Knight Rider

[Pink Ranger]

Haha, does anyone remember that 1990s Knight Rider ripoff/Dodge commercial called Viper? That show was so f***ing lame.

Viper was terrible, but Team Knight Rider made it look like The Godfather by comparison.

 

[Rowsdower!]

I just found it hilarious how much of a ripoff it was, right down to the whole thing with a criminal getting his memory wiped and becoming the heroic driver. I'm surprised they didn't just say "F*** it" and have the car talk as well.

 

[Jochimus]

KITT should be a vintage car instead of some modern car model. Whenever there were these later editions of Knight Rider (eg Knight Rider 2000) or even the Knight Rider remake series and they used a different car, it just wasn't KITT, no matter how state-of-the-art the latest car was.

He should just be a vintage Pontiac Trans-Am

This was my line of thinking, too.

Of course, when it comes to revamping Knight Rider, my line of thinking also involves severely downplaying the high-tech, going more Stephen King than Glen Larson with the material, and having David Hasselhoff's big 'appearance' in the movie be as the voice of KITT through the static frequencies of the car's radio a la "Poltergeist" - in other words, total blasphemy - so it's probably best I not go much further than that with it here.

 

[Mr.T]

How about KITT being a black HellCat SRT Charger, voiced by Cedric The Entertainer? Throw Will Ferrell in as Michael Knight and you can have your cliche White/Black fish out of water movie. Can we say groundbreaking?

 

[Octoberist]

This was my line of thinking, too.

Of course, when it comes to revamping Knight Rider, my line of thinking also involves severely downplaying the high-tech, going more Stephen King than Glen Larson with the material, and having David Hasselhoff's big 'appearance' in the movie be as the voice of KITT through the static frequencies of the car's radio a la "Poltergeist" - in other words, total blasphemy - so it's probably best I not go much further than that with it here.

It's like if they ever remade Back to the Future (God forbid), they wouldn't be able to change the time machine to any modern car. The Delorian is synonymous with the franchise and nothing can change that. You can't help it but to think 'Back to the Future' even when you see a picture of the Delorian.

Something with the Pontiac and Knight Rider.

 

[Asr]

I loved the 80s show as a kid, but not so sure that a remake idea could work. As much as I hate to say it, Bumblebee in Transformers pulled off a similar concept as KITT (i.e., a tricked-out, autonomously-driving, AI-personified, fast-driving car), so anything now would probably look like a downgrade to the younger masses who have only seen Transformers and not the old Knight Rider series.

I mean, not that a vintage Pontiac Trans Am wouldn't be awesome. Heck I'd love that. Hated the Ford Mustang in the short-lived 2008 series. But would that really be "cool enough" to draw in the younger audiences today? Not that I'm especially old, I'm 31, but I think the concept would probably need to be re-tooled to draw in viewers born in, say, post-1990.

 

[Dave McFly]

There is 2 different ways they can do this movie:

1: have it be a continuation of the original show but have Knight be the head of FLAG and have a new driver driving an updated KITT in say a different body (my pic would be a current generation Corvette in black).
2: go the route of the Starsky and Hutch tv show (but not as a comedy), have it set in the mid to late 80s and have KITT as a 80s Pontiac as he was in the tv show, maybe have it set after the 4 seasons of the show (like have the movie be the lost 5th and beyond season).

Either version should at least have Daniels voice KITT again, hell the Lost in Space movie had the tv robot voice do the movie robot voice. And if you think Daniels cannot do KITT properly, here is a GE ad with KITT with Daniels as the voice of KITT.



but IF they cannot get Daniels back, they better find a damn good replacement (hey Val Kilmer, keep the hell away from Knight Rider, thanks!).

 

[Pecola1]

How about KITT being a black HellCat SRT Charger, voiced by Cedric The Entertainer? Throw Will Ferrell in as Michael Knight and you can have your cliche White/Black fish out of water movie. Can we say groundbreaking?

No...
Plzno...
HAVE MERCY!
You are joking right?
I think it has been established that a Muscle car is not KITT, that KITT has a voice at least similar to Daniels, that this should have some comedy, but not be a comedy film.
So to seriously reply to what I believe was a joke:
HellCat Charger: Hellcat no!
Cedric The Entertainer: KITT doesn't have a black guys voice, even though he is black. (See what I did there? Yeah? Wasn't funny? Ok...)
Will Farrell as Micheal: Who want's KITT to have a driver who makes dad jokes? A dad? Ok... But who want's KITT to become a punchline? No-one.

 

[Dark Raven]

It's like if they ever remade Back to the Future (God forbid), they wouldn't be able to change the time machine to any modern car. The Delorian is synonymous with the franchise and nothing can change that. You can't help it but to think 'Back to the Future' even when you see a picture of the Delorian.

