According to Variety, NBC has decided to go ahead and approve Knight Rider as an ongoing TV series for next Fall.
It seems that the pilot had decent enough ratings to convince the powers that be to go ahead and approve the concept for a weekly series. While I didn’t exactly skewer the recent Knight Rider pilot, I didn’t exactly give it a glowing review, either. As a matter of fact, most commenters on my review said I went too easy on the two hour pilot.
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My defense was that the source material was not exactly high art, so I tried to review this updated version with some relation to the original. Still, it was pretty damned weak in my opinion, mainly due to the script. I didn’t even find the lead, Justin Bruening to be completely awful in the role. He might even grow into it eventually.
But the story and script… yikes. Really over the top terrible. One can only hope they get some new writers once this thing goes weekly. I also hope they do away with inserting the lead along with KITT into the Ford Mustang commercials during the breaks.
Regarding the series being picked up based on the pilot’s ratings, I’m sure the folks over at NBC know a lot more about this sort of thing than I do (well…) but it seems to me they’re possibly missing one important part of the ratings equation: curiosity.
How many people, I wonder, tuned in to the two hour pilot just out of curiosity based on just the Knight Rider name just to see whether this thing would be any good - or a train wreck? Will those same folks hang around to tune in week after week? Somehow, I think that a large percentage won’t.
On a final note, I doubt it’ll happen, but I’d love to see David Hasselhoff in a recurring role on the show.
Source: Variety via AICN, which I heard about from New Film Dimension (hey, credit where credit’s due)
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7 Comments
My comments on the pilot stand: Many good shows have had weak pilots and ended up working out the kinks throughout the first season, or even into the second. Granted, these days shows aren’t usually given that chance any more, but it shows potential. The pilot did a nice job keeping continuity with the original series and kept the spirit of the original. If the writers care enough to keep that up, I think this is a show fans of the original could support.
That said, the weak points do have to be worked on, and NBC, and the audience, will have to give the show time to do so. It shouldn’t take itself too seriously, though, as this isn’t a series that has done well taking that route.
Still, I can guarantee the show one regular viewer: me.
I can allmost guarantee the show will pull off one full season before cancellation.
Well these ARE the same folks who cancelled Journeyman, so who knows WHAT the hell they’re thinking?? Knowing those guys, they will put Knight Rider on a Monday night against “24″ or Sunday’s against “Family Guy.” That right there means that MOST of it’s target audience won’t be watching. Which considering NBC’s track record, is EXACTLY what they’re going to do. I do admit that I will check it out, as long as it’s not against any of my OTHER favorite shows.
Yeah Andy I was thinking the perfect time slot for this show is Saturday mornings.
This is such a waste ot time.
Eveyone I talked to said they hated the pilot and the only reason they watched it was for the trainwreck.
Nbc sure has some real creative folk.
Night rider - nold show new tricks?
I did not watch the original series, but I imagine that the old kitt could not do half the stuff the new kitt can… -I felt like Kitt was not a car but a AI that moves around, I mean he can talk to the people anywere - go online and fix everything..
Why not just give Kitt a body, a robot one, or transform the car? don’t know , now the show is just a supersmart AI that lives in a car for some reason, and he tells this dude what to do, and he does it… whoho great show!
I did not watch the original series, but I imagine that the old kitt could not do half the stuff the new kitt can
Swapp, you need to watch the original show. The old KITT was wisecracking and did stuff this new KITT couldn’t handle, like driving at over 300 miles an hour (turbo boost), disabling another vehicles electrical system, lasers, and there was no way someone could hack into it. The old KITT was also a Trans Am.
“and there was no way someone could hack into it.”
Yet, remarkably, others took control of his systems on at least three occasions, and on a fourth occasion someone managed to remotely override his voice synthesizer.
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