NBC has a new version of Knight Rider, the 1982-1986 show with a “plucked-from-near-death and given a new identity” crime fighter Michael Knight who partners with futuristic tools like a computer-driven talking Trans-Am called KITT.
What’s the good news/bad news about the new version?
First, the bad. It’s even less believable than the original series. In one scene, the car turns into a truck … do they have to pay royalties to the Transformers creators for this idea? A car that can drive itself? In another generation, that fantasy will be reality – we’re almost there now. A talking car with personality? The original KITT was much more entertaining than the new one; in fact the original KITT (voiced by William Daniels, the same actor who played Dr. Mark Craig on St. Elsewhere) was much more entertaining than the original human star (played by David Hasselhoff).
The good news? KITT is now a Mustang.
That’s it. There is no other good news. And if you’re on the TransAm/Camaro side of that classic car debate, this isn’t good news. For me, it’s great. I always preferred Mustangs.
Does someone at NBC really think this show will last? Or is it just something to fill time on Wednesday nights before Deal or No Deal? Do they think this will create some fond memories for those of us who watched the original Knight Rider? It never was a great show, but it was entertaining. Is it for kids? Probably not, because in the 5-minute scene I endured, the lead villain that Michael is chasing cuts off the thumb of her passenger. For teens? Maybe; the lead villain is a hottie!
If 30-somethings at the networks are trying to snag Boomer viewers with nostalgia, don’t just copy the details. The thing that made KITT so interesting in the original wasn’t that it was a talking car; it was because KITT was sarcastic, naïve and funny, which are unexpected characteristics in computer-based language software. You could almost call KITT a role model for the Terminator or Star Trek’s Data – humanoids trying hard to pass for human. The new KITT is just a dry voice (played, by the way, by Val Kilmer).
If you’re a conspiracy theorist, you might wonder if the producers of the new Knight Rider also produce the shows that play in that time slot on CBS and ABC. It might have been their worst idea, so they convinced NBC to take it so their other shows would do well. Just a thought. A stupid thought perhaps, but not any, uhh, stupider than the show itself.
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Here’s another review of the show
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