UPDATE BELOW: See the the new KITT
Who's Hollywood's latest Big Bad Villain? Private military contractors--giving rise to a new version of Derangement Syndrome: Blackwater Derangement Syndrome or BwDS.
Echoing lefty rage at Blackwater, TV shows from “Boston Legal” to “Jericho” have turned contractors into the bad guys.
NBC's upcoming two-hour movie/backdoor pilot “Knight Rider” is no different, but this time Michael Knight and KITT the talking car are "counteracting and preventing the damage done by private, covert military contractors.”
According to the November 29 Hollywood Reporter, television's latest venture into contractor bashing is this sequel to the campy '80s David Hasselhoff show. In the new movie, Michael Knight's son Mike Tracer (what, was Mike Gunn or Mike Bullitt too obvious? Was Mike Stone not manly enough?) is now driving KITT and fighting the real threat to the world—private military contractors (bold mine):
Tracer is recruited by his childhood best friend, Sarah Graiman (Deanna Russo), and her eccentric physicist father, Charles (Davison), to join the Knight Foundation, a group committed to counteracting and preventing the damage done by private, covert military contractors.
To assist their missions, Charles creates the second-generation KITT, an artificially intelligent car.
A shady millionaire approaches Charles to commission a KITT car, and when Charles refuses, he hires a military contractor to murder him and steal the car.
The Hasselhoff-era Knight Foundation was committed to fighting terrorists, nuclear Armageddon and even indestructible 18 wheelers, but the new Knight Foundation will zero in on the “damage done” by those super duper evil “private, covert military contractors.” Sure, that makes sense.
Get used to this storyline. It will become more and more popular because of the BwDS bias in Hollywood and because it allows for an enemy that won't protest or accuse anyone of intolerance. No matter how unrealistic, contractors will become the stand-ins for the real threats to America and the rest of the world.
Since the real private military contractors like Blackwater USA combat terrorism and protect people from terrorists, will KITT and Mike Tracer team up with Al Qaeda in Iraq (what's left of them) or Abu Saayaf to capture those evil contractors?
It's clear that Hollywood has a better opinion of actual terrorists than private military contractors. The funny thing is that companies like Blackwater also train the same kind of law enforcement and security personnel that the studios and stars employ. In fact, former private military contractors even work security in Hollywood.
Hey! Maybe the “Knight Rider” team can look for those nefarious contractors in a studio backlot.
UPDATE 10:15: Want to see the new KITT? Goodbye Firebird. It's a Shelby GT500KR.
Lynn contributes to NewsBusters and can be reached at TVisgoodforyou2 AT yahoo.com
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New Old TV Shows
November 30, 2007 - 09:03 ET by Gordon SchumwayWell, doesn't that beat all? Pretty soon they will be remaking other old shows from the 70s and 80s. What's next... Battlestar Galactica?
Imperious Leader
Kobol
Actually, I was going to
November 30, 2007 - 09:11 ET by Roger the ShrubberActually, I was going to post about making an Alf movie, but, apparently, we were having some sort of mind-meld thing going this morning....
Old TV Shows Are Hot Again
November 30, 2007 - 09:36 ET by Lynn DavidsonFunny. I'm a "Battlestar Galactica" fan who didn't watch the original, but they clearly pulled the remake off. Then there is the "Bionic Woman," which I also enjoy. A "Knight Rider" sequel is a little more risky but possible. It's all in the writing.
There's a "Magnum PI" movie in the works with an almost 50-year-old George Clooney in the lead role. If they are going to go with someone that old (and Clooney's age is showing), then bring back Tom Selleck and make it a sequel. How many people would watch that? Maybe not on a movie screen, but TV-- absolutely. I certainly would.
"Starsky & Hutch," "Dukes of Hazzard," "Charlie's Angels" and "The Hulk" were recent movies and the BBC pulled off a fresh version of "Dr. Who."
Rumors of remaking "Hawaii 5-0" with Ben Affleck. JJ Abrams is writing/crafting the new "Star Trek" venture.
Old is fresh again and nostalgia draws interest.
The potential remake that I never want to see is a tie between "BJ & the Bear" and "Designing Women."
}}---> Galactica
November 30, 2007 - 09:40 ET by Cool ArrowI'm still waiting for remakes of Cannonball, Whirleybirds, Ripcord, December Bride, Make Room For Daddy, Rawhide, Have Gun Will Travel, and Branded.
SPACEBALLS !!!!!!!
November 30, 2007 - 16:27 ET by richflanjSPACEBALLS !!!!!!!
I'm still waiting for
November 30, 2007 - 09:45 ET by Hero SquadI'm still waiting for someone to have the guts to remake "Hello Larry."
*****
"There are no stupid questions. Only stupid people who ask questions." - Chris Berman
Or Wally Cox
November 30, 2007 - 09:49 ET by Cool ArrowMr. Peepers
Soap, although it could
November 30, 2007 - 10:11 ET by general companySoap, although it could never be as funny.
