Shocked by an interview in SFX magazine

[knightendo77]

My word there's a lot of new faces round here! Well, new names anyway.... been a while and while I've been trying to avoid spoilers some are just too tempting, but well done to everyone at the site for such a gret job in supporting the series.

Anyhoo, on to the subject at hand. The new issue of British sci-fi magazine SFX has a one-page piece on the reboot happening right now with Knight Rider (with cool appreciative comment on the Mustang as KITT ) and includes an interview with GST about it. What's shocking is that GST didn't want this reboot, it wasn't him noticing that the show wasn't working after the first few episodes, it was NBC! Yep, NBC were the ones who wanted the show to return to its roots and be more like the original series from the 80's.

Yes, they ripped out the scenes of Mike remembering some of his history (and GST makes a rather peeved off reference to it) but their reasoning was that it was too dark and wasn't in keeping with what they wanted. They feared that if it went ahead, then it would get increasingly darker as the rest of the series went along until it was unrecognisable from the 80's original. I can kinda see their point now. (Okay, I haven't seen any of the series since I'm in the UK, but like I said, I've read a lot on here over the past few months, just haven't rejoined until now.)

What worries me, is that GST sounds very pissed off about the reboot. He doesn't want it, it was forced down on him from high (rough quote there, working from memory as my girlfriend runs a newsagents and I read it this morning beofre I went off to work). Now, we've always sorta painted NBC as the ones who weren't doing enough for the show, and GST et all were the ones who noticed it wasn't working and how they were the ones who wanted the change. Well, in the case of NBC and GST we've got it the wrong way round I'm afraid... and GST is now going to be in charge of a show he doesn't want to write!

I'm not bad-mouthing him, he's an extremely likeable fellow and has a proven track record, and in no way am I knocking the rest of the team, they've all worked so hard and Dave Andron in particular from what I've read "gets" what KR is all about. However, what do you think GST will do now? Do you think he'll carry on putting all the effort in or not? He wanted to make an action-action-action-action show, with a large ensemble cast, government conspiracies etc etc. Well in my view he should've gone on and made that programme (either now or later, after KR) instead of turning Knight Rider into it. He's a great man, I'm a fan of his, and I'm sure if he sets his mind to the new Knight Rider that he'll be the man for the job and it'll be great... but will he? Does he want to?

I'm overjoyed, however, that we now know NBC have wanted the exact same things the fans have wanted all along.

Thoughts?

Phil.

[Amir]

Well, if he doesn't want to do it, he doesn't have to, does he? I'm sure they'll find someone else. I suppose it's actually good news that NBC knows the right way to take the show to and if they'll see that the few RIGHT episodes we have are doing well, we might be in business for season 2...

[knightendo77]

Exactly They can see the potential the series has. I wouldn't be surprised if Mr Silverman et all have been on here over the past few months since the series started properly, you know. It definitely works in our favour if they can see all the positive comments here and on NBC.com about how well these kinds of episodes have been received and how much we're looking forward to the reboot.

[weeezl]

Ooh interesting, Ill have to go check it out when I go shopping.

I dont buy SFX magazine though, Ill just read it in the store

[Garthe Knight]

Well, if that's true, I think there's hope for Knight Rider. Maybe GST was the wrong man for this show (that's the first thing I thought when I saw the new attack mode).
With the reboot ratings will be better and then NBC will steer the show in the right direction. Heck, I don't car for GST, or NBC, I care for Knight Rider. Whoever is doing it right, I'm with them.

[_K3000_]

Man! Thats interesting news! looks like NBC's idea is the way to go. back to more like the orginal than im fully with nbc!

[Knight-Armen]

What worries me, is that GST sounds very pissed off about the reboot. He doesn't want it, it was forced down on him from high (rough quote there, working from memory as my girlfriend runs a newsagents and I read it this morning beofre I went off to work). Now, we've always sorta painted NBC as the ones who weren't doing enough for the show, and GST et all were the ones who noticed it wasn't working and how they were the ones who wanted the change. Well, in the case of NBC and GST we've got it the wrong way round I'm afraid... and GST is now going to be in charge of a show he doesn't want to write!