Something with the Pontiac and Knight Rider.

This. You can't just get the latest cool car and make it KITT. That's why none of these others have ever felt like him, and why even when he was transplanted into a different car body, it didn't look like him anymore in TV movies like Knight Rider 2000.

KITT is a Pontiac Trans-Am, and should be kept as such. It's an iconic look, just as much as the DeLorian, the Aston Martin DB5 or the Ford Gran Torino for Starsky & Hutch. I don't see the problem in making Michael Knight a fan of vintage cars. And if someone were to own a 1982 Pontiac Trans Am today, it would be a collectible.

 

[Mr.T]

No...
Plzno...
HAVE MERCY!
You are joking right?
I think it has been established that a Muscle car is not KITT, that KITT has a voice at least similar to Daniels, that this should have some comedy, but not be a comedy film.
So to seriously reply to what I believe was a joke:
HellCat Charger: Hellcat no!
Cedric The Entertainer: KITT doesn't have a black guys voice, even though he is black. (See what I did there? Yeah? Wasn't funny? Ok...)
Will Farrell as Micheal: Who want's KITT to have a driver who makes dad jokes? A dad? Ok... But who want's KITT to become a punchline? No-one.

I was definitely being sarcastic. I'm just burned out by movies that play on that white/black theme like "Get Hard". I want to see more black actors get serious roles and not just the stereotypical "Hard" guy from the pen.

 

[Pecola1]

I was definitely being sarcastic. I'm just burned out by movies that play on that white/black theme like "Get Hard". I want to see more black actors get serious roles and not just the stereotypical "Hard" guy from the pen.

I agree!
I'm also very glad that you were joking. XD

 

[Manofplastic]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7B5lWAbege0

 

[elgaz]

Justin Lin on board

http://www.topspeed.com/cars/car-ne...uce-latest-knight-rider-revival-ar175005.html

 

[Manofplastic]

that's the right person to do this.

just cast someone correct, not some *****y ugly-*ss wannabe wangsta.
Say what you want about Hasselhoff, and who he is today. He fit the role good,
was a era-correctly 'good'looking guy that acted natural. not fake, not over the top.
it was fun and exciting.

this movie needs only 1 basic rule ;

dont be corny,
dont be cringeworthy,
and respect the original recipe.

apart from that, go at it.

 

[TheVileOne]

It's going to be digital only apparently. So...we'll see what happens there.

 

[elgaz]

this movie needs only 1 basic rule ;

dont be corny,
dont be cringeworthy,
and respect the original recipe.

apart from that, go at it.

It's going to be a series, not a movie.

 

[elgaz]

I was a massive fan of the original Knight Rider. It first aired in 1982 when I was 4, but I was a bit older - old enough to watch and understand it - by the time it aired here in UK/Ireland and I was obsessed with it, having grown up around a family car business/garage and already have a growing obsession with cars. Had the posters, toys, annuals, everything.

However, Knight Rider worked so well because of a number of factors - the cast, the technology, the core premise, KITT's personality, the appealing Californian setting, the fact it didn't take itself too seriously. They've tried to reproduce that magic since but with some changes - Knight Rider 2000, Team Knight Rider, the 2008 TV series - and it didn't work at all. I don't know if it will ever work as a new property - sometimes you can't reproduce that magic no matter how much money is thrown at it.

Sure, you can re-cast : they did it with the A-Team, and David Hasselhoff is certainly not irreplaceable. But part of the problem is KITT itself. The technology housed within KITT that looked so amazing in 1982 no longer has the same allure; modern cars have touchscreens, wifi, self-driving features, and so on. And I know a modern KITT could still have the turbo boost feature for jumping, and wireless jammers and the like - but really, is that going to be enough of a leap (no pun intended) to make KITT seem like a technological powerhouse compared to modern cars?

There's only so much you can do with a car. They tried going farther with the 2008 series - KITT could repair and change shape with nano-tech, or even transform - but it ended up becoming ridiculous.

I really do hope they come up with a new KITT which is impressive enough to wow us as an audience, without becoming farcical - but it's going to take a lot of thinking.

As for the new Michael Knight - well I'll probably get flak for this, but for a number of years I've been saying it should be Tom Welling. I know he's not the most accomplished actor in Hollywood, but neither was Hasselhoff - in my opinion, he's more than competent enough. What he does possess are similar qualities to 1982's Hasselhoff in the original series, which are why I think the character worked - tall, good looking, likeable, and plays the hero very well. As the name pun intended, Michael Knight was always a bit of a modern version of a Knight on horseback, doing good deeds and righting wrongs - Welling has an innate good naturedness that sells that characteristic very easily.

