KITT's guns

[Michael Pajaro]

Like many of you, I was a little nervous when I first saw the gatling guns pop out of KITT's hood. But as KITT kept firing, and firing, and firing it made me smile. It was just so over-the-top and that's what I want Knight Rider to be. It's kind of tricky finding the right balance- the show should be over-the-top without being absurd, and the gun scene worked for me. I didn't like the missiles in Knight of the Hunter because that seemed to go too far to me.

Did KITT violate his "protect human life" programming? He may have stretched it a little bit. But as he told Michael, there was "almost no chance" of shooting him. Almost. And he had "clearly targeted to avoid injury." Funny stuff.

[NeoRanger]

It bugged me, though unlike before, it was less about KITT's basic programming and more about what point the show was trying to make.
"Can we shoot something on the way?", asks the kid in the end of the episode. I'm not going to go into the usual rampage of "morally ambiguous" moments that I don't want my kids to watch (though once again I'll point out that this takes a free pass, but if it was a butt-close-up, the episode thread would've exploded by now), I just found it somewhat tasteless.

Now, hypocritical as that may sound, burning an outline on the seat around the bad guy's head with the laser, I probably would've minded less.

[Lynda414]

I'm glad it was used in a comical way rather than in a deadly way as well. Though, I am wondering if he should even have them. I will concede he might need it for non-living targets, like KARR.

[larmindy]

I agree they did it well in the sp and it fit. KITT making his own decision and plainly aiming on the passenger side of the van. BUT...I am not sure KITT should have these types of weapons. Granted they would have worked when this was a government program, as in the first part of the season. KI2T did not have this type or weaponry, but I get these are different times. So that said I enjoyed it last night but don't want to see it too much, maybe once and a while if the situation calls for it.

[Korris]

I think that the Gatling guns and KITTs overall snippyish lines with mike are a sign of things to come. Forget the fact that it was machine guns. KITT got angry with Mike in this episode. He's not supposed to have feelings, especially anger. I think it's a nice hint of things to come.

[Lost Knight]

As I said in another thread, I think the use of the guns clearly show that the writers have no idea what K.I.T.T. is supposed to be. Yeah, he's not the Knight 2000. I get that. But the guns are just a bit too much of an offensive weapon for me, especially how they were used. This car shouldn't be the damn Batmobile. The scanner laser is a lot more acceptable to me, because I like its use a lot better than Michael's magic comlink in the original series that could open anything with a high-pitched frequency.

[V8 Interceptor]

I agree they did it well in the sp and it fit. KITT making his own decision and plainly aiming on the passenger side of the van. BUT...I am not sure KITT should have these types of weapons. Granted they would have worked when this was a government program, as in the first part of the season. KI2T did not have this type or weaponry, but I get these are different times. So that said I enjoyed it last night but don't want to see it too much, maybe once and a while if the situation calls for it.

If I remember correctly KI2T was specifically designed by Wilton Knght to NOT have weapons for fear of government takeover and being turned into some kind of super tank like KARR-E.

[PunkMaister]

I agree they did it well in the sp and it fit. KITT making his own decision and plainly aiming on the passenger side of the van. BUT...I am not sure KITT should have these types of weapons. Granted they would have worked when this was a government program, as in the first part of the season. KI2T did not have this type or weaponry, but I get these are different times. So that said I enjoyed it last night but don't want to see it too much, maybe once and a while if the situation calls for it.

If I remember correctly KI2T was specifically designed by Wilton Knght to NOT have weapons for fear of government takeover and being turned into some kind of super tank like KARR-E.

Yes but the glattling guns are not new he had used them in earlier episodes heck he even has rockets in need be. And in this day and age who knows what KITT and Mike will end up facing, better to be safe than sorry.

[Lynda414]

I can see heavy duty weapons used against things like KARR. I wouldn't normally break out the gatling guns on a petty drug smuggler, unless it was a gag of course.

I'll accept the rockets and short range missiles as long as they used properly, I.E. no human targets.

[lunchmeat]

I don't think that KI3T would shoot a person with his gatling guns or his rockets. We've only seem them used against vehicles, and it will probably stay that way. Additionally, he seems to only have access to these weapons in Attack Mode, so for those concerned that it doesn't really fit KI3T, remember that he only accesses these weapons in a mode specific to utilizing them.