I'm not bad-mouthing him, he's an extremely likeable fellow and has a proven track record, and in no way am I knocking the rest of the team, they've all worked so hard and Dave Andron in particular from what I've read "gets" what KR is all about. However, what do you think GST will do now? Do you think he'll carry on putting all the effort in or not? He wanted to make an action-action-action-action show, with a large ensemble cast, government conspiracies etc etc. Well in my view he should've gone on and made that programme (either now or later, after KR) instead of turning Knight Rider into it. He's a great man, I'm a fan of his, and I'm sure if he sets his mind to the new Knight Rider that he'll be the man for the job and it'll be great... but will he? Does he want to?

If what you're saying about GST and his attitude towards the reboot turns out to be right, it would piss me off even more. GST needs to wake up and understand what goes around him. For 9 episodes plus we've seen his view on what's action, adventure and what not.
Why is he acting like this? From what I've seen so far episode 10 and 11 was great and I was very pleased with the story and the action was way better than the previous 9 episodes. Like I said before, they shouldn't slow down at this point and they must put all their efforts in doing an even better episode for next Wednesday. If GST isn't happy with how the show is progressing then too bad for him. The show is not about what he wants exclusively. It's about what we want! The viewers!
For now the show is doing a lot better and I really hope they will really shall I say SHOCK us with the reboot cause the show really needs it, especially from those 9 useless episodes.

Sorry for the rant! Just felt I had to get it off my chest...

[MikeLutton]

hey just wondering what does GST Stand for just asking

[Faithful Car KRO]

hey just wondering what does GST Stand for just asking

Gary Scott Thompson

[Knight94]

I think GST was trying to take the new KR in a more modern direction, using the War on Terror as part of the
overall plot of the series, w/ a different terrorist in each episode. Truth be told, though ya gotta spread things
out some. NBC saw that, that it can't just be the "terrorist of the week" formula, but offer other stories, too.
Stories where Mike and the team try to help regular joes and janes, people getting harassed by heavies who
wanna take their life, business, home, or just make their lives miserable somehow. The reboot could help to
get the show going strong. So could moving it to Friday nites.

[Sue]

Anyhoo, on to the subject at hand. The new issue of British sci-fi magazine SFX has a one-page piece on the reboot happening right now with Knight Rider (with cool appreciative comment on the Mustang as KITT ) and includes an interview with GST about it. What's shocking is that GST didn't want this reboot, it wasn't him noticing that the show wasn't working after the first few episodes, it was NBC! Yep, NBC were the ones who wanted the show to return to its roots and be more like the original series from the 80's.

Yes, they ripped out the scenes of Mike remembering some of his history (and GST makes a rather peeved off reference to it) but their reasoning was that it was too dark and wasn't in keeping with what they wanted. They feared that if it went ahead, then it would get increasingly darker as the rest of the series went along until it was unrecognisable from the 80's original. I can kinda see their point now. (Okay, I haven't seen any of the series since I'm in the UK, but like I said, I've read a lot on here over the past few months, just haven't rejoined until now.)

Whoa time out, lets get up to speed. First off we all knew that NBC requested the darker scenes be taken out of Hard days knight.
viewtopic.php?f=1047&t=12650&p=149623#p149623" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

What worries me, is that GST sounds very pissed off about the reboot. He doesn't want it, it was forced down on him from high (rough quote there, working from memory as my girlfriend runs a newsagents and I read it this morning beofre I went off to work). Now, we've always sorta painted NBC as the ones who weren't doing enough for the show, and GST et all were the ones who noticed it wasn't working and how they were the ones who wanted the change. Well, in the case of NBC and GST we've got it the wrong way round I'm afraid... and GST is now going to be in charge of a show he doesn't want to write!

I'm not bad-mouthing him, he's an extremely likeable fellow and has a proven track record, and in no way am I knocking the rest of the team, they've all worked so hard and Dave Andron in particular from what I've read "gets" what KR is all about. However, what do you think GST will do now? Do you think he'll carry on putting all the effort in or not? He wanted to make an action-action-action-action show, with a large ensemble cast, government conspiracies etc etc. Well in my view he should've gone on and made that programme (either now or later, after KR) instead of turning Knight Rider into it. He's a great man, I'm a fan of his, and I'm sure if he sets his mind to the new Knight Rider that he'll be the man for the job and it'll be great... but will he? Does he want to?

I'm overjoyed, however, that we now know NBC have wanted the exact same things the fans have wanted all along.

Thoughts?

Phil.