Also, he's 39 but passes for mid 30s easily, which is what I want - not another teen jock type like the new MacGyver.

 

[Manofplastic]

Tom Welling would be a good fit.
Though Chris Pine would be absolutely great too, as would Zac Efron.

As for the Digital aspect? what? I don't really understand it, does that mean it's going to be all-cgi? Not sure whether i'm going to like that, nor do i see how that would work in real life?

I think there's still a lot of opportunity with KITT.

They can simply 'find' the thought lost and disassembled KITT, but that it was tucked away in secret and forgotten, not even to mr. Knight's knowledge - though i'm not sure whether they'll actually want Hasselhoff in there in a cameo. A total reboot would mean a new Micheal Knight will be a new Micheal Knight.

Then again, wasn't the original backstory of Michael Knight that he was an actual clone of a 'badguy' that they used to find the real bad guy and get him? i might be off here, but that's how i recall it somehow.

They could offcourse breathe new life into that by having a dangerous criminal and somebody remember the 'Knight project' and concider repeating the process but this time Mr. Knight looks different due to 'lost dna fragments'. To create a 'man that doesn't exist' so he is 'expendable'.

The discovery of KITT might be a base still, they can simply put that it's technology was so advanced that it still is more advanced then many modern equipment that has tried to copy the technology but have never successfully done so.

A few minor upgrades into today's world and kitt is futuristic again.

Think about using street cams to it's advantage, a bit like the TV series 'Person of Interest' with Jim Cavaziel [who would make an excellent bad guy OR excellent head of operations], using wireless connections to other cars on the road to make them move aside to drive through.

Autonomous driving is more popular than ever, so it's not a bad time to have a cool series with it.

Also, they can make KITT a hybrid or full electric car - completely silent. 'stealth mode' and do it a bit Dark Knight Tumbler-style. Shutting down traffic lights for a mile around 'him' at night in stealth mode in pitch black.

Bulletproof-body of a laquer that's like 'adamantium'.

It can be a showcase for modern technology; autonomous driving, electric driving, runflat tires [hell there are airless tires out there now], heads-up-display, smart'car' smartphone/tablet connection. Make a deal with apple, you get the iWatch connection - or Android with a similar product.

Fight terrorists - globally, not just in the USA, as a wing of Homeland security.

The 'old car' that still makes a punch, of which nobody expects is so advanced.

Have Michael Knight slightly 'dna-altered' or lets say 'enhanced' with some cybernetic implants. Accelerated heartbeat, stamina, strenght, intelligence and the need for 'cooling' or 'reloading' and 'syncing' with home base ALA Universal Soldier / Borg style.
And him having an implant that will go off and hurt him if he tries to 'escape'.

 

[:eek:]

Justin Lin on board

http://www.topspeed.com/cars/car-ne...uce-latest-knight-rider-revival-ar175005.html

Isn't this about a new tv-show, not a movie?

 

[Dark Raven]

The problem with KITT is that he was a very iconic and specific car: a Pontiac Trans-Am. They tried to give him a new body in KR 2000, or in the 2008 series, but it just wasn't KITT. It's like giving Starsky and Hutch a different car instead of a Ford Gran Torino. KITT should be a Pontiac again. Make Michael Knight drive a vintage car just like Bond drives an Aston Martin DB5. Give him new technology but keep the look the same.

 

[Teelie]

Is a television series unless they changed their minds again.

 

[elgaz]

Tom Welling would be a good fit.
Though Chris Pine would be absolutely great too, as would Zac Efron.

As for the Digital aspect? what? I don't really understand it, does that mean it's going to be all-cgi? Not sure whether i'm going to like that, nor do i see how that would work in real life?

I think there's still a lot of opportunity with KITT.

They can simply 'find' the thought lost and disassembled KITT, but that it was tucked away in secret and forgotten, not even to mr. Knight's knowledge - though i'm not sure whether they'll actually want Hasselhoff in there in a cameo. A total reboot would mean a new Micheal Knight will be a new Micheal Knight.

Then again, wasn't the original backstory of Michael Knight that he was an actual clone of a 'badguy' that they used to find the real bad guy and get him? i might be off here, but that's how i recall it somehow.

Digital means digital TV format - it will be shown online. Not that it's a CGi car.

However, now that you mention it ............. I watched the video below a few weeks back and it would provide a perfect way for the production team to showcase a modern KITT with the power to camouflage itself. I'm not talking about transforming into a robot or a small building, but to actually change colour and body shape to resemble different car. Using the technology shown, it would actually be very easy and cost effective to film it.

https://youtu.be/OnBC5bwV5y0

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lJhn1OPO3Ig

And yes, the 'original' Michael Knight was a cop called Michael Long who got shot in the head, but a metal plate in his skull (from Vietnam injuries) deflected the bullet and it caused massive facial damage. He was rescued by Wilton Knight (a billionaire) who gave him a new identity and pioneering plastic surgery to fix the damage, resulting in different features from how he looked before. We found out down the line that he actually ended up looking extremely similar to Wilton's son Garth who was in an African prison and who they thought they would never see again - until he returned for the 2 part episode where he faced down Michael & Kitt.

