriend she met while surfing in the Pacific Rim. She invented it just for him after she caught him cheating on her. I can't say anything about it, though, as I'm not sure it's even legal in this country.
Side note: If I ever do go out with Zoe, remind me NEVER to cheat on her.
We're busy discussing away last nights episode, feel free to join in! Also be sure to take our poll on how you thought the episode did. Here is a clip from last nights episode:
If you want to see the teaser for the next episode you can do so on our Knight of the Living Dead page. In this episode an infiltrator murders a tech inside Knight Industries headquarters and the team must find them before they kill again - full KITTCave lockdown!
REMINDER: Next week there will be no new episode due to a political event, as such - the next new episode will air on November 5th.
Executive Producer and Showrunner Gary Scott Thompson just posted an article where he continues to answer some "viewer" mail. Below are some of our favorites:
Why is the AI of the KI3T still learning if it is the most advanced car on earth?
There are things that Mike can teach Kitt than no computer programmer can.
If KITT is "still learning" after six months, then what has he learned so far?
This one I don't want to spoil here. You'll have to keep watching to find out...
Does Kitt have to be in attack mode to keep bullets and things from penetrating?
No.
Is KITT ever going to drive on 2 wheels?
The writers are working on getting him on two wheels in an episode.
Will KITT eventually smash into things or just continue to avoid them?
Hopefully we'll do a little of both.
Will you explain specifically how Charles Graiman connects to the original series? Flashbacks perhaps?
Upcoming episodes will clarify Graiman's connection to the original series.
Will you ever show a "normal" turbo boost jump that happens in real time?
We're working on it, but I don't have enough cars to wreck yet.
Will there be a mobile lab like the semi in the earlier knight rider?
We're thinking about that.
Be sure to check out the complete article for all of the Q&A. As fans we owe Gary a lot of thanks for answering our questions, and hearing what we have to say - even if his answers aren't as revealing as one would hope. Gotta save something for the show!
Tonight at 8pm/7pm Central is a new episode of Knight Rider! The episode is called "Knight of the Hunter"
MIKE AND KITT MUST STOP A ROGUE MILITARY OFFICER BEFORE HE BLOWS UP A DAM - Mike goes undercover as a Marine gone AWOL to track down a rogue military officer. A beautiful undercover agent from across the pond joins Mike to help him solve the crime. Back at the SSC, Billy undergoes some combat training of his own with the help of Zoe.
You can find more information including the trailer for tonight's episode on it's episode guide page.
During and after the episode airs, we encourage you to visit our forum new Knight Rider area and discuss tonight's episode in the live discussion thread.
Well those four extra scripts must have won over NBC, because today The Hollywood Reporter and Variety are reporting that NBC has picked up Knight Rider for the complete season of potentially 22 episodes.
From THR:
NBC has picked up "Knight Rider" for a full season, sources say.
The network has ordered another nine episodes of the Wednesday night action-drama, which is produced by the network's sister division Universal Media Studios.
"Rider" has been modestly rated since its premiere, typically matching CBS' comedy block for second place in its 8 p.m. time slot. The most recent episode was seen by 6.9 million viewers, and earned a 2.3 adults 19-49 rating and 7 share.
The "Rider" pickup marks the first freshman fall NBC series to receive a full season order, joining CBS' "The Mentalist," Fox's "Fringe" and CW's "90210."
Originally NBC had approved 13 episodes to film and air for the new series. Last week NBC ordered four more scripts showing signs that NBC was interested in extending the run. Today is our first confirmation of this as fact.
Congratulations to all our friends in the cast and crew, and we look forward to continuing the ride!
Available today for the first time in the US, the Knight Rider: The Complete Series collection contains all four seasons in one amazing packaging. You press this button, and the music of Knight Rider plays as well as the LEDs flash back and forth like KITTs scanner.
We mentioned this set two months ago when it was first announced, and much of what we know then is still true today. It has all the features of the individual sets, but on 24 single sided dics - which should help those of you who hate the double sided discs of the individual sets because of their high ability to get scratched.