"Always do right. This will gratify some people, and astonish the rest". Mark Twain
To dream, HS. Oh, to
November 30, 2007 - 14:39 ET by Roger the ShrubberTo dream, HS. Oh, to dream...
The next Star Trek movie is
November 30, 2007 - 10:33 ET by Roger the ShrubberThe next Star Trek movie is coming out Christmas, 2008. It is going to be the original crew in their younger days. I was reading about this a while back, and thought some of the casting was interesting:
Kirk: one of the Tremor brothers from "Smokin' Aces"
Spock: Bad guy from "Heroes"
Bones: Karl Urban, Eomer from "Lord of the Rings"
Scotty: Simon Pegg, from "Shaun of the Dead"
Sulu: Harold, not Kumar
Uhura: the pirate captain chick from the first Pirates movie
With so many Star Trek
November 30, 2007 - 12:09 ET by Dan The Man 2With so many Star Trek franchises altering the story and characters and even races, Klingons, I wont watch the new one. How will this gell with the original crew, 5 year mission new crew, and the Glass Menagerie. It will be a disater with this Star Trek being for the younger know nothing generation. The last one had promise but really went out there with the doomsday weapon. I really saw the first two expansions of the frachise good and did not disrupt the timeline or story conituity. The only thing that really bugged me was the transformation of the Klingons.
That said I dont have high hopes.
Nuke em til they glow then shoot em in the dark.
Yoy!
November 30, 2007 - 12:23 ET by drillanwrKarl Urban is H-O-T!!! (/refresh button ... drill is female)
But as "Bones"??? Cripes! Bones was so geeky!
"Bones: Karl Urban, Eomer
December 1, 2007 - 02:35 ET by Carl Kolchak"Bones: Karl Urban, Eomer from "Lord of the Rings""
In my opinion nobody in the history of television has a sense of humor as good as Deforrest Kelly as Bones. He always got the most humorous lines, and always added good comedy on "Star Trek."
"Beam me up Scotty"
Carl, where have you been,
December 1, 2007 - 09:10 ET by Roger the ShrubberCarl, where have you been, my friend? I was going to post yesterday about yesterday being the birthday of both Winston Churchill and Albert Kesselring, but I didn't because I have seen you around. Seeing Kesselring's name made me look up some stuff on him, and saw that he wanted Hitler to take over Malta in 1942, but Hitler listened to Rommel instead and invaded Egypt. So, instead of getting complete control of the Mediteranean, they got beaten back by the 8th Army at el Alamein. Intersting stuff, to you and me at least, haha!
Starbuck is not a Girl
December 1, 2007 - 01:40 ET by PopularTechSorry but you cannot take the best character from the original and make him a girl in the remake to be politically correct.
Next we will here they are remaking the A-Team as the Gay Team.
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PopTech
December 1, 2007 - 01:46 ET by MrShy"I pity da' fool!"
will now be......
"Ooooh, I feel for the poor soul"
"MY end justifies THAT mean." - Shakespeare (not really)
HAHA
December 1, 2007 - 02:10 ET by PopularTechYeah and B.A. Barracus will be G.A. Barracus for Good Attitude.
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Why the left hates "civilian contractors"
November 30, 2007 - 09:08 ET by V the KCivilian contractors like Blackwater, Halliburton, and Triple Canopy are helping to win the War in Iraq (the war America must lose at all costs). That's why they must be demonized.
Hollywood wants to lose
November 30, 2007 - 09:09 ET by danboHollywood wants to lose more money?
"There is a clear attempt to establish truth not by scientific methods but by perpetual repetition."
- Richard S. Lindzen, Ph.D. Professor of Meteorology, MIT
craters of the moon
November 30, 2007 - 12:52 ET by wizardjrthe area around Follywood is going to start looking like the craters of the moon from all the movies and shows that have crashed and burned
Prediction: pilot and maybe one to three episodes and then mysteriouly disappears from the line up.
Are we sure...
November 30, 2007 - 09:23 ET by Sua Sponte 75this isn't an Onion page? I mean this really sounds like and Onion page.
"You're either part of the solution or part of the problem"
Not the Onion
November 30, 2007 - 09:40 ET by Lynn DavidsonIf only it were from the Onion. Instead, it was from the Hollywood Reporter.
KITT
November 30, 2007 - 09:28 ET by rubberpelletfrancisObviously KITT can't be an SUV, so I wonder if it will be a heavily armored Prius. Using a new, lighter than plastic steel, so as to not affect mpg. Nothing nuclear or oil based, of course, so it will run on embryonic stem cells, or code pink bile. The lib dream car.
LOL! And no weapons will
November 30, 2007 - 10:00 ET by JerryLOL! And no weapons will be used. All conflict will be resolved by UN sanctioned negotiations.
When asked if he went to war with Iraq to derail the impeachment vote: “I don’t think any serious person would believe that any President would do such a thing." - President Clinton (Dec 1998).
