Autoblog

Now that we've all had the cold reality of Knight Rider's return smack us in the face, there's not much more to be said about the show that hasn't been addressed. Taste being a fickle mistress, ABC is offering up a new drama that sounds like "As the Badge Engineers." Actually, it's called "The Prince of Motor City," and the show's structure is pretty boilerplate – there's the family fireworks, the prodigal son, the strong matriarch, and the forces of opposition pushing back against the protagonist. ABC is saying that the family drama, starring Andie MacDowell and October Road's Warren Christie, draws inspiration from The Bard's own Hamlet.

Basically, The Prince (Christie) is Billy Hamilton, son of an automotive legend. Billy followed high-minded academic pursuits at Harvard instead of the car business. Even though the rest of the family refuses to acknowledge Billy, his mother, Gertrude (MacDowell) dotes and visits often. Billy's father croaks, and surprisingly leaves him in charge of Hamilton Motor Works. The ghost of Billys father keeps humming Elvis tunes, while Moms and Uncle Charlie might be shacking up, and the CFO wants Billy's head on a platter (and his job.) Shoot, it almost sounds like it could be good, they've even got Jack Bender, late of Lost, to direct. It sounds like the network wants this show to succeed with the talent they're throwing at it. It will be interesting to see just how tone-deaf a rendering Hollywood does on the car business, though. If we could make one request; please pluck a gem from the MC5 as a theme song.

[Source: TVSquad]