Look Michael... a fjord!

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So right before I decided to call it a night I was flipping through channels and came across the new Knight Rider show.

I was an avid fan of the original show when I was 11 or so but trying to bring this show back seems a little far-fetched.

It amazes me that Hollywood just sort of regurgitates over and over again but I don't think that's ever going to stop.

In fact, while I can only say one "re-magining", namely Battlestar Galactica, has been a success, I suspect we'll see more remakes.

I could only watch this new show for about 3 minutes before I realized it would not hold my interest at all.

KITT now apparently transforms from one vehicle mode to another and is extremely boringly voiced by Val Kilmer. The car, from what little I watched, has zero personality and is all about gimmick transformations.

Sure. I didn't watch much but I can tell right off the bat that it wasn't for me. (But I'll start watching it if he transforms into a speed boat a la KnightBoat on a regular basis.)

I can't recall in the pilot if it transformed or not. Did anybody watch that?

I'm just wondering if the transformy nature was there before Transformers came out or not.

Will they pull KARR out of the mothballs and have Peter Cullen reprise the character? No doubt he'd be as static and CGIy as he was in the Transformers movie.

I think that this new Knight Rider, once the few people watching it for some nostalgia purposes leave, will go the way of that Bionic Woman remake last year.

Though I bet Giga will start Tivo'n it! :-)

9 Comments

I was looking forward to the new one when I read that KITT would be voiced by Will Arnett (of Arrested Development fame). However, he was forced to pull out since a Ford is used in the show and he does voiceovers for GM commercials.

You may not recall this but they did work transformation (to a degree) into the original show. After one particularly bad break for KITT, they gave him some super fast mode with pop-out parts and a super braking mode. I think. It's not a full on morphing transformation like I understand the new one has. (I haven't seen too much of either but the new transformation reminds me of Viper.)

Yeah... I don't actually mind the odd remake (what was the new Who, if not a reinvention of the old one?) But... you can't expect success unless you first appreciate the qualities of the original.

I think this is where a lot of these shows go wrong; they end up being "[Name] In Name Only."

I mean, William Russ is still alive and well - there's no reason why he couldn't be voicing KITT. It would even give them a way to link the show back to it's past. Even Will Arnett would have worked, because part of the dynamic that made the show work was a partnership between a gung-ho go-getter and a dry wiseass.

Val Kilmer? Transforming car? Oh god... what's next, a very special episode starring Miley Cyrus?

I'm voting crash and burn, not because the show didn't deserve a remake, but because once again we've got a remake that only superficially resembles the original and consequently, all that made it watchable in the first place.

@JOP: it's actually a sequel, not a remake.
Anyway, i never really watched Knight Rider, the sequel might be nice, but we're probably not gonna get it here in Hellhole-Holland so i won't be able to give an opinion. I saw the intro theme on youtube though, horrible horrible remix. I don't even know HOW someone can botch a remix of the classic KR theme.

Ok, two things...

1) Apparently the transformation was part of a "new program" that the "New April" uploaded to (new) KITT. He transformed into a large pickup/SUV, with flying junk, much like the Transformers movie.

2) The program has ties to the original -- The Hoff appeared in the pilot.

That's about all I picked up. I only watched 10 minutes or so.

Yeah apparently that main character guy is the son of michael knight.
I hope he gave him a proper lecture on not drinking and driving... And eating burgers on the floor.

I watched the movie pilot months ago. There was a very mild transformation for KITT in that he could change from one type of Mustang to another for camouflage. It basically amounted to changing his color.

Normally he is Black of course. I think in one scene they are being chased by a helicopter he changes white though how they helicopter didn't figure out "the white Mustang going 140 MPH is possibly related tot he Black one we can't see anywhere" is beyond me. I think later int he movie when they were in Vegas he has one of those purpley Chameleon Paint jobs.

He certainly didn't turn into a boat.

It's good that they decided to link back to the original; I'm not saying it's necessary in every case, but it does go a long way to showing some reverence for the original material.

Having said that, Val Kilmer is still a horrible choice. I'm sorry; the guy has done some great acting, he's done some terrible acting, but in either scenario he hasn't displayed the droll wit that personifies the KITT character.

Not that I'm complaining, per se. Just waiting until next year when NBC unveils the new A-Team...

Damn. I missed the season opener ...
:(

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This page contains a single entry by Nala published on September 25, 2008 7:26 AM.

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