Discover Magazine continues with another interesting story about some of the tech behind Knight Rider. Previously they talked about the reality of 3D printing, and now it's about face recognition.
In Knight Rider, our resident crime fighters rely pretty heavily on KITT's ability to find people. He accesses a government database -- usually the DMV -- and then connects to various surveillance cameras in the area (Knight Rider crooks do tend to like Vegas casinos). The ability to access closed-circuit cameras aside, what's really amazing here is KITT's ability to digitally match photos to a moving image. For modern law enforcement and software search companies, that's something of a holy grail...
Knight Rider UK relaunched their site this week, bringing a fresh coat of paint and a bunch of updates about the new series. If you like your KR news with a UK slant - check out their site.
The Gazette has an interview with Paul Campbell and his role as a clown in the new series: ""I think they're trying to keep me away from KITT as much as possible," the Knight Rider star whispers conspiratorially, referring to the show's infamous robot car. "I don't know why, but I hear them in the hallways. I hear 'Don't let him near the car!'"
Sioux City Journal interviewed Justin Bruening, where he talks about he got into acting, the audition process as well as being a fan of the original:
"I was the second person to read for 'Knight Rider,'" the 29-year-old says proudly. Producers cast him in a two-hour TV movie (viewed as a pilot for the revival) and strapped him inside a car.
The movie got mixed reviews (even though it brought David Hasselhoff back as Michael Knight) and complaints about product placement. It was shot during the writers strike, however, and might have benefited from another revision.
"I'm a fan of the original series and there were things I wanted to see in the pilot," Bruening says. "But we can't fit everything from a four-year show into two hours. Now, if we run five years, we can."
In the intervening months, Bruening bulked up (one look tells you he's ready for those no-shirt scenes), studied stage fighting and learned how to do stunt driving.
"I'm trying to do reverse 180s and slide a car into the camera without hitting anyone -- which is really nerve-racking," he says with a laugh. "It's not that I'm not comfortable behind the wheel, but if there's a group of 30 people standing there and I have to slide the car, I don't want to hit them." His stunt driver "can take a car and make it go in a circle all day long. It's amazing."
The goal: To be able to do those stunts without help. Currently, he does 98 percent of the fights. "I've come out of them bruised and banged up, but nothing that wouldn't have happened anyway."
When he goes home at night, Bruening often finds himself playing video games. Grand Theft Auto 4 is a favorite. "After not being able to crash cars all day, I go home and take it out on the game."
Since landing "Knight Rider," Bruening hasn't had one speed ticket. "I haven't had any since college," he corrects. "And that was a speed trap."
The ratings are in for last nights episode, and they are good. Knight Rider was number two for the night with 7.65 viewers up from 6.7 million the week before. This is above the premier of 7.3 million viewers. It was number one in the time period again for all male demos, but for the first time won the adult 18-49 demo, even beating the playoffs on Fox.
In a tightly bunched 8 p.m. hour, FOX's coverage of the National League Championship Series (5.0/8) had the most viewers, even though CBS' "New Adventures of Old Christine" and " Gary Unmarried" which averaged 5.2/8, had a slightly better household rating. NBC's " Knight Rider" was right behind at 4.9/8. " Pushing Daisies," 4.2/7, improved slightly on its previous performances for ABC. An " America's Next Top Model" clip show drew a 2.2/4 for The CW.
Pushing Daisies gained ~740,000 viewers versus last week's fast affiliate ratings and though that is some good news, the 18-49 demo rating was actually slightly down versus last week. The New Adventures of Old Christine and Gary Unmarried were also up slightly versus last week, and Knight Rider was up over last week by more than 900,000 viewers and also improved it's 18-49 demo performance. People can slam Knight Rider -- but it does especially well with men in the 18-34 and 18-49 demos and has won those demos a couple of weeks (though last week finished second to Bones).
NBC's official sites received their weekly updates last night, which saw new postings to the writers blog, Billy's blog, Knight Industries Research and photos.
