Mike Levine from Pickuptrucks.com recently spoke with Knight Rider Executive Producer Gary Scott Thompson and got the skinny on KITT's new ability to transform himself (seriously, I just called it a "him") from a 2008 Shelby GT500KR to a 2009 Ford F-150 FX-4. The idea for having KITT morph into a truck came to Thompson when he needed his main character and that week's damsel in distress to make a quick getaway without KITT having to stop for them to get in, so he imagined the car as a pickup. This way the characters could hop right in its bed (we see this happen in the new clip that was released by NBC), though we're unsure how they survive the metal origami that turns KITT back into a car. We also disagree with Thompson when he alludes to the GT500KR being "about the same mass" as the F-150, but he feels justified in taking this direction with KITT after consulting with "futurists" at Microsoft who predict that vehicles will change their shape to suit our needs by 2030. We don't know what being a futurist entails, but we're not inclined to believe ones employed by Microsoft who failed to predict the backlash against Vista, how bad the Zune would sell or that the entire first batch of XBox 360s would fail. Clairvoyants they are not.
Though the rendering at right reveals KITT F-150 was originally designed to bear a bigger resemblance to the GT500KR on which the car is based, it's ended up being just a blacked-out F-150 FX-4 with KITT's signature red light bar above and behind the top bar of the grille. That should make it easy for fanboys to recreate with their own 2009 F-150s though, because we just know sales of the truck are going to skyrocket after the new season of Knight Rider begins.
News coming out of Comic Con last week revealed that KITT would be able to transform into a pickup in the new Knight Rider series set to debut this fall on NBC. We thought perhaps the show and Ford, its biggest sponsor, would take the high road and have KITT's Shelby GT500 KR just grow a bed behind the B-pillar. Of course, we were wrong and this video proves that KITT will indeed transform into a full-size Ford F-150 FX-4. Never mind the fact that a Mustang just doesn't contain enough raw material to make up an F-150 truck, what really turns us off is Ford using a TV show that's already pimping one of its vehicles to push another one with sales falling faster than Goliath over a cliff. By this logic we expect that KITT will eventually encounter a resurrected KARR that's been stuffed into a Mercury Grand Marquis and the Knight Industries tractor trailer will be replaced by a fleet of Ford Transit Connects.
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NBC is unveiling the new Attack Mode for KITT today at the very large Comic Con convention in San Diego. ShadowyFlight.com is covering the reveal of the car live in its forums, but this image has already made its way on the web and confirms that KITT has had his wings sheared. Gone are the various spoilers that cluttered the first version and what remains is a cleaner car with dual side exhausts, a deep chin spoiler that looks pretty heavy duty, an equally strong looking mesh grille, what appears to be rocket launchers where a shaker scoop would go, a still-very-big rear wing, rear air diffuser and new spokeless wheels that were stolen right off of a Bonneville Salt Flats racer. The rear tires are extremely oversized and still manage to poke out from the newly flared fenders. Is it better than the first Attack Mode version of KITT? Yes. That doesn't mean we necessarily like it, though. The Knight Rider fan community seems split as well. Make up your mind in the comments after visiting ShadowyFlight.com for over 20 more additional high-res pics of the new Attack Mode KITT.
If news of Knight Rider's return has you feeling giddy as a schoolgirl (along with dozens of other viewers), maybe you're upset that they swapped the original Pontiac Trans Ams for a Shelby GT500KR in the new series. Whatever your stand, we have something that might interest you. While perusing eBay's listings, a reader stumbled upon one of the original Trans Ams used in the 1980's chapter of the Knight Rider saga. Up for auction is one 1984 Pontiac Trans Am, black and tan, with a distinctive red light bar in the nose. Yep, one genuine KITT.
Not only was this one of the featured cars in seasons three and four, but it is one of the rare 300-mph "Super Pursuit Mode" T/As with additional aero devices designed to, well, make the car look like it could go faster. Actually, the eBay description tells us the Super Pursuit Mode KITT was designed "to give KITT a 40% increase in speed through the assistance of retractable airfoils and jet boosters." Considering that this Trans Am still features a 5.0L V8 and automatic transmission, we would guess that half of that top speed is actually a stretch for this old Pontiac.
Still, with a starting price of just $26,000, the winning bidder can own a true piece of small-screen history. Kustomized by legendary Kar stylist George Barris, this particular car was also used in the 2006 flick, The Benchwarmers. In one notable scene, John Lovitz confesses that he has yet to master the peel out as he drove it across a curb outside the Pizza Hut. Ouch. Hopefully that buffed right out. Check out eBay for the complete description and place your bid.
We all know what a disaster the 2-hour Knight Rider movie was (click here for a refresher). Regardless, the return of the series has been green lit for the Fall and Shadowy Flight recently sat down for an interview with Gary Scott Thompson, Executive Producer and Showrunner of the series. Thompson's credentials include creating the show Las Vegas and the original Fast and the Furious movie, and he also points out that he had nothing to do with the 2-hour Knight Rider movie that aired in February. The show's new EP revealed that he and his writers are leaving the 2-hour movie in the past. His new writing staff, which includes writers from Lost, Prison Break and Smallville, but also Walker, Texas Ranger and Charmed, is dealing with some of those plot points introduced in the movie that now can't be ignored, but are basically going to start all over again with the first episode.
