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).

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Plot Keywords:

car | mercenary | ex soldier | escape | debt | 

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Taglines:

An Icon Reborn.

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Genres:

Adventure | Mystery | Thriller

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Certificate:

TV-14

Did You Know?

Trivia

If you discount the super cars from the short lived Team Knight Rider (1997) series or the car that K.I.T.T. was put into in the movie Knight Rider 2000 (1991) (TV), the new K.I.T.T. is a third generation of Knight Industries Super Cars. The first was K.A.R.R. (Knight Automated Roving Robot), then came the first K.I.T.T. (Knight Industries Two Thousand), and finally the current K.I.T.T. (Knight Industries Three Thousand). Later on, we learn there was also a second K.A.R.R., making K.I.T.T. the *fourth* generation.)

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Goofs

During the final chase scene, K.I.T.T. gets his driver's side window shattered while his computer systems are still deactivated, yet in a wide-angle shot of the vehicles gathered in the road after the crash, the window is whole again. From what the story appears to say, K.I.T.T. can only "self-heal" body-damage that is done while his computer systems are in operation, so it seems doubtful that he could actually create a whole new window when there isn't one there to begin with - the destroyed window would need to be removed and a new one installed by a F.L.A.G. repair technician.

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Quotes

Mike Traceur: He was my friend.
K.I.T.T.: I am still learning about the complexities of friendship, but I would be honored to count you as mine.
Mike Traceur: Every cowboy needs a sidekick.
K.I.T.T.: I would not sell yourself short Michael. You are much more than a horse
Mike Traceur: Hey, sense of humor. That's new.

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Connections

Referenced in Saturday Night Live: Ben Affleck/David Cook (2008)

User Reviews

Looks Really Cool, But Looks Aren't Everything

Full disclosure: I was a teenager when the original "Knight Rider" aired back in the early 1980s. The whole "Solitary Samaritan" thing, a device for which this show was known, is something I like (See "The Incredible Hulk" or -- to a certain extent -- "The A-Team"), and as cheesy as the original looks today, it still holds on to much of its charm.

That said, I awaited the new "Knight Rider" with baited breath. With all that is possible with 21st-Century visual effects and technology, I wanted to see what they can do with one my favorite adolescent chestnuts. I watched the pilot. I saw viable technology with some "Gee-whiz" factor thrown in. I saw Michael and his comely comrade get into a scrape and, with KITT's help, they escaped unharmed. And KITT's transformation sequences were a real attention-getter, until I noticed a severe continuity problem. In one episode, Michael tells KITT to switch back to normal mode in a secluded area to avoid it ending up as video footage on YouTube, yet KITT frequently transforms in public areas (Vegas in broad daylight, for example). Still, I think they did well with KITT, and the fact that they landed Val Kilmer as its voice was a real "get".

Now to what is wrong with the show. Michael (Justin Bruening) is a lunkhead. Oh, he looks hunky to pass off as a young Hasselhoff, but at least Hasselhoff can act. Michael's on-again-off-again relationship with Sarah (Deanna Russo) is actually well done, but there's no chemistry! Russo does a fine job, but Bruening doesn't click for me.

You know who does click, though? Billy (Paul Campbell) and Zoe (Smith Cho). These two are actually good enough to keep this show afloat, especially since NBC's announcement that the cast is getting trimmed and the show's focus will be more like the original's "Solidary Samaritan" formula.

If you ask me, saying that the second bananas far exceed the leads speaks volumes. If this "new direction" doesn't work, then maybe NBC should resuscitate last year's cancelled "Bionic Woman". At least that show was interesting; it was just an unfortunate casualty of the Writer's Strike of 2007-08.

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