Knight 2000 was so much cooler

[K2000kid]

NBC should have put a lot more effort into KITT ths time
remember the original pilot, Oilslicks, ski mode, ejecttion seat, turbo boost
and he could top 200 mph.

The 3000 couldn't get away from a ford SUV LOL
how about microjamming the brakes or sending an emp to kill the bad guys engine, and the fact that he couldn't scramble his signal to avoid being hacked was just awful.
but he COULD change colors and do his own bodywork

First "KNIGHT RIDER" result on Google Neil ?
very nice

[DorianX]

Honestly, other than turbo boost, I think all the things you mention from the original pilot are kind of "gimmicky" and putting them in a 2008 show would have looked like a cheap stunt rather than making the car cool.

Also, the whole "scrambling the signal" thing doesn't even make sense.

[blowersho]

I agree with you k2000kid, K3000 did nothing. The way the producer/director were talking about the stunts I thought we were in for a nice surprise, boy was I wrong. What stunts are they talking about? Driving fast in a straight line and pulling the e-brake around turns are not stunts. Nothing can ever match the WOW factor of the original.

[Michael Pajaro]

The "escaping the SUV" thing has been explained many times in this forum. And yes, the Knight 3000 can go well over 200 mph.

Let's not kid ourselves: there were PLENTY of car chases in the original series where KITT could have cut the engine of the other car or microjam the brakes, but they'd just make up some excuse about it being too dangerous. It's no different than what happened in the new movie.

Turbo boost was cool. Absolutely. But let's take a look at some of the other things the Knight 2000 can do that the Knight 3000 can't:

Spin combination locks from 100 yards away.
Control what dots show up on a pair of dice.
Show a front-view camera angle of the interior of a car from behind.

Should THOSE features be added to the Knight 3000?

[K2000kid]

KNIGHT RIDER 25 yrs ago worked because the car was so cool
would we have gotten so hooked on the original if KITT didn't do all those neat little tricks?
Did we look at the Knight 2000 and say "Thats really unrealistic"
Knight Rider was FANTASY and guess what we all LOVED it

The new Knight Rider needs to bring back the old formula, It worked

[K2000kid]

Honestly, other than turbo boost, I think all the things you mention from the original pilot are kind of "gimmicky" and putting them in a 2008 show would have looked like a cheap stunt rather than making the car cool.

I think what made Knight Rider work back then would still work today
The overdone dashboard, the gadgets and gizmos, lets face it gimmicks work
I'm willing to give the new show a chance but it needs to up the wizz bang factor

Imagine Mike and Sarah in the 3000 talking about getting a bite to eat
KI3t informs them the nearest place closes in ten minutes but is over 100 miles away
Mike says "Damn we'll never make it"
Ki3t replies "Don't be so sure, Mike"
Then onsscreen display shows AutoCruise Engaged, Super Pursuit, then flashes on screen three times
accompanied by Jet engine sound effect finished off with a booster sound and the car rocketing to over 300mph
and for effect show the occupants pinned back in their seats, and have the 3000 passing other vehicles at insane speeds

In the world of Knight Rider less is definitely not more

[PaoloM]

In the world of Knight Rider less is definitely not more

I have to agree. Knight Rider is fantasy and KITT needs the "wow" factor to make you think that the car is more like an alien starship than a black Mustang. In my opinion, realism will not work for Knight Rider.

[DorianX]

I have to agree. Knight Rider is fantasy and KITT needs the "wow" factor to make you think that the car is more like an alien starship than a black Mustang. In my opinion, realism will not work for Knight Rider.

There's a difference between realism and reasonability. I want to be "wowed" by KITT, but I also want to believe that something like KITT *could* happen.

And it's important to remember that gimmicks work differently in different societies. Part of the original KITT's appeal was that he looked the way we all thought the future *would* look in 1982 -- but the "Darth Vader's Bathroom" approach today doesn't look futuristic any more: it looks like what *people in the 80s thought the future would look like*, which is sort of a joke, like the way 50s science fiction movies with their steel robots and rocket ships with tail fins look like a joke now.

If we want KITT to "wow" us, it has to be in the way that befits the 21st century. We live in kind of a less gimmicky time than 1982.

I know I'm one of the people being the loudest about the matter of KITT "wowing" us, and I mean it. But I don't know how he shoud *do* it. But I know that the things that would have wowed us in 1982 *aren't going to cut it*.