You can check out the two-part interview by hitting the source link below, but the major bit of news revealed is that Turbo Boost will again be part of KITT's arsenal, though the technology will be reinvented for this era where fast cars that jump aren't all that mind blowing. Thompson also told Shadowy Flight that the overly winged Attack Mode KITT is being redone and will be different than the one seen in the movie. Finally, Thompson compares his Knight Rider series that's still in gestation to one of our favorite shows on TV, Battlestar Galactica. Both are reinventions of older TV shows, but BG is currently the shining light of modern television, while Knight Rider has gotten off to an extremely rough start. We hope it compares to the weekly trials of Admiral Adama and the crew of Galactica, but we're not holding our breath.
Well, this morning, NBC made it official: Wednesday nights this Fall we'll all be able to say "Hello, Mike", as Knight Rider returns to the weekly schedule. The Peacock network unveiled its Fall lineup today and, despite rumors that it would appear on Friday nights, the new Knight Rider is relegated to the Hump night at 8-9PM EST. Encore showings will also run each week on Saturday night from 9-10PM EST. We're a bit surprised, or perhaps disappointed, that the show will be kicking the night off at 8 o'clock, as it suggests adult themes will not be present. Not that we're looking for lesbian overtures in every episode as was brazenly and inexplicably included in the pilot two-hour movie, but knowing that the new KR is sanitized for my nephew's protection is just one more nail in this show's coffin.
Nevertheless, your friendly neighborhood Autoblog plans to watch every episode until the show gets cancelled. Alex Nunez will liveblog each episode every Wednesday night, just like he did the two-hour movie. You're all invited to follow along as Alex poignantly picks apart each episode. Bring a box of tissues, though. You'll need them to dab the blood away from your eyes.
The Knight Rider TV movie was not good. The updated, Shelby Mustang-based KITT looked undeniably cool (when not in Ugly... er... Attack Mode, at least), but the acting was wooden and the writing was a horror show. Still, the ending completely set up a potential ongoing story. Today comes word that the ratings were apparently good enough for the suits to give a thumbs-up for a new weekly series starting this Fall. Early reports suggest a Friday night timeslot is in the works, but that's subject to change; all will be known on Wednesday when NBC presents its early upfronts.
We'll assume that at the very least, stars Justin Breuning (Mike Traceur) and Deanna Russo (Mike Traceur's Girlfriend) will return to fill our flatscreens with emotionless line reading. And since voicing KITT should be a relatively easy payday for Val Kilmer, we'd expect him to reprise his role, as well. As for the Hoff, who walked on for a brief cameo at the end of the pilot, who knows? The big winner here is Ford, which now gets an hour-long weekly showcase for the Shelby GT500KR KITT. Based on the stupendously lousy pilot, however, we're going to put on our prognostication hats and set the over/under for this Knight Rider reboot at 10 episodes. Unless NBC ups the quality in a big, big way, the under is a lock.
The Barrett-Jackson auctions have seen no shortage celebrity cars cross the block, but is the sale of a pair of KITTs at the upcoming Palm Beach event a sign that the series has already succumbed to its crushing craptasticality? Given the movie's ratings, that's unlikely. It seems, rather, that we're going to be stuck with NBC's awful retread of a not-very-good original, and these auctions appear to have been in the works for a while. The proceeds from the sale of auction lots 665 and 665.1 -- a "normal" and an Attack Mode KITT -- will benefit Ford's Salute to Education charity. While we can all hope that the new Knight Rider either gets better – at least to be as bad as the original would be laudable – or is put down mercifully, Ford's scholarship program will be the big winner when someone ponies up for these ponycars.
As one commenter put it, Autoblog has become KITT Central lately. Two Knight Rider posts in one afternoon? Seriously. But we thought this was particularly interesting, so we're sharing. The Muscle Car Blog sat down with Pierre Hoffman, President of Auto Indulgence, Inc., which was the company tasked with recreating the iconic scanning red light bar for the new KITT. He revealed that a number of prototypes were considered, including one comprised of 288 LED lights that pulsed to an actual MP3 file of a heart beat. That idea was nixed, and the actual one used in the show car is comprised of 480 total LED lights, 240 on each side with three rows of 80 lights per side. It's hooked up to a custom circuit board that allows them to create any pattern, pulse or swoosh of crimson light they'd like. They also installed a dark tinted film so the lights can't be seen during the day, and another diffuser panel so that the light blends together when moving from side to side. And get this, Hoffman is considering selling some of the prototypes on eBay or his website. Hmm... the '99 Alero would look killer with this mod, no?
The interview is a great read, including Hoffman's tale of how his team failed to produce a satisfying prototype in time and the producers initially decided to create the light bar effect using CGI! Thankfully he persisted and at least one component of the new Knight Rider will be truly authentic.
As we all know, Knight Rider will be returning to television this Sunday at 9PM EST on NBC. The new Michael Knight played by Justin Bruening and his car companion KITT, voiced by Val Kilmer, made an appearance on the Today Show this morning (disclaimer: the Today Show is also an NBC program) to promote the mini-movie that will eventually become a full series next fall. Bruening reveals a bit more about the story we'll be watching this Sunday, some of which we already knew and a few new bits. His character is playing the estranged son of the original Michael Knight, a role that will be reprised by David Hasselhoff himself in the movie, though the new Mike Knight is unaware the guy standing next to him with the same name is his dad. Bruening also reveals the loophole that supposedly fills in the 25-year gap between the original series and the new one, which is that the original writers never identified KITT's inventor. OK, well we'll have to see how that one plays out. Ford, meanwhile, which paid a pretty penny to have the GT500KR Mustang play the part of nuevo KITT, has released three more photos of the Knight Industries car, which make lovely desktop wallpaper backgrounds if you're a true fan. We'll decide our degree of fanboyosity after we watch the movie this weekend.
