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I attended KnightCon 2008 in Halifax, West Yorkshire over the weekend. It was a great experience, with a host of replicas, a memorabilia display, and an exclusive video presentation with messages from Jack Gill, Peter Parros, Catherine Hickland, and of course, David Hasselhoff and William Daniels.
Well done to Steve and Rob who put together a great show!
Look for a feature with more photos and video in the coming days!
– Paul
Paul Campbell’s character Billy Morgan — who is already one of the most popular new additions to the series — has been given his own blog: Billy’s Notes From the Underground. In it, he reveals what’s going on in his personal, “behind-the-episodes” life. The first few posts give insight into Billy’s thoughts about his promotion , his ex-girlfriend, and life in the SSC/K.I.T.T.-Cave.
The writers of Knight Rider have also got their own space to speak to their audience. NBC has established a Knight Writer’s Blog, and Gary Scott Thompson has made the first, introductory message:
“We’ll be posting on this blog regularly to give you some insight on the inner workings of the show. Feel free to post your questions in the comments section below and we’ll try to answer as many of them as possible as we go along. -GST”
Knight Industries Research has also gone live. This is a restricted website for employees of Knight Industries Research and Development only. Enter your name and password to access your KR work computer account!
The numbers have started to come in for the series premiere. TV By the Numbers show that Knight Rider came in third with 7.3 million viewers, behind ABC’s Dancing With The Stars where 15.6 million tuned in, and the Fox Network’s Bones with 9.61 million. The episode outperformed CBS’ comedy offerings The New Adventures of Old Christine and Gary Unmarried, and Cw’s America’s Next Top Model.
Perhaps most importantly of all, Knight Rider came in #1 in the Males 18-34, Males 25-54, and Kids 2-11 demographic categories, so the show certainly found its audience.
Overall not as bad, especially since the number of downloads and DVR captures are yet to be taken into account.
NBC aired a commercial for next week’s episode Journey to the End of Knight. Thanks to the guys at Knight Rider Online, you can see it here:
Wednesday, 8/7c, on NBC. Be there!
The anniversary comes around again! It’s 26 years ago today since Knight Rider: The Original Series first premiered on NBC. 26 years since Michael Long stepped into the dark Knight warehouse, and saw that flashing red light. 26 years since “One Man Can Make a Difference.” A quarter of a century later, Knight Rider continues to ride!
You can read much more about Glen Larson’s pilot movie here:
Knight Rider: Knight of the Phoenix
SciFiWire continue to roll out their coverage to conincide with Knight Rider‘s primetime premiere, and today it’s focused on Sydney Tamiia Poitier and her character, Carrie Rivai. Rivai was by far the most controversial character in the pilot, based purely on her introductory scenes involving a supposed lesbian one-night-stand. “I was really surprised that people were thinking about it and that they were so concerned,” Poitier says. “Bottom line, to be honest, I don’t think you are going to see her have a personal life. She literally lives [in the K.I.T.T.-Cave], and she is head of security, watching everyone 24/7, and has responsibilities. You’re not going to see her out on a date with someone or see her wink at somebody… I don’t think you’re going to see her have any kind of life, unfortunately, but you never know.”
There has been talk that Rivai’s background has been altered for the series, but Gary Scott Thompson reveals that that is not necessarily so. “My inclination is to leave her as she was,” Thompson says. “Why change it? But the thing about my argument is that, in the case of Anne Heche, she was straight, then bi, then a lesbian, then bi, then straight. If [Rivai] is actually bisexual, she would appear different ways, depending on the situation. Of course, in my book, that would make her a much more interesting character, much like Capt. Jack Harkness in Torchwood. If I could use Jack in Torchwood as a role model — I would absolutely use him as a role model — I love his conflictedness about… everybody. He’s real cool.”
That’s doesn’t mean that Knight Rider is going to follow Torchwood‘s lead, and introduce overt sexuality into the weekly adventures. “We can’t get away with what they do,” Thompson adds. “America is extremely [prudish], and we’re living in a Republican regime, where it becomes even more [so]. The reality is that there are people who are out there who are bisexual. There are people who are gay, that’s the reality… It’s, like, deal with it. I mean, trying to shove people back in the closet isn’t correct.”
Knight Rider made its return to primetime television on NBC last night, and the reviews have been flooding in. Predictably, the majority of them have not been favourable, criticising the young cast (especially Justin Bruening and Deanna Russo), Gary Scott Thompson’s script and the action sequences.
Ain’t It Cool News have declared the show “the Fall’s worst new scripted hourlong so far” and rounded up several bad reviews from the press. UK site Den of Geek describe the show as “moronic”, and are staggered that “they’ve been able to nimbly limbo under the incredibly low bar that the pilot set… I was frankly shocked how much of a clunker a script they cobbled together for this show. It makes some of this years other new shows seem like they’ve been written by channeling Ernest Hemingway. I’ll go as far to say that this is actually worse than a really bad Hoff-era episode, and that’s saying something.”