Go watch this video.
http://knightrideronline.com/news/2009/ ... ompson.php" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

GST references several scripts that were written and thrown out by NBC. It is totally normal in television for scripts to be tossed or whole shows reworked in the first season of a television show. The network doesn't micro manage production companies but rather waits for them to turn in things in stages and then gives back notes to change this or that. It can be hard on an artist to change something you worked so hard on to get just right, but it is they way the industry works. I think we all agreed with GST in our disapproval of the decision to cut out those scenes. So if he comes across as displeased with them I'm sure it is because he wishes we could have seen his full vision for those episodes.
I haven't read the article but it feels like you are reading something into it that isn't there.
The story ideas for the reboot come from GST and team after NBC gives a general note like "too dark" or "we need to cut these cast members to save money" GST then takes those notes, listens to fan ideas, and submits ideas to NBC.. they then give him a thumbs up or thumbs down on his new ideas.

[knightendo77]

Oh I know that we all knew about those scenes, I was just saying that in light of this interview maybe they did the right thing...? He does state they were trying to make it lighter and not as dark, as they wanted it to be more like the original, which is a good thing is it not...? If it had kept getting darker it may have distanced itself further from what makes Knight Rider "Knight Rider".

Feels strange talking to you Sue, been reading here for a long time and all your hard work and set visits have made you a bit of a celebrity and it's cool to finally chat Fantastic work, and whatever happens to the show I hope you keep it up I'll see if I can scrape the money together to buy the issue of SFX (hate getting paid early at Christmas, always means you're broke long before the next pay day lol) and then maybe write some proper quotes here.

But maybe the scripts thrown out by NBC were ones going in the direction they didn't want the show to go? Maybe they weren't in keeping with what they wanted all along when they commissioned the series. We always thought they were being stupid about it and unfair, but maybe all they wanted was a return to the original show's feel and style. Like I said I'm a fan of Gary's and he's great as the executive producer, I can't fault the production values and the cast and crew he's put together etc, but in hindsight maybe Dave Andron would've been better as head writer...? I know those positions are usually one-and-the-same and Andron doesn't have the experience to be a full show runner, but I think the two of them together coulda cracked it, but it's gone down this other road (no pun intended) that didn't go down well with the network from the beginning, and didn't go down well with the fans when it started to air.

He definitely talks about the reboot order "coming down from high", which was the whole reason why I posted this as I found that to be truly shocking. Yes GST had to start rewriting other scripts because of NBC and the change in direction is now being engineered by him as far as the production and writing goes, but he definitiely says it was NBC's call, their order. We'd for so long thought of NBC as not caring about the show, I thought this was great news on their part that it was just them wanting the old KR back as they thought it could truly be a hit.

I know how difficult and frustrating it can be for writers and producers to get orders to change what they're doing, I remember J Michael Straczynski's ordeal when the Babylon 5 sequel Crusade aired on the TNT network. But this interview does make it feel like it's not the network "interferring" and not knowing what's good for the show as TNT did. I genuinely believe that NBC wanted a proper return to classic KR and that's why they've been on the backs of GST so much after what they saw was being produced. The magazine's writer does say that it's to bring it back to what it should've been from the start. Like I said I'll see if I can get a hold of it for you Sue.

I haven't seen a full episode yet, just the pilot, but at the end of it the movie left us feeling like a true KR series was to follow, but for many it didn't and that's probably why it got panned. I just hope the reboot helps bring those people back. Then a big relaunch for season two for a true return to what everyone classes as Knight Rider

Oh, just reread your post, so added this bit: I know they don't micro-manage, sorry I didn't mean to come across like that Basically yes you're right things happen in stages and they'll give their opinions and what needs changed, but I think they realised the show was going in the wrong direction after those sceens were filmed. (Not blaming those scenes, just saying about NBC's timing of their decision.) So then after they've decided this they've been changing a lot of stuff at every stage, which ususally indicates silly interference from a studio and that a show is on its last legs, but maybe this time the studio were actually on to something and knew what was best for the show? It'd be a first that's for sure lol!

[chrisjones]

Its good to hear NBC are pushing for the show to do well, they could have let it die a quiet death, but rather they pushed for changes. That's very good news!

It seems a lot of experimentation went on during the first 9 episodes, the show never really followed a set pattern from episode to episode.

My honest opinion is that KR will get a series 2, all be it with a drastically reduced budget. A similar situation happened with 'Supernatural' this series and it didn't do it any harm at all.

This weeks episode was by far the best so far, giving Mike a gun was the best decision to date, the guys an ex forces guy, let him show off his skills!

My only gripe is KITT is way too 'cold'. For a car made 20+ years after the orig, it seems the AI has taken a step backwards rather than improving.

