That's an interesting question...
The way Larson speaks about it now (with the benefit of hindsight, maybe) he suggests a thoughtful approach, with K.I.T.T. very much the softly-spoken AI he was in the pilot, slowly developing and becoming more human.
More likely, I think if Larson had a more hands-on approach in the making of Knight Rider, we would have ended up with a more light-hearted show... more along the lines of The Fall Guy and Buck Rogers. The stories would have remained more comic, more humorous, along the lines of the first 13 shows (until Hearts of Stone, and the arrival of the new production team). Lots of jumps, car chases and action. A bit more friction between Michael and K.I.T.T., Michael and Devon, and Michael and Bonnie. All that changed in Hearts of Stone; Devon openly revealing his respect for Michael, and "love" of his courage, and Bonnie freely telling Michael to "be careful"... before then, the caring relationship between the leads was all implied, all inferred by what they
didn't say. Michael was always being irritated by K.I.T.T.'s chatter, always telling him to "Shut up", but we always knew he cared for his friend. In short, (executive producer) Robert Foster introduced a dose of "reality", of "darkness" to the show, but also immediately started explaining how the characters felt toward one another, instead of showing. One review of the series refers to the characters' relationships and interaction with each other as Mutual Admiration Society, and that's a criticism that could never be aimed at the episodes under Larson's tenure.
But, if Larson and company stayed on board, we probably wouldn't have had: Goliath... certainly no April... there may not have been a new dash in Season 3... no little TVs... there may never have been an SPM or Convertible Mode... I doubt there would have been a Junk Yard Dog...
Stevie would probably have still made an appearance, since Hasselhoff had been suggesting that story for months, and it's debatable whether K.A.R.R. would have returned.
Would the show have become more popular? Maybe under those circumstances it could have lasted five or six seasons... Or, maybe not... Knight Rider survived against Dallas, but it was the 2nd season that was its most successful, ratings-wise. Without the changes in behind-the-scenes personnel, we never would have had episodes like Goliath, Soul Survivor, A Good Knight's Work, Speed Demons, Custom K.I.T.T., and so on. Episodes
like them, perhaps, but ultimately different. I'm not so sure I'd like the series so much without some of the "darker" episodes (take Goliath, Merchants of Death, Junk Yard Dog, etc.). It's interesting to wonder how Bonnie would have impacted on those second season stories (I, for one, would have loved to see Bonnie face off against Garthe in Goliath Returns).
Who knows?
I
do know that I wouldn't go back and change any of it!
- Paul
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http://www.knightriderarchive.com
