Knight 3000 Auction! Hero + Attack K.I.T.T

[Matthew]

Exactly, and whilst the existing performance variant accomplished both those things in some respects, the excessive styling took away more than it gave. Even the Knight 2000’s Super Pursuit Mode, whilst stretching our ability to suspend belief, accomplished more than the Knight 3000’s Attack Mode variant due to it actually making sense from an aerodynamic stand point.

Given that Harold Belker admits that the work he did was for the cool factor, rather than practicality, I think it’s important for the series to go back to basics essentially. They already have the perfect car in the GT500KR, and given the unique technology they employed in the pilot, any changes they make to the performance variant can easily be explained as a blueprint enhancement thanks to Mike’s racing experience.

Matt

[weeezl]

Exactly, and whilst the existing performance variant accomplished both those things in some respects, the excessive styling took away more than it gave. Even the Knight 2000’s Super Pursuit Mode, whilst stretching our ability to suspend belief, accomplished more than the Knight 3000’s Attack Mode variant due to it actually making sense from an aerodynamic stand point.

Given that Harold Belker admits that the work he did was for the cool factor, rather than practicality, I think it’s important for the series to go back to basics essentially. They already have the perfect car in the GT500KR, and given the unique technology they employed in the pilot, any changes they make to the performance variant can easily be explained as a blueprint enhancement thanks to Mike’s racing experience.

Matt

That is an extremely important point given that todays generation need a little more than the cool factor to justify why the car could obtain such ludicrous performance levels, it has to make sense otherwise its ultimately pointless, it could look cool as hell but it still has to be practical to even be believable. The new series will need to invoke that sensibility into the public to have the same kind of impact that the classic series did when it first aired, i mean back when it was first shown nobody asked questions, everybody knew that cars cant do 300+ but it was just accepted, there was a certain element of fantasy about the tech in classic KR, but today no one will believe without some form of explanation. I guess if its taken out of the realms of fantasy to a certain extent and explained it could have even more impact. The show will be a hit if they find the right balance, teenagers+ which is what the show is probably aimed at have access to so much information now, these facts should never be overlooked, and i agree totally that more often than not, less can be more.

[Matthew]

Definitely,

As much as I loved that the Trans Am could travel at 300mph with no aerodynamic aides prior to season 4, a similar approach just wouldn’t work in this day and age, especially with the knowledge that the Mustang’s styling is heavily influenced by its late 60’s brethren.

One of the things that really caught my eye whilst I was watching the promotional material was the conceptual art for the attack mode variant. At one point, it even had Spock ears appearing from the rear side windows. I don’t know about you, but I believe that they would have proven to be about as practical as the piece of upright bodywork that BMW Sauber attached in their drivers’ line of sight a couple of years back in Formula 1.

I just hope that the producers take full advantage of the opportunity that’ll be presented to them if a series is commissioned, as they have the opportunity to listen to the fans, and do the Knight 3000’s performance variant in a much more realistic way next time.

Matt

[Knight-Armen]

Some of you guys are saying that they made these cars in a hurry but why on earth would you auction these cars for charity to build new ones from scratch? It makes no sense, as if I were to tell you that I've got trees in my backyard with money growing on it! I.e. we've got unlimited amount of money to spend around with...

The pilot was fine except for that stupid actor (Justin) to play one of the most honorable lead roles a movie industry could offer! The cast was totally garbage except for Hasselhoff who didn't even get to mention "Kitt" in his short cameo - who's stupid call was that?

RC3 confirmed the fact that he watched the new series; nevertheless, with some major disappointment towards the plot. I agree totally and can't stress the fact enough to say that Hasselhoff should have been the lead as Michael Knight!

As you all know the cars are being auctioned which is most certainly a sign of failure and disappointment from the viewers and I know for sure that many would agree with me! Bring back Hasselhoff!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[Lost Knight]

Some of you guys are saying that they made these cars in a hurry but why on earth would you auction these cars for charity to build new ones from scratch? It makes no sense, as if I were to tell you that I've got trees in my backyard with money growing on it! I.e. we've got unlimited amount of money to spend around with...

The cars were beaten and I would figure it would be more expensive to maintain/modify them than it would be to just be handed brand new cars for a series production. At this point in time, while a new series is likely, it's still not guaranteed. Personally I take this as a sign that some modifications to the car will be made (hopefully the dashboard above all).

