Yeah…that’s the word out on the street. Is it for the better? Well…that remains to be seen. The Hollywood Reporter first broke this story two days ago, on the tenth, but I didn’t see it until yesterday, the eleventh . I sort of wish I hadn’t seen it, but then again, I would have hated being surprised when it all really happened.
It appears that “Knight Rider” is going to undergo a major revamping, including the fact that after the first-ordered thirteen episodes are up, three regulars on the show won’t be picked up.
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Yeah…that’s the word out on the street. Is it for the better? Well…that remains to be seen. The Hollywood Reporter first broke this story two days ago, on the tenth, but I didn’t see it until yesterday, the eleventh . I sort of wish I hadn’t seen it, but then again, I would have hated being surprised when it all really happened.
ReplyDeleteIt appears that “Knight Rider” is going to undergo a major revamping, including the fact that after the first-ordered thirteen episodes are up, three regulars on the show won’t be picked up. They are Bruce Davidson’s character of Dr. Charles Graiman, the creator of the Knight Industries Three Thousand, Yancey Arias’ character of the head man Alex Torres and Sydney Tamiia Poitier’s character of FBI Agent Carrie Ruvai.
The show will also be going back to its roots and will be getting away from the terrorists-of-the-week formula and more of the man and the car helping regular people, which was the premise of the original ‘Knight Rider.” These changes were set in motion long before this show was picked up for a full season three weeks ago, says the article. This revamping will really begin with the two-part Episodes 10-11 and there’s a possibility that the first part will be aired on a Sunday, after a football game, and the conclusion aired on the following Wednesday. This was the same timeslot that the wildly successful ‘Knight Rider’ movie and back-door plot was aired in, back in February.
And, it appears that last week, KR’s ratings slipped to a season low among its target audience of 18-36 year old males. Bummer. And I can’t really see why, because last week’s episode was completely amazing and a major improvement over past episodes. Anyways, in the article, executive producer and writer to the show, Gary Scott Thompson, was quoted as saying that the decision to not pick up the three characters that I mentioned above was not because of the actors playing them, but because of the direction the show is now taking and called the three some of the “ most professional actors I've ever worked with.”
The show will now focus on the five remaining characters: Mike (Justin Bruening), Sarah (Deanna Russo), Billy (Paul Campbell), Zoe (Smith Cho) and KITT. The producers also are looking to do stunt guest castings, which could mean that much talked-about return of the original Michael Knight, who was played by David Hasslehoff in the original series in the ‘80s, might just happen. Honestly, I would kind of like having both the original Mike Knight and KITT come back at the same time, but ok…
My feelings on these major changes are….mixed. I like the three characters that won’t be coming back and don’t really understand why Dr. Charles Graiman is being booted off. He’s the creator of KITT and had dealings with the creation of the first KITT. He’s also the father of Sarah Graiman, Mike’s girlfriend and techie to KITT. Why would such an important character be taken off? I don’t know…if I knew I’d be telling you and I’d probably be less ticked off than I am…
With the characters of Alex Torres and Agent Revai being booted, ah well. I liked them. They were the government aspect in this. They were the ones who added the most maturity to the show, along with Dr. Graiman. With them gone? Who knows. Hopefully chaos won’t ensue. That’s a bit cynical of me. Sorry…
But the one thing that really gets me? Is this revamping…the return of this show to its roots. In the press release regarding this show, or at least the one I cut out of my local paper (yes, I cut it out and put it on my wall…), it said that this reboot was going to be more sophisticated, more up-to-date with all the world and its issues. That meant, more terrorist and less drug dealer. Ooooooookay…right. You( meaning Gary Scott Thompson) appeared to be doing that in the first set of episodes. Now you want to, all of a sudden, change that? Go back on your word, on your idea for this show? Niiiice. Way to be that man, GST. Way to be that man.
And right in mid-season too. Who does that? Why couldn’t you just have those three characters killed off in the season finale and then, maybe in the next season, should one be picked up, go on back to the premise of the original show? Ah, but what do I know? Maybe this will turn out right. Or, maybe it will be the straw that breaks the camel’s back. Who knows…but I DO know that I’m sticking with this show. No way I’m jumping ship now.
- EV, TwoCents Reviewer
EV@thetwocentscorp.com
Much thanks to-
http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/
http://www.kittsite.com/
http://www.knightriderarchive.com/
As always, your information is invaluable!