It aired tonight, the new Knight Rider. I grew up on Knight Rider it was the show that created my love of cars and making them unique. When I heard that the new K.I.T.T. was a mustang I was very skeptical, I did however decide to give the movie/series a chance.
I am by no means a Ford lover and haven’t liked the mustang since it was butchered in 1993. The 2008 Mustang is a thing of beauty and if K.I.T.T. had to be replaced by a non Trans Am vehicle the Shelby GT500 was it. OK enough about the car, I know the show is all about the car but it;s time to review the show.
Plot: (warning spoilers)
The foundation is closed and the scientists is a recluse. Secretly developing a new K.I.T.T. He is attacked but his body double is killed in place of him. A quick yet believable explanation of this is given and we move on to Michael (The introduction to this character is quick and blatantly obvious. Not a lot of character development here but the show is about the coolest car on earth so we can forgive this lack of character development. The son of Michael Knight is Mike the lead character and driver, interesting little plot line here. Not really much more to say about the story of the show it was very true to the “corny” style of 80’s T.V. with a modern twist.
K.I.T.T.
Ok so we touched on the fact that the car is not a Trans AM but WOW this car has all the goodies that were in the original and some new stuff. Nano technology repairs, COOL and an obvious way to integrate some great CG shots into the show. I was VERY disappointed in the lack of “TURBO BOOST” the trademark boost that got K.I.T.T. out of so many bad situations was not present in this new rendition. The voice of the car was far less annoying than the previous but still true to the original and an excellent choice.
Well in conclusion I was quite impressed with the continuation of this classic series, the effects are cool. There is some very low budget shots that look quite bad (as an effects artist myself I am overly picky) but over all effects are pretty good. Characters are well chosen and fit the roles well, not as much over acting as we got out of David Hasslehoff in the past. This definitely a show that I will continue to watch anxiously waiting for “TURBO BOOST” :).
Side Note: I even entered to win the GT500 and I never enter those stupid online draws. There is something about that bad ass GT with the the red light in the front that just makes my spine tingle. The Trans AM was cool but the NEW K.I.T.T. is one wicked car.
I liked what I saw of the show, but I don’t know how anyone could have the patience to sit through that broadcast. I finally started timing the second 1/2 hour on my watch. It was litterally 50% commcercials! (5 minutes Knight Rider, 5 minutures commercials… repeat)
OMG I didn’t mention that in the post but yes I can’t believe the number of commercials it was totally ridiculous.
The show (a long-winded commercial for Ford sandwiched between commercials for Ford,) was lame. Too full of cliches, stupid characters & bad acting. My eyes hurt, I rolled them so much.
SO basically what you are saying other than the masses of ford advertising is that it was just like original, bad acting, cliches, campy, corny 80’s plot lines.
I was happy to see it stay true to the style of 80’s TV. With all the modern day shows like Heroes, CSI, etc. that are so absorbing and try to be as realistic as possible it’s a nice change to see something that doesn’t try and make us think it could really happen. I for one miss 80’s TV, Airwolf, Blue Thunder, A-Team, Knight Rider I enjoyed them all in their corny bad acting, cheesy GLORY.
MPC
I, too, am a fan of 1980’s TV shows. And I agree that, with the recent spate of super serious TV shows, it’s time for a show that is more escapism than anything else. But even escapism has to be done well. The fact is, TV shows have evolved since the ’80s. Audiences expect (or ought to expect) more than a crappy script and suspect effects — even for escapism.
In Knight Rider 2008, almost nothing works very well. About the only positives are the car — definitely makes you look twice at it. It’s a fine looking piece of machinery. And, surprisingly, Val Kilmer’s performance as KITT’s voice is convincing and (almost) entertaining.
Otherwise, it’s a poorly written, poorly acted, poorly executed two hours of television. And there’s no way I’d tune in for a weekly dose of it.