Autoblog

Busy week in the world of Knight Rider. Fresh off the news that last week's episode got beaten in the ratings by a telenovela on cable and that the show's getting reinvented in a bid to make it actually watchable, we're back for another round of this televised KITT-lamity.

Tonight's Episode:
"I Wanna Rock & Roll All Knight" A criminal couple with congressional ties threatens to reveal the secrets of Knight Industries.

See you masochists after the jump.

Click above for high-res gallery of K.I.T.T. and the Mio GPS

There were a lot of movie and TV-themed vehicles at SEMA this year, but one of our favorite entertainment tie-ins had to be the Mio Knight Rider GPS system. We told you about this way back in June, played with it when the new K.I.T.T. visited the Autoblog Garage, and messed with it some more in Vegas. It sounds exactly like you'd hope it would. "Michael, you're going the wrong way, you ninny," isn't in the regular playlist, but it did have some attitude. Even better than laying hands on the Mio, however, was the fact that K.I.T.T. ( no, not the Mustang) was actually in the Mio booth selling the product. It was almost too much to handle. As we told you in June, the Mio Knight Rider GPS unit uses the voice the one-and-only William Daniels, the original voice of K.I.T.T., and asks cordially "Hello Michael, where do you want to go today?" when powered up. The 4.3-inch LCD display is also flanked by a series of red LEDs reminiscent of K.I.T.T.'s nose-mounted lights. It's available for sale now at about $270.


Photos copyright ©2008 Frank Filipponio/Weblogs, Inc.

Oh, you thought it was over, didn't you? Well, you (and I) should be so lucky. Last week, Knight Rider was pre-empted by the Obamercial, so your humble blog host got a much-appreciated bye. Tonight, however, the 8:00 hour on Wednesday is once again hijacked by the KITT crew.

The official NBC.com episode synopsis:
"Knight of the Living Dead" Halloween turns deadly when a tech is murdered inside Knight Industries headquarters.

And the expanded version, according to my Tivo:
"Knight of the Living Dead" A tech is murdered at Knight Industries headquarters; while they are stuck on a flight during a storm, Sarah and Mike must try to stop KITT before it self-destructs.

Oh, goody -- a week-too-late Halloween episode featuring problematic air travel. On the upside, maybe Billy is the tech who gets murdered. Keep hope alive.

One more episode of this, and my over/under prediction of 5 for show cancellation (I took the under) is toast. In any case, here I am. Again. Lucky me, lucky you.

Last week, Mike and Zoe went to Baja, where it was Zoe's turn to wear a bikini for extended periods of screen time. Bruce Davison's character yelled some more for no discernible reason, and KITT turned into a submarine. And to think, Ford doesn't even make a submarine!

Anyway, this week, Mike gets poisoned (fingers crossed), according to the official synopsis:

"A Hard Day's Knight" Pieces of Mike's past are revealed as a lethal poison threatens his life.

There's only one way this plot ends well, and given that NBC just ordered four new scripts, that ain't happening (fingers uncrossed).

See you after the jump in a half-hour.

Yeah, I know I'm late. Sue me. Against my better judgement (and yours, based on last week's poll), I'm here semi-liveblogging tonight's episode with the assistance of my Tivo.

Tonight's episode: "Knight of the Iguana", a.k.a. "KITT and Mike go to the beach." Kill me now...

You know what to do. See you after the jump.

The Mio Knight Rider GPS is coming soon to a store near you, as long as that retailer is a Radio Shack. The tech store and Mio struck an exclusive deal for the $279 navigation system, which features the original voice of KITT, William Daniels. We were able to try out the Knight Rider GPS when we had KITT in the Autoblog Garage, and it scored some extra novelty points while also working well as your standard, run of the mill nav system. Anyone who went for a ride in our KITT Shelby GT500KR tester was almost as interested in the talking nav system as the car itself. It's a little disappointing, however, that you can only get one at Radio Shack, though the sub-$300 price tag makes it all better.


[Source: CNET]

The series premiere of Knight Rider on NBC last night pulled a 4.9/10 Nielsen rating in its 8PM time slot, which, according to tvbythenumbers.com, isn't exactly a stellar score for a series opener. In other words, Nielsen is estimating that 4.9% of all TV households were watching Knight Rider last night, and that group includes TV households that both did and did not have their TVs turned on at the time. The second number means that out of all the TVs turned on between 8PM and 9PM last night, 10% were watching Knight Rider.

How does that measure up with Knight Rider's competition on Wednesday nights? Not so hot. KR was third in the 18-49 demographic and 4th in the more important 18-34 demo. Robert Seldman who writes for tvbythenumbers.com tells us that the 18-34 year old demographic was even more interested in watching America's Next Top Model than Michael Knight, and that includes both males and females.

The Nunez household counted itself among the few that watched the Knight Rider premiere, and in case you missed it, check out Alex's liveblog of the first episode. He's promised to be in front of the tube each week so you don't have to.

[Source: tvbythenumbers.com]

Autoblogger Alex Nunez has been in a self-imposed Knight Rider cone of silence despite the series premiere being released online last week. He'll be liveblogging the episode's broadcast premiere on NBC tonight at 8PM EST right here on Autoblog, just like he did for the made-for-TV movie that aired last February, and he wants to preserve his first impressions just for you. We've also kept him in a cage during the show's entire development process, and every night we poke him with a stick while playing the Knight Rider theme song. He'll be extra ornery for the return of Michael Knight Mike Tracer and KITT to the small screen, so be right back here at 8PM EST for the fun.

UPDATE: The Liveblog for Episode 1 is here.

As promised, NBC has released the first episode of the revived Knight Rider series online at its website and Hulu.com. Fortunately, the video is embeddable so you can watch it right after the jump on Autoblog. We're literally watching it and writing this at the same time, and – WHOA! KITT just transformed into his new Attack Mode. Some sort of nuclear fission occurred in his combustion chambers and he just leaped from his parking spot over some baddies. Anyway, we won't ruin anything else for you. Hit the jump to watch it yourself or save your virgin eyes for our own live blog of the series premiere next Wednesday when Alex will give us his minute-by-minute judgment of KITT's return to the small screen.

[Source: Hulu.com]

Hey kids, don't forget: the new, not-at-all-improved Knight Rider becomes a weekly series on Wednesday, September 24th. As was the case during the pilot that aired back in February, I'll be on my couch with my laptop, liveblogging the proceedings and adding much-needed "perspective" each week, right until the show's cancellation. Maybe you couldn't care less about the liveblog, though. Or maybe you're just a glutton for punishment. If that's the case, you're in luck -- the Peacock is posting the season premiere online at NBC.com and Hulu.com on September 17, a week before the network broadcast. I'm gonna pass on the sneak peek, because I don't want want to taint my initial reaction to KITT's new Attack Mode (above). That, I'm saving for you guys. Mark your calendars. In the meantime, I'll watch this again instead.


[Source: Inside Line]