Top 5 Villains

Archive for discussions from 2010. Please post new discussions in the appropriate forum.

Moderators: neps, Matthew, Michael Pajaro

Locked
User avatar
Michael Pajaro
Advisor
Posts: 3082
Joined: Mon Mar 18, 2002 1:01 am
What year did the original Knight Rider start: 0
Location: Los Angeles
Contact:

Top 5 Villains

Post by Michael Pajaro » Wed Jul 14, 2010 12:09 am

Good stories almost always have good villains. Here are my top 5 favorite villains from Knight Rider '08:
5villains.jpg
5villains.jpg (61.69 KiB) Viewed 13133 times
5. KARR, Knight to King’s Pawn

I intentionally put KARR at the bottom of my list of favorites as a form of protest: they screwed up by not creating an interesting character. Instead of having KARR be an integral part of the storyline, they essentially gave him a monologue in the middle of an action sequence in the last 10 minutes to explain everything that was going on. Still, I can’t argue with a transforming killer robot and the battle sequence was pretty cool.

4. Esteban Bahia, Fly by Knight

He held a kid hostage and used him as a human shield? Well that’s just mean. I know people get upset if I call Knight Rider a “children’s show”, so let’s just say KR is often best when it is “kid inclusive”. And one of the best ways to let kids relate to the show is to put young characters in the middle of the action. You have to be careful not to put children in TOO much jeopardy, but by putting Danny in danger it created a good bond between him and Mike.

3. Alex Torres, series regular

Wait a minute... isn’t he one of the good guys? Well, sort of. Internal conflict makes for interesting characters (see: Jennifer Knight) and I really liked the dynamic between Torres and Graiman. I sort of think of them as being the two sides of Wilton Knight; Graiman is the heart and Torres was the “making my own rules” guy. The team always mistrusted him and he certainly had a dark side. Not only did he unleash KARR, but he also had a guy’s thumb cut-off. Pretty cold.

2. Walt Cooperton, Knight of the Hunter

Mark Pelligrino is simply a great actor. (The producers of Lost seemed to think so.) He’s a little mysterious, a little creepy and just might be a little crazy. Those are the traits I look for in a bad guy.

1. Christopher Stevens, Don’t Stop the Knight & Day Turns Into Knight

All TV villains should be this fun. Arrogant, sarcastic, wise-cracking... We usually expect our heroes to deliver all the best one-liners but Christopher was throwing out zingers and knocking the team down a few notches each time. An awful lot happened in the two-parter (this was the beginning of the series reboot) and Christopher was right there in the middle of it all.
Join me at Las Vegas Car Stars!
May 14-16 • Las Vegas, NV
http://lasvegascarstars.com

User avatar
Victor Kros
FLAG Operative
Posts: 1600
Joined: Sun Sep 30, 2007 7:10 am
antispam: No
What year did the original Knight Rider start: 1982
Location: Knight Manor

Re: Top 5 Villains

Post by Victor Kros » Wed Jul 14, 2010 2:15 am

:good:

Good post and I agree. I would add that when it comes to good storytelling, a villain tends to be smarter than the hero only to the extent of what he does has purpose without boundries - the hero has to learn how to recognize their purpose and boundries in order to overcome the villain. The more sinister and calculated the plan, the greater the threat to the hero. A good villain doesn't just kill without reason or rely on weapons - a good villain strives to take the hero to his/her limits for as long as it takes - mentally, physically, and emotionally - before they move in for the final kill. K.A.R.R. had no time to plan, therefore no substance to really define anything overly memorable - unlike KARR in KITT vs. KARR who had time to configure a clear plan and executed it to the letter, save for the anamoly of KITT having the ability to deflect a laser.

Christopher Stevens (Rick) was fantastic, very much like The Joker was in The Dark Knight. Memorable, intelligent, and one of those characters where you really didn't know what the true intent was until the final curtain. Chris caused Mike to think outside the box in order to overcome the challenge of the "speed" test and even then, it was just one facet of his larger agenda.

I'm also pleased to see Torres listed, I would in no way classify him as a hero but more "playing the hero" to execute a greater sinister agenda. Deception at its core. The way he wrote off Mike, Charles, and KITT showed his true colors before his demise. In typical storytelling fashion though - even the best villains make the mistake of getting too overconfident with their handiwork and in the end, it's their greatest downfall.

=VK=
:dash:

User avatar
tamatt27
FLAG Assistant
Posts: 773
Joined: Wed Oct 01, 2003 6:37 pm
What year did the original Knight Rider start: 0
Location: ATX
Contact:

Re: Top 5 Villains

Post by tamatt27 » Wed Jul 14, 2010 9:44 am

excellent thread! i agree with all. christopher stevens did bring a rare character depth int the show and the 2-parter was excecuted well. i still think karr would have been much better had it been a 2-parter...
KNIGHT RIDER RELOADED is a series of movies on Youtube to represent a different creative avenue to the Knight Rider we knew in 2008-09.
http://www.youtube.com/user/tamatt27" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

User avatar
K.A.R.R. (09)
Operative
Posts: 100
Joined: Wed Apr 29, 2009 8:01 pm

Re: Top 5 Villains

Post by K.A.R.R. (09) » Wed Jul 14, 2010 11:10 am

i agree with the number 2 villain, because he was a man obsessed with an ideology. When you have someone who is obsessed like that with a particular belief, they are nearly unstoppable because you cannot reason with them.

