I really can't get into the details of what I would fix to improve the show and since it's only a first episode, it's pretty unfair to start judging it right out the gate.
Based upon the
first premiere though, my suggestions would be these because overall I give the first episode a
B, it's a far cry better then
TKR or
Knight Rider 2000 but there's still some things there that could use vast improvement, especially from a design standpoint.
1. I really can't identify with the fishglobe/HAL voice box approach. I know that it's HAL from 2001 and Glen was heavily inspired by that but I think its out of place in a show that's basing itself on intense action based sequences. 2001 is a fairly slow movie. Also the voice "globe" seems very inconsistant to really visualize it as a extension of KITT i.e. a "face" of the AI to identify with.
There is something more personable about the three lined bargraph look that you just can't ignore. Perhaps consider using it inside the globe or something more identifiable then a red dot and some ghosting sine lines.
With respects to the "voice" of Kilmer, I understand KITT is still learning but you have to consider that William Daniels added some emotional inflection when the situation became tense, you could really identify with KITT more based on Daniel's performance. The personality of the new KITT needs some serious improvement if you intend for Michael and KITT to really become partners and not just "operatives".
I mention this only because in the original series pilot, "Knight of the Pheonix", by the time the two hours was up you really had a firm grasp of the relationship between Michael and KITT and you could relate to their emotional situations. I don't feel any relation to this KITT thus far, he comes across as
just a machine and not something that actually has life to it. I am very much aware KITT is just a machine, not something more.
Perhaps this will change later down the line as you've mentioned that KITT will "evolve" but I do stress don't take too long to establish this relationship your you're going to lose the audience. They'll love "the car" more then they actually love KITT "the character" and that's problematic for sustaining a long term audience.
2. Turbo boost was interesting, incorporate more of the original sound effect for it to really tie it back with the original show more. It seems very muddled by roaring fire and squeeling engines more so then a unique effect that should stand alone from his other functions.
Kudos on using the original scanner sound effect but I have to agree with others, sync it up with the lights on the front otherwise it just feels tacked on rather then functional. The hood scanner feels more decorative then actually functional and it should be emphased more on what exactly it can do. In the original series when KITT would scan something or go into survaillance mode, the camera would typically show a close up of the scanner doing something that effected that transition. The scanner light didn't just rove back and forth because it "looked good".
3.
Please for the love of god lose the LCD red "Billboard" graphics when the car uses Turbo Boost. There must be a better solution out there.
4. Give Michael control of KITT by actually doing something instead of having KITT do everything automated When KITT activates all the features himself, I feel there's a loss of physical connection with the car. You can't just do everything with voice commands, it's going to wear thin quickly. Michael should be in command of KITT and I see that to some degree but give him more physical interaction then
just controlling the steering wheel and voicing commands.
Make him press some frigging buttons or something to activate the more impressive and unique features. Moving things around on the HUD is a nice start but that's not controlling the actual features that make the show exciting, that's just pushing around graphics. Michael and KITT's relationship still seems extremely distant despite the fact I am gathering its been several months since the time frame of the events in the backdoor pilot.
5. Give the car engine a more turbine sound (both KITT modes). It just sounds like every other car out there. I know you're emphasizing muscle cars and whatnot but KITT is
one of a kind, make him more unique then a run of the mill stock looking Shelby GT 500KR. It's obvious that the villains know how to track down the car regardless of its shape (tracking signals, etc) so being "like every other car out there" to blend in really isn't effective.
6. If you put in the purple haze tint effect in the title sequence when you show KITT driving through the desert or whatever it really will tie it more closely with the original series and I believe fans will really admire that. It's something fairly inexpensive to do and will further emphasize the "continuation" you're looking for.
7. Why is everything handled on the HUD? This is going to wear thin after awhile, might want to consider going back to the concept of Michael looking at some form of video screens for seperate video transmissions, especially if he wants to talk in private. I dislike the fact that every time Michael wants to do something off the grid, KR can listen in and see everything that goes on in the car. This means in any given situation when he turns off the monitoring, the KR team will suspect he's up to something suspicious. There should be trust in a team environment, clearly there isn't much so far.
Let's see some more
dash interaction.
8. Why is Carrie Ravai in such a position of power? She's a horrid FBI agent who does things extremely out of protocol with real trained FBI agents
(drawing a gun and firing on an unarmed man in a crowd?)
I realize the purpose but it made absolutely no sense for a real believable "threat" scenerio. Furthermore why do you invest so much dependency on the FBI having control of Knight Industries or it's affiliates? I just don't agree with this "under another banner" approach.
9. Make the friggin plane/transport more interesting if it's going to function as the "semi" for KITT it needs to be memorable, not typical. Paint it black, give it some red lines if you want to lose the "gold" from the original semi. If you're going to blatantly slap a KR logo on the bottom of KITT and on the badges (when he shifts to Attack Mode) you might as well take the extra mile and put the snake emblem on the plane's tail fin too.
Keep the level of design consistant. Don't spend so much time building up the KITT cave as this sleek
high tech concealed command center then skimp on the transports. Even the idea of KITT having to drive through a hang bay seems very out of place compared to all the other technology out there. I understand you're probably going for less suspicious, ordinary locations on the surface like military bases but really at least show KITT going down some specialized door that opens up inside the bay so we can see where
KITT actually goes inside the bay, rather then magically appearing down a specially lit tunnel that happens to pull into this underground cave. It's just vastly more interesting to actually show where these things are being concealed rather then try to use editing tricks to cover it up.
When Batman pulled the Batmobile into the Batcave "tunnel" leading to his inner sanctum in Tim Burton's Batman you had this great transition from
the ordinary world into the specialized one. Superman with his Fortress of Solitude same thing. Even in spy adventures like James Bond or the movie xXx there's something more magical about showing how a secret underground facility is concealed
within the ordinary world where people would easy miss it.
Show that transition, it's important. It's just as much narrative as it is visually appealing.
10. Why would a secret organization like
Knight Research and Development which is supposed to operate
undercover advertise it's emblem where average people can see it and therefore track down where it's coming from? It makes absolutely no sense for a giant KR emblem to be plastered on the bottom of the car just so it can show it off when it turbo boosts.
You don't advertise yourself when you're a secret organization, it defeats the purpose of being
off the grid.
11. Ditch the GT500KR logos on the seats, they're extremely distracting and scream advertising where it doesn't need to be. You got enough exposure with the exterior badges and endless car "stat" quotes in your advertising.
12. I'm going to say this even though the standard response is. "it needs those to go fast". Sqaure off those blasted front pipes,
it completely destroys the lines of the car and lose the blank frying pan hubcaps, they're just massive eyesores. I want to like the Attack KITT but these two very prominant central focal points destroy my acceptability of the car's design. Surely there is another approach you can take I would be more then happy to give ideas if anyone in the industry wishes to contact me about it. (send a PM)
That's really all I can think of at the moment without going into spoilers, which I will not do. I did put what I felt might be considered spoilers in the spoiler tags.
I'm trying to help out here, I am not attacking or insulting the series. I think it has some great potential. There are some things visually I believe need to be settled before it will have a chance for long term success.
As a first episode, it had an interesting story that didn't bore me, had a good balance of action, and gave some of the characters (especially the new ones) some personality to establish the tone for the rest of the series. Out of respect for those who haven't seen the episode yet, I won't post a more specific review until after the premiere.
These points are to be taken as suggestions from a person who understands (and wrote a book about) the mythology of the series.
To the team of KR staff/crew and Gary Scott Thompson, I say so far nice work.
=VK=