[Lost Knight]

Normally I would be against things like corporate or network interference when it comes to creative decisions. But we have seen the first 9 episodes and a lot of things didn't quite work. Perhaps it was due to the multiple tossed out scripts resulting in mediocre final products, perhaps not. But I think most of us can at least agree that there were too many characters on the show and that the writers were having a hard time trying to incorporate all of them into each episode. So can we really say NBC made the wrong call to knock off a few characters? If anything, I think it would be questionable why particular characters were axed over others, but not the idea of cutting them down in general.

And the fact that a lot of facts about Mike's past were cut from the first episode(s) really doesn't say much in terms of quality. Is anyone really under the impression that the quality of the first episode would have been much better if we got a handful of extra flashbacks? No, the writing needed much more than that in terms of improvements. While I sympathize with Gary Scott Thompson about having ideas removed, those ideas alone were not enough. (At least the ones we were told about.)

We've seen the version of Knight Rider that G.S.T. prefers, and that's excessive T&A, cheesy lines and over-the-top Fast and the Furious speed. I do not fault NBC in this case for wanting to revert back to a PROVEN formula that worked in the '80s. After all, NBC has to justify its expenses and with sub-par ratings in general, SOMETHING had to be done. Yes, times have changed but it doesn't necessarily mean that the concept of one man and one car couldn't work today contrary to G.S.T.'s beliefs. Granted, a lot of people had their minds already made up about the show before the first episode even aired which just wasn't fair to G.S.T., but now it's time to change things up a little bit.

Another reason this retooling is necessary is that I believe it will help the show find its own identity. There are elements of The Fast and the Furious, 24, Transformers, and even machines taken directly out of Iron Man (Hank and those repair machines at the S.C.C., anyone?), as well as plots taken directly from Ocean's Eleven and Speed, but the least was actually from Knight Rider itself, which is the show this is supposed to be a sequel for. Is it any wonder why this new show has felt very little like the original, then? By bringing the show back to its roots, maybe we'll actually even get some decent and coherent continuity, but that seems to be too difficult to do right now for whatever reason. These criticisms are not to say I can't enjoy the show for what it is which is entertainment; all I am saying is it's difficult watching something when there is a lot of room for improvement.

[Kaine]

Normally I would be against things like corporate or network interference when it comes to creative decisions. But we have seen the first 9 episodes and a lot of things didn't quite work. Perhaps it was due to the multiple tossed out scripts resulting in mediocre final products, perhaps not. But I think most of us can at least agree that there were too many characters on the show and that the writers were having a hard time trying to incorporate all of them into each episode. So can we really say NBC made the wrong call to knock off a few characters? If anything, I think it would be questionable why particular characters were axed over others, but not the idea of cutting them down in general.

And the fact that a lot of facts about Mike's past were cut from the first episode(s) really doesn't say much in terms of quality. Is anyone really under the impression that the quality of the first episode would have been much better if we got a handful of extra flashbacks? No, the writing needed much more than that in terms of improvements. While I sympathize with Gary Scott Thompson about having ideas removed, those ideas alone were not enough. (At least the ones we were told about.)

We've seen the version of Knight Rider that G.S.T. prefers, and that's excessive T&A, cheesy lines and over-the-top Fast and the Furious speed. I do not fault NBC in this case for wanting to revert back to a PROVEN formula that worked in the '80s. After all, NBC has to justify its expenses and with sub-par ratings in general, SOMETHING had to be done. Yes, times have changed but it doesn't necessarily mean that the concept of one man and one car couldn't work today contrary to G.S.T.'s beliefs. Granted, a lot of people had their minds already made up about the show before the first episode even aired which just wasn't fair to G.S.T., but now it's time to change things up a little bit.

Another reason this retooling is necessary is that I believe it will help the show find its own identity. There are elements of The Fast and the Furious, 24, Transformers, and even machines taken directly out of Iron Man (Hank and those repair machines at the S.C.C., anyone?), as well as plots taken directly from Ocean's Eleven and Speed, but the least was actually from Knight Rider itself, which is the show this is supposed to be a sequel for. Is it any wonder why this new show has felt very little like the original, then? By bringing the show back to its roots, maybe we'll actually even get some decent and coherent continuity, but that seems to be too difficult to do right now for whatever reason. These criticisms are not to say I can't enjoy the show for what it is which is entertainment; all I am saying is it's difficult watching something when there is a lot of room for improvement.

well said, i completely agree with you!