Knight Rider (2008 TV series)
| Knight Rider | |
|---|---|
| File:Knight Rider 2008 intertitle.png | |
| Genre | Action, Drama |
| Created by | Glen A. Larson (Characters) |
| Developed by | David Andron |
| Starring | Justin Bruening Deanna Russo Sydney Tamiia Poitier Paul Campbell Yancey Arias Bruce Davison Smith Cho |
| Voices of | Val Kilmer as 'KITT' |
| Composer | Christopher Tyng |
| Country of origin |  United States |
| Original language | English |
| No. of seasons | 1 |
| No. of episodes | 17 (plus 1 tv movie) (list of episodes) |
| Production | |
| Executive producers | Glen A. Larson Gary Scott Thompson David Bartis Doug Liman Matt Pyken |
| Producers | Universal Media Studios Dutch Oven Productions |
| Running time | 43 min. |
| Original release | |
| Network | NBC |
| Release | September 24, 2008 – March 4, 2009 |
Knight Rider is a 2008 series that follows the 1982 TV series of the same title and the 2008 television movie. The series stars Justin Bruening as Mike Traceur, the estranged son of Michael Knight. The series also stars Deanna Russo as Sarah Graiman, Traceur's former girlfriend and love interest. Sarah is the daughter of Charles Graiman. Graiman is played by Bruce Davison, the creator of a new generation of KITT (Knight Industries Three Thousand), voiced by Val Kilmer. The series ran for one season.
Plot
The story takes place twenty five years after the original Knight Rider series. Mike Traceur (who later changes his name to Michael Knight), son of the original Michael Knight, has become the driver of the next generation KITT (Knight Industries Three Thousand), now a Ford Shelby GT500KR Mustang. Along with a former fiancée Sarah Graiman, the daughter of the scientist Charles Graiman who designed both KITTs, Mike becomes the new champion of Knight Industries, a high tech government and law enforcement contractor.
In the episode "Day Turns Into Knight", Dr. Graiman dies due to an apparent explosion on a damaged aircraft, and Agent Rivai is seriously injured and forced not to continue on as the team's FBI agent. During the episode "Knight to King's Pawn", the NSA shuts down the KITT Project due to Dr. Graiman's death, and Agent Torres deactivates KITT in order to reactivate KARR. Torres believed that KITT's programming would be able to override KARR's inherent self-preservation protocols to save human lives instead of harming them. In holographic messages to Mike and Sarah, Dr. Graiman reveals this had always been Agent Torres's plan for KITT and that he had opposed him. Mike is told that he was KARR's original driver and that his mind was wiped in the wake of the project's failure. The team find KITT's AI stored online and attempt to rebuild it. Mike then infiltrates Area 51 to install the new KITT AI chip into his confiscated Mustang shell.
As Mike and KITT flee, KARR discovers that KITT has been reactivated and overcomes KITT's protocols, taking Torres as a hostage/driver. KITT is able to destroy KARR but Agent Torres dies shortly therafter. Sarah discovers that her father had left all of the Knight Industries' funding in her name. Sarah, Mike, Zoe, and Billy use that funding to restart the Foundation for Law and Government (FLAG) and continue on its original mission.
Production
In the spring of 2007, NBC-Universal chief executive Jeff Zucker hired Ben Silverman as chief NBC programmer, and asked him to help bring NBC out of last place in network ratings. One of Silverman's early moves was to try to revive old franchises like Knight Rider and Gladiators. Silverman, in a deal endorsed by Ford Motor Company, the car supplier, approved production.[1] In advance of its anticipated weekly run, the new Knight Rider series was introduced with a television movie on February 17, 2008. The new series premiered on NBC on September 24, 2008 and leads the network's Wednesday evening lineup, along with Deal or No Deal and Lipstick Jungle.[2] On October 21, 2008, NBC gave the show a full season order of 22 episodes.[3] All of the episodes that aired on TV are also available on the PlayStation Network Video Store,[4] Xbox Live Marketplace[5] and iTunes Store.[6] The episodes are available in HD format and SD format.
On November 10, 2008, NBC reformatted the show in an effort to more closely resemble the storyline of its predecessor. Yancey Arias, Bruce Davison, and Sydney Tamiia Poitier's characters were removed from the series after the end of their original thirteen episode commitment starting with a two part episode scheduled to air in January 2009. The show continued with a more character-driven focus on Michael and KITT.[7]
On December 3, 2008, NBC reduced its season order to seventeen episodes.[8] The series finale aired on March 4, 2009. On May 19, 2009, NBC announced that they would not renew Knight Rider for a second season.[9][10][11][12]
Cast
- Justin Bruening as Michael Knight: (originally known as Michael Traceur), son of the original KITT's driver also named Michael Knight.
- Deanna Russo as Sarah Graiman: Daughter of Charles Graiman and romantic interest of Michael Knight
- Val Kilmer as the Voice of KITT: The artificially intelligent automobile.
