I’ll get right to the point. This movie rocks. It was done right, with respect for the original TV show. I was worried about this version of Knight Rider since I heard about it, but if Battlestar Galactica has taught me anything it’s that new versions of old favorites can be great. So I held off from expressing my opinions until I saw it.
They made it soooo hard
Biting my tongue was difficult. The little bit of news and rumors I heard weren’t giving me much hope. Will Arnett cast as K.I.T.T.? That surprised me. I kept picturing K.I.T.T.(Knight Industries Three Thousand) making it’s debut with Europe’s “The Final Countdown” playing in the background. As time passed I grew hopeful. He does have a nice voice. He could have done a great job, just watch the clip for a very brief sound bite.
Unfortunately due to a contract conflict, he had to leave the show just a couple of weeks before it was scheduled to air. He does voiceover work for GMC. Ford is backing this project, and K.I.T.T. is a Mustang now. Val Kilmer slipped behind the wheel and took over the part. He did a damn fine job too.
If you watched the clip you might have noticed that actor Justin Bruening, who plays Mike Traceur, said this is a continuation of the original series. It is, and that’s the best part. That leaves the door open for characters from the original show to come back. David “The Hoff” Hasselhoff made a short appearance in the movie as Michael Knight.
This could be great.
Don’t Call It A Comeback
Maybe Will Arnett isn’t completely out of the picture. If this project moves forward and becomes a TV show Will Arnett might have another shot. He didn’t get to play K.I.T.T., but he would make a freakin’ awesome K.A.R.R. (Knight Automated Roving Robot). He’d be better as K.A.R.R.. He almost sounds evil when he plays K.I.T.T. anyway. Since K.A.R.R. is kinda like K.I.T.T.’s evil twin I could even accept his first appearance to be accompanied by “The Final Countdown”. In fact, I would love it.
Think K.A.R.R. could make an appearance as a tricked out GMC?
I like Facebook, or at least I did like Facebook. Things are changing over there. Those changes aren’t always for the better. You might have noticed this yourself.
Take the apps for example.
Have you seen something like that? If you like the quizzes and such, I bet you have. A lot of the apps that do that won’t even give you your results unless you invite friends to add the app. That’s just wrong. It needs to stop and it needs to stop now.
I like Internet quizzes and I enjoyed those kinds of apps, but this just bugs me. All I want to do is waste a little bit of time and have fun. I go through and answer the stupid questions that have nothing to do with the topic. Then I get a ransom note. “Give us the names of your friends so we can show them our ads or you’ll never know what kind of breakfast cereal you are.” Does that seem right?
Now don’t get me wrong. I don’t mind seeing the invite screen if I can skip it and get my results. That makes sense. They’re giving you a chance to share your wasted time with your friends. That’s what friends are for, at least on social networks. It’s pretty cool to be able to compare your results with your friends. It is not cool to hold your friends, or your results, hostage. That would be like Google turning over their search results to the advertisers. “You can’t see the results for ‘Bionic Woman Sucks’ until you click on 10 ads.” Yahoo! would love to see that.
Facebook needs to make some changes or a lot of people are going to be leaving. This is annoying. People don’t join social networks to be annoyed.
Except for Myspace.
I’m planning to write an intermittent series of articles about Eureka in this space, so kindly offered to me by Jason. Don’t look for episode recaps, or cast interviews. Those are best found HERE and HERE. I won’t be writing about the Writers Guild strike and its impact on the show (but as a writer, I do support it). I will be writing about Eureka from my own personally skewed perspective. Why? Because whenever I watch Eureka, it reminds me of family, friends, and acquaintances.
As someone who grew up and lived for many years near a plethora of high security military bases of all stripes, and quasi-government installations (such as NASA), Eureka satisfies (albeit fictionally) that “what the heck are they doing over there?” part of me. As someone with family members who could settle in and be at home in Eureka, it has a familiar feel. It’s classified as “sci-fi lite”, and while that may appeal to those who aren’t hardcore science fiction fans, I think it is a disservice to the show in the end. Eureka is ultimately a show that explores what it’s really like to be human beings in occasionally absurd and/or often extraordinary circumstances.
Eureka has come under some criticism from geeky bloggers who complain that it represents the scientific community in an absent minded, stereotypical fashion. I have a response to that. Yeah, it does. And your point is…? They also portray the sensible scientists, er, um, scientist quite favorably.