About 14 months ago NBC approached myself, Dave Bartis and Doug Liman about reinventing one of the most iconic franchises in the history of television. About two days after that we were on board, and an obscenely short amount of time after that we were shooting a two hour "back door pilot" to air in February. The five months from that first phone call to the air-date were the fastest, most stressful and engrossing of my life. I was proud of the movie, it did well, and now here we are, with a lot of the same faces and even more new ones, to bring you the series.
And it's been a blast. To be perfectly blunt with you, this is a big show, and far as I'm concerned, the more help the better. So GST was hired to come in and steer the ship. Great writers. More great crew. And more great actors. We're having fun, and you know why?
Because Knight Rider is fun. Or, at least, it should be. But in addition to fun there have to be stakes, or else why do we care? So when I sat down to write my episode I decided I wanted to see Mike really get pushed to the brink, and watch our team rally around him.
You're cute. I'm a swimsuit model, and some friends from swimsuit model school are coming to my place tonight to play video games. Come over and show us all your moves! Here's my address: [not printed]
-Elise, your biggest fan
I know it's you Zoe, and you're not going to get me to fall for that a third time.
Also the Knight Industries Research site got a pretty slick overhaul, we can't wait to see what happens with it.
Finally, NBC has posted behind the scenes photos from the production of Knight Rider. Some images of the green screen stage and the models used to help design the KITTCave. Very very cool.
We're busy discussing away last nights episode, feel free to join in! Also be sure to take our poll on how you thought the episode did.
Check out the teaser for next weeks episode: Knight of the Hunter, where Michael and KITT have to stop a rogue Military officer before they blow up a dam!
Tonight at 8pm/7pm Central is a new episode of Knight Rider! The episode is called "A Hard Day's Knight"
PIECES OF MIKE'S PAST ARE REVEALED AS A LETHAL POISON THREATENS HIS LIFE When Mike is lethally poisoned, he must fake the assassination of a billionaire tech mogul in order to secure the antidote. Bizarre hallucinations mark the return of the mysterious woman from Mike's past with clues that may help him remember.
You can find more information including the trailer for tonights episode as well as photo galleries for this episode on it's episode guide page.
During and after the episode airs, we encourage you to visit our forum new Knight Rider area and discuss tonight's episode in the live discussion thread.
While we have never been a site to report on rumors (short of the occasional discussions in our forums), this latest tidbit making the rounds has been too important to not mention. Plus our inbox has been flooded with people asking about it, so hopefully this will calm them down.
Back in our interview with Gary Scott Thompson at Comic Con, he hinted to the possibility of KARRs return. Over the weekend, we got our first rumor that this may be indeed true. Check out the forum topic here if you wish to know further information.
Remember that everything is a rumor at this point, so don't come yelling at us if it proves to not be true!
Originally approved for thirteen episodes, there has been some question to when we would find out if Knight Rider would get a full season of 22 episodes or the "back nine" as they've been called. Today we get our first sign that things are indeed heading that way as both the Hollywood Reporter and Variety are reporting that NBC has approved the development of 4 additional scripts. These scripts could potentially lead to more episodes, but for right now it is only the scripting stage that has been approved.
This is excellent news as some fans were concerned that the lower than expected ratings these last few weeks, would mean bad things for the fledgling show. However, the fact that it constantly wins the Male demographics as well as being a top show on the NBC network, with the entire TV audience viewership down, only goes to help their case for a full season.
NBC has ordered four additional scripts for "Knight Rider," a positive sign for the freshman drama, which has had a sluggish ratings start.
This is the second new scripted series after CBS' promising crime drama "The Mentalist" to receive an additional script pickup, often a precursor to a full-season order.
For the past couple of years, broadcast networks have been hedging their bets by ordering scripts in lieu of off-the-bat back-nine orders for their new series.
Two freshman series, Fox's "Fringe" and the CW's "90210," have been picked up for a full season.