I didn't catch the entirety of last night's episode (I crashed on the couch, and woke up around 8:15....realized the time and was fumbling for the remote, muttering "ah, *?$#, *?$#...*?$#") but I did catch the part with KI3T and the guns. I thought it was well-done, although I didn't understand how the bullets didn't eventually penetrate the engine....I don't know, though, probably has to do with the caliber he's using. Or, actually, thinking about it, KI3T's targeting probably enabled him to avoid any spots that might penetrate to the driver - his targeting's on par with the Terminator, here.

I liked the premise, though; scare the living daylights out of the bad dude in this case. As Michael said, it was a pretty ridiculous scene in a good way, and as soon as I realized what KI3T was doing, I had to laugh. Cliche? Yeah, but in a good way. I hope that they do something like this again, but with multiple targets up against a wall - KI3T can outline all of the targets with bullets, and even draw a nice little picture while he's at it.

I liked KI3T's independence in this one, and his little argument with Michael after the guns; did you hear KI3T's slightly petulant tone? It was great! I always liked Val Kilmer in the role of KI3T and it's only getting better.

The kid wanted to shoot a stop sign on the way home - it's like shooting at plastic army men with BB guns, or shooting roadside signs with pellet guns. I don't think the kid meant any harm from this - if anything, it's a throwback to older days when such things were accepted. Regardless, KI3T said no (after catching me off guard with some awesome deadpan).

In short? I liked the scene, I liked the guns, and since they're only available in Attack Mode, KI3T won't always have immediate access to them.

[PunkMaister]

I can see heavy duty weapons used against things like KARR. I wouldn't normally break out the gatling guns on a petty drug smuggler, unless it was a gag of course.

I'll accept the rockets and short range missiles as long as they used properly, I.E. no human targets.

They would never used them like that. But against vehicles say a tank yes they would use rockets and whatnot.

[KnightINSTINCT]

Soooooooo, has anybody gotten the itch to point out that this series has not forgotten any points derived from the pilot??

No? Don't understand what I'm asking about?



This episode was excellent!

[PunkMaister]

Soooooooo, has anybody gotten the itch to point out that this series has not forgotten any points derived from the pilot??

No? Don't understand what I'm asking about?



This episode was excellent!

Yes it was!

[weeezl]

Seeing the gatling was completely unexpected but boy did I love that scene!

Totally OTT? yes it was but heck did I crack a massive grin

Sitting on the computer watching it at 5.45am in a tiny window whilst in chat with the sound turned down so as not wake anybody up just didn't do this awesome episode justice. I cant wait to watch this episode properly on the big TV later, with the surround sound UP

[Sue]

It bugged me, though unlike before, it was less about KITT's basic programming and more about what point the show was trying to make.
"Can we shoot something on the way?", asks the kid in the end of the episode. I'm not going to go into the usual rampage of "morally ambiguous" moments that I don't want my kids to watch (though once again I'll point out that this takes a free pass, but if it was a butt-close-up, the episode thread would've exploded by now), I just found it somewhat tasteless.

This is an interesting point. Even thought I don't have kids I was thinking about the messages it would be sending them. I was a little concerned with where it was going at times, but I actually felt that the writer put a lot of thought into the messages he was sending.
-The writing on the wall was an equation and Billy says, "He knew drug dealers wouldn't be able to solve it." That was a great message right there, study hard, don't get involved with drugs and you will be way cooler and smarter in the end.
-Mike's heart felt talk about how he could have taken revenge on his mothers killer and didn't. Another great message.
-And KITT, even though hes still a child he knew that shooting up a street sign for fun was not such a good idea.

Like many of you, I was a little nervous when I first saw the gatling guns pop out of KITT's hood. But as KITT kept firing, and firing, and firing it made me smile. It was just so over-the-top and that's what I want Knight Rider to be. It's kind of tricky finding the right balance- the show should be over-the-top without being absurd, and the gun scene worked for me. I didn't like the missiles in Knight of the Hunter because that seemed to go too far to me.

I agree, this scene was really funny. It does seem over-the-top for KITT to have such large guns, but here the show kind of poked fun at itself. I'm wondering now though, what this will mean for any possible future plot lines where KITT turns bad or looses his memory?
I loved the Mike and KITT banter, "I clearly targeted to avoid injury." Great stuff.

[Knight2000]

If KI3T needs guns for a specific task, fair enough, but otherwise showing off for the point of showing off is lame. There was no need to destroy the bad guy's vehicle in Knight of the Hunter, and similarly last night, there was no need to use guns.

Now had they used these offensive capabilities against K4RR, I'd understand. But they didn't.

