Why NBC should save "Knight Rider" - External Article

[Sky_Blue_Civic]

Make KR dark and give it great writers and you have a better chance of creating a series that will catch on.

Explain Bionic Woman. Dark doesn't always mean better. All it will do is make KR seem like every other show on TV.

[FordFilly82]

THanks for the great link Neps!

THis article says best the reasons why *I* have been pulling for KR08 from the beginning! THIS is what I have been trying to say people! LOL

THe Chuck lead-in angle is a great idea. And pair Heroes w/ Medium they are both "dark" enough. Which brings me to that nail in my tire.
I've read several posts about KR needed to go "dark and dire". Sorry, but been there, did that, and ratings sucked.
I feel like I am the only one who remembers that the first 12 eps were the "dark and dire" that's been expressed. Sorry it didn't work. So, NBC smelling yet another Bionic Woman retooled and made KR08 the show it was supposed to be all along!
And I am sorry, TOS may have been "serious" in '82 but it was still hooky for the time anyway. Then as now, people go "Pfft! yeah right! A car that talks!" And we live in the GPS age! lol

I really hope KR gets a S2 even if it's 12 eps. Try that many and if the ratings STILL are not up "to standards" then can it. And not that I am one who wishes KR would die, I just want to see KR get the proper chance it deserves.
For one, Sorry GST but ya got to go. You totally lied to us at ComicCon, and that can't fly. Bring back the guy(s) who wrote the BDP and a few other eps like "Knight Fever" to full fledged writers.

Ok, I'm rambling so I'll quit here, lol.
Thanks Neps. Great article.

[NeoRanger]

KR08 once again proves that today's audiences aren't embracing light, fun, and stupid anymore in a scripted series. Make KR dark and give it great writers and you have a better chance of creating a series that will catch on.

That's no guarantee, really. A show about a talking car is inevitably going to be viewed under that "ridiculous" and "stupid" light. If you darken it up and focus on high-quality writing, you're pretty much looking at widening the target audience and hoping it will catch on.

KR doesn't have problems, because it's not serious, it has problems because it can't deliver to its full potential. It's not the writing that it's question here, it's the budget. People will totally embrace a light and fun show about a super-car, if they can actually see the car do something cool. That's where NBC dropped the ball; in the case of "Knight Rider", you have to pay money to make money. A total of 20 minutes of car action in 17 episodes about said car just won't cut it.

[Mr.Marcus]

Make KR dark and give it great writers and you have a better chance of creating a series that will catch on.

Explain Bionic Woman. Dark doesn't always mean better. All it will do is make KR seem like every other show on TV.

Very simple. There will always be exceptions to any given rule, scenario, course of action, etc. etc. etc. etc. etc. etc. The only absolutes in life are death and taxes. Focusing on the exception and then presenting that as a valid counterargument is what the losing side of an argument does all the time.

Make it seem like every other show on tv? You mean make it actually good and engaging? Rather than the usual "Its getting better" line that people comment every week which implies that the show isn't that good to begin with.

[larmindy]

Make KR dark and give it great writers and you have a better chance of creating a series that will catch on.

Explain Bionic Woman. Dark doesn't always mean better. All it will do is make KR seem like every other show on TV.

Very simple. There will always be exceptions to any given rule, scenario, course of action, etc. etc. etc. etc. etc. etc. The only absolutes in life are death and taxes. Focusing on the exception and then presenting that as a valid counterargument is what the losing side of an argument does all the time.

Make it seem like every other show on tv? You mean make it actually good and engaging? Rather than the usual "Its getting better" line that people comment every week which implies that the show isn't that good to begin with.

Back to the original topic point, the article. It was pretty spot on with regards to moving with Chuck. The two shows would work well together and have the same target audience.

K, back to the rest of the discussion. KR08 doesn't need to change (again). The first half of the season did not work, it was a change from what was presented in the Pilot Movie (big success btw) and lost its viewers. The dark thing is not KR and the millions of viewers who watched the movie and tuned in for the series then leaving kinda proves this.

Network TV is tragic, anything that is different from the rest doesn't always make it, some do most don't. Cable networks (of course owned by the Network and parent companies) should be picking up the slack and producing the shows. USA and SciFi both NBC family produce their own shows that are different than what you see on the Networks for the most part. Why can't KR which has a loyal fan base of 5 million viewers move there? Please dont give the argument that not all viewrs get the cable channels because in this day and age you can watch on-line or they can watch on the locals when NBC airs the shows on a Sat/Sun night, as NBC does with some of its cross net shows currently.

I am not pushing for a second season just to have one. I feel it can hold its own now due to the reboot, it just needs support from NBC. If it goes away KR will not be dead. It will come back again, the concept of one man making a difference with a technologically advanced car will keep coming back. Maybe KR should be TV movies or mini series only, that works for some stuff ( I guess that is another idea lol).

[FLAGCEO]

The article makes another excellent point - that Knight Rider is really the only fun escapist show on television.

Look at the past 25 years and consider it in light of economic trends and the general psychological state of our society. When times are really good, we like to watch reality shows that demonstrate that ordinary people can do wierd and interesting things, mainly because we're not worried about whether we'll be able to pay our rent or mortgage payment next month. We enjoy watching otherwise ordinary people win things that we could probably do too.

When times are bad, however, reality TV takes a backseat - we need something to distract us away from the reality that surrounds us. That's why the A-Team, Knight Rider, Viper, Airwolf, Battlestar Galactica, Twilight Zone, and other shows that took us to a different world where good triumphed over evil, where the hero comes and saves the poor, ordinary shlep being beaten up by the thugs of a super-rich villan, did so well.

We are again in that time when escapism is what primetime TV is all about. And the only really fun series that does this is on the verge of being killed off... which goes to show you that NBC is clearly not in the business of providing entertaiment that the viewer needs, but only making a buck - no matter what it takes. With record unemployment, an economy that is still spiraling downward, people being kicked out of their homes, prices for everything from a gallon of milk to a loaf of bread spiraling upward, we need that ability to pretend we're sitting in the backseat of a supercar protecting the innocent from those who operate above the law. Making it darker, or making any significant changes to the show now would be a huge mistake, in my opinion. The current formula, i.e., after the retooling, is the best way for this show to grow. This formula is what makes it more light-hearted, fun, and as the article points out, ridiculous. That's what we need right now.

[Skav]

We have to remember too that Knight Rider in the 80's was not campy.
But looking back on it it is campy in retrospect ONLY because it was aired in the 80's.
Likewise THIS version of KR will be campy 15 years from now without them trying to be.
Make it serious and it will be campy by default years from now.
Try and make it campy...and you got the power rangers..
We don't want that for KR. lol

Hmm...I didn't think of it that way. Good point.

[FordFilly82]

The article makes another excellent point - that Knight Rider is really the only fun escapist show on television.

Look at the past 25 years and consider it in light of economic trends and the general psychological state of our society.

When times are bad, however, reality TV takes a backseat - we need something to distract us away from the reality that surrounds us. That's why the A-Team, Knight Rider, Viper, Airwolf, Battlestar Galactica, Twilight Zone, and other shows that took us to a different world where good triumphed over evil, where the hero comes and saves the poor, ordinary shlep being beaten up by the thugs of a super-rich villan, did so well.

We are again in that time when escapism is what primetime TV is all about. This formula is what makes it more light-hearted, fun, and as the article points out, ridiculous. That's what we need right now.

i just got a chance to really read your argument and i have to say I agree! and isn't it interesting that both versions of KR debuted during a "recession"? just a thought...