Also, bear in mind that the original 20-minute presentation of the 1982 Pilot featured a different nose, plate, and no rear light blackout, as well as some slight differences in the dashboard. These were all changed and modified once the show was picked up by NBC and the K.I.T.T. we're all familiar with was born. The new production will no doubt be following a similar chain of events, especially with the criticism.

As you all know the cars are being auctioned which is most certainly a sign of failure and disappointment from the viewers and I know for sure that many would agree with me! Bring back Hasselhoff!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I don't know how you figure that an averaged 12.7 million viewers is a sign of failure. What you don't realize is that the numbers are more important to NBC than whether people hated the production or not. It's fair to say that it got mixed reviews from both fans and critics alike, and the mixed reviews will surely only make more room for improvement for a series. They know people are interested, now it's time to keep them interested.

[Knight-Armen]

I don't know how you figure that an averaged 12.7 million viewers is a sign of failure. What you don't realize is that the numbers are more important to NBC than whether people hated the production or not. It's fair to say that it got mixed reviews from both fans and critics alike, and the mixed reviews will surely only make more room for improvement for a series. They know people are interested, now it's time to keep them interested.

I find it interesting in what you are saying because an average of 12.7 million viewers does not convey that they all liked the movie, that's just a sign of the rate of interest in watching the movie! Whilist if you look at the Knight Rider Encore Ratings you may notice that the viewer ratings went down to 4.79 million (a loss of 7.91 million viewers), what does that tell you?
Well, even Forrest Gump (4.67) had almost the same ratings as Knight Rider (4.79) and how old is that movie?

This new production will hit rock bottom within a month if they turn it into a series becuase of its weakness in terms of cast and plot etc. The pilot is ofcourse far from perfect and very much like a concept car that needs developement, if the basics of that particular car is bad then it's a challenge to turn it into something better and worth buying or in this case watching...

[Lost Knight]

I find it interesting in what you are saying because an average of 12.7 million viewers does not convey that they all liked the movie, that's just a sign of the rate of interest in watching the movie! Whilist if you look at the Knight Rider Encore Ratings you may notice that the viewer ratings went down to 4.79 million (a loss of 7.91 million viewers), what does that tell you?
Well, even Forrest Gump (4.67) had almost the same ratings as Knight Rider (4.79) and how old is that movie?

It tells me that in addition to completely overlooking my point, the encore aired on a Saturday night with very little promotion and therefore would inevitably not have the same ratings it would have on a Sunday. While not being in first place for its target demographic, it still did very well, ratings-wise. The night and time a show airs makes a significant difference in the amount of viewership it can achieve. Saturday night at 9 P.M. is a death slot, but it didn't matter since it was an encore presentation. I hope you're not naïve enough to actually believe it would have achieved 12 million viewers or anywhere near it on a Saturday night.

At no point did I ever say or suggest that the 12.7 million viewers all liked the movie; in fact, I said it got mixed reviews from fans and critics alike. I don't know how to make that more clear.

This new production will hit rock bottom within a month if they turn it into a series becuase of its weakness in terms of cast and plot etc. The pilot is ofcourse far from perfect and very much like a concept car that needs developement, if the basics of that particular car is bad then it's a challenge to turn it into something better and worth buying or in this case watching...

You can't criticize a series that hasn't even aired, been written, or even guaranteed yet. The plots will surely be different than the telepic itself. The telepic just served as a start off point. As for the cast, you're entitled to your opinion and you may actually be correct about it in some respects. I think just about everybody here including myself knows that the Pilot isn't perfect, which is all the more reason we want to see a series develop with improvements.

[Knight-Armen]

I hope you're not naïve enough to actually believe it would have achieved 12 million viewers or anywhere near it on a Saturday night.

Why would you say that it wouldn't achieve 12 million viewers on a Saturday night? Try to have the movie aired on say... friday night at 8 P.M. and see if that will make any significant difference. It would hardly change the viewer ratings.

At no point did I ever say or suggest that the 12.7 million viewers all liked the movie; in fact, I said it got mixed reviews from fans and critics alike. I don't know how to make that more clear.

