Post from Nick Nugent:
I'm not part of any blogger websites, so I'm not sure how to share them on there but if anyone wants to share my write up - please do!
[So, I did]
One Fan Can Make A DifferenceBy: Nick Nugent
On September 26th, 1982 the world was introduced to the most technically advanced supercar in existence and given their first glimpse into the dangerous world of a man who did not exist. That man who began as Michael Arthur Long became “Michael Knight” (played by David Hasselhoff), a lone crusader whose mission began with a quest for revenge but soon evolved into a heroic crusade to champion the cause of the innocent, the helpless, the powerless and bring to justice criminals who operated above the law.
Michael’s reluctant partner was an artificial intelligence known as the Knight Industries Two Thousand or K.I.T.T. for short (voiced by the clever wit of William Daniels) Unlike many buddy-cop dramas of the time, what set Knight Rider apart was that K.I.T.T. was a talking car unlike any other and not afraid to speak his mind. The Knight 2000 which resembled an 82’ Pontiac Trans Am with a mirror polished obsidian finish was protected by a molecular bonded shell which made the car nearly invulnerable and week after week delighted audiences of all ages by crashing through walls, repelling bullets, Micro Jamming electronics, driving on two wheels with “Ski Mode”, and best of all leaping across danger with the simple push of a button marked “Turbo Boost”. From 1982-1986, Knight Rider continued to dazzle the hearts and mind of generations to come and here, nearly 30 years later the spirit of this iconic series still burns bright.
So what made Knight Rider so memorable? Why do so many fans across the globe continue to gravitate toward it today? Some say it was the car, the cast, the charisma of David Hasselhoff, the merchandise, the stunts, or the modern heroics but I would like to think what makes Knight Rider stand out above any technically advanced action show of its kind (what I call the “techno-robotic sleuth” genre which is anything with a gadget driven hi-tech super-vehicle) is the positive message of hope, that one man can make a difference. You can stand up against wrongs and find the strength to continue to make them right.
From the very first time my dad Gary gave me a talking “Kenner K.I.T.T.”, I fell in love with everything Knight Rider stood for. I played with it for hours, glued to every syllable K.I.T.T. spoke with the tug of the tiny KNIGHT license plate on the rear. I cleared away every toy from my shelf to make sure K.I.T.T. (kids just called the car K.I.T.T., we didn’t care about the distinction between an A.I. and a vehicle) was in just the right position for the sunlight to stream in from my bedroom window and gleam off my car like a spotlight.
I would imagine little cross-over missions for Michael and K.I.T.T. to go on, saving G.I. JOE or the Autobots from the evil schemes of Cobra or the Decepticons, Turbo Boosting to the rescue or crashing through barricades and racing through imaginary gunfire.
My first slice of “reality vs. the fantasy of television magic” came in the form of a dispute with a bully. This individual who shall remain nameless sought to prove that KITT was not nearly invulnerable as he was depicted on the small screen. It was also the first time I really understood what being a “geek” meant.
Before I could blink, he snatched my prized talking K.I.T.T. away from me and to prove his point – sent Michael and K.I.T.T. rolling right into the path of an oncoming semi as I watched powerless while my childhood dreams shattered into hundreds of plastic pieces flung across the pavement. My understanding of fantasy and reality became solidified that day and part of my innocence was lost forever.
You must understand this was back in the day before we had ebay. When Toys R’ Us was stocked full of toys that were die cast metal and actually made to last. You couldn’t simply go out to a store and replace K.I.T.T., by the time this happened the toy was discontinued. For a kid like me, it was like losing a friend forever.
As an only child, I was left home alone to fend for myself while my mother worked hard to put food on the table. With no stable father figure in my life, I found my fatherly guidance in Michael Knight. Week after week I would tune into Knight Rider in syndication and learn strong moral values, mixed in with thrilling action and riveting suspense. Knight Rider was a show the entire family could enjoy with creator Glen A. Larson’s unique brand of humor to break up the tension. I may have lost my beloved toy car but I still had K.I.T.T. on television and Michael Knight was my hero.
I didn’t care about the effects or the cheesy nature of the series others like to point out today – as a kid I wanted nothing more than to ride shotgun with Michael and call K.I.T.T. my pal. I wanted to get inside that car that evoked the “WOW!” factor and press all the buttons to see what they did.
Michael and K.I.T.T. would never judge me for who I was or what I enjoyed.
My mother and I moved around a lot so it was hard to make friends but given my geeky nature, it was very easy to make enemies. Bullies lurked around every corner seeking to knock my books out of my hands, demand lunch money, mock my low end clothing, or make fun of me for paying attention in class. I used my imagination wherever I felt the need to express it, be it a public playground, the top of my school desk, or doodling during a boring class lecture to stay awake.
