I'm not going to lie about it. There are a lot, and I mean a lot, of things wrong with the 2008 "Knight Rider" series. Thankfully, a few of these problems were rectified by writing the characters portrayed by Bruce Davison, Yancy Arias, and Sydney Poitier off the show. I have nothing against the actors, and they've done good work in the past, but their roles were unnecessary. However, consolidating the cast was more of a drop in the bucket than a silver bullet.
The stories, while greatly improved from the beginning and still improving, aren't yet where they need to be. The acting is still too heavily steeped in cheese to be taken seriously. Worse, the saving grace of the show, the F/X devoted to KITT, are, in general, weak sauce. Regardless, in its own way, the series can be highly entertainingif you know where to look.
The writing team could teach a doctoral level course in the art of comedic set ups and follow throughs, both intentional and unintended. Deanna Russo and Smith Cho are both attractive women and have a respectable grasp of of comic timing. Paul Campbell is also pretty funny as the perennial, squeaky voiced geek/brain. Justin Breuning is such a cookie cutter, pretty boy face smasher that it's pretty hard not to laughin a Johnny Bravo kid of way. Lastly is Val Kilmer as the voice of KITT. While originally, the car felt like some kind of leering, trench coat wearing perv that fixated on pheromone levels, it has been revamped into a more engaging character. But all of this doesn't come close to fixing the real problem at the heart of Knight Rider.
This show is simply not suited for a prime-time spot on a major network. While greatly improved, it still doesn't have the polish of pretty much every other show that comes on SundaySaturday, between 8:00 p.m. and 11:00 p.m. But if Knight Rider's time slot was late at night on the weekends, it would probably fare much better. I mean, back in the day, I used to love "Highlander". However, I knew that show could only exist on late nights during the weekends. Well, this show is pretty much in the same boat. The deficiencies which are so glaringly obvious in its current time slot would not be so, were it to come on much later, Friday through Sunday. As an added bonus, it could probably get into some darker territory, like slaving and drug addiction, and take a more realistic approach to the danger this show's character's frequently find themselves in.
So, once its eighteen episodes have finished airing, this show doesn't have to stop and it shouldn't. Oh yes, it has to be dropped by NBC and expunged from prime-time. But this doesn't have to mean hasta la vista. NBC should free the production studio behind Knight Rider to take the program and sell it off as a syndicated action showmuch like the "Legend of the Seeker" currently is. I, for one, would definitely have no problem watching the further adventures of KITT and company when I was seriously winding down after a long day and didn't want to have to think too much. Matter of fact, I don't think a couple million people would mind. But eight o'clock, on Wednesday, is just too early in the day or in the week to shut my brain off enough for me to truly and fully appreciate this show for what it is...a guilty pleasure.
The stories, while greatly improved from the beginning and still improving, aren't yet where they need to be. The acting is still too heavily steeped in cheese to be taken seriously. Worse, the saving grace of the show, the F/X devoted to KITT, are, in general, weak sauce. Regardless, in its own way, the series can be highly entertainingif you know where to look.
The writing team could teach a doctoral level course in the art of comedic set ups and follow throughs, both intentional and unintended. Deanna Russo and Smith Cho are both attractive women and have a respectable grasp of of comic timing. Paul Campbell is also pretty funny as the perennial, squeaky voiced geek/brain. Justin Breuning is such a cookie cutter, pretty boy face smasher that it's pretty hard not to laughin a Johnny Bravo kid of way. Lastly is Val Kilmer as the voice of KITT. While originally, the car felt like some kind of leering, trench coat wearing perv that fixated on pheromone levels, it has been revamped into a more engaging character. But all of this doesn't come close to fixing the real problem at the heart of Knight Rider.
This show is simply not suited for a prime-time spot on a major network. While greatly improved, it still doesn't have the polish of pretty much every other show that comes on SundaySaturday, between 8:00 p.m. and 11:00 p.m. But if Knight Rider's time slot was late at night on the weekends, it would probably fare much better. I mean, back in the day, I used to love "Highlander". However, I knew that show could only exist on late nights during the weekends. Well, this show is pretty much in the same boat. The deficiencies which are so glaringly obvious in its current time slot would not be so, were it to come on much later, Friday through Sunday. As an added bonus, it could probably get into some darker territory, like slaving and drug addiction, and take a more realistic approach to the danger this show's character's frequently find themselves in.
So, once its eighteen episodes have finished airing, this show doesn't have to stop and it shouldn't. Oh yes, it has to be dropped by NBC and expunged from prime-time. But this doesn't have to mean hasta la vista. NBC should free the production studio behind Knight Rider to take the program and sell it off as a syndicated action showmuch like the "Legend of the Seeker" currently is. I, for one, would definitely have no problem watching the further adventures of KITT and company when I was seriously winding down after a long day and didn't want to have to think too much. Matter of fact, I don't think a couple million people would mind. But eight o'clock, on Wednesday, is just too early in the day or in the week to shut my brain off enough for me to truly and fully appreciate this show for what it is...a guilty pleasure.