- Paul Campbell as Billy Morgan
- Smith Cho as Zoe Chae
- Bruce Davison as Charles Graiman: KITT's creator. (Episodes 1-11)
- Sydney Tamiia Poitier as FBI Agent Carrie Rivai (Episodes 1-11)
- Yancey Arias as FBI Agent Alex Torres (Episodes 1-12)
Episodes
Knight Industries Three Thousand (K.I.T.T.)
For the series premiere, many new features in KITT were introduced in addition to those seen on the pilot movie. As an homage to the original KITT's Super Pursuit Mode, the new KITT transforms into Attack Mode[13] - a significantly more aggressive version than the Attack Mode depicted in the pilot movie, which consisted primarily of an extended rear spoiler. KITT also transforms into a Ford F-150 FX4 pickup truck for off-road purposes,[14] a Ford E-150 van, Ford Flex, Ford Crown Victoria Police Interceptor, and a 1969 Mach 1 Mustang for disguise purposes. The series also demonstrated capabilities such as KITT's Turbo Boost, allowing KITT to briefly become airborne, and submergibility, maintaining system integrity and life support for occupants while underwater. Also installed in KITT are a grappling hook, a laser that originates from his scanner bar, double miniguns, defensive flares, offensive missiles, a dart gun, a sonic inhibitor and an EMP Weapon.
The interior of the vehicle has been reworked, with the single display screen on the center console replaced by touch-enabled head-up displays spanning the entire interior surface of the windscreen. The removal of the center console screen has also seen KITT's "presence" indicator, reminiscent of the original series KITT's voice modulator, appearing in a pulsing orb mounted high in the middle of the dashboard with a dot in the middle that shifts over to "look" at whoever he's talking to. Other interior changes include a more conventional steering wheel, replacing the previously seen 3/4 steering wheel, blue lighting in the dashboard over the driver's-side instrumentation and the passenger-side console that becomes red whenever KITT is in Attack Mode, and a standard Mustang rear seat instead of the super-computer laden rear seat of the movie KITT. The interior of 4x4 Mode uses the same customized Mustang dashboard, but the F-150's passenger and driver's seats. KITT also carries a backup mainframe that he can reboot to in the event his primary is damaged.
KITT's technology includes a Surface Screen program, enabling the hood to operate as a touchscreen display, similar to the internal head-up displays, a printer in the passenger-side console, and a 3D Object Generator in the rear passenger compartment, as well as a self-destruct program.
DVD release
Knight Rider: The Complete Series DVD was released on July 28, 2009 on a four disc set with bonus material.[15][16]
International broadcast
Some broadcasts of the new Knight Rider have commenced in countries outside of the United States:
| Country | Title | Translation | Network(s) | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Argentina | Knight Rider: El Auto Fantástico | Subtitles (Spanish) | Warner Channel | The 2-hour pilot and the series were picked up. The series is currently being aired Sundays at 20:00 |
| Australia | Knight Rider | None | Seven Network | The 2-hour pilot telemovie was shown on October 11, 2008, but there has been no subsequent indication of when or if the full series will be picked up. |
| Belgium | Knight Rider | Subtitles (Dutch) | Prime Family | The 2 hour pilot telemovie was shown on April 28, 2009 and regular episodes of the series are currently airing Wednesdays at 20:00 CET and repeated on the Prime Series channel at various times throughout the week. |
| Brazil | Knight Rider | Subtitles included TBA |
WBTV (Cable) TBA |
The series started on April 5, 2009. |
| Canada | Knight Rider | None | E! Canada | Pilot movie was shown on Global TV in February, 2008, and regular shows are being aired on E! Canada every Wednesday at 20:00 since September, 2008. |
| Chile | Knight Rider: El Auto Fantástico | Subtitles (Spanish) | Warner Channel | The series is currently being aired Sundays at 20:00 |
| Denmark | Knight Rider | Subtitles | TV3+ | The series will be broadcast in the fall of 2009 |
| Germany | Knight Rider | German dubbing | RTL Television | The pilot movie will be broadcasted on October 8th, 2009. The episodes of the series will run Saturdays 16:50 starting October 17th, 2009.[17] |
| France | Le Retour de K2000 | French dubbing | Canal+ Family, NRJ 12 | The pilot movie was broadcasted on July 5, 2009 followed by the first episode of the series. The rest is broadcasted every Sunday with 2 episodes on Canal+ Family. Next broadcast on NRJ 12 on 2010. |
