Post
by DJGM » Wed Jan 09, 2008 11:30 pm
I'm thinking, since the new KR is primarily a direct continuation of the original series
(like KR2K had intended to be, but didn't quite work out) and since there's an 8 year
gap, between this new pilot and the setting of KR2K, in theory, I reckon that KR2K
could still be classed as canon, and part of the official continuity.
We never saw what happened after MK left Maddock and Shawn (and KITT) behind at
the end of KR2K. But during that movie, Devon promised to let Michael have what
was left of the old KITT. Mainly (IIRC) KITT's original Trans-Am shell.
So, to honour Devon's promise, at some point Maddock would've shipped to Michael,
the remains of KITT's original Trans-Am shell, and the rest of what was in the crates
left over after MK had installed KITT's AI and CPU into the Knight 4000 car. Plus, any
other surplus KITT components and spares, that may have been left over from the
old Knight Industries and FLAG facilities in use, when the original KITT was on the
road back in the 1980's. Maddock made it quite clear during KR2K, that what was
left of the original KITT, was very much surplus to his requirements!
What we saw in that new NBC preview, of what appeared to be the original KITT,
may have been an aborted attempt to rebuild the original. Either by Michael, so
he could have his old buddy alongside the 1957 Chevy, or by FLAG, to use in
case they were unable to build a new supercar to ultimate replace KITT.
As for the Knight 4000 ... that too could also be at least mentioned. if not in this
new pilot, then maybe sometime in the future, if a new series is commissioned.
It doesn't have to be physically featured, except maybe in very brief flashbacks.
It could simply be explained that the Knight 4000 project simply failed at some
point. Maybe Shawn resigned from the Foundation at some point similar to MK,
or maybe Maddock could've been involved in something illegal, that ultimately
put the Knight 4000 project in serious jeopardy.
Meanwhile ... how to explain that discrepancy over the Knight 2000/4000/3000.
The original KITT was the Knight Industries 2000, built by Knight Industries, to
be used by FLAG. By 2000, it seemed as though Knight Industries and FLAG
had been ditched, so in KR2K, the entire organisation was simply known
as the Knight Foundation. Hence why I would think the Knight 4000 was
never officially referred to as the Knight Industries 4000, or KIFT.
Forward a few years later, maybe say 2005-2006, soon after the departures of
both Maddock and Shawn, the Knight Foundation directors decide to go back
to the drawing board, and re-establish the two sister organisations that had
been established by Wilton Knight in the 80's ... Knight Industries and FLAG.
To that end, they also decided that a new supercar and field operative were
needed to take on the same roles as the original partnership of KITT and MK.
Now that Knight Industries had been re-established, and the Knight 4000
had been cancelled, the new supercar would effectively be created as
a direct descendant of the original Knight Industries 2000.
So, they decided the new car would be called the Knight Industries 3000, and
be addressed with the same abbreviated name as the original car ... KITT.
To echo the comments of some other posters in this thread, I'm sure that should
bosses at NBC decide to commission a new KR series, we'll definitely see the
return of the original KITT, either in a cameo appearance partway through
the series, or as a fairly major part of the season finale.