Friday, September 28, 2007 at 12:31 pm
NBC's Knight Rider Remake: Technology Has Finally Caught Up With Crappy Ideas
According to the new brain trust at NBC, this
plus this
...equals this:
To wit: Variety is reporting that Ben Silverman at NBC has greenlighted a remake of Knight Rider, in the form of a two-hour backdoor pilot to be directed by Doug Liman. But with transformers! Yes, says the trade mag, "The thinking is that smallscreen f/x have advanced to the point where it'd be feasible to have a weekly series in which cars shift shapes."
Blargh.
I know, it's not really fair to go judging series on their concepts alone. Maybe the new Knight Rider will be a Battlestar Galactica-style thoughtful reimagining, about, um... the shifting nature of identity, or, uh... the boundary between human and machine in our industrialized era... Or maybe it will be a big dumb action show with a gajillion dollars' worth of GM product placements. It's a toss-up!
I understand that Silverman's got a network to haul out of fourth place. And that there's probably a romantic attraction for him to the idea of reviving a project of his idol, Brandon Tartikoff. But if we've got to go reviving old ideas about action shows starring machinery, why not bring back Heat Vision and Jack?
8 Comments to “NBC's Knight Rider Remake: Technology Has Finally Caught Up With Crappy Ideas”
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About Tuned In
James Poniewozik writes TIME magazine's Tuned In column, about pop culture and society. Tuned In, the blog version, is about the stuff we used to call "TV," whether it's in your living room, on your computer or -- once the networks figure out the technology and line up the advertisers -- in your dreams themselves. Read more
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Friday, September 28, 2007 at 12:47 pm
Again, why'd they fire Kevin Reilly?
Friday, September 28, 2007 at 12:55 pm
Any morning involving a Heat Vision and Jack reference is a good morning, in my book.
Friday, September 28, 2007 at 2:30 pm
Is it wrong and terrible of me to admit that I wouldn't care how bad it was, I'd still watch a Knight Rider remake?
Friday, September 28, 2007 at 2:51 pm
This is a great sentence from the Wikipedia entry you linked to: "He was exposed to inappropriate levels of solar energy, giving him superintelligence."
"Inappropriate levels of solar energy"? What is that exactly?
No wait, here's a better sentence, about the talking motorcycle: "He is unable to use doorknobs and is unable to right himself if pushed over." That's quite selective. As a motorcyle, HeatVision can't do a lot of things. Hold a fork. Change his own oil. See. Comb his hair. And what if he falls over? Can he right himself them?
Gotta love Wikipedia.
Friday, September 28, 2007 at 4:32 pm
This would only be good if you got David Hasselhoff to reprise his role and the show is all about drinking and driving.
Friday, September 28, 2007 at 5:47 pm
This is to popslashgirl:
Yes, yes it is.
Friday, September 28, 2007 at 5:53 pm
But will they Hassle the Hoff?
Monday, October 1, 2007 at 9:39 am
To Clay: don't tell me you won't be watching it too
I mean, come on! Talking cars! Who doesn't love a good talking car? And I think Michael Vardan would be a great co-star.