Sue: January 2009 Archives

NBC has given us no word of their plans to cancel or renew Knight Rider next season. But with the economy on a down turn NBC has been cutting costs across the board. Knight Rider was recently cut back from 23 to 17 episodes and Jay Leno had been given a prime time slot. Scripted television may be in jeopardy! We have already created a forum where members can discuss ways to save the show. Now we have a new page with three simple ways to make a difference. We recommend you not stop at one but do all three. Please check it out and share it with your friends and other forums. One man can make a difference!

http://knightrideronline.com/knight_rider_2008/campaign

KITT certainly steals the stage, but Knight Rider has a few other sentient machines in its cast. We have had some questions regarding the robots Katie, Lisa and Hank in our forum. We did a little searching and found some great articles all about them on the RobotWorx website.

All about Katie and Lisa.
All about Hank.

The main cast may get most of the attention. But rushing around in the background and behind the camera are extras and crew members that are working every bit as hard to make sure a shot is perfect. Checkout the video below for a behind-the-scenes look at Exit Light, Enter Knight.

Things do not seem to be going to well for Michael Knight in this week's episode. But they are apparently a whole lot worse for one victim. Check out the video below where he gets ready to meet his demise. The video comes to an end with a rehearsal of the scene, to see the real thing you will have to tune in Wednesday.

Check out the video above where David Waine, the special Effects coordinator for Knight Rider shows us the famous center piece to the SSC, the gimbal. We finally get answers to the questions we have been pondering... how exactly do you turn a car upside down? We also get to see the special effects crew hard at work mixing chemicals in attempts to create just the right look for a really cool special effect.

We were on the set for next weeks episode Exit Light, Enter Knight. Soon after we arrived we could not help but notice actor Justin Bruening holding an ice pack to his injured arm. Justin, who plays Michael Knight, risks life and limb doing many of his own stunts. He has had his full share of bumps and bruises but shrugs it off as part of the job. Check out the video above where he describes an on-set accident.
(Warning: major spoiler alert)

We have previously taken you on a tour of the Knight Rider Visual Effects team at MasterKey. But we could not resist returning to see how they were coming along on their design of KITT's nemesis KARR. This time we were guided by Stephan Fleet the man heading up the 2D department and also the designer of the heads up display. Check out part one below with some peeks at KARR.

Stephan Fleet continues our tour with a look back at the development of the HUD and other early concepts. Check out the video below.

Check out the real tour of Masterkey after the jump.

This past Tuesday Paul Casey, the producer for the Knight Rider Festival in Las Vegas, was able to arrange a reunion between the original cast and crew of Knight Rider that has likely not happened in ages. It was only a taste of what we will have at Vegas. David Hasselhoff was in town shooting a video for a UK company at the iconic Hotel Angeleno. When a few KITT's were called for, George Barris along with the Knights of the West Coast were eager to comply.

Knights of the West Coast member Alex was there before we arrived and shot this video of "the Hoff".

We were still working on getting our dear friend KITT out of Barris's garage. But once we got him on the road it was quite a sight to see. It's not everyday you get to see Barris riding along in KITT, the car he helped to design. And of course how could we refuse the chance to ride along in KITT ourselves as the video was being shot.
Check out our video below.

Check out the images below and
stay tuned for more Vegas news to come

With all the cool gadgets and gismos that appear on Knight Rider one is often left wondering at the end of an episode, "is that real?" Well our friend Eric Wolff over at Discover Magazine is always ready with an answer for us. Have a look at his most recent article where he helps us break down the science of Knight Rider.

Knight Rider: Because Hafnium is better than none-ium

I know you all caught the "stay tuned" clips at the end of Knight Rider, right? It looks like we're going to get our big fight, our KARR v. KITT battle at last! I can hardly wait, but as long as I have to wait, let's talk about the cliff hanger from last night's episode. We left our heroes driving straight north at 100 miles per hour carrying a hafnium bomb in the trunk. Dip below 100 miles per hour and BOOM! Keanu-er, Michael and KITT explode, destroying everything in a 10-mile radius.

Now hang on, a hafnium bomb? Hafnium actually exists (which is more than I can say for some elements), but can it actually blow up like that? Well, some scientists believe it can. In the real world, hafnium is closely related to zirconium, and it has many of the same properties. The structure of the hafnium solid is especially effective at storing energy. That makes it useful in control rods in a nuclear reactors, and also as a way to store energy as a kind of atomic battery...

When touring the Knight Rider set a short while ago there was one place we knew we could not leave without checking out. Nestled in amongst the sound stages is the home of MasterKeyFilms the Visual Effects department behind some of the most amazing scenes in Knight Rider. We caught them busy at work designing our hero KITT's arch-enemy KARR. Lookout for some spoilers ahead, but if our video leaves you wanting more you will just have to tune in on Wednesdays!

When we learned a few weeks ago that the Knight Rider season was shortened we were all fearful of what it might mean for the future of the show. In an interview with showrunner Gary Scott Thompson he explained to us that the cut back was a cost cutting measure by NBC and not a signal that they had given up on the show. Alan Frutkin of Mediaweek was able to sit down again with Gary and talk openly about the show's future. Check out their video. And if you love Knight Rider and want to see more be sure to tell your friends to tune in. We know we are very optimistic for the future.

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Thanks to Phoenixzero for the tip