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.
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.
