'Knight Rider' to halt production early

The cast and crew of NBC's "Knight Rider" were informed Wednesday that the show's 17th episode will be its last for the season, sources say.

In NBC's midseason announcement today, "Rider" is listed to have its season finale on Feb. 25. The network has recently said it plans to overhaul the show to function as more of a crime-of-the-week procedural. The format changes are still going to air in the coming weeks, but the cutback suggests there is little expectation that a revamp will reverse the action-drama's ratings decline.

This episode reduction likely spells the beginning of the end of the show, since "Rider" ratings have been abysmal. Unless there's marked improvement between now and the finale, it's tough to see NBC paying to bring back "Rider" next fall. Still, as with "Lipstick Jungle" -- which the network has not ordered new episodes for, but has also not pulled from its lineup -- NBC sources say they do not consider the show canceled.

NBC picked up "Rider" for a full season in late October, relatively early in the show's run. Though modestly rated, the numbers had seemed to level off. After the pickup, "Rider" declined -- and kept declining -- with the most recent episode watched by 5.2 million viewers and earning a 1.5 rating among adults 18-49.

Comments

[Bud Glenn]

I have been watching KR. I'm 42 now and grew up on the original Hoff version. I do admit that the new series is no way great. The stories have been horrible and the special effects are poor (especially the driver shots in the car). But, I keep rooting for the series to succeed. It some strange way, it has potential. Hopefully, the new changes will improve the program and viewers give it a 3rd chance (counting TV-movie). I hope NBC will at least promote that there will be new episodes and slip in "new and improved."

[ctsf]

Finally! Kudos to NBC for putting this show out of our misery.

[Sad Agent]

Sad to hear NBC is cancelling yet another show. Not that Knight was anything great - but seriously, not much left after they axed My Own Worst Enemy, Crusoe, etc... Clearly symptomatic of a much larger problem at NBC.

[Bryan H]

I watched a couple of episodes but couldn't stomach it. I know this is fiction but there has to be some realism to make a show believable. I think better actors are needed and just make the car with less body kits, looks stupid.

[Hanabi]

The show needs to go back to its roots. The whole 'Transformer KITT' is stupid. Did NBC not learn that a team of people ala Team Knight Rider did not work. Go back to just KITT and Michael and the Knight Foundation.

[Michael H]

Here's the problem. Its all of Hoff's TV shows wrapped into one.. Knight Rider meets Baywatch. Also the second part of the problem is, back when the original was on, as stupid as it was, it still had appeal... it was just unrealistic, if not more, than this one.. Just nowadays people dont' accept it.

All in all, I was really excited about this show when I saw the movie. There are some things that worked out well and there are a lot that didn't. I'm still hoping the show succedes and isn't canceled after one season.

[Dar-El]

I don't mind it the show being about Michael Jr but they should have the original Kitt character and voice in the new car and the Hoff as the head of the foundation. Add tension between father and son, have Kitt caught in the middle guiding michael jr with the ultimate goal of reconciling the two. Oh and drop the transforming thing. Superpursuit mode didnt work in the original show so why should it work now? All we want is an invulnerable car that can turbo boost.

[MK]

Good riddance. The original was a cheesy but entertaining show with a Trans Am that could do some outrageous things but still fall within the realm (for a 12 year old kid) of possiblity. The new one is nothing but an hour long Ford commercial with a Mustang that can transform into a pickup truck, balance the budget, end the war in Iraq, cook a 7 course meal in under 30 seconds, convince Michael Vick that dogfighting is wrong, drive from Malibu to Anaheim during rush hour in under 5 minutes, make Hasselhoff look good, make Val Kilmer sound gay, etc..

[Bren]

I kind of like it. It's nothing that good but it is mindless entertainment like Las Vegas was. I do hope they bring it back.

[Original Knight Fan]

I am older and a fan of the original, but this show has potential. The problem I see was that Michael & Kitt were out to help the little people against criminals that thought they were above the law. Also the foundation backed him up but most of the work was just him and Kitt. This new series is like there part of the US Government against terrorist, for that they should have called it the DHS, CIA or FBI show. It should focus on the everyday people that are getting screwed by people in power including the government.

[Mikey M]

This is a horrible show and never should have been greenlit even after the TV movie did well.
People were curious because of the old show but I dont think they ever had enough material to support a show.

[jake]

They need to try the show in a new time slot before cancelling it.

[John]

Before they cancel that piece of crap, maybe they should fire those 2 brain worms, Zucker & Capus for making the 2nd worst mistake this year (their 1st was giving brain worm jr., dave gregory the moderator job on MTP...)

Oh, also, could they show the lead actor in that piece of crap nude before it's ankled in Feb. '09??