Isn't this about a new tv-show, not a movie?

Yes. I posted that a few posts back.

It's going to be a series, not a movie.

The problem with KITT is that he was a very iconic and specific car: a Pontiac Trans-Am. They tried to give him a new body in KR 2000, or in the 2008 series, but it just wasn't KITT. It's like giving Starsky and Hutch a different car instead of a Ford Gran Torino. KITT should be a Pontiac again. Make Michael Knight drive a vintage car just like Bond drives an Aston Martin DB5. Give him new technology but keep the look the same.

I love this concept. But the problem is that a new younger audience may not embrace it, and just having the older audience like us who recognise it will not be enough to sustain a new series.

Young audiences now have been brought up on a diet of Transformers and Fast & the Furious. Supercars, modern cars, Lambos, etc. A 1980s Pontiac is not going to win them over no matter how much you or me would love to see it. Like with the original series and other TV/film properties focused on cars, I'd imagine the production will be dependent on some $$$ sponsorship from a car-maker if their vehicles are used in it.

However, my suggestion above about KITT being able to camouflage himself to resemble different vehicles would at least allow scope for an original Trans-Am to be used now and again - like a cameo.

 

[elgaz]

I would love to see the new Acura/Honda NSX as a base vehicle. It's a hybrid so has electric motors to supplement the conventional petrol motor, and fill in torque gaps - which would give the serious some credibility if they want to explore the notion of using electric only for stealth missions etc.

Remove that silver strip on the front and replace with a glowing red one

 

[Dark Raven]

I love this concept. But the problem is that a new younger audience may not embrace it, and just having the older audience like us who recognise it will not be enough to sustain a new series.

Young audiences now have been brought up on a diet of Transformers and Fast & the Furious. Supercars, modern cars, Lambos, etc. A 1980s Pontiac is not going to win them over no matter how much you or me would love to see it. Like with the original series and other TV/film properties focused on cars, I'd imagine the production will be dependent on some $$$ sponsorship from a car-maker if their vehicles are used in it.

However, my suggestion above about KITT being able to camouflage himself to resemble different vehicles would at least allow scope for an original Trans-Am to be used now and again - like a cameo.

Well in Agents of SHIELD, Ghost Rider goes round in that vintage Dodge Charger or whatever it is. It's not some modern car. And Coulson has Lola as well, which is also another vintage car with modern technology. No-one watching it thinks that they should have the latest modern vehicles. They just accept them as they are. Just like audiences accept Bond with the Aston Martin DB5. They always return to that car.

If they just make KITT some other model, what will really set this series apart from the 2008 series which wasn't well received?

And at least if they're not going this exact route, they should have a modern Pontiac Trans-Am (even though I'm not sure Pontiac makes cars anymore). Bond has modern Aston Martins when he's not driving the DB5. When he drove the BMWs during the Brosnan era, that was very bland.

 

[elgaz]

Well in Agents of SHIELD, Ghost Rider goes round in that vintage Dodge Charger or whatever it is. It's not some modern car. And Coulson has Lola as well, which is also another vintage car with modern technology. No-one watching it thinks that they should have the latest modern vehicles. They just accept them as they are. Just like audiences accept Bond with the Aston Martin DB5. They always return to that car.

KITT is different.

Knight Rider arguably has 2 main stars - the car, and Michael Knight. They will have the lion's share of all the scenes.

Ghost Rider is not the main star of that show and the car is only used to transport him from A-B. Bond's DB5 is only used sparingly as a nod to the previous films, in recent years most of his car scenes have been done in modern vehicles like Aston Martins and (in the Brosnan era) BMWs. The DB5 only gets a few minutes of screen time to please die-hard fans and continue the legacy.

I just don't see a modern audience falling for the charms of a 1980s Pontiac for 75% or more of a each episode of a new show. Times have (sadly) changed.

If they just make KITT some other model, what will really set this series apart from the 2008 series which wasn't well received?

Tone. Storyline. The actors. KITT's capabilities. CGi. The 2008 series was just badly handled all round; using a Mustang for KITT was not the be all and end all of that show's problems.

And at least if they're not going this exact route, they should have a modern Pontiac Trans-Am (even though I'm not sure Pontiac makes cars anymore). Bond has modern Aston Martins when he's not driving the DB5. When he drove the BMWs during the Brosnan era, that was very bland.

Agreed