Because I was often lost in my own dream world, I was called a nerd, a geek, a lost cause, a dork who didn’t “get it” because I wasn’t into eyeballing girls or going to parties, sporting events, or earning trophies. I didn’t care about following the latest trends or ditching class. All I cared about was getting on Honor Roll, playing my NES and watching Saturday morning cartoons, A-Team, Knight Rider, Airwolf, Double Dare, Finders Keepers, Legends of the Hidden Temple, and all other manner of geeky television gold that is scarcely found today.
I was told I would amount to nothing in life.
After the golden age of the 80s’ faded away into the 90s’ I shifted my focus towards my love for all things Star Wars. I’ve collected every figure that has been released since 95’ up until Episode II. From the very first time my mother bought me the gigantic (power of the force) Millennium Falcon with flashing lights and sounds for Christmas, Star Wars became my newfound fascination.
Not only did I collect Star Wars but as I grew into adulthood, I soon found myself with a passion for art. I started drawing and designing my own lightsabers, costumes, logos, characters, and stories. For years, I used my evolving talent to explore and collect everything Star Wars had to offer and before everything was said and done – with the popularity of the internet, I had participated in online roleplays with my character “Valaryc” (a Dark Jedi Master), T1 story dueling (never lost a battle), and written 1000 pages of my own unique fan fiction novels and short stories.
I would proudly go out in public displaying my latest Star Wars t-shirts and sweaters. I didn’t care what people thought when they walked into my room and saw figures like wallpaper, scattered across my walls and tons of toys still mint in box stashed away in my closet. I went to conventions and dressed as Valaryc (my own character) whom people mistook for Johnny Depp dressing up as a Sith Lord. (No, I don’t think I’m anywhere near as good looking as Johnny Depp). I even made a Star Wars fan film in college called “Dual Worlds” with what little budget I had at the time. Terrible as it might seem to people today, it was a hell of a lot of work and I did the best I could with what I had to work with and good ol’ After Effects.
But then there was simply no where else in Lucas’s world for me to go. As great as my ideas were, they would always belong to George Lucas. I soon shifted gears to study what made Knight Rider and Star Wars so appealing to me and explored the fundamentals of storytelling. An instructor friend of mine named Nick Kozis introduced me to a book called The Hero’s Journey, written by Christopher Vogel that would forever change how I viewed motion pictures and television today. He challenged me to improve my knowledge of story as well as art.
I then started working on translating my creative ideas from George’s world into my own, called Aiemara which I did for my Senior Thesis – but that is another story for another day.
So where does Knight Rider fit in with all this?
As fate would have it, the very series I grew up watching from afar soon returned to change my life forever. It was by chance encounter that I met James Larson, the son of series creator and Executive Producer Glen. A. Larson. I remember vividly the first time I met Glen at a private screening for “Serenity”. I was intimidated beyond belief by his stage-like regal presence and here I was looking very much like a fanboy geek; right down to my flaming “S” shield Superman t-shirt and longer hippie hair spilling across my shoulders.
I told Glen how much I admired Knight Rider and how much the show meant to me and how it changed my life as a kid growing up. At this time back in 2005, Knight Rider had just come out with Season 1 on dvd but I had collected all the VHS tapes released by Columbia House. Imagine my surprise when Glen asked James to retrieve a box set from his collection. Not only did Glen give me a brand new shiny Season 1 box set that night but he also personally signed it me. (Which is now signed by many more cast/crew)
From that moment on, I was completely immersed in the world of Knight Rider once again. Week after week I would drive up to his home and discuss ideas about the series, motion picture concepts, and upcoming events, and help him in any way I could.
Not long after our relationship began to grow did I come across two fans out there whose passion and knowledge of this series exceeded my own. A previous book, Knight Rider Legacy written by Joe Huth IV and Richie Levine was an outstanding glimpse into how Knight Rider was created, produced, marketed, and enjoyed told by the people who worked on the show. From my first encounter with the book, I enjoyed everything about it except one thing was lacking – color photos.
I greatly adored the story of Knight Rider but for me, I really gravitated towards the visual language of the show – you don’t “read” television, you watch it! I wanted to create a fairly spoiler free guide book that focused only on the original series mythology that included the original cast of the series and excluded the latter spin-offs. A book that provided just as much a visual guide to the series as it did in text. A virtual time machine that would through its various full color, hi-resolution imagery trigger those cherished memories and perhaps spark that childlike sense of wonder once again. It could also be for those fans that had never seen the series and perhaps kindle their interest into tracking episodes down and experiencing something new that can’t be found in today’s modern smorgasbord of reality tv shows and forensic or legal driven dramas. Knight Rider was a trendsetter where as most tv today in my opinion prefer to be trend followers.