Thanks!

[Chris]

I hope the revamping helps. Right now, if you notice, everyone at the home base is fighting to get a line in. The original formula of one man can make a difference should be revisited. Too many people. Remember when RC3 joined the original. That seemed like the beginning of the end. IF KNIGHT RIDER PRODUCERS READS THIS, PLEASE CONTACT ME, AND I CAN TELL YOU HOW YOU COULD AT LEAST IMPROVE YOUR FORMULA!!!!! Right now, it looks bleek.

[Matt]

FORMULA IS WRONG!!! Its 1 MAN and 1 CAR, with a small support personally, NOT A TEAM! Helping the little guys. Get rid of the transformers effects, 1 car, with turbo boost and invulnerability! Watched the movie, and 1 episode, was completely turned off, the show last its magic! Also, axe Val Kilmer's voice as KITT!!!!!!!

[Ivan West]

I knew it would be a flop as soon as I heard Michael Hasselhoff was not going to be in it. Bummer.

jes
www.privacy.es.tc

[warren]

Well can't say that I'm surprised. Actually I could never figure out what was so good about the original version a high-tech version of,"My Mother The Cat".

[BC]

I can't stop watching this show. Not in the "it's excellent television" kinda way, but in the "rubbernecking at a crash" kinda way. It's a perfect example (since "Bionic Woman" is no longer on) of the worst possible television. It's a great reason to keep it on - to learn what television should NOT be.

[Tracy Saboe]

Well, the real problem is that in the current incarnation, Night-Rider is a government entity. In the original series, Night Industries was more of a rouge, private off the grid entity that dodged the government as much as it solve crime and fought crooks.

A good chunk of the spirit of the show is lost, when Michael has an entity as powerfull as the US Military backing it up.

I still watch it, but I have to admit, I won't miss it if it's cancled.

Now Life and Heros on the other hand -- they're good shows.

Tracy

[matt]

i'm aurprised at the complete reverse course here. I'm not a fan of the show, and indeed i;ve only seen it maybe twice??? (it helps that there is much better programming on against it---Old Christine, Bones, and sadly for not much longer Pushing Daisies.)

I did think tho that with the axing of My Own Worst Enenmy, Lipstick, and Carusoe, I kinda thought they would stick by at least one of the new shows (this one) as a symbolic gesture of the pride and ego that the execs have in their schedulues. Also this show was Silverman's baby, and I always suspected that the day they ultimately decided to cut it was the day Silverman's clout at the network would be leveling off....maybe i'm just wrong about that?

[JR]

Well, it's about time. This show was horrible. If they can't give the Bionic Women more than a few weeks, this should have not gotten 2. Life, My Own Worst Enemy....Those are worth giving a shot.

[pico]

The problem with the new show is they've completely trashed the original premise of the old show. "One man can make a difference, Michael", Wilton Knight would announce at the opening to each show. It was a show about one man stepping in when the law couldn't help and helping the less fortunate. Now, it's a government organization with a huge numbers of people--not to mention really stupid people. Unlike a lot of people, I really do like Val Kilmer as KITT, though. Hope they don't change that.

[北京翻译]

Everybody is good, I come Beijing, China, please very much look after above this actor I to like

[北京翻译]

Everybody is good, I come Beijing, China, please very much look after above this actor I to like

[fred]

Knight Rider was a great show when we were kids ........

we were kids.

We're all grown up now. Show sucks.

As an example: (IMAGINE) No matter how they try to retool "The Electric Company" it's time is over. I'm 33.... not gonna be watching the electric company even if they update the cast.

Night Night, Kit. If you wanted to re-open Bay Watch with new hot babes, now THERE is something we'd watch on a Saturday.... a car? feh.....

[Phill]

Bring back Journeyman.

[john]

Well can't say that I'm surprised. Actually I could never figure out what was so good about the original version a high-tech version of,"My Mother The Cat"..

[Majik]

I enjoyed the original as a kid (still watch the reruns when I can catch 'em), and I was absolutely stoked when I heard about the pilot/movie. I watched it and thought that, while it was a little wooden, it certainly had potential. I like the current incarnation of Kitt's developing personality. My biggest gripe would be the "attack mode". While I don't really mind the transforming car thing, Kitt turns into something resembling a drag car; a bit out of place considering attack mode is supposed to be for pursuit (cornering, manuevering, etc.) I like some of the other ideas listed here, like the limited support staff, ducking government interference, one man making a difference, etc. Hopefully NBC's redesign has Mike and Sarah taking Kitt and dropping off the radar.

[Jack]

NBC finally foxed that awful show. About time. The special effects were awful, which ruined the already bad show.