KITT Was "Green"
November 30, 2007 - 10:05 ET by Lynn DavidsonClose. The original KITT was green. I skimmed the Wikipedia episode guide while writing this and found KITT ran on liquid hydrogen and even raced in an alternative fuel race.
Perhaps the new KITT will run on polar bear tears and melted ice caps.
}}---> Kitt rides again
November 30, 2007 - 09:30 ET by Cool ArrowWhy can't this vigilante car take on Ponch and John in a hybrid "Knight C.H.I.P.S"
Did he take his mother's last name?
November 30, 2007 - 10:15 ET by RiharSome questions:
As above, Did 'Mike Tracer' take his mother's last name?
What happend to the "Very Special Episode" where Michael Knight got married? (if indeed he got married, I don't want to hassle the Hoff)
Can we expect an episode wherein a team of Iraq War veterans get together again to fight crime from a van? They could possibly fight evil vice-presidents. Maybe that can be a spinoff for a new show. I'll bet a star from the new Battlestar Galactica could be "the good-looking one". Possibly the actor who played the boxer opposite Sylvester Stallone in "Rocky Balboa" could be "the tough one".
Where's Donald Bellisario when you need him? Maybe I'm getting ahead of myslef, did he produce this new Knight Rider?
Did anyone see the Mystery Science Theater 3000 episode when they spoofed the two hour movie/back door pilot called "Riding With Death"? I think it was the same plot but instead of stealing a new fangled intelligent car, the evil para-military bad guys were trying to steal a new fuel that (it turns out) is actually a high explosive.
I think They Might Be Giants said it best whey they sang "Everything Old Is New Again".
When a liberal speaks, the truth is busy elsewhere.
Is this any surprise coming
November 30, 2007 - 09:56 ET by compmanIs this any surprise coming from NBC? The executives will soon have their agenda driven into every show that is on their network.
A lie gets halfway around the world before the truth has a chance to get its pants on. - Sir Winston Churchill
Next we'll hear about a new
November 30, 2007 - 11:47 ET by CortillaenNext we'll hear about a new Back to the Future movie featuring some twit going back to stop "Bush's criminal war"... *sigh*
www.rhjunior.com Great comics with a hefty dose of Christian and anti-nutjob goodness.
"With your mind as high as Mt. Fuji you can see all things clearly. And you can see all the forces that shape events; not just the things near to you." -Miyamoto Musashi
NBC completely missed the
November 30, 2007 - 12:28 ET by drillanwrNBC completely missed the mark on this one.
Should have gone up against Chinese toy and pet food companies ... Then Michael Knight and KITT could have gone all Jack Bauer on their a$$es!!!
BTW -
Blackwater can watch mine and my family's backs ANY TIME!
That's why they're called
November 30, 2007 - 16:41 ET by wiwfThat's why they're called pilots, folks! So glad to know that Russia, Terrorism, and Democrats have all been dealt with so that Knight Rider can focus on evil contractors!
Dig the new KITT, though.
The Rocky Mountain Collegian: Illustrating Idiocy
Eco-Rider
December 1, 2007 - 02:12 ET by PopularTechMichelle Knight decked out in her earth friendly non-leather threads leans against her jet black Prius with green racing stripes (Kit) eating a tofu burger when the head of Black Water and his goons emerge from Exxon's headquarters. He bellows an evil laugh while throwing his still lit cigarette onto the ground and spits out his chewing tobacco. He turns to his fellow black water goons in full black tactical gear,
"So long as we keep paying off the vice president we will be making money in Iraq for years and our real bosses will get filthy rich", gesturing at the exxon sign. He lets out another evil laugh, "Now lets go blow up that pipeline!". They all cheer and climb into a black Hummer.
"OMG, we have to stop them", Michelle knight throws the tofu wrapper to the side and quickly climbs into her Prius, "KIT, after them!".
KIT in a gay voice "Sorry Michelle, that wrapper is not biodegreadable and I cannot leave until you dispose of it properly"
"Fine!" Michelle gets out and puts it in a trash bin, then climbs back in and the electric motor whines as they slowly chase after the Hummer. Once on the highway one of the goons spots the black Prius.
"Looks like we have company, you better loose them". The driver guns the 6.6L 8-Cyclinder Turbo Diesel and they quickly accelerate away from the Prius.
"KIT! We are loosing them, activate Turbo Boost", Michelle screams hysterically.
"Sorry Michelle Nitrius Oxide is a greenhouse gas, you know I cannot use that".
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The Hollywood re-make cottage industry.
December 1, 2007 - 04:41 ET by mastersofdeceitI expressed a few months back in the Bionic Woman post how I feel about this remake stuff.
I was born in '67 so the tv shows and movies of the 70s up until about '85 are sacred; they do not need to be touched. No one I know is watching this crap. Get it hollywood?
If I ever stop posting on NB it's because I've gone into cardiac arrest because some fool is trying to remake the best movie in the world or the greatest TV show ever.