After a year’s worth of research, gathering interviews, gaining clearances, layout, custom design, editing, and finally production in late December 2008 - The Knight Rider Companion was born.
After its release, I soon found myself using the proverbial “super pursuit mode” from one Knight Rider inspired project to the next and fulfilling demand for copies of my self published book. Gone was the desire to create more Star Wars art and in was the passion to bring awareness of Michael and K.I.T.T. back to generations today. I found myself not just loving Knight Rider but forever becoming a part of its continued legacy by contributing new original artwork and making it available to fans who wanted it. Chances are if you were to google “Knight Rider”, “KITT”, or “Knight Rider Art”, you would run across my creations without even knowing it. I have also used my talent to raise money for charities such as the Children’s Miracle Network.
With people sending me fan mail from all across the world, I know that the challenges I faced along with my Dad Gary to make my book possible was worth the personal, financial, and emotional obstacles we had to overcome to make a difference. I am not here to convince you to buy my book but if you would like to know more about it, you’re welcome to check it out at the links provided at the end of this write up.
From one design challenge to the next, I have created artwork for modern day Knight Rider events such as Knight Rider Festival I-III, Saugus Car Show, Knights of the West Coast, KIRAD in the UK, and other things. I have attended Knight Rider events such as Knight Rider Festival, Las Vegas Car Stars, Knightcon in the UK, Southern Knights in Atlanta, and made good friends with fans who share my love for television cars such as Star Car Central and Fireball Tim.
As a digital artist, I have created trading card sets, posters, t-shirts, banners, VIP passes, labels, video animations, and other promotional materials. I was recently featured on CBS along with Knights of the West Coast on a show called, “Same Name” which starred David Hasselhoff. I have done probably more things in the span of five years for Knight Rider than one person should be able to accomplish in a lifetime.
I have met practically everyone (including David) who worked on the series and built lasting friendships with cast/crew such as Catherine Hickland (Stevie Mason), Rebecca Holden (April Curtis), Ann Turkel (Adrianne Margeaux), Stu Phillips (Composer), Don Peake (Composer), Michael Scheffe (Original KITT designer), Jack Gill (Stuntman), Ron Martinez (Producer), Tom Greene (Writer/Producer), Tony Wood (TKR), and Glen A. Larson (Creator/Exec Producer). I list them by name so that if you don’t know who they are, you can google them and find out just why they’re such talented and amazing people.
I believe I have solidified myself as a true geek to the core across multiple genres and I’m proud of it. In addition to Knight Rider, I also collect dvds/blu-rays, Star Wars replicas, movie replicas; Tron memorabilia, autographs, and attend shows like San Diego Comic Con, Nuke the Fridge Con, Long Beach Comic Con, Anaheim Comic Con, and other fantastic shows that aren’t afraid to hang out with their geek out. I have a profound interest in movie spoilers, movie poster art (Drew Stuzan), and going to Disneyland. In fact, at one time I was a Cast Member for Disneyland as a Ticket Taker at the Main Gate.
I have a Facebook, twitter, imdb page, personal website, fan website, and all other measure of social networking. I may not get tons of followers but the positive people who do follow my progress and support me through this shadowy flight we call “life” make a true difference. I have done many things but I haven’t always finished them alone.
Without the respect and support of my fans, friends and family, I wouldn’t be where I am today and I strongly believe in giving credit where it is due.
I have proven beyond a shadow of a doubt against those who opposed or mocked me that one fan can make a positive difference.
I say one “fan” and not “man” because a fan is not gender specific. A fan can be anyone of any age, nationality, gender, sexual preference, geek, nerd, dork, or whatever other stereotype out there people can come up with.
A fan is not genre specific – you can love anyone and love anything and that is what makes being a fan so great. You’re free to reach for the stars and capture your dreams; only your fear can stop you.
Today I can say to those people that said I was a geek who would never amount to anything, thank you for challenging me to try harder. Thank you for making me stronger, wiser, and realize what matters in this life – your passion and the will to express it.
For me, what matters is making a positive difference one generous act of kindness at a time. To keep my word when it is given, help those in need, and right wrongs when it is in my power to do so.
I have been called many names from geek, dork, nerd, schoolboy, fanboy, the “knight rider guy”, the “book guy”, The Digital Quick, Dark Jedi Master, Master Valaryc, Victor Kros, that guy who “wants to be famous”, and so on but there is one thing this “geek” will be above all else…
I am a Knight.
-Nick Nugent
http://www.knightridercompanion.com
http://www.valaryc.com
http://www.valaryc.deviantart.com
Twitter - @KRCompanion
The season is upon us.