In its most recent airing Wednesday, "Rider" (6.9 million viewers, 2.3 rating/7 share among adults 18-49) slipped a notch, tying CBS for second place the hour among adults 18-48.
NBC is showing some faith in "Knight Rider," ordering four more scripts of the frosh drama from Universal Media Studios.
Update of the 1980s talking car skein has performed so-so in the ratings but has had traction with young men in its Wednesday 8 p.m. slot in three airings to date.
Series stars Justin Bruening and is exec produced by Gary Scott Thompson, Doug Liman and Dave Bartis.
In an effort to present himself to the American public, Democratic Presidential hopefull Barack Obama has secured one half hour of TV from 8-8:30 on October 29th on NBC and CBS.
The buy will push CBS comedy "The New Adventures of Old Christine" to 8:30 p.m. and pre-empt "Gary Unmarried." NBC typically airs the hourlong "Knight Rider" in the slot, and will likely throw in a comedy repeat at 8:30 p.m. The buy is being placed by Washington-based ad firm GMMB. Obama's ad will air on the night before the start of November sweep.
This means that the episode of Knight Rider scheduled for then, 'Knight of the Living Dead' will be put on hold, and no new episode will be shown that week. Instead on November 5th, the episode will air. Which is a shame since it's a Halloween themed episode and this will put it past Halloween. However, we hope that this extra time will help the team behind the show make an even better episodes heading towards the home stretch of the front 13 episodes.
And as a friendly reminder, regardless of your political views, the deadline to register to vote in many states has past - check out how to register to vote in your area and help make a difference, cause one vote can.
Here are the ratings for last nights episode. Knight Rider was number three for the night with 6.7 million viewers overall. This is down from 7.8 million last week and from 7.3 from the premier. It still held strong at number 2 for all male demos, as well as continued to increase viewers over each half hour. Further stats are below:
"Bones" led the 8 p.m. hour for FOX with a 6.4/10. CBS took second with "The New Adventures of Old Christine," 5.1/9, and "Gary Unmarried," 4.9/8. "Knight Rider" came in third for NBC, beating out the 3.6/6 for "Pushing Daisies" on ABC. "America's Next Top Model" delivered a 2.8/5 for The CW.
Bones audience grew 5% from last week and its adult demo ratings did similarly as it increased its margins of victory in all categories and buried the competition from 8-9. Knight Rider fell about 10% from last week. New Adventures of Old Christine increased its audience and gained a tenth in the 18-49 demo, but its 18-34 demo was still startlingly weak. Prognosis: Negative. Pushing Daisies got pushed down even further from its premiere losing 12% of its audience, but maintaining its 18-49 demo at what is a dismal level. America's Next Top Model took only a tiny audience hit, maintained its 18-49 demo, and grew its 18-34 demo a tick.
We're busy discussing away last nights episode, feel free to join in! Also be sure to take our poll on how you thought the episode did.
We'll post the overnight results as soon as they are fully processed, but in the mean time, check out the teaser for next weeks episode: A Hard Day's Knight
Like clockwork at the stroke of midnight, the NBC blogs Knight Writers and Billys Underground, receieved new posts.Â
First on the Knight Writers blog, "Knight of the Iguana" scribe Rob Wright talks about the episode (that's his cool image from the set above):
Now, how does this relate to the making of the episode? Well, this was a BIG episode. We had to shoot on the water (time-consuming, lots of variables)... we had to shoot out in the desert (time-consuming, lots of snakes)... we had to shoot underwater and then launch a missile at a nuclear power plant that doesn't really exist (lots of visual effects which takes tons of time to create).
In other words, every day of making this episode was filled with the excitement and anxiety of "Did we or didn't we?" Did we find a decent beach? Do our actors know how to handle themselves in the water? Did we get the last shot before it got too dark? Will we get the next shot before the tide comes in? If we shift scenes in editing, will everything still make sense? Will all the visual effects be finished in time and look good? When confronted with all this, how will we react; what will we do?
