Knight Rider 

When a group of ruthless mercenaries kill a reclusive scientist, his creation, a new model of artificially intelligent supercar, escapes to find his daughter and recruit a ex-soldier to thwart them.

Director:

Steve Shill

Writers:

Dave Andron, Glen A. Larson (characters)

Stars:

Justin Bruening, Deanna Russo, Sydney Tamiia Poitier

Cast

Episode cast overview, first billed only:
Justin Bruening	...	Mike Traceur
Deanna Russo	...	Sarah Graiman
Sydney Tamiia Poitier	...	Carrie Rivai
Bruce Davison	...	Charles Graiman
David Hasselhoff	...	Michael Knight
Greg Ellis	...	Welther
Chris Mulkey	...	Sheriff Ramsey
Wayne Kasserman	...	Dylan Fass
Jonathan Chase	...	Kevin
Susan Gibney	...	Jennifer
Kevin Christy	...	Belle
Jack Yang	...	Cross
Kevin Dunigan	...	Smoke
Jelly Howie	...	Woman in Bed
Hope Riley	...	Amber

Storyline

Mike Traceur a bitter former Army Ranger and failed race car driver, just got a new lease on life, neither he cares for or wants this chance to make up for his past failings. FLAG wants a new driver, but he is hesitant to join this mysterious group and doubts this super car or he can make a difference. He's got problems, he's in debt and people want to kill him. The choice is all too obvious for him and the Knight Industries Three Thousand (K.I.T.T).

---

Plot Keywords:

car | mercenary | ex soldier | escape | debt | 

---

Taglines:

An Icon Reborn.

---

Genres:

Adventure | Mystery | Thriller

---

Certificate:

TV-14

Details

Official Sites:

MySpace NBC [United States]

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

17 February 2008 (USA)

Filming Locations:

California State University Northridge - 18111 Nordhoff Street, Northridge, Los Angeles, California, USA

Company Credits

Production Co:

Dutch Oven,Universal Media Studios (UMS)

Technical Specs

Runtime:

120 min 110 min 77 min (DVD)

Sound Mix:

Stereo

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.78 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

In the original series, KITT's license plate was a California plate: KNIGHT. In this series KITT's license plate can morph into any state they are in, and it is: 77KR117. (Although in some SSC scenes, it's just KR.)

---

Goofs

In one of the scenes where K.I.T.T. is changing back into his black appearance, one shot in the sequence just shows the side of his white body, with no changes taking place.

---

Quotes

K.I.T.T.: I am the Knight Industries Three Thousand. You may call me "K.I.T.T."

---

Connections

References Las Vegas (2003)

User Reviews

Was this a product of the writer's strike?

I wanted to like this more than I did. Unfortunately, after viewing this "re-boot", it looked more like a 1-hour movie that was really, really stretched to fill a 2-hour slot. It really seemed like this was produced, then shelved until NBC started to run out of content. Was the now-settled writer's strike the only reason this got on the air?? Re-boots of old series have mixed results, but there have been some encouraging examples on both TV (the new Battlestar Galactica) and film (the new Bond). Story lines are more complex and characters are more developed. The new attempt at Knight Rider did not achieve this status.

One thing that I found distracting – and maybe it's just me – was that with one exception, all the vehicles in the show were from the Ford family. This included Mustang, Focus, Edge, Taurus, even Volvo. I find that not only distracting (no road is full of one corporation's products), but also a not-so-thinly veiled attempt at a 2-hour Ford commercial. Only in the final chase sequence did the bad guys switch to a GM-type SUV (with the front grill badge removed).

The "supercar" technology just didn't translate to 2008. And with all the advances, it still had the "cylon" front end with the sequential lights. I had hoped the writers would have taken the 1983 ideas and evolved them further than they did. In many ways, the new car was simply a supercomputer on a very fast platform.

As far as the "bad guys" were concerned, their motivation just never seemed to be plausible. The "Blackriver" tie-in to Blackwater may have been an unnecessary jab by some Hollywood politico, but even if it was unintentional it detracted from the story. A good story line should not be topical, but deal with more timeless conflicts. The bad guys in this movie just didn't display the necessary motivation.

On the positive side, the choice of outfit for Mike Traceur was a subtle nod to the old Michael Knight ensemble. Instead of the red shirt and a black leather jacket, it was a very dark red t-shirt with a dark jacket (maybe leather). Close, but not obvious.

It was also nice to see David Hasselhoff, if only at the end. What spoiled it for me was the fact that he had a starring credit in the beginning of the program. That removed any sense of surprise. In fact, I watched the show waiting to see in what role he would show up in.

***SPOILER***

The Hoff shows up as, of course, Michael Knight, father of Mike Traceur. Possibly the least emotional meeting in history, at least in the way it was depicted. If the producers are determined to make this a series, it would make internal sense for the Hoff to have a recurring role, but now serving in the same function as the previous Devon Miles character. Heck, he might even see some action again.

All in all, the new Knight Rider was like a visit from an old college friend. Nice to catch up again, but not something you want to make a regular part of your life. Unfortunately, this re-boot needs a re-boot.