[Mad Max Smart]

Come on...
Think of the original KR
at the beginning of most episodes, Bonnie says "oh by the way i've just fitted KITT with X"
X could be a laser that would be used at the end of the episode to finish off the bad guys missile or Vehicle.
and then you never see X again in any other episodes.

I think these were just put into the episode in that same manor.
i.e. next time KITT goes up against KARR or something else, we know he's already got the weapons rather than introducing them at the beginning of the episode.

all in all it made me smile.

[BennyCruz]

I honestly don't think that they were over the top as a choice. K3t didn't kill the guy, he didn't even hurt him. The reticle on the windshield showed that he was not aiming for the guy in the van. I believe KITT was trying to scare the guy to stay put- and it worked. As well at the end of the show when the kid suggested that they shoot something, even something non-living, K3T said no. I think KITT did what he did because he thought it was necessary. I enjoyed it.

Also when I watched TOS, I always wondered why k2t would go into "attack mode" and seldom ever attacked anything. I think the show writers want people to know that when K3T goes into attack mode, he becomes a powerful offensive weapon. Plus I agree with the whole campiness thing. In the 80s the more bullets you had, the less likely you were to hit something- felt like a bit of a call back to me.

[NeoRanger]

-The writing on the wall was an equation and Billy says, "He knew drug dealers wouldn't be able to solve it." That was a great message right there, study hard, don't get involved with drugs and you will be way cooler and smarter in the end.
-Mike's heart felt talk about how he could have taken revenge on his mothers killer and didn't. Another great message.
-And KITT, even though hes still a child he knew that shooting up a street sign for fun was not such a good idea.

I don't think there were many intended messages there.

- I bet Mike couldn't solve the equations either. It was a "brainy" nod/joke more than anything else.
- That one was obviously intended.
- This is kind of negated by the van scene. The idea would be not to shoot. At all.

Besides, even if there were that many positive messages, they still wouldn't make up for the questionable ones. And, even with that said, like I mentioned I don't particularly care about the messages to the kids (though this one was a bit too bold to miss or ignore). I still believe the show shouldn't be a family show and it should have stayed with its original target audience in mind. But pulling two gattling guns and riddling a van with bullets is... well... I still can't find another word than 'tasteless' to describe it. It's the "manly", bully kind of joke. Like the truck drivers who hang a pair of plastic testicles from the rear-view mirror.

I don't know. I just felt this was so ridiculously forced. It fell flat for me.

[B.R.O]

What I was annoyed the most in this episode was KI3T's general attiude, he generally behaved like wise-ass jerk with disobeying a direct order from Mike (which he should not be able to do just a boy dared him to), hitting him in the head with the steeringwheel by breaking hard (in the "THAT would be changing the subject" scene) as well as risking Mike's life when using the gatling guns (he was VERRY close to shooting Mike according to him). If KI3T would have behaved like this in the pilot he propably would have slammed the breaks instead on letting the SUV with Charles and the Black River people smash into his left side in the chase scene in the end.

I mean KI3T behaving like this would make a normal person loose trust in KI3T and make a bond similar to the one that Michael and KI2T had in the original series. KI3T basically behaved like a teenager in his/her worst anit-authority phaze in this episode.

I really hope they change his behaviour if they make a second saeson as logically this kind of behaviour on KI3T's side would make it seem illogical that Mike would bond with him the way he has been doing so far.

I also think they should intoduce something a bit like equipment packages to KI3T if they make a second season as KI3T feels like a swiss army knife awith no space limitations, if you look at what he's got under the bonnet (the garling guns, the laser, the missiles and the scanner system) I can hardly believe you could still fit an engine in there. As mentioned before, KI2T could only carry one piece of special equipment at a time and I just simply can't find it to be logical that KI3T, which is about the same size could carry all of his gidgets and gadgets.

I would find it a lot more logical if before KI3T and Mike leave the foundation Mike is notified of what "equpment pack" KI3T is fitted with and then making uss curious about how the're going to use the equipment. There could be equipment packs like for instance the "weapon package" with the gatling guns, missiles and stuff and the "Tech package" with the EMP, longer range sensors tech to tap phones (KI2T did this) and other stuff like that.

[BlueChaos]

I liked this gun scene, especially the dialog in the end which I'm gonna make into a favourite quote:

Bahia: "It's a miracle..."
Mike: *smacks Bahia* "Praise the LORD!"

It was funny as hell for me

[mikey]

A comment to all those who keep harping on the fact that KITT now has weapons and that his priority is "preserve human life"

Since when does having a gun mean you're instantly out to kill someone?? Law Enforcement, Military, and (some) Security carry lethal weapons. This does not mean that their only job is to wipe out EVERYONE they come across simply because there is a gun in their hand. In fact all of them (even the military), focus on PRESERVING life more than destroying it.

