Further to our somewhat sceptical piece on Knight Rider a couple of weeks ago, the two-hour TV movie update of the legendary 80s series aired last night on NBC across the pond. Whether it was genuinely good TV or fuelled by nostalgia, Knight Rider noughties style pulled in an impressive 13 million viewers according to early reports.
Despite this, it didn’t stop the critics sticking the knife in, with Mary McNamara of the Los Angeles Times saying:
“As with “Bionic Woman,” technology has out-stripped what was once science fiction. For KITT to have resonance in today’s world, the vehicle would have to be equipped for space travel or time travel, read minds or at least have nuclear capabilities. Instead, this car’s big claim to fame is it can change colors. Whoopee.”
Ouch!
The new Knight Rider stars newcomer Justin Bruening as the son of original Knight Rider, Michael Knight, as played by David Hasselhoff. The Hoff turns up in a cameo at the end, as if to prove the point and add some element of canonicity to proceedings. Val Kilmer is on hand as the voice of KITT, who has probably had his biggest audience for years on the back of this…
It seems likely after this strong performance, critical reception aside, a strike recovering NBC will commission a full season of Knight Rider. If they do, it will be a decision borne of logic and a certain necessity. 13 million viewers, especially for NBC which has struggled to find drama hits in the last few years, are not to be sniffed at. As for necessity, the after effects of the writers strike have left some very bare tables in terms of viable new shows to launch in September. Here is a road-tested format that is probably good to go to series with minimal notice. Job done.
But please, NBC, proceed with caution, lest you get your fingers burned a second time. Remember The Bionic Woman? Well, most of the audience don’t, but it’s not that long ago that the feature length pilot for another remake pulled in just short of 14 million viewers for NBC. It didn’t take long for that audience to abandon former EastEnder Michelle Ryan in droves, leaving The Bionic Woman languishing with an uncertain future.
Also last night in the US, the first episode of acclaimed drama Dexter received an airing on CBS, having first been shown on cable network Showtime. With an impressive 8 million viewers tuning in, this may send a signal up for the major networks to start looking to their cable concerns for some quality shows to nick. This hothouse approach seems to work well here – well, at least it did for Torchwood and Little Britain – and its surprised me it’s taken the Americans this long to cotton on to it. Battlestar Galatica at the very least deserves a much wider audience.
As for Knight Rider, time will tell if NBC has a new hit on its hands, or whether KITT will be back in the garage within 13 episodes.
Knight Rider 08 wasn't too bad, actually. It was more enjoyable than I expected story-wise, and KITT was suitably upgraded without getting silly. The only downers (really) were Justin Bruening (looks, but no charisma) and the bastardization of the theme tune with guitars.
People forget that the 80s series was pretty dumb -- and kids only watched it for KITT. I certainly did. I don't remember a single plot. I know people expect more these days, but as a show where the audience (beyond nostalgia seekers) will be the under-12s... Rider 08 was a pretty decent start. I'd certainly give it 2-4 eps before making my mind up completely.