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The original K.I.T.T. is currently one of the entries up for public voting in Car Magazine’s Greatest Car in Film History poll. He’s got a fight on his hands as he’s up against the likes of James Bond’s DB5 from Goldfinger, the Minis from The Italian Job, Batman‘s Batmobile, and the Back to the Future DeLorean!
The voting is being carried out here:
Car Magazine: Which is the Greatest Car in Film History?
Head on over there and get voting!
Billy’s Blog was updated last night, where Billy talks about his combat training from Knight of the Hunter: “Suffice it to say, next time you even think about messing with Billy Morgan… Just walk away, man. Walk away. It’s not worth it.” He also writes about his feelings for Zoe, and reveals the highlight of his week:
“‘Some day’ might not be as good as ‘tomorrow.’ But ‘some day’ is better than ‘never.’ And she clearly told me, for everyone in the gym to hear, that I could buy her a drink ‘some day.’ It might not be much, but it’s the highlight of my not-so-fortunate week. Anyone who tells you that Warcraft and Second Life are ‘safer’ than the real world, they are sorely mistaken. And I have the black eye to prove it.”
Showrunner Gary Scott Thompson has posted another Q&A over at the Knight Writers Blog. Some of the highlights include:
Q: Will KITT eventually smash into things or just continue to avoid them?
A: Hopefully we’ll do a little of both.
Q: Will you explain specifically how Charles Graiman connects to the original series? Flashbacks perhaps?
A: Upcoming episodes will clarify Graiman’s connection to the original series.
Q: Keep up the good work but make it a little darker to give some edge for the older viewers like myself, I’m 20.
A: Working on giving it a little more edge.
Head over there for more answers!
The Official Website has updated with video highlights from last night’s episode, Knight of the Hunter and shows Michael getting right where he wants to be — surrounded. It’s only available Stateside, but if you can, check it out!
Philly.com have been talking Mustangs and Knight Rider with our star, Justin Bruening. Part of their Celebrity Rides strand, Justin tells them about his real-life ride: “I wanted a Shelby Cobra when I moved back to L.A. and I thought that Lexi [Alexa Havens, Justin’s wife] would buy me one for Christmas,” he says. “It worked out conveniently that I got a job where I get to drive one every day, so now she doesn’t have to buy me one.”
Instead, Bruening stayed within his new vehicular family, obtaining a 2008 Ford Mustang Bullitt after filming on the Knight Rider pilot movie wrapped shooting. He admits that appearances did play a role in his choice. “Driving a Camaro around probably wouldn’t be that good,” he says, even though he has an uncle who exclusively drives the Chevy-made muscle car. Bruening considered buying a standard Mustang GT and fixing it up to his specifications, “but I looked at what I wanted to do with the car, I basically had just designed the Bullitt. It was already made, and it was perfect.” He did some of his own modifications on the car, but tried hard not to to mess with the Bullitt’s “unassuming” quality. “I didn’t get fuzzy dice or a TV that comes out of the rear-view mirror,” he says. Instead, he installing a large subwoofer in the trunk; and he had a Hurst shifter installed for aesthetics as much as anything else, though he does note that it’s “sacrilege” to drive a Bullitt with an automatic transmission.
When asked to compare his Knight Rider with the original, Justin says, “When I watched the show in ’83, it was great. But when I went back and watched Knight Rider reruns, that show would never hold up today. It was such an amazing show with such a great premise of a talking car. Nobody’s car talked. So that was the coolest thing on TV. And now we’re drenched in reality, so we need realistic storylines.
“We have a talking car, so obviously we have something that’s a little absurd,” he says. “But our episodes are based on realistic stories and K.I.T.T. has just become another actor on our show. It’s like a buddy-cop film.”
And how does he feel about K.I.T.T.’s ability to transform? “That’s pretty neat,” he beams. “He transforms not into tall robots, but into other cars. It’s a form of camouflage, a tactical advantage. He can transform into any other car, which is a neat aspect of the mission. Sometimes my character doesn’t even know it’s him.”
Don’t miss the latest adventure of Mike and K.I.T.T. on NBC… Knight of the Hunter, tonight at 8/7c!
“Mike and K.I.T.T. must stop a rogue military officer before he blows up a dam -– Mike (Justin Bruening) goes undercover as a Marine gone AWOL to track down a rogue military officer. A beautiful undercover agent from across the pond joins Mike to help him solve the crime. Back at the SSC, Billy (Paul Campbell) undergoes some combat training of his own with the help of Zoe (Smith Cho). Deanna Russo and Yancey Arias also star. K.I.T.T. is voiced by Val Kilmer.”
Don’t miss it!
The Hollywood Reporter has announced that NBC has picked up Knight Rider for a full season, ordering the “back nine” episodes and taking the season’s tally up to 22.
They report that “Rider has been modestly rated since its premiere, typically matching CBS’ comedy block for second place in its 8 p.m. time slot. The most recent episode was seen by 6.9 million viewers, and earned a 2.3 adults 19-49 rating and 7 share.
“The Rider pickup marks the first freshman fall NBC series to receive a full season order, joining CBS’ The Mentalist, Fox’s Fringe and CW’s 90210.”
Love it or hate it, this could prove to be great news for fans of the Original Series — the producers were in talks to bring David Hasselhoff back as Michael Knight, Sr. at the end of the season.
Congratulations to the cast and crew!
My friends and compatriots over at Knight Rider UK relaunched the site with a brand new look last night! New features include planned in-depth looks at the new series, the new K.I.T.T., and the new cast and crew, along with articles and a media channel.
NBC aired the teaser for next week’s episode, Knight of the Hunter. Going for a James Bond feel, the story involves Mike teaming up with a female MI6 agent to stop a rogue mercenary blowing up a dam:
Well done to Knight Rider Online for the capture.
Discover Magazine has an interesting article on one of K.I.T.T.’s new features in their Science Not Fiction blogs: Facial Recognition.
“In Knight Rider, our resident crime fighters rely pretty heavily on K.I.T.T.’s ability to find people. He accesses a government database — usually the DMV — and then connects to various surveillance cameras in the area… what’s really amazing here is K.I.T.T.’s ability to digitally match photos to a moving image. For modern law enforcement and software search companies, that’s something of a holy grail.”
It goes on to talk about the applications of the technology in the real world, and the problems that have been encountered with it so far: Tampa police tried to use it in 2001 to monitor areas with a buzzing night life, and in 2002, security in Boston’s Logan airport tried to use it. In both cases, the recognition rate was so poor, they decided to scrap the systems. Manchester Airport in England is testing the system and it not only fails to make the best matches, but if two people walk through the scanner together, it will only notice the first one. Not quite at Knight Industries’ standards just yet.
They claim that breakthroughs are just around the corner. “In 2006, computer scientists competing in the Face Recognition Grand Challenge discovered that their algorithms were so good that, under ideal conditions, they could pick out faces better than even people do. The software works so well that it can ID faces turned as much as 90 degrees. What K.I.T.T. has mastered, and what we’re still working on, is applying that technology here in the real world with imperfect light, moving targets, and the evasions of people who maybe don’t want to be recognized. Seems like we’ll get there sooner or later.”