[joseph]

i have been a KR fan since i was a kid. i still love to pop in the DVD's and watch HOFF in action. The problem is that the writers have tried to do too much too soon and there is very little carry over from one episode to the next. Which means that i have no reason to watch next week because i have gotten enough closure at th end of each episode. Also, the FOUNDATION should not be run by the government. the whole beginning concept of KR was that they were there to help the people the government WOULDNT help. If they want to make it be a government run agency there needs to be more coruption, in other words make it darker. That worked for a BATMAN revival.

but beware... if they cancel KR then they might replace it with a revisit of The A-Team...
and God help us all if they do that!

[chatner]

I hear that remakes are almost never a good idea.

http://testingthetesters.blogspot.com/

[ej]

I'm 42, too, and grew up watching and enjoying the original. This show was terrible and never improved. I especially hated the left-wing propaganda inserted into several episodes.

[Mike C]

Most remakes suck. Perhaps the executives who greelight these efforts should be replaced by actual young hip people who know what young hip tv viewers want to watch. If Knight Rider must continue, it needs to go back to its roots and be a guy, a car and a rich guy out to change the world one local problem at a time. Maybe have the government interested, but not really involved. And the technology has to be simplified. The original version had a talking car with LED readouts, which was pretty cool in 1983. But that actual technology became reality a few years later, aside from the turbo boost and action effects. In today's world, you need to make the make-believe technology only a few years ahead of the present. So rather than a transformer KITT, why not take a cue from the iPhone and just make the tech smaller, better baster than today. The turbo boost can stay. The occasional Baywatch extra is ok but not to the point of absurdity as it is now. It would be preferable, of course, to just let the show die completely.

[Keith]

From the first episode, it seemed to me that the people making the show wanted it to fail. The story line, special affects, acting, everything. The show was just down right horrible and a complete disservice to the original Knight Rider series and it's fans that still watch the old episodes in rerun. It was as if someone greenlighted the new series as a favor or to get someone off of their back but made the worst decision with everything that was presented to them. If you want the new series to continue, by all means let it run its course but don't stick the Knight Rider name to it. Nothing in common. NBC's VIPER series were a lot better than this.

[Amir]

I've tried several times to watch the pilot. I just can't sit through it. Right when the missile locks on Kitt and that quote unquote hot asian girl smiles while saying "This just got interesting!" I knew this show was going to be nothing but garbage. Not that it was good before that part either but I figured it's a new show and I need to be more forgiving so I gave it fifteen minutes.

I obviously won't watch any further episodes if the pilot is unbearable to watch; go ahead and cancel the show - it won't be missed.

[Larry]

Too bad for KR. The Pilot Movie, while slow and drawn out at times, laid a very decent amount of ground work for a good series. The problem is TBTB decided to change course for the season and basically make a VIPER show wiht the Knight cast and car.

Pros of the Show:
Basic KITT
KITT's voice
KITT' personality is developing
Mike
Sarah
and the tech duo.

Cons of the show:
No story arch
Disregard to Pilot and Original Series
Attack Mode
Transformer Like special effects (crackle of the cars body showing damage and repair was cool from the pilot)
Michael Knight Sr is not involved
FLAGG is gone
KARR is not KARR.

As you can see the list is long and not complete. This revamp needs to go back to the original.

[Keeper]

Another one of the "not really that surprised" crowd.

The idea was good, the setting was *kinda* good but they completely screwed it up when they
a) Chose that PlayGirl cover boy for the new Michael Night
b) Switched from the movie-pilot's subtle transformation (reminding me of that Viper series) to this idiotic Transformers one
c) (like everyone else suggests) Kept the whole "subsidiary-of-the-US-Army" thingy too long (personally I thought Michael would uncover what that Torres guy did to him sooner rather than later and go rogue along with KITT)
d) Made that romance bit with the inventor's daughter (who incidentally while being a total hottie doesn't particularly convince me of a scientist in her own right) so over the top and fast moving when they should have kept it WAY more subtle and long-lasting
e) Add other comments here.

Oh, and for the record, I'm in the minority that thinks Val Kilmer is really great in the role of KITT.
In fact I think that KITT is the best written, best thought-out "character" in the entire series.

I say make Michael Knight uncover what Torres/The Government did to him that he's keeping a secret and make him go rogue with a small part of the staff.
Keep the father, the daughter (not because I particularly like her in that role but because at least it has potential) and the Billy/Zoe duo and that's it.
But that's just me.

[Ray R]

No the problem was first and foremost the actors. Terrible actors from generic casting. No talent. None. Second was the story execution. The plots were what you expect unless you want to make it....dark and gritty! Now that would be a welcome change and would be a better series.

[Robert