Filed under: Sports/GTs, Etc., Ford, Celebrities
NBC greenlights Knight Rider weekly series
by Alex Nunez on Mar 31st 2008 at 4:24PM 
You'll see more of him this Fall. Click above for a gallery of the new KITT.
The Knight Rider TV movie was not good. The updated, Shelby Mustang-based KITT looked undeniably cool (when not in Ugly... er... Attack Mode, at least), but the acting was wooden and the writing was a horror show. Still, the ending completely set up a potential ongoing story. Today comes word that the ratings were apparently good enough for the suits to give a thumbs-up for a new weekly series starting this Fall. Early reports suggest a Friday night timeslot is in the works, but that's subject to change; all will be known on Wednesday when NBC presents its early upfronts.
We'll assume that at the very least, stars Justin Breuning (Mike Traceur) and Deanna Russo (Mike Traceur's Girlfriend) will return to fill our flatscreens with emotionless line reading. And since voicing KITT should be a relatively easy payday for Val Kilmer, we'd expect him to reprise his role, as well. As for the Hoff, who walked on for a brief cameo at the end of the pilot, who knows? The big winner here is Ford, which now gets an hour-long weekly showcase for the Shelby GT500KR KITT. Based on the stupendously lousy pilot, however, we're going to put on our prognostication hats and set the over/under for this Knight Rider reboot at 10 episodes. Unless NBC ups the quality in a big, big way, the under is a lock.
I am ordering Alex to live blog every single episode like he did the pilot, which probably won't be a long-term commitment considering. - John
Gallery: The new KITT - OFFICIAL PHOTOS
[Sources: AICN via FARK, Variety, IGN, Screen Rant]
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 3)
Shipey 4:30PM (3/31/2008)
Eh, now that the writers' strike is over maybe they can pull it together.
Forgive me if I don't hold my breath though...
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geo.stewart 5:03PM (3/31/2008)
see, they SHOULD have killed off the HOFF and brought him back as the voice of the new car. That at least would have held some excitement, maybe.
Val Kilmer just doesnt cut it and I like him. IDK, maybe with the late switch, they didnt have time to go through the takes. OR get Mike Rowe
SenSpeed 6:19PM (3/31/2008)
nbc = brainless
Kayne001 4:32PM (3/31/2008)
$5 on one season life
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Alex Nunez 4:35PM (3/31/2008)
I'm guessing when the DVD is released, it won't be called Knight Rider: Season 1. It'll be Knight Rider: The Complete Series.
Xcountryflyer 5:23PM (3/31/2008)
The pilot was terrible.
WillDaThrill 2:48AM (4/01/2008)
I'll triple that and say it mysteriously gets canceled before January.
It'll be one of those shows where people will be like, "Didn't they make a new show about that car that talked with the light bar on it?"
Kayne001 2:09PM (4/03/2008)
Agree 100%
and Tripled :P
Sharpie 4:34PM (3/31/2008)
Hey, if they can recruit the guys who wrote the five-or-six-part "Mini episode" Ford Commercials that starred the new KITT and Michael and ran during the pilot, it might be watchable!
Those ads had WAY better writing AND acting than the pilot itself. Almost called back memories of the old bantering and repertoire between KITT and Michael back in the day. Close.
When your car is c***-blocking your dates, that is kind of funny.
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94 taurus owner 4:35PM (3/31/2008)
HUZZAH!!!
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Dude 4:37PM (3/31/2008)
Really? Did they even see the pilot?
Ford must have paid a LOT of money for this.
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RG 4:39PM (3/31/2008)
But... but... but... the strike is over, they dont have to keep running this garbage as filler.
I'm so confused.
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Wildgoosechase73 4:43PM (3/31/2008)
Have you watched an old Knight Rider? It's not like that was the best show, but still lasted several seasons.
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Jeremy 12:47AM (4/01/2008)
Finally, someone says it! Would everyone please shut their snobby faces about how bad the pilot was. Have you ever seen even a single episode of the original. It was awful by all measures. There was repetitive plots, lack of consistency in KITT's technical capabilities, rampant overacting, and so much more. The reason we're ALL talking about this show is because when we were kids, we said "who cares" and just enjoyed a show that piqued our imaginations about cars.
The aging hipsters at Engadget are really starting to remind me of C&D. Their recent criticisms of the BMW 135i said "why get a 135 when you can step up and get a 328 for a very small amount more". I'm just taking a stab in the dark, but maybe it has something to do with the fact that the 1 handles better, weights less, and has 70 more horsepower. It should be called Car & Family Man with Kids.
Knight Rider isn't supposed to be some epic technological documentary. It's meant to be watched and enjoyed for what it is. An awesome car doing some things only relegated to our fantasies. If you are too old to get that then shut up.
fm 1:27AM (4/01/2008)
@Jeremy
Yeah the original series was bad. Yes it was overacted.
But for someone who's calling Autoblog old get yourself back to the 21st century. Dude seriously, it's not because the original was bad that the current one should be. Atleast the first one knew it was bad (excepted for the Hoff who's full of himself). This one takes itself seriously and is badly done.
In the end why do we have to suffer through another bad Knight Rider series? Why can't it be done well? This is setup to fail like Top Gear US is. That's the NBC way.
WillDaThrill 3:03AM (4/01/2008)
That was the eighties. People back then wore pink Le'Tigre's, blazer coats, jeans and sneakers. Look at the eighties style, did you expect more from the eighties? Everything was cheesier then. At least the acting flowed more and was believeable on the original. THEY HAD TO RENT 3 DIFFERENT HELICOPTERS TO DO A FIVE SECOND SCENE IN THE NEW ONE! It's not like they were even a close match either.
Maybe being a kid had something to do with it, but we are not easily fooled today. Hell, kids laughed at the plot on the new one. The only time they were interested was when the car was in pursuit.
They lose you in California, you show up at a casino in Las Vegas. Two minutes later the bad guys just happen to show up at the same casino...even though they lost you in California? They didn't have the tracking device yet either. Damn, I'm rambling.
snerdley 4:51PM (3/31/2008)
So what is the carbon footprint of this show? If NBC is going to prattle on about the dangers of global warming they need to take action in-house to minimize their carbon footprint. Put Kitt on blocks and present the series through a series of emails and cell phone calls. Running around and driving around at high speed is just not acceptable in this day of panic and desperation.
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Alex Nunez 4:53PM (3/31/2008)
Didn't you watch the pilot? KITT gets 187 mpg. He's not part of the problem, he's the solution!
snerdley 4:58PM (3/31/2008)
Alex, I passed out while trying to hold my breath for 12 out of each 24 hour period and missed the pilot show. 187 mpg you say? You are right Kitt is not the problem -he is the solution. What we need now is for the NBC writers to give each of us a part in the show with our vehicles getting at least 35 mpg - then we will not need the CAFE standards being foisted upon us as the "solution" to our problems.
dildomassive 4:52PM (3/31/2008)
Signs of the apocalypse for sure.
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