I'm pleased to say in every case, our cast and crew rose to the occasion. This was my first episode with most of these folks, and I can tell you, objectively speaking, they rock. Hard. We're talking about cast showing up at the crack of dawn so we can get the right shot, special effects guys busting ass for weeks in a row so the robots and gunfire work right, visual-effects crews sleeping in their offices so that all their ones-and-zeros add up to a SubmarineKitt that would make Glen A. Larson proud.
Spies are always "infiltrating" things. James Bond, Jason Bourne, Leslie Neilson - they're always using disguises and covers to earn the trust of evil-doers in order to unravel their sinister plans. They get all the attention. And they get all the props. So this post isn't for them. It's for the unsung heroes out there. This post is for all the ex-filtrators. The guys who obtain key pieces of information through not-so-covert surveillance. You know, they exfiltrate.
Both are very fun reads, so check out the complete articles!
Additionally, NBC has posted a Knight Rider Trivia game, give it a try and let us know your score!
Hulu was really quick today, they've already got the episode online! So if you missed it last night, and are based in the US, you can watch the episode from the embedded video above!
G4's Attack of the Show recently aired an E! True Hollywood Story spoof on KITT. Dealing with the original KITT as if he were real, they talked about his rocky life after the series, with a particularly humorous scene nodding to David Hasselhoff and a hamburger.
It was Alex Wong (forum member n knight) who's replica was used for the filming. He had this to say about the experience: "First 2 hours was filming road shots me driving kitt and they were filming in the van next to me. then we headed to the studio and did more filming on the green screen. It was almost a all day shoot 10 am to 6 pm"
Tonight at 8pm/7pm Central is a new episode of Knight Rider! The episode is called "Knight of the Iguana"
MIKE'S NEW MISSION SENDS HIM AND KITT SOUTH OF THE BORDER WITH AN UNLIKELY NEW PARTNER - Mike and Zoe go undercover in Baja as a honeymooning surfer couple in order to stop terrorist weapons from getting into the states. Sarah and Billy are brought into the mix and they quickly find the mission taking an unusual turn.
You can find more information including the trailer for tonights episode as well as photo galleries for this episode on it's episode guide page.
During and after the episode airs, we encourage you to visit our forum new Knight Rider area and discuss tonight's episode in the live discussion thread.
Paul Campbell, originally from Canada, spoke with the Calgary Herald about Knight Rider and his role of Billy.
Paul Campbell has trouble being serious. The curly haired Vancouver native is constantly cracking wise, and just when you think he's settled down, he makes another self-deprecating remark, as though an internal timer has gone off in his head to remind him he's gone a full 30 seconds without making a joke.
"I think they're trying to keep me away from KITT as much as possible," the Knight Rider star whispers conspiratorially, referring to the show's infamous robot car. "I don't know why, but I hear them in the hallways. I hear 'Don't let him near the car!' "
Justin Bruening stopped by The Bonnie Hunt Show today. Here is a brief clip of Justin talking with Bonnie about the differences between the new and old KITT.
On NBC's Knight Writers blog, wirters from the series will be interacting and answering questions from the audience. The entries thus far have come from Gary Scott Thompson himself. This week he answers some viewer mail:
What happened to FLAG?
You'll find about FLAG in episode 13.
I hope you're going to continue the story with kitt vs karr.
Keep watching, KARR has not been forgotten.
what is the username and password for Knight Industries Research?
Watch the show for clues...
Thanks again for bringing Knight Rider back! I would like to ask that hopefully in the series you will get to explain Flag, Devon, Bonnie, Michael Knight, & the Knight Industries Two Thousand's where abouts! Can't wait to see what happens!
Keep watching...
Is it just me, or are WAY TOO MANY people completely missing the point that this show is just plain old fun, and that it intentionally doesn't take itself that seriously?
You are correct. We're trying to be fun and entertaining in much the same way the original Knight Rider was.
Be sure to check out the complete article for all of the Q&A including an update on Hasselhoff and KITTs technologies.
