As my five-year-old daughter’s learning, a joke’s just not as funny the second time ’round– especially if you tell it to the same people immediately after you told it to them the first time. But I guess Alex Nunez’ live-blogging of Knight Rider— lauded in these parts for its pithy candor– wasn’t supposed to be a joke. Why else would Autoblog promise to do it again? And again. And again. Until NBC’s axe falls mercifully upon the Hoff’s legacy. Page views? While AB doesn’t have a view counter, I’m guessing that the most vanilla of auto blogs appeals to an enormous coterie of Knight Rider fans. And that’s a deeply scary thought. Anyway, AB shares the viewing data for the new Knight Rider, episode one. “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.” Does that mean car porn is not as appealing as soft porn to single people? Did I just ask that question?
Find Reviews by Make:
Read all comments
I thought the made for TV movie was worlds better than the series premier, and that is not in any way an endorsement of the made for TV movie.
Episode 1 of Knight Rider was awful, and the AutoBlog article (while very entertaining) didn’t even touch on half of the crap that came out of it. I would read continued coverage by AutoBlog on it if I were to continue watching the show, but as NBC has set it against Pushing Daisies and Bones, and my DVR can only record two programs at once, Knight Rider gets left off the list for me.
I actually thought last year’s Fox series ‘Drive’ has a good bit of promise. I wish that hadn’t have been axed.
It was funny enough. If they shorten it to 3 minute blocks it could actually work as long as the series is likely going to be on the air.
I’m almost ashamed to admit that I tuned-in to watch this farce. It was the perfect storm: I was stuck watching the baby while my wife was at her evening course, and there was nothing else on TV. I may even watch it again next week for the same reason, plus I’m curious to know how bad this train wreck gets before it finally grinds to a stop, and how many contrived ways they can find to get Deanna Russo mostly undressed. (They already used two in the first episode.)
I don’t think the show warrants a news article every week here on TTAC though. Maybe a summary after 5 episodes with the headline “Knight Rider not dead yet!”, unless of course it has been cancelled by then.
Maybe it’s a good thing that GM didn’t get the contract to supply vehicles for KR2.0.
I recommend that TTAC start a “Knight Rider Death Watch”
I didn’t think it was that bad. Some of the things are a little over-the-top, like the transforming into attack mode and into the F-150. But I think fans of the original series who watched it as new episodes were released and not as re-runs will appreciate it. Back then (early to mid-80s), the technology that KITT possessed was just as futuristic as the technology that the new KITT has. The original KITT had a TV in the car, constant connectivity to the FLAG mobile unit, a material analysis lab, connectivity to any computer system, ability to move mechanical objects (telekinesis?), ability to turbo jump, etc., just like the new one. But most of those technologies are commonplace today. Constant data and cell coverage is a reality. TVs in the car are a reality. A material analysis lab is a real possibility. Back then, some things seemed cheesy, but I would venture to guess that most people who are knocking the new one weren’t old enough to experience the original series as it aired. For those of us who watched it as a young kid with a fascination with cool, fast cars (like I did), this is simply a modern interpretation of the car we dreamed about as a kid.
Disagree with me if you will, but not everyone thought it was bad.
I sat down to watch it last nite on PVR… horrible
I recommend that TTAC start a “Knight Rider Death Watch”
Good idea in theory but probably not in practice. It would probably be a waste of bandwidth, and we all know this show isn’t going to last past the first season. What were the ratings? Not much of a death to watch it’s probably already on the road to being cancelled internally.
Deanna Russo mostly undressed. (They already used two in the first episode.)
Man I missed that for the 2 minutes I flipped to the show to see it and then got bored and turned the TV off. Bummer that was probably the best acting in the show.
Wow Civisi,
I watched it as a kid, too, but I don’t remember half of the stuff you mention. I loved the original, as a kid, and I bet 10 year old boys will love the remake. I’m dissapointed that they didn’t do a better job, though.
I watched Battlestar Galactica as a kid too, and loved that. Fortunately, the remake, is a very impressive show with good storylines, good acting and good special effects. Why couldn’t they do the same thing with Kitt?
Just like I said yesterday, wtf is the point of blogging about a show that people don’t like. If you want to watch some crap like America’s Top Model or Knight Rider, good for you, but we don’t need more blog posts about them. I’ll take the car porn over skinny boney women.
That’s a good pic.
But she’s no Livinia Nussbaum.
mb
RE: Skinny Boney Women
Methinks someone likes fat chicks…
These types of shows were before their time. I remember really being into Knight Rider and Airwolf in the 80’s. And “The Six Million Dollar Man” before them in the 70’s. And Star Trek before them all; though I had to see that in reruns, because it came out almost sooner than me!
Shows in this genre are both mostly badly acted, but they were fascinating nonetheless because they featured new and sometimes wildly imaginary technologies that were appealing and exciting.
As somebody mentioned, the data/communications capabilities of KITT, and the navigational and stealth possibilities brought by Airwolf. And who wouldn’t like to have a Starship Enterprise, hmmm?
There was a scene in one early Airwolf episode where the character Dominic (the fat engineer/repair guy) needed to load a map. He pressed a button, making a tray on the console in front of him open up. Then he opened a CD jewel case and placed a disc into the tray. This was momentous in that day and age! I remember saying to my brother, “did you see that! He’s got the maps on that disc!”
Yeah, there was the preposterous. I’m not 100% sure, but I think it’s not likely that I’ll ever see the “turbo boost” option able to make my car fly over rush-hour traffic. And having bulletproof lightweight armor on my car or helo would have been physically impossi…er.. unlikely. And of course, that whole deal about eing able to ram my car through a pile of logs without getting even a scratch? Not gonna happen. But I am still holding out for matter-disassembly/reassembly transporter technology…
The acting can be terrible. Plot is often optional; remember “Nightman?” Yuck!
Do these shows have value? I guess one has to figure that out for themselves, but I think the answer is yes. As long as a drinking glass is still a drinking glass and as long as a salt shaker remains recognizable as a salt shaker, that is. (Star Trek reference)
how does he get the car past the smog Nazis?
Smog Nazis?
The original KITT ran on some kind of turbine engine. I would imagine this one does too. *whoknows*