Autoblog

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


[Sources: AICN via FARK, Variety, IGN, Screen Rant]

click above for more images of the new KITT

Wouldn't you like to believe that the producers of the new Knight Rider series saw something in the Ford Mustang Shelby GT500KR that evoked the essence of what it is to be KITT? Yeah, that's not what happened. According to AdAge, Ford snagging the role of KITT had more to do with timing and a certain boat load of money that was exchanged hands. As we've explained before, Pontiac doesn't even have a car that would be suitable for the part of KITT, while the Camaro just wouldn't have been ready in time. Same goes for the Dodge Challenger. That leaves the Ford Mustang, which found a new way to enjoy its time without a competitor in sight by taking some acting lessons and landing the spot. Curiously, Jalopnik reports that the article, which isn't accessible without a subscription (natch) mentions that the Chrysler Crossfire was being considered. Not that it should have ever gotten the job, but Chrysler cancelled the Crossfire anyway. We're sure the Corvette was being considered, if for no other reason than it would have made as much sense in the role as the GT500KR, but we guess GM didn't think it was money well spent. Time will tell whether or not Ford's investment was a smart one.

[Source: Adage via Jalopnik]

click on either image for more new pics of KITT

We've found yet more high-res pics of the Shelby GT500KR that will play KITT in the TV revival of Knight Rider. This new batch finally gives us enough angles of both the KITT Hero and KITT Attack cars, including KITT's interior, to make a judgment on how successful the transformation is.

One thing we always liked about the original KITT was how simple it was: just a jet black exterior with black wheels. The GT500KR KITT Hero car conforms to this ethos, with an exterior that doesn't distinguish itself very much from a standards GT500KR save for the black paint accented by matte black racing stripes and the swooping red light bars in the hood nostrels. But why the chrome wheels? The blingy rims contrast too much with the stealth exterior treatment. What if KITT were trying to penetrate a nuclear waste facility and a search light bounced off his 20-inchers? They're not very practical for corporation-based vigilante crime fighting, if you ask us.