A few weeks back when we visited the set of Knight Rider, one of the things we wanted to be sure to do was to meet the people worked on the special effects for each episode. We feel strongly that they have a huge responsibility for that final product you see on the screen - cause without them, KITT would just be another car. Fortunately for us we were given the chance to meet the folks behind the 3D and 2D effects that make up this show.
On twoseperate occasions, they have shown us some alternates from the KITT to Attack KITT transformations, but this was our first time to see some of these other effects before anyone else. There are over 400 effects in the premier episode alone.
In a generic office complex across from the sounds stage that houses the KITTCave, you will find the offices for the special effects team. Elan Dassani and Rajeev Dassani, identical twins, run the group in charge of the effects for Knight Rider. Together, back in February, the two worked on the back door pilot episode and built KITTs panel inteface for that movie. Since then they have started to branch their team out as more of the effects (practically all) are done in house. Soon after the series was given a green light, they hired Stephan Fleet who became the 2D lead. They have continuted to grow, and outgrow their current space where now 1-2 dozen employees are working dillegently.
In talking about the transformations themselves we asked about the differences with going to series. Stephan told us that "In the backdoor pilot it was much more of a nanobot thing, and now we're going for it's a machine." Rajeev contined "More mechnical, but still kinda sexy." But don't worry the nano effects isn't gone completely. "There is still nano everything. There is something in the third episode where he is hit by bullets we kind of see the skin break apart and reform in a gelatinous way. There is an element of that but we found the mechanical cooler and people seem to respond to it more."
While we are shown that the original KITTs voice modulator has inspired the final design of the Knight 3000 modulator, we asked about the transformations and the visual key of KITTs scanner. "That's a general rule that anything that KITT turns into will always have, the lights we are treating as if it's kind of like eye."
While in the original series alot of the effects, specifically for Turbo Boost, were practical but it's a mix of the real and CG that make Turbo Boost come alive now. "The actual landing is a live shot. We actually drove KITT of a ramp essentially. This is also what we try to do, we mix real with digital and that way it will hopefully look seamless." The mysteries of the Turbo Boost were never really considered 26 years ago, but they are trying hard to bring logic to the jumps. "Given that the show is filled with alot of crazy effects we try as hard as we can to apply logic to situations. OK it says he jumps from a parked position, but lets figure out how that is actually viable."
For the crown jewel of the interior dash, the team had to work specially hard to make the heads up display (or HUD) to be convincing and envelope pushing. "At first we were going to have it on the window but when you think of a car there is the slope of the window and everything would just look dented, so we kind of have it on this imaginary plane behind the rear view mirror and coming down. Stuff can even come out in space, and it's very interactive." It goes without saying that they are always working very hard to continue to push the design forward. "Gary words were that KITT can think a million times faster than any human, so twenty things could be happening at a time from a creative perspective"
All of this is done under the eye of Gary Scott Thompson, the showrunner and executive producer. "Gary actually goes through every shot and tells us the speed that kitt should be going - if the dial is in the shot we make it the correct speed." Everyone is really appreciative of this support. "We've been given carblanch by Gary - his response is always make it cooler, make it cool. We'll do something and he will give us notes. He wants us to push the envelope and concept something out that might be more interesting."
The team understands the importance of there work. "We're not old guys, we're practically kids. They definately are putting a lot of faith in us, and we are definately throwing down to deliver." And it's the scripts that help drive them to push even further. "We will get an episode and litterally our eyes will pop out 'he does what now?'"
Our huge thanks to NBCUniversal Pubicity, Gary Scott Thomspon, Elan Dassani, Rajeev Dassani, Stephan Fleet and everyone working on their teams for allowing us to have this behind the scenes look!
NBC's media site is reporting that the last two Knight Rider episodes "A Knight in Shining Armor" and "Journey to the End of Knight" will be airing on NBC back to back starting at 8. However, TV Guide reports that only "Journey to the End of Knight" will air at 8pm followed by a repeat of Chuck. Viewer be advised.