Nor did I ever point out that 12.7 million viewers thought it was a failure! Yes, I was referring to the "viewers" and that might have been understood as ALL of the viewers and if that's the case I apologize for that because I know for fact that many enjoyed the movie and so did I, it had it's moments but so many aspects could have been done differently and in a better way if you ask me.

You can't criticize a series that hasn't even aired, been written, or even guaranteed yet. The plots will surely be different than the telepic itself. The telepic just served as a start off point. As for the cast, you're entitled to your opinion and you may actually be correct about it in some respects. I think just about everybody here including myself knows that the Pilot isn't perfect, which is all the more reason we want to see a series develop with improvements.

I was just making a point, ofcourse I can't criticize something I haven't yet seen or watched but you have got to understand that everyone has an idea of how things are going and this is how I think the series is heading (i.e. if there will be any).

[weeezl]

I think we all know there were shortcomings in the pilot, but I truly believe its the best attempt to inject new life into the franchise so far, the acting could have been better in the pilot, the characters could have had more personality, but thats just a formality, its something the creators could take into account in the new series, they had a lot to accomplish in that 1:19 mins, i think that under the circumstances (writers strike, short poduction time, budget W H Y, ) they did an O.K job. A lot of questions were left unanswered, FLAG, Devon, K2000, Where Charles Graimen fit into the loop, but hey isnt this the point?, it keeps people interested and wanting answers, this could all be explained in the (hopefully possible) series. Im not trying to offend anyone but I think classic KR fans are bound to be more critical than anybody. Im a major KR fan and to me it was more than just the actors/plot holes/car it was a fun Tv show, with potential to be a solid series and update the KR mythology for a whole new audience.

[Michael Pajaro]

I don't know the details of this auction. But from experience, I DO know these TV car auctions can be a little loose with the facts.

Maybe these are simply replicas that they're advertising as real.
The movie had 6 KITTs. Maybe they only need 4 for a series and they're getting rid of 2 of them.
We do know they plan on making changes to the car, in particular to the interior. Maybe it's easier for them to create a new car than to rework an existing one.

I don't think this auction has any significance to whether or not NBC is going forward with a series.

And speaking of insignificance... I don't think NBC is worried about the Saturday ratings at all. It's a dead night, still recovering from the Writers Strike, with a movie that aired 6 days before. Of course it's going to have a huge drop in numbers. In fact, it isn't uncommon for networks to COMBINE ratings in their press releases when they repeat a show in the same week. They could brag "18 million viewers watched the new Knight Rider!" It happens more with cable channels which tend to repeat episodes throughout the week, but that's how the business is at times.

[weeezl]

I don't think this auction has any significance to whether or not NBC is going forward with a series

Im sure If this gets commissioned they`ll build new improved interior/exterior Kitts , All we can do is wait and see....

[PHOENIXZERO]

Not to mention the fact that the TV movie gained viewers every 30 minutes. Some might have changed the channel but still more people tuned in than tuned out. I'd like to see the actual quarter hour breakdowns, were those included in the press release? I can't remember....

[WeirdMetamorphosis]

Gee I wonder if they would take 2 dollar for them cars lol. I wish. I would give anything to have those cars *drools*.

[McTrooper]

If they keep the voice modulator as part of the interface how they did in the pilot they better at least move it up to be closer to eye level because it'll get annoying fast with the actors having to look down at it every five seconds..

Ironically that's where I thought the original KITT voice modulator was until I got much older.
I didn't realize it was above the steering wheel.

You know the actors really shouldn't need to look at the voice modulator to speak to kit . . they can talk like Star Trek:TNG people speak. But . . I could see maybe moving the modulator up a little might be a good idea.

As far as the auction goes I guess I side with the majority that say it doesn't mean things won't go to series.

[GarthKnight08]

Perhaps they knew these cars would only be used for the Pilot and that's why they didn't do anything for the interiors?

The dash instruments were CG...

[Lost Knight]

Perhaps they knew these cars would only be used for the Pilot and that's why they didn't do anything for the interiors?

The dash instruments were CG...

I'm talking about physical alterations, not CG effects that went on top of already existing designs in the stock dashboard. More specficially, real functioning electronics like the Knight 2000, but of course in a more updated fashion.