Writers for one of the most appallingly terrible hunks of programming ever foisted upon the viewing public are rejoicing, and why not? The dreck-fest that is Knight Rider has just received an order for four additional scripts. Rather than go find real writing gigs, the KR team can continue cranking out such gems of broadcast drama while obviously in a drunken stupor. The worst part of the news of NBC's order is that such an action often precedes a full-season buy. Fans of long-form Ford advertisements with stupefyingly horrid dialogue will be pleased, and at least Nunez can continue with his live blog, so the rest of us can avoid the show entirely, yet still laugh at the inanity.
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.
Welcome, my friends! Tonight we gather to watch the train wreck that is NBC's Knight Rider, now a weekly series in the wake of the catastrophically bad telemovie that aired back in February. If you've blotted the memory of that debacle out of your brain, feel free to check out the original liveblog for a refresher while you wait for tonight's show to start.
We all know what a disaster the 2-hour Knight Rider movie was (click here for a refresher). Regardless, the return of the series has been green lit for the Fall and Shadowy Flight recently sat down for an interview with Gary Scott Thompson, Executive Producer and Showrunner of the series. Thompson's credentials include creating the show Las Vegas and the original Fast and the Furious movie, and he also points out that he had nothing to do with the 2-hour Knight Rider movie that aired in February. The show's new EP revealed that he and his writers are leaving the 2-hour movie in the past. His new writing staff, which includes writers from Lost, Prison Break and Smallville, but also Walker, Texas Ranger and Charmed, is dealing with some of those plot points introduced in the movie that now can't be ignored, but are basically going to start all over again with the first episode.
You can check out the two-part interview by hitting the source link below, but the major bit of news revealed is that Turbo Boost will again be part of KITT's arsenal, though the technology will be reinvented for this era where fast cars that jump aren't all that mind blowing. Thompson also told Shadowy Flight that the overly winged Attack Mode KITT is being redone and will be different than the one seen in the movie. Finally, Thompson compares his Knight Rider series that's still in gestation to one of our favorite shows on TV, Battlestar Galactica. Both are reinventions of older TV shows, but BG is currently the shining light of modern television, while Knight Rider has gotten off to an extremely rough start. We hope it compares to the weekly trials of Admiral Adama and the crew of Galactica, but we're not holding our breath.
Well, this morning, NBC made it official: Wednesday nights this Fall we'll all be able to say "Hello, Mike", as Knight Rider returns to the weekly schedule. The Peacock network unveiled its Fall lineup today and, despite rumors that it would appear on Friday nights, the new Knight Rider is relegated to the Hump night at 8-9PM EST. Encore showings will also run each week on Saturday night from 9-10PM EST. We're a bit surprised, or perhaps disappointed, that the show will be kicking the night off at 8 o'clock, as it suggests adult themes will not be present. Not that we're looking for lesbian overtures in every episode as was brazenly and inexplicably included in the pilot two-hour movie, but knowing that the new KR is sanitized for my nephew's protection is just one more nail in this show's coffin.
Nevertheless, your friendly neighborhood Autoblog plans to watch every episode until the show gets cancelled. Alex Nunez will liveblog each episode every Wednesday night, just like he did the two-hour movie. You're all invited to follow along as Alex poignantly picks apart each episode. Bring a box of tissues, though. You'll need them to dab the blood away from your eyes.