| India | Knight Rider | Subtitles included(in english) | Star World | The 90-minute Pilot telemovie was shown on June 18, 2009. The Series started on June 19, 2009. Two episodes are shown every week on Thursdays and Fridays at 22:00 |
| Ireland | Knight Rider | None | Sci Fi | Premiered on May 12, 2009 @ 20:00 - Tuesdays until Sept 8, 2009 (Finale) : Available in HD on Sci Fi HD |
| Italy | Knight Rider | Italian dubbing | Steel, Sci-Fi | Pilot movie was shown on August 28, 2009. The series started on September 4, 2009. Two episodes are shown every week on Fridays at 21:00. |
| Latin America | Knight Rider — El Auto Fantástico | Subtitles | Warner Channel | The series debuted on April 5, 2009. |
| Malaysia & Singapore | Knight Rider | None | Star World | Debuted on February 5, 2009 on Astro(Malaysia) Channel 711 and StarHub TV(Singapore) Channel 18. |
| Mexico | El Auto Increible (The Incredible Car) | Spanish (LA) dubbing | Canal 5 | The series started on September 25 at 10:00 PM. with the pilot movie as a 2-hour first episode |
| Netherlands | Knight Rider 2009 | Subtitles | RTL 7 | Pilot Movie was shown on January 1. The series started on Sunday, March 1. |
| New Zealand | Knight Rider | None | C4 | The 2-hour pilot telemovie was shown on February 2, 2009, with regular screenings every Monday at 19:30 beginning February 9 |
| Norway | Knight Rider | Subtitles included | Viasat 4 | The series started on April 13, 2009. |
| Peru | Knight Rider: El Auto Fantástico | Subtitles (Spanish) | Warner Channel | The 2-hour pilot and the series were picked up. The series is currently being aired Sundays at 20:00 |
| Philippines | Knight Rider | None | C/S 9 | Aired every Thursday night at 22:00. |
| Portugal | O Justiceiro (2009) (Sci Fi) O Novo Justiceiro (TVI) |
Subtitles included | Sci Fi, TVI | Pilot Movie was shown on March 25. The Series started one week later (Sci Fi). The series started on July 11, 2009 (TVI). Available in HD on Sci Fi HD. |
| Spain | El Coche Fantástico | Spanish dubbing | TVE, Sci Fi | Pilot Movie was shown in April, 2008. The Series started on March 30, 2009. |
| Sweden | Knight Rider | Subtitles (Swedish and Finnish) | Viasat | On January 28, 2009, TV6 aired the first episode and the show airs every Wednesday at 20:00 CET. |
| Thailand | Knight Rider | Subtitles included | Star World | Debuted on February 5, 2009 via TrueVisions Channel 37. |
| Turkey | Knight Rider | Subtitles included | Fx (Digiturk Platform Channel 51) | |
| United Kingdom | Knight Rider | None | Sci Fi | UK Premiere Sci Fi HD Tuesday 12 May 2009. [18]
The series was also shown on Fiver from 24th September 2009. |
References
- ^ NBC Hired a Hit Maker. It’s Still Waiting. New Tork Times Business Section, May 16, 2009
- ^ NBC Reveals Fall Series Premiere Dates
- ^ "NBC To Pick Up Nine Additional Episodes Of "Knight Rider To Complete Full-Season Order For 2008-09". Futon Critic. 2008-10-21. Retrieved 2008-10-27.
- ^ "PlayStation Network Video Content Update". SCEA.
- ^ "Xbox LIVE Marketplace Knight Rider". Retrieved 2008-11-07.
- ^ "ABC, CBS, FOX & NBC Offer Incredible Lineup of Programming in Stunning HD on the iTunes Store". Retrieved 2009-03-06.
- ^ Andreeva, Nellie (2008-11-10). "'Knight Rider' goes back to its roots". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved 2008-12-09.
- ^ "Knight Rider: NBC Reduces Episode Order, Essentially Canceled?". Retrieved 2008-12-03.
- ^ Levin, Gary (2009-04-15). "The early line on fall: What's in, out and undecided". Usatoday.Com. Retrieved 2009-05-20.
- ^ "NBC News: Chuck Renewed; My Name Is Earl, Medium Canceled". E! Online. 2009-03-19. Retrieved 2009-06-01.
- ^ "The Futon's Upfront Notes: ABC & NBC". The Futon Critic. 2009-03-19. Retrieved 2009-06-01.
- ^ "NBC announces fall schedule: 'Chuck' stays, 'Southland' moves to Fridays". Entertainment Weekly. 2008-03-19. Retrieved 2009-06-01.
- ^ Shadowy Flight - Attack KITT Revealed at Comic Con
- ^ PickupTrucks.com: First Look at Knight Rider's KITT in 4x4 Mode
- ^ "Knight Rider DVD news: Announcement for Knight Rider — Season 1". TVShowsOnDVD.com. 2007-05-25. Retrieved 2009-05-20.
- ^ "Knight Rider DVD news: Box Art for Knight Rider — Season 1". TVShowsOnDVD.com. 2007-05-25. Retrieved 2009-05-20.
- ^ "Kultserie der 80er Jahre ist wieder da (Cult television from the 80th returns)". RTL Television. 2009-09-08. Retrieved 2009-10-04.
- ^ "Knight Rider — Pilot (Season 1 Episode 1)". LocateTV. Retrieved 2009-05-01.