User avatar
Michael Pajaro
Advisor
Posts: 3082
Joined: Mon Mar 18, 2002 1:01 am
What year did the original Knight Rider start: 0
Location: Los Angeles
Contact:

Re: Top 5 Villains

Post by Michael Pajaro » Wed Jul 14, 2010 11:29 am

Victor Kros wrote:The more sinister and calculated the plan, the greater the threat to the hero. A good villain doesn't just kill without reason or rely on weapons...
Absolutely. Expanding on that, it's all about "motivation". What was the original KARR's motivation? He didn't want to go back to the slammer. It was simple and we understood all of his actions throughout the entire episode. With the new KARR, we really didn't know what was going on until the very end, that KARR wanted to merge with Mike. That's just weird. But if they explained it at the beginning of the episode, and KARR spent the hour trying to get back with his original driver, then we would have had a real character with real motivation.
Join me at Las Vegas Car Stars!
May 14-16 • Las Vegas, NV
http://lasvegascarstars.com

User avatar
KRAvengerII
FLAG Recruit
Posts: 445
Joined: Mon Apr 12, 2004 4:16 pm
What year did the original Knight Rider start: 0
Location: Chandler az

Re: Top 5 Villains

Post by KRAvengerII » Wed Jul 14, 2010 1:27 pm

Actually, i kind of liked Galt, from the finale- i HATED Christopher stevens, and not in a good way.
KITT: I walked right into that one, didn't I?
Michael: More like Turbo Boosted.

User avatar
Irony
Rookie
Posts: 78
Joined: Thu Jun 17, 2010 7:49 pm
antispam: No
What year did the original Knight Rider start: 1982
Location: Hungary

Re: Top 5 Villains

Post by Irony » Wed Jul 14, 2010 4:25 pm

"All TV villains should be this fun. Arrogant, sarcastic, wise-cracking... We usually expect our heroes to deliver all the best one-liners but Christopher was throwing out zingers and knocking the team down a few notches each time."

The role that should have been given to KARR.
Intelligence is the right of all free beings

User avatar
Michael Pajaro
Advisor
Posts: 3082
Joined: Mon Mar 18, 2002 1:01 am
What year did the original Knight Rider start: 0
Location: Los Angeles
Contact:

Re: Top 5 Villains

Post by Michael Pajaro » Wed Jul 14, 2010 4:44 pm

Irony wrote:The role that should have been given to KARR.
Absolutely, positively, 100% in agreement. I am perfectly fine with their concept of KARR as a killer robot, but they completely messed up the character. And ultimately, it's the character that's more important.
Join me at Las Vegas Car Stars!
May 14-16 • Las Vegas, NV
http://lasvegascarstars.com

User avatar
Stylez
FLAG Recruit
Posts: 353
Joined: Sun Apr 28, 2002 1:01 am
What year did the original Knight Rider start: 0
Location: Calgary, AB

Re: Top 5 Villains

Post by Stylez » Thu Jul 15, 2010 12:37 pm

I still can't believe they got Peter Cullen to voice KARR. Not that I can't believe they wanted him but that he actually did it...but then again Val Kilmer was KI3T, another name not to be taken lightly.

User avatar
Nicholas Knight
Operative
Posts: 198
Joined: Wed Mar 03, 2010 9:29 pm
antispam: No
What year did the original Knight Rider start: 1982
Location: Knight Tech Inc.

Re: Top 5 Villains

Post by Nicholas Knight » Thu Jul 15, 2010 6:19 pm

I wish too that the KARR episode was a "two parter" That would have made more time to explain KARR and Mike's past, and even could've had the Hoff in the second part of the ep...... I kinda wish that KRO ep on TKR had two parts as well......something extra to give more detail to the story.....
Knight Tech Inc. -- Where everyone makes a difference.

User avatar
K.A.R.R. (09)
Operative
Posts: 100
Joined: Wed Apr 29, 2009 8:01 pm

Re: Top 5 Villains

Post by K.A.R.R. (09) » Thu Jul 15, 2010 10:52 pm

I agree, I wanted to see more of that flashback scene where Mike asks KARR what he did and they show people on the ground. I wanted to see how and why KARR changed his programming and killed 7 people and why he was built in the first place.


:karr: Image

::Jon::
Recruit
Posts: 30
Joined: Wed Feb 20, 2008 4:05 am

Re: Top 5 Villains

Post by ::Jon:: » Sun Jul 25, 2010 2:06 am

Biggest villian in this series.
N.B.C. !!

User avatar
KARR32
Volunteer
Posts: 5
Joined: Sat Jul 24, 2010 10:57 pm
antispam: No
What year did the original Knight Rider start: 1982
Location: Fayetteville NC

Re: Top 5 Villains

Post by KARR32 » Sun Jul 25, 2010 9:49 am

K.A.R.R. (09) wrote:I agree, I wanted to see more of that flashback scene where Mike asks KARR what he did and they show people on the ground. I wanted to see how and why KARR changed his programming and killed 7 people and why he was built in the first place.


:karr: Image
I always wondered about that myself, that very brief flashback just wasn't enough for my liking, but i definetly agree that it would have been a good idea to go more in depth with that whole story angle,KARR just seemed very one track minded in the 08 series, even more so than he was in trust doesn't rust.

:karr:
"Think Of Me As The Genie In The Magic Lamp"

Locked