DIGG THIS --> Knight Rider: A Mixed Bag

NBC is banking on another series remake again. After it flaunted The Bionic Woman, and was just starting to gain some momentum, NBC pulled the plug. Just a victim of the WGA strike, I think. Now they've brought back Knight Rider, bigger and sexier than before. Ok, I like a bit of nostalgia once in awhile, I'm a huge fan of the original series. We got a big mouthful of Knight Rider last Spring with a pilot made-for-television movie. So, we had a good idea of what to expect. I don't think you need to be from my generation (old enough to remember the original series in prime time) to appreciate the new series. The creators built the foundation with the movie, and now we have a NEW crime fighting team with an invincible car. Well, that's the theory at least.

Most of the similarities end there. After the first two episodes, I'm thinking this new series leans towards the lame side. I mean, they have this car that should be invincible, at least the old KITT was close. 25 years later, a vastly more sophisticated and technologically advanced KITT is far from infallible. For instance, in last nights episode, KITT was nearly beaten in a street race. WHAT??? OK, the guy had NOX, but that whole scene is wrong. The original KITT could reach speeds well above 200MPH in super pursuit mode. And to top it off KITT had a melt down because it's not capable of doing a "transformation" during a turbo boost. Yeah, that's my tax dollars at work, jokingly of course. It sounds typical, though, for something to cost so much and have a such a weakness.

Let's transplant that flaw to another venue. During the pilot of Star Trek: The Next Generation, when they first encountered Q. When the Captain ordered the ship to be "seperated" at maximum warp, Data warned that maneuver had never been tried at such velocities and is not recommended. So the Captain ordered it so, and the ship craps out, dead in space, has to be towed back to space dock. ST:TNG would have been on less episodes that the Bionic Woman.

In the original series, KITT was always rescuing Michael. Seemed every week a new gadget was being showcased. Maybe because it was 1982, and the whole idea was far off the reality scale. It was all "jee-wiz, wow, bang, hey that's kool". In 2008, though, the technology is not so impressive. The stories seem to focus more on the main characters, their histories, their secrets, and their motives. This will be the shows undoing. What did we ever know of the original Michael Knight? Devon Miles? or FLAG? The good guys and the bad guys were clearly marked, and they didn't switch sides.

Clearly, this is one of televisions fatal flaws, certainly so for science fiction. The writers like to twist things up every which way, they mistakenly believe this will heighten the intrigue and cause viewers to tune in. In reality, it confuses and alienates them, and they do not tune back in.

So, here's my advice to the shows writers and producers. Knight Rider is all about the car. It's not about Michael, his partner girlfriend, or any of those other groupies in the bat-cave. It's not about Michael's "lost" memory, or the efforts to keep things from him. Knight Rider is ALL about the car, period. Your show will live allot longer if you focus on that. The writers and producers need to go back and watch to original series pilot, remember where the story came from.

Knight Rider has a whole new crew, but really only one person that's been around a while, Bruce Davison. Rumor also has it that Val Kilmer is the voice of KITT, but neither he (nor the identity of the voice) is listed anywhere on the official Knight Rider site.

Knight Rider airs on NBC on Wednesday nights at 8PM.

Regards
John Crawford

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DIGG THIS -->Fringe: Quality Scifi Returns To Television

The WGA strike last year must have been good to some science fiction writers. This fall featured the premier of Fringe. Fringe is simply awesome, it's like the X-Files on steroids! Fringe pushes the envelope in every direction, including the time-slot it airs - 9PM Eastern Time. The subject matter is mature and intense, but not overly complicated. I think one could watch a single episode, and not knowing the whole background, would be drawn into the story.

After just the first 3 episodes, I have come to expect to get queazy sometime during the episode. So if you're not a fan of blood and/or needles, you are hereby warned. Last week's episode "The Ghost Network", was particularly unnerving, and I have to wonder how it got past the "sensors" for a 9PM timeslot. While I'm not a fan of Lost, or Mission Impossible, creator J.J. Abrams is certainly on track for success with Fringe. If they can get through the first half season without some cranky network executive calling for it's cancellation, I think we'll see Fridge for a few seasons.

Fringe airs Tuesday's at 9PM EST on Fox.

Our cast of characters:
FBI Agent Olivia Dunham, former Marine and now rising star of the FBI, is the lead character. When a German commercial airplane experience catastrophic failure in flight, but lands by auto-pilot with all hands dead, Agent Dunham is specially picked be part of a Homeland Security task force investigating it and and a series of unexplained phenomena called "The Pattern". Olivia is driven by the personal guilt of sexual involvement with another FBI agent, and his betrayal. She sees the simple link between all the "incidents" and a global company called Massive Dynamics. She hunts down a man in Baghdad, and convinces him to get his father released from a mental institute in order to help solve or at least explain these phenomenon. Olivia Dunham is played by Australian native actress Anna Torv.

Peter Bishop is played by actor Joshua Jackson. Peter has a mysterious past. Besides being the son of a brilliant, but weird scientist, which did not make for a fondly memorable childhood. Peter is immensely intelligent and well traveled. He also appears to be well connected, both good and bad, in high and low places. Olivia hunted down Peter in Iraq and convinced him to get his father released from a mental hospital. He was brought in to the task force to supervise his father.

Dr. Walter Bishop is played by another Australian native, John Noble. There was an accident in Dr. Bishop's Harvard lab 17 years ago which caused the death of an assistant, and forced him into a mental institution. He is father of Peter Bishop, and thus explains Peters unpleasant childhood. Peter got him released from the mental hospital at Olivia's request to help solve these strange phenomenon.
Homeland Security Agent Phillip Broyles is played by actor Lance Reddick, is a Baltimore, MD native. As luck would have it, no scifi drama seems to be complete without a government conspiracy. Agent Broyles is the link to the yet undisclosed conspiracy that awaits us. While he is the strong and immovable task force leader, we found out at the end of last week's episode that he is, in fact, "in bed" with Massive Dynamics.

Agent John Scott is played by actor Mark Valley. The character of John Scott was killed off in the first episode, supposedly. Agents Scott and Dunham were partners in the FBI, and they were romantically involved. After a passionate moment where he proclaims he loves her, they are called away on a mission, and both recruited for the Homeland security task force investigating "The Pattern". While chasing a suspect Agent Scott is hit by an chemical explosion. Not quite dead, his injuries and condition are a complete mystery to known science. The only lead to a cure is Dr. Walter Bishop, who is in a mental institution. Olivia tracks down Peter Bishop and convinces him to get his father released because she believe he can save Agent Scott's life. He does in fact save Agent Scott's , but is later killed in a car chase when Olivia discovers he is part of "whoever" or "whatever" caused the deaths on the plane. The 'dead" body is taken to Massive dynamic for "questioning". At the end of last week's episode, we learn they are still downloading information from him. Since he is listed in the opening credits, and not as a guest star, I'd say we haven't seen or heard the last of Mark Valley on this show. It's also a safe bet that Massive Dynamics has been and will be the root cause of all the unexplained phenomenon known as "The Pattern".

Regards
John Crawford

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