Pilot Review: Knight Rider

Knight Rider (NBC)
Premiered September 24 at 8pm

This show is BAD. I mean that. It's entirely preposterous, and I can't imagine anyone really plans to take it seriously. The car is cool, sure, but the dialogue spoken by it, and everyone else, is horrendous. Embarrassing in its badness. The actors look like they're barely out of high school and act like it too. Lead guy Mike is supposed to have been in Iraq when he doesn't seem like he's even hit puberty yet? Getting naked in the car = not necessary. Really. The missions are dumb and the situations that arise are even worse. Can they open the door in time? Oh dear! It's laughable. There's a character named Billy who looked very familiar to me because it's the same guy who played Billy, assistant to President Roslin, on "Battlestar Galactica." Here they try to make him out to be some horny, flirtatious tech expert and it really doesn't worse. Just like everything else on this show. Bruce Davison looking worried with his hair flapping around him can only go so far.

How will it work as a series? If you can take it seriously, it might be a fun sort of spy ride, but I imagine that attempts at making the car humorous will derail it almost immediately and this show will never really make any sense.
How long will it last? It did okay with the ratings as far as I know but got destroyed by critics, as well it should be. I think we're looking here at the sequel to "Bionic Woman" - an attempt by NBC to boot up an old franchise and failing miserably. Canceled by midseason.

Pilot grade: F