...However, this is the only thing Knight Rider that I am new to.
...Just a little quick background about me...
I "was" and still "am" the epitome of the generation that made Knight Rider popular. I'm getting ready to turn 30 years old in May, therefore I was 5 to 9 years old when the show aired live originally. I "was" that kid that plopped down infront of the TV every Friday night in 1982 until 1986.
Heck, I loved the show so much, I've owned two 3rd generation General Motors' "F-Bodys". (89 RS Camaro and a 91 GTA Trans-AM, and I still have it.)
Anyhoo, with all the resurgence of KR with the new made for TV movie and all, I've had several thoughts....
First of all, ok, I saw the new movie the other week when it premiered, and to tell you the truth on a scale of 1 to 10, I'd rate it a 6.0 at best.
Secondly, I thought to myself...."You know, this now is the 3rd (or 4th) attempted comeback of KR, and I just don't think they still can get it right, or are getting it right?
Ok, a little history here....
The show ended in 1986, and the next thing to pop out was "Knight Rider 2000" in the early 1991.
It was ok, but KITT doesn't belong in a 50' something Chevy and what the heck is a "KIFT"???? (That was too corny to pull off IMO) Plus, you kill off Devin Miles??? WHY? The series is over, what's the point?......RESULT: BOMBED.
Then came Knight Rider 2010 in 1994, no "Hoff" and no KITT, other than the tagline: "One man can make a difference", there was hardly any relation to the original series........RESULT: BOMBED.
Fast forward to 1997, they come out with this show: "Team Knight Rider".......and this relied to heavily on selling the same ole' turkey to the public.....it relied on "the car" alone........RESULT: BOMBED.
Now we have "Knight Rider" (2008), and while I admitt it is the best comeback attempt as of yet, they still are missing a few things.
#1 - The name alone of "Mike Traceur" is corny. And to boot, I know they need a "good looking" guy to play the lead role, but they dipped too far in the pages of G.Q. for this fruit cake. His "baby-face" just doesn't match the role.
Michael Knight was a good looking but rugged guy. (Sharpe facal features.) He looked like the kind of guy that could work on a ranch but knew how to spruce up when needed. (The Hoff's puffy hair)
Mike Traceur looks like a Calvin Klien model and scared to get his hands dirty.
.....Hello, Glen Larsen, you know Ben Afleck was available for this role! (just my suggestion)
#2 - Bad choice for KITT's voice. Look, I like Val Kilmer, but a computerized voice similar to that of William Daniels, he is not even close. Maybe a food dehydrator??? Or coffee maker!
#3 - Cutting corner's on stuts and special effects.
Some scenes to me just looked flat out "unreal". Ex. - The scene in Mike Traceur's garage when he and the bookie's got into a fight. It looked like they filmed it with the same technology they use in Soap Operas. Of course they (Larsen and NBC) also done this in the original series. Why can't they utilize the philosophy of: "If you're going to do something, then do it right the first time!"
#4 - The heroine of the film, Charles Graiman's daughter (her name escapes me for now), why very attractive, she was horrible at acting. If you don't believe me then just watch the scene of her when she first gets into KITT in the movie and the dialouge they had.......just awful.
#5 - Why bring in this guy that nobody's heard of: Charles Graiman???? Why not just be like all writers from TV for as long as I can remember and bring back WIlton Knight from the dead?
Ex. - Just write in that Wilton had never really died. He did become deathly ill in 1982, but to properly overcome his sickness, he had his own death faked and he relocated into hidding for a period of 20 years or so to protect the identity of Michael Knight and all that surrounded FLAG, but all the while he was closely monitoring the situation of FLAG's causes with the help of Devon Miles' secrecy and confidence. (Damn I could be a great writer!!!)
So now he's come back to resurrect FLAG as it once were.......this too would also allow a better plot of the story to evolve and open up.
.....Uh! I can go on and on folks!
But the bottom line, of my original question....
"Why can't they get it right? Why can't they get a sequel or follow up to the original series to ever truly take off??? Why can't they (the writers and producers) seem to capture that same magic again???"
And here's my answer....
They can't, because when we have something that felt that good the first time, nothing can replace it.
Ex. - A 1982 Pontiac TransAm that talks and does all kinds of cool stuff like KITT did, will never exist again, and never be the same.
David Hasselhoff will never be 30 years old again.
It was new, back then, one of a kind, had never been done before. It set the standard, it set precedence. And anything that follows it will always be measured to that, and so far nothing has even come close.
Most of the "spin-off's" have failed because they heavily relied on what they thought would sell......"the car" itself. WRONG! It was the whole and entire "aura" about the show.....everything!
The Car, Michael Knight, the cause, the villians, FLAG, Devin....all the roles and plots intertwined and had it's own unique charismatic flow.
...They're still missing it IMO.
...Oh, well, maybe they work on it from now until they start the TV series.....if it even takes off.
Maybe we (or rather I) am expecting too much???
You tell me......discuss.
And thanks for reading my divel.
![Hey, it's Kitt! :kitt:](./images/smilies/kitt-smiley-front.gif)