Justin Bruening, Deanna Russo and Sydney Tamiia Poitier speak with People about their roles and who's the biggest Hoff fan.
Discover magazine speaks about the science behind 3D printing: "OK, so I'm impressed a little bit, too. I mean, a 3-D printer in the car may seem a tad gratuitous, but it could be handy when you run out of quarters for the meter. But this is technology we have here and now"
MarionStar speaks with the people at RobotWorx about Katie and Lisa, the cool robots in the KITTCave: "A lot of what you're going to see in any type of television show or feature film is going to kind of delve into the realm of science fiction," Hall said, but added, "The scanning is not too far from the truth. There are robots in the automotive industry that do scan auto parts. Some of it is not really as far removed from reality as we think."
NBC's blog for the character of Billy saw an update, where he talks about trust and his bucket list: "You can't trust anyone these days. I mean, if you can't trust a guy dishonorably discharged from the military, who spent time in prison, and now runs a bar that caters to an underground racing circuit that's actually a front for black market weapons merchants -- who can you trust?"
Due to the success of the two hour movie airing in Australia, Channel 7 beings this weekend airing the series. The first episode airs Saturday at 9pm. [herald sun]
film.com talks about theme parties watching tv - for Knight Rider it's "Hot Wheels; traffic cones; a GPS (which is as close as we will get to our own KITT); and for nostalgia purposes, you must have this David Hasselhoff poster."
This week marked the 24th anniversary of the third season premier "Knight of the Drones" This was also the return of Patricia McPherson, who was forced out of her roll as Bonnie the year before. Knight Watch has a special on it. [Knight Rider Archive]
We hinted earlier in the day about the ratings for last nights episode - and now we're able to bring you a complete summary.
Once again, Knight Rider won all male demographics (men 18-34, men 18-49 and men 25-54) and was #2 in the adult 18-49 demographic. It beat the premier of Pushing Daises on ABC and increased total viewers by 6% (from 7.8 million vs. 7.3 million). Additionally, they increased it's 18-49 rating by 13% from the first half hour to the second.
It's great to finally see Deanna Russo in a one on one interview (sorry Justin)! In this interview with Hollywood TV for the TV Guide Channel, Deanna talks about Comic Con, her roll as Sarah, Justin Bruening, Val Kilmer and of course - kicking ass for a living.
Knight Rider Archive is quick to remind us that today is the 25th anniversary of the episode Goliath, where we are introduced to Garthe Knight. It is an episode that is thought to many as one of the best.
Above we have a Knight Watch episode looking back, check it out!
Wow, what a great episode! We're busy discussing away last nights episode, feel free to join in!
We'll post the overnight results as soon as they are fully processed, but in the mean time, check out the teaser for next weeks episode: Knight of the Iguana
NBCÂ gave us access to these promo clips from tonights episode. In the first one we see Mike trying to work his magic undercover. In the second we see KITT racing for pinks and a good 'ol Turbo Boost which is after the "jump"!
Tonight at 8pm/7pm Central is a new episode of Knight Rider! The episode is called "Journey to the End of Knight"
MIKE MUST INFILTRATE A RACING GANG WITH THE HELP OF AN OLD ARMY BUDDY Mike reunites with a former Army buddy to bring down a drag racing gang that is smuggling weapons overseas. Sarah joins Mike and KITT on this dangerous undercover mission, much to her father's dismay.
You can find more information including the trailer for tonights episode as well as photo galleries for this episode on it's episode guide page.
During and after the episode airs, we encourage you to visit our forum new Knight Rider area and discuss tonight's episode in the live discussion thread. Additionally, our chat room is always packed on episode nights.
collection contains all four seasons in one amazing packaging. You press this button, and the music of Knight Rider plays as well as the LEDs flash back and forth like KITTs scanner.
In an effort to present himself to the American public, Democratic Presidential hopefull Barack Obama has secured one half hour of TV from 8-8:30 on October 29th on NBC and CBS. 