BuddyTV.com have a more positive, and realistic outlook: “TV critics seem determined to mock its cheesiness, implausibility and general lack of coherence. The frustrating thing is that those critics don’t seem to understand the context in which Knight Rider should be viewed. To compare the series to other serious dramas is a mistake. One cannot review Knight Rider using the same criteria one uses when reviewing Mad Men or Lost. Is Knight Rider cheesy? Of course it is, but why should that surprise anyone? This is a show about a talking car that solves crimes.” They suggest that “a more accurate review would judge Knight Rider on the basis of what it’s trying to accomplish. The show has no delusions that it will win an Emmy for Outstanding Drama Series or top the critics’ “best of” lists at the end of the year. Knight Rider is about fun. It’s a show with sexy stars in ridiculously dire circumstances getting into fast car chases. On that basis, Knight Rider is a rousing success.”
SyFyPortal call the show “television’s most promising series of the year.” Writer Michael Hinman goes on to say, “there was just enough in this first episode of Knight Rider to get me wanting to come back for more. I am not sure exactly what more I can expect… I think I’m not quite ready to give up on Knight Rider just yet.”
As the screenwriter William Goldman once said, “Nobody knows anything” — it’s how the audience responds that counts. We’ll know soon how many tuned in to see the premiere, and in a few weeks we’ll know how well the show retains its audience. In the meantime, here’s what David Hasselhoff had to say about the reaction to the Original Series: “You know, I read all this stuff and said, ‘Hey, we got bad reviews. That means we’re gonna be a hit.’ I don’t know why, but it seems to be a formula every time.”
ComingSoon.net have been talking to the man behind Knight Rider‘s action sequences, stunt-coordinator Dan Wynands. A veteran of such hit movies as The Fast and the Furious, xXx, Gone In 60 Seconds and The Dark Knight, he gives some insight into the behind-the-scenes processes that bring an action-heavy show like Knight Rider to life.
“We have a certain number of cars we’ve gotten from Ford, and yes we are under pressure not to damage them,” he says. “We like to do things with a little speed and close proximity to other vehicles, so it’s a bit of a challenge. On the current series, we have six [K.I.T.T. cars] now. We also have the K.I.T.T. car that transforms. You go into attack mode, which is another variety, [and] it transforms into an F-150 four-wheel-drive truck. It has a bit of a Transformers taste to it.”
Transformers was cited as an inspiration for NBC to ressurrect the Knight Rider franchise, and critics have often stated that a TV show can’t compete with the kind of action and effects of the summer blockbusters. “Financially, we are a little restricted at times but not as much as you would think,” Wynand says. “They’re not too tight on the purse strings when it comes to doing the action, which an action series obviously needs. Basically, it’s a matter of time. We don’t have the opportunity to work in and set up bigger chase sequences that involve more wrecks and stronger and bigger stunts.”
Wynand hopes to get the actors performing some of their own stunts as the season progresses, and reveals what Justin Bruening has in store: “The one thing we do in Knight Rider, we do have a lot of green screen for when we put our principle actors in the car. I’m trying to tie them more into the real work we do. I’ve actually got some business to do this Friday with Justin Bruening who’s our Michael Knight Rider guy, and I’m gonna tie him onto the hood of our Knight Rider car. I’m trying to bring some of the feature film world tricks to help sell our actors in there. It is a challenge.”
ComingSoon.net: Exclusive – Knight Rider’s Stunt Dude, Dan Wynands
The UK’s SFX Magazine has a huge 5-page feature on NBC’s new Knight Rider in their latest issue. Entitled The Road Warrior, they talk at length with showrunner Gary Scott Thompson about the series. He talks about how the low expectations of the critics are driving the writers to raise their game (“You could just feel the hate… Hopefully we can change some minds about it, but to have a preconceived notion of it is challenging”), how he has ensured that the writers are on-set for the filming process (“That’s the person that wrote the script. It’s a big advantage to the director and an even bigger advantage to the actors”), and also how pleased he is with the SSC, or K.I.T.T.-Cave (“Seeing it as a model and plans is one thing, but then you step into the set and say, ‘Uh, we’re going to need more than 30 extras, because this place is huge!'”).
They also have a brief interview with Justin Bruening, who talks about the difference in approach between the TV movie and the series, the attention being paid to scripts and characterisation, and his relationship with his talking car. “[Mike] is very much the Lone Ranger, but at the same time he has to learn to be part of a team,” he says. “I feel like Mike gets annoyed with K.I.T.T. as he would a girlfriend, because K.I.T.T. is always telling him what to do and the right way to do it.”
It’s all in issue #175, November 2008, on sale now!
SciFiWire have a short piece where they talk to Paul Campbell, known to fans of re-imagined Glen A. Larson shows as Billy. “I do seem to be the record-holder for characters named ‘Billy’ in re-imagined television shows,” Campbell said. However, the character he plays on Knight Rider is going to stand apart from his earlier role. “I don’t think I left much of a mark with the [Battlestar Galactica] character. He was so humorless. Now I play something much different.”
Details have started to emerge about a Halloween episode which will feature nods to Campbell’s Battlestar Galactica and Doctor Who spin-off Torchwood. Billy goes to a costume party as Torchwood‘s Captain Jack Harkness, and when he isn’t recognised someone suggests he dress up as Battlestar‘s Billy. “I say, ‘Oh, I’m not anything like that character in Battlestar. Did you watch that show?’ ” Campbell said. “I thought it was a hilarious gag. I don’t know if it is too insider… but it is funny, and little things like the connection to Battlestar will set the blogs ablaze.”