The General Knight Rider thread.

[Skipper]

After this announcement I thought the series needed its own thread.

‘Cobra Kai’ Creators Tackling ‘Knight Rider’ Movie for Universal (Exclusive)

Knight Rider was so quintessentially '80s that I have no idea if a modern reboot would work. The 2008 one was, well, meh. But these guys are good, so I'm hopeful!

Incidentally, I wasn't sure if it was appropriate to create this thread in the Science Fiction & Fantasy section. Sure, the essential elements were an indestructible machine and an AI, but otherwise the plots were so pedestrian that I'm sure some of them could have been adapted to other series from the same era with a few tweaks.

I recently rewatched a few episodes and almost felt guilty because I once liked it, but there's no doubt that it has remained indelibly etched in the collective memory. There are other series from the same era that lasted four seasons and are barely remembered.

What are your memories of this series? And why do you think it remains so present in pop culture?

Bonus video: a wonderful German (obviously) ad inspired by KR

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[Christopher]

What are your memories of this series? And why do you think it remains so present in pop culture?

I think the reason Knight Rider has been revived so many times (Knight Rider 2000, Knight Rider 2010, Team Knight Rider, the '08 sequel) is because it gives auto makers a vehicle (pun intended) for promoting their merchandise, so it's easy to get funding. That's also why Viper got revived in syndication after its network run was cancelled -- the whole thing was a commercial for the title vehicle, and the car company wasn't willing to give up on it so soon.

I found the original show quite silly and cheesy, but I always liked KITT. I tend to have an affinity for disembodied AI characters in fiction, and KITT was always fun. I also thought the car was pretty cool, though I'm not usually a car buff.

I rather liked the Knight Rider 2010 movie that was part of the Universal Action Pack (which also gave us Hercules: The Legendary Journeys, TekWar, and other less-remembered things), but it wasn't really a Knight Rider production at all; IIRC, it was originally a separate project, a post-apocalyptic story where the hero's murdered girlfriend was preserved as a digital consciousness installed in his Mad Max-ish custom-armored car, like a more mobile version of Diana in RoboCop: The Series. (The girlfriend/car AI was played by Heidi Leick, better known as Hudson Leick, who would later play Callisto in Xena: Warrior Princess. It was years before I figured out that Heidi and Hudson were the same person rather than twin sisters.) But they tacked the KR name onto it for promotional purposes, even though there was nothing explicitly linking it to KR (and 2010 was way too soon for the post-apocalyptic world it depicted, unless it was one that had diverged from ours considerably before the movie premiered).

 

[BillJ]

It'll be interesting to see if they can bring the 80's silliness and cheese game into the 2020's. Without the silliness and cheese, it simply won't be Knight Rider.

 

[Skipper]

It'll be interesting to see if they can bring the 80's silliness and cheese game into the 2020's. Without the silliness and cheese, it simply won't be Knight Rider.

And the stunts!

Joking aside, tastes have changed. Viewers are more demanding. For example, they should explain why they use an indestructible material that could potentially save thousands of lives to, say, prevent someone from using a beauty pageant as a cover for smuggling jewelry.

 

[BillJ]

For example, they should explain why they use an indestructible material that could potentially save thousands of lives to, say, prevent someone from using a beauty pageant as a cover for smuggling jewelry.

I always just imagined those materials were in short supply.

Not really aimed at you, but when did we start needing everything explained to us?

 

[JoeZhang]

It is an interesting one - if the car is not an EV it is not of the now and if it is someone will say it is woke

 

[Kamen Rider Blade]

And the stunts!

When KITT jumps, it better be a real "Stunt Car".

I don't want to see them use CG on that sucker.

It is an interesting one - if the car is not an EV it is not of the now and if it is someone will say it is woke

We can always compromise, PHEV.

Electric Motors do have a place in making the Vehicle Accelerate Super Fast.

 

[Skipper]

I always just imagined those materials were in short supply.

It's not technically a "material" (well, in theory, yes, OK...). It's a compound you can spray on any material and make it indestructible. The formula is secret, but in the original series, it was never mentioned that it would be difficult to produce in large quantities. It can be neutralized with a counterformula (it happened in one episode), but I don't see that as a bad thing. It would somewhat limit its use for military purposes, but it would still be possible for civilian use.

 

[Skipper]

When KITT jumps, it better be a real "Stunt Car".

It's going to be very difficult, unless the series has a budget like Fast and Furious. As you may know, the reason the original series had so many amazing stunts was thanks to a train accident.

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The short version is: a train carrying a load of Pontiac Trans Ams and Firebirds had an accident.



The production was able to buy the 20 machines for a symbolic value of one dollar each (otherwise they would all have been scrapped).

