Okay, so for the first time in ages, I contribute an entry, and... it's a link.

[almightyhat]

I swear I'm working on something big, though.

However, I got pointed in the direction of this story today, and in light of how the general consensus that the cast of Knight Rider is unweildy...

"Knight Rider" changes gears, ejects stars

Comments

[almightyhat]

That was my thought! Where are the grownups? Or at least the people who can play the boss. I have this horrifying suspicion they're going to put Sarah in charge, and unless they plumb new depths of her character, it'll just make me hate her. Right now I only kind of dislike her.

I would definitely have swapped Zoe for Charles, but that's cos I don't like Carrie on a personal level-- I mean, I want the excess characters gone (they're interesting characters, but there are too many of them), and I understand splitting the sex-appeal difference and using the two hot guys, two of the girls, and the car... so I'd've expected them to keep Carrie. Zoe is cute, but dramatically useless. Her job on the Knight Industries Research site is listed as 'office administrator.' I have not yet been able to figure out why we're watching an office administrator. That's like Kathy or Dr. Alpert being in every episode of the original.

And I wrote in to NBC saying something similar. It's actually frighteningly easy to get in touch with them, which makes me want to recruit as many smart, articulate fans as I can. The official forums are kind of... internetty. (Went and joined those today, too.)

[dknightshade]

Yeah, even though I don't care for Carrie much (or don't care for the way they've used her), she could at least pretend at being in charge - lacking anyone else. Sarah (I think you're right) - not so much. She can't even sort out her feelings for Mike, much less give him direction. I don't dislike Sarah, but I really don't see that working.

Yeah, Zoe is just, puzzling.

Overall, I think it's good that they're losing people, but sadly I don't know that they've chosen wisely.

[almightyhat]

I can see why they bumped who they bumped... Torres is liable to be a baddie on us (that's my bet and I'm sticking to it), and Davison and Poitier are, you know. Movie stars and stuff. They can't be cheap.

But yeah, Sarah has this tendency towards being emotionally manipulative and definitely can't see the big picture most of the time, Billy... actually probably could be a decent anchor but he's not... quite got the stomach, the cojones, or the seniority for being the boss, Mike and Kitt are the ones most in need of a moral compass, and Zoe... is Zoe. She's adorable, but she's ever so useless. It's like they're trying for a character like Aubrey (she's in the glasses there) and couldn't quite make her network-friendly enough to cross the line twice the way she really needs to. (You ever watch NCIS? She's totally supposed to be their Abby. Sadly, I think Billy's their Abby.)

Seriously, if you're worried about it, write in. nbc.com, and there's a link all the way down at the bottom of the page that says 'contact us.' From there you just follow directions-- easy. I'm not organizing a letter campaign or anything, but I figure if enough smart fans write in with praise and valid concerns rather than 'omg kits transforming is so cool when r mike + sara gonna hook up?', maybe NBC will figure out that not all their viewers are morons. Cos of course the viewers who are morons (and there are) will keep watching so long as there's a talking car, a lot of explosions, and hot girls.

[kyra_neko_rei]

It'd be damn cool if Zoe turned out to be some kind of plant by somebody, there to keep an eye on the technology, dumbing herself down to the part of office admin to keep cover and then eventually stepping into a more competent role. Something like the Department of Defense top brass wanting to keep a personal (and not mistrusted) eye on the sentient car technology, or something.

I'm a sucker for beauty, and none of the others except KITT are of the type that interest me in the slightest, so I enjoy having Zoe around, but I really wish she was more competent and skilled.

[almightyhat]

Sadly, it's not that she's incompetent or unskilled, it's that she doesn't get to do anything. She got to run around in a bikini because she's the one who can surf... but she never actually surfed, teach Billy to fight for all of five minutes, ninja her way along a ventilation shaft and knock out her doppelganger...

I really like Zoe, as a character. I just don't think she works well with the Knight Rider concept.

It'd be cool if she were some kind of plant-- I figured Living Dead was going to be Zoe is a plant, kills someone, threatens to blow Torres's cover (because everybody knows he's dirty), and he kills her to shut her up and tells everyone else it was a regrettable necessity. My prediction was almost right and yet so very wrong.

[kyra_neko_rei]

I keep missing episodes. That doesn't surprise me, though, the she-doesn't-do-much problem; that's unfortunately unlikely to be fixed, as it's a writers-and-directors-level bias, that all she needs to do is be decorative because she's the female B-character.

[almightyhat]

NBC.com has usually the latest five episodes to watch online.

And yeah, I get the female B-character thing, but what really bugs me is this 'everyone must be paired off' vibe. Like we can't have Billy in the SSC without having a girl for him, and we clearly can't break up the Golden Pair of Sarah and Mike, despite the fact that pretty much all they have in common is growing up together. If they want to make KR more like the original series, the first thing to do is drop the romance, not drop the boss. Leave the 'shipping to fandom, we're better at it.

[kyra_neko_rei]

Oh, yes, the romance thing sucks.

Leave the 'shipping to fandom, we're better at it.

Most immensely and utterly true. Also, I want KITT/Zoe. The show will, most unfortunately, probably never give me that.

[almightyhat]

I want Billy/Sarah. Because it looks like it could be two smart people in a healthy-enough, functional relationship. Even if he doesn't like to go outside.