The times when lethal force is necessary is only when someone else's life is put in DIRECT danger. But based on the logic some of you are displaying, KITT and Mike should let someone die (or get themselves killed in Mike's case) before using a gun.

In the original series, the fact that a former POLICE OFFICER never armed himself was insulting and stupid. In this new one, to think a former ARMY RANGER wouldn't arm himself when taking on the criminal element is just as stupid and insulting.

Guns provide a deterrent that "hand to hand" or lasers certainly can't. People KNOW what a gun is capable of. Look how some of you are reacting to it here. You want to piss off a car that has weapons and can aim them autonomously? You go right ahead, I won't. I would give up right then and there and the car wouldn't even have to fire a shot. Cause even if I knew it wouldn't kill me.... it'd certainly hurt like hell.

A guy running at someone with fists clenched cannot provide the same effect, I don't care who they are. Because no matter who it is (even someone like Mike Tyson in his prime), they always have the chance (no matter how small) of losing, so people will put up a fight.

[Knight007]

I really did love the Guns and the way KITT used them.
This was a new way that shows how KITT may behave when starts to think by its own as requested by the kid. Funny and very specific way that doesnt break his basic programing. It was a very nice touch.

[R.I.T.T.]

A comment to all those who keep harping on the fact that KITT now has weapons and that his priority is "preserve human life"

Since when does having a gun mean you're instantly out to kill someone?? Law Enforcement, Military, and (some) Security carry lethal weapons. This does not mean that their only job is to wipe out EVERYONE they come across simply because there is a gun in their hand. In fact all of them (even the military), focus on PRESERVING life more than destroying it.

The times when lethal force is necessary is only when someone else's life is put in DIRECT danger. But based on the logic some of you are displaying, KITT and Mike should let someone die (or get themselves killed in Mike's case) before using a gun.

In the original series, the fact that a former POLICE OFFICER never armed himself was insulting and stupid. In this new one, to think a former ARMY RANGER wouldn't arm himself when taking on the criminal element is just as stupid and insulting.

Guns provide a deterrent that "hand to hand" or lasers certainly can't. People KNOW what a gun is capable of. Look how some of you are reacting to it here. You want to piss off a car that has weapons and can aim them autonomously? You go right ahead, I won't. I would give up right then and there and the car wouldn't even have to fire a shot. Cause even if I knew it wouldn't kill me.... it'd certainly hurt like hell.

A guy running at someone with fists clenched cannot provide the same effect, I don't care who they are. Because no matter who it is (even someone like Mike Tyson in his prime), they always have the chance (no matter how small) of losing, so people will put up a fight.

I agree, although in TOS Michael did use guns in some episodes and did not really seem to mind them. Even though guns are used a lot more in this series I have no problems with it and also not with KI3t having guns.

[PunkMaister]

A comment to all those who keep harping on the fact that KITT now has weapons and that his priority is "preserve human life"

Since when does having a gun mean you're instantly out to kill someone?? Law Enforcement, Military, and (some) Security carry lethal weapons. This does not mean that their only job is to wipe out EVERYONE they come across simply because there is a gun in their hand. In fact all of them (even the military), focus on PRESERVING life more than destroying it.

The times when lethal force is necessary is only when someone else's life is put in DIRECT danger. But based on the logic some of you are displaying, KITT and Mike should let someone die (or get themselves killed in Mike's case) before using a gun.

In the original series, the fact that a former POLICE OFFICER never armed himself was insulting and stupid. In this new one, to think a former ARMY RANGER wouldn't arm himself when taking on the criminal element is just as stupid and insulting.

Guns provide a deterrent that "hand to hand" or lasers certainly can't. People KNOW what a gun is capable of. Look how some of you are reacting to it here. You want to piss off a car that has weapons and can aim them autonomously? You go right ahead, I won't. I would give up right then and there and the car wouldn't even have to fire a shot. Cause even if I knew it wouldn't kill me.... it'd certainly hurt like hell.

A guy running at someone with fists clenched cannot provide the same effect, I don't care who they are. Because no matter who it is (even someone like Mike Tyson in his prime), they always have the chance (no matter how small) of losing, so people will put up a fight.

I agree, although in TOS Michael did use guns in some episodes and did not really seem to mind them. Even though guns are used a lot more in this series I have no problems with it and also not with KI3t having guns.

Thnnk you this is something I've been arguing for a long time here now...