One of the problems with the 2008 series was, well, a certain lack of stunts. They were very few and far between, and were mostly "augmented" with CG. Mind you, there's no modern show with as many stunts as the average CHiPs episode. They've become too expensive for today's productions.

 

[Kamen Rider Blade]

One of the problems with the 2008 series was, well, a certain lack of stunts. They were very few and far between, and were mostly "augmented" with CG. Mind you, there's no modern show with as many stunts as the average CHiPs episode. They've become too expensive for today's productions.

=(

It's not technically a "material" (well, in theory, yes, OK...). It's a compound you can spray on any material and make it indestructible. The formula is secret, but in the original series, it was never mentioned that it would be difficult to produce in large quantities. It can be neutralized with a counterformula (it happened in one episode), but I don't see that as a bad thing. It would somewhat limit its use for military purposes, but it would still be possible for civilian use.

The closest IRL Material to the "Molecular Bonded Shell" used by KITT is LINE-X Truck Bed Liner.

That stuff was tested by MythBusters and is legit Bomb Proof against C4.

LINE-X's military Grade Spray "PAXCON" was chosen to coat the Pentagon & other US Buildings to make it "Bomb Proof".

The US Pentagon was one of the first major Government buildings to specify PAXCON “to protect the Pentagon against potential impacts and bomb blasts.”

It's not Bullet Proof though, you would need different base material for that.

Something liked Hardened Stainless Steel Panels used by the Tesla CyberTruck coated with LINE-X or PAXCON on both sides of the body panel would make it most like NIJ Level IIIA certified if they ever wanted to get it certified properly.

Spoiler: Brandon Herrera - Testing How BulletProof the CyberTruck REALLY Is

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If they added in proper Ceramic Panels & Dyneema Bullet-Resistant Fabric Sections on the inside of the door panels, then they could boost it up to NIJ Level IV w/o having to use AR500 armor grade steel.

That would be the cheapest / lightest way to up-armor the vehicle.

If you spray LINE-X / PAXCON Truck Bed Liner across the Skeletal Frame of the base vehicle, it would be that much tougher in crashes and can take far more abuse.

So there is IRL solutions, but it isn't a "Single Chemical" solution like the "Molecular Bonded Shell"

 

[Owain Taggart]

And now some of the technology inside the car has been more or less made a reality, although I pray we never get video calls on those dash screens as that would be too distracting. I've posted this before, but one guy converted his Tesla into his own version of KITT. Beyond the technology that's already present in cars these days, he's put a lot of thought into the execution, ie how to get his car to come to him via his Apple Watch, to realtime conversations via AI that sounds exactly like KITT would sound, and it's all very convincing.

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I think the reason Knight Rider has been revived so many times (Knight Rider 2000, Knight Rider 2010, Team Knight Rider, the '08 sequel) is because it gives auto makers a vehicle (pun intended) for promoting their merchandise, so it's easy to get funding.

Good point. The last revival used Ford. Everything from the Mustang used for KITT, to the background vehicles. Interestingly, this news come at a time when there are rumours about GM possibly bringing the Pontiac brand back. Surely it's simply a coincidence, but imagine being able to use this new Knight Rider reboot as a way to relaunch the brand. Could be quite the opportunity.

 

[Christopher]

It's going to be very difficult, unless the series has a budget like Fast and Furious. As you may know, the reason the original series had so many amazing stunts was thanks to a train accident.

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The short version is: a train carrying a load of Pontiac Trans Ams and Firebirds had an accident.



The production was able to buy the 20 machines for a symbolic value of one dollar each (otherwise they would all have been scrapped).

That's interesting to know. Although I'm not sure that made the show's stunts possible, just saved them some money. According to Wikipedia, The Dukes of Hazzard used up over 300 1969 and modified 1968 Dodge Chargers in the course of the series, although by later seasons the cars got more expensive and harder to find, so they fell back on 1/8-scale miniature cars and stock footage.

Although I guess KITT was based on a current Trans Am model, so the stunt KITTs were probably more expensive to buy than used Chargers were. I don't know for sure, though.

 

[EnderAKH]

I love the original Knight Rider. My entire hesitation about a reboot is I just don't know how they can make the car seem "advanced" without making it feel silly, like the transformer scenes in the 2008 reboot.

 

[DarrenTR1970]

I'm surprised to find out it ran for four seasons, it felt like it ran for only three; although that could be due to the fact that I tuned out after they turned KITT into a supercar.​

 

[Skipper]

It'll be interesting to see if they can bring the 80's silliness and cheese game into the 2020's. Without the silliness and cheese, it simply won't be Knight Rider.