I have had the good fortune to work with some brilliant folks in my time (along with the usual idiots we all endure). Eureka’s citizens reminds me of some of them…the brilliant ones, that is. Once upon a time, I walked outside into the parking lot after work. There I discovered a brilliant team member standing in the pouring rain. He was no doubt contemplating some secret of the universe far beyond my ken (you may think I’m being sarcastic, but I’m not). Like the urban legendary and proverbial much maligned turkey, he had his mouth open (they actually panic and run), and he was staring up into the sky. I slowly walked up to him and spoke to him. No answer. I called his name. No answer. LOUDER. No answer. He was soaked to the skin, taking on water, and might even have choked or drowned, etc. I don’t know CPR, and it’s possible the brilliant man might have died. and it would have all been my fault. Clearly, I had to save us both. I reached over, shook his arm, and said his name really loudly (okay, so maybe I yelled). He startled out of his reverie. I told him it was raining. He shook himself a bit, looked at me with confusion, thanked me and went to his car. I waited to leave until he was gone. I wasn’t really anxious to drive out with him. I hope he gets a smart car just like Zoe’s some day…that is, one that includes the mobile SARAH (Self Actuated Residential Automated Habitat).
On the family front, my own grandfather (a research pathologist) once inadvertently locked a Staten Island city official in an elevator shaft. Old grandpa was working on polio vaccines during an epidemic. The poor city official rode up and down in the elevator for hours, trying to get out. It was actually all Mrs. Takebi’s fault – she was one of several unused research monkeys on the back porch (grandpa used horse serum), but that’s another story. So you see, Eureka seems almost like home to me.
As you may have guessed by now, I tend to identify with Sheriff Carter, the overarching, quasi-parental figure in the town of Eureka. While he struggles to be a good parent to his teenage daughter, Zoe, he has to keep the brilliant folks in Eureka from blowing up their town, and possibly the world. It’s not always easy, and I know just how he feels.
Still, Sheriff Carter has evolved since the series start. That is, his shortcomings in th
e quantum physics, string theory, DNA genome department are still apparent, but many of the good intentioned, if distracted folks of Eureka have accepted him. Still he remains the self-questioning “everyman,” who occasionally has flashes of intuition and an almost Holmesian instinct for clues. His foibles are human, in a town where human foibles are often the undoing of scientific method. He’s a sheriff in a town where human spontaneous combustion and invisibility are just average days at work. Besides, he’s cute and appealing in that hapless way that endears him to women who like puppies with three legs.
While I often find myself in the dubious Sheriff Carter seat, I do have my favorite scientist characters in the town, just like anyone. Next time, I’ll visit a few of those.
(Blogger “Shiny1″ is also known as Patricia deVarennes)
The Winners Are
The winners in the Erec Rex Book Giveaway were quick to respond to the e-mails I sent, so now I can tell you who won. I’ll be shipping the books out A.S.A.P.
Erec Rex: The Dragon’s Eye Winner
Donna won with this forum post.
Congratulations Donna. I hope you’ll enjoy the story as much as I did.
Erec Rex: The Monsters of Otherness Winner
JSLUYTER won with this forum post.
Congratulations Jay. I hope you and your daughter have fun reading together.
New Giveaway for February
The prize this time around is a $50 (USD) Amazon Gift Certificate. So anyone who lives somewhere that Amazon serves is welcome to sign up.
This giveaway is open to anyone. Just sign up for the forums and post during February. That’s all you need to do. The more posts you make the better your chances.
The details are here.
I’m hoping to make giveaways a regular feature on FanaticSpace. If you have any ideas about what you’d like to see let me know. Prizes, ways to win, or any other ideas would be welcome.
Threads Closed
The book giveaway threads have been closed. I printed up the names of all the people who entered and drew names at random. Well, I did that twice since there were 2 books to giveaway.
Check your e-mail if you entered the giveaway.
Read more
: Fandoms, TV, Television, NBC, Knight Rider, 2008, Will Arnett, Val Kilmer, Justin Bruening, David Hasselhoff, The Hoff, K.I.T.T., Knight Industries Three Thousand, KITT, K.A.R.R., Knight Automated Roving Robot, KARR, Michael Knight, Mike Traceur, GMC, Ford, Mustang, Video, Youtube 