You got me thinking. Virtually all the silliness came from the two leads (Michael and Kitt), but the show itself took itself quite seriously (though obviously written to be enjoyable for kids, too). There were stories about drugs, terrorism, and human trafficking. It wasn't uncommon for someone to die during episodes. The A-Team was more tongue-in-cheek (and no one ever died there!).

So, how can we make this series appeal to the younger generation? Virtually every teenager now chats regularly with ChatGPT, so it's no surprise to see someone interacting with an AI. The stunts and action were a huge draw, but how do you entertain audiences these days who have grown accustomed to "Fast and Furious"-level fare, especially on a television budget? And of course, plots that were fine 40 years ago would only make you yawn today. And you can't make it any more serious or cerebral. No one watches Knight Rider expecting Person of Interest.

I'm not much of an expert on the shows that are popular on American networks, but I don't know if there's a modern equivalent of something like KR. (That is, a mix of humor and action, suitable for the whole family).

There's been talk of a reboot since the end of KR 2008, but honestly it seems like a losing battle from the start.

 

[Skipper]

I'm surprised to find out it ran for four seasons, it felt like it ran for only three; although that could be due to the fact that I tuned out after they turned KITT into a supercar.​

You mean the Super-Pursuit mode? It happened during season four

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By the way, "Supercar" was the tv show title in Italy!

 

[JD]

I really don't get why they keep trying to make Knight Rider a thing again, the original series was such an '80s style and really a big part of the success was because David Hasselhoff as Michael and William Daniels as KITT, and it just doesn't seem to work anywhere near as well without any of that.

I'm not much of an expert on the shows that are popular on American networks, but I don't know if there's a modern equivalent of something like KR. (That is, a mix of humor and action, suitable for the whole family).

The closest thing I can think of with the kind of mix of action, and humor that you're talking about would probably be the NCISes, they have a fair amount of character banter and humor, and some action, but never they're never overly graphic when it comes to the sex and violence.

 

[Christopher]

You got me thinking. Virtually all the silliness came from the two leads (Michael and Kitt), but the show itself took itself quite seriously (though obviously written to be enjoyable for kids, too). There were stories about drugs, terrorism, and human trafficking. It wasn't uncommon for someone to die during episodes. The A-Team was more tongue-in-cheek (and no one ever died there!).

I wouldn't say it took itself seriously just because it was a crime show and had a death toll. It's a mistake to equate target age range with seriousness. It was a dumb, cheesy action show driven by stunts and spectacle. No, it wasn't as comedic as The A-Team, but that doesn't make it serious either. It's not like there were only two levels to choose from. KR was very much toward the low end of the maturity spectrum. It wasn't juvenile, but it was pretty sophomoric.

And there were occasional deaths in The A-Team, just not very often.

So, how can we make this series appeal to the younger generation? Virtually every teenager now chats regularly with ChatGPT, so it's no surprise to see someone interacting with an AI.

Oh, good grief. Calling those large language models "AI" is one of the greatest frauds of our generation. They're just mindless number-crunchers without a shred of comprehension of the text they generate. Anyone who thinks they can have a real conversation with one is delusional, like people who believe Ouija boards actually connect them with spirits. A genuinely intelligent AGI like KITT is still the stuff of fiction. Hopefully today's audiences can still understand the difference.

The stunts and action were a huge draw, but how do you entertain audiences these days who have grown accustomed to "Fast and Furious"-level fare, especially on a television budget?

That's a fair question, but TV series have always had less elaborate spectacle than feature films, and it hasn't prevented people from watching them. Series have succeeded by shifting the emphasis to things that a single movie can't do as well, like long-term character development and worldbuilding, or just allowing audiences to spend an hour every week with characters they enjoy, rather than two hours every few years. It's a trade-off, but one that audiences have usually been willing to make.

I'm not much of an expert on the shows that are popular on American networks, but I don't know if there's a modern equivalent of something like KR. (That is, a mix of humor and action, suitable for the whole family).

The Librarians: The Next Chapter is the first current example that comes to mind.

I really don't get why they keep trying to make Knight Rider a thing again, the original series was such an '80s style and really a big part of the success was because David Hasselhoff as Michael and William Daniels as KITT, and it just doesn't seem to work anywhere near as well without any of that.

Like I said -- car companies see as an advertising opportunity, so it's a concept that's always able to get funding. As a rule, if you want to know why decisions get made in Hollywood, follow the money.

 

[MarcKyle1964]

"Sometimes dead is better."

It's been awhile since I've seen a running Firebird of that era. Robust, they were not.

 

[Christopher]

It's been awhile since I've seen a running Firebird of that era. Robust, they were not.

I liked the ones that had a firebird image painted on the hood. I always wondered why other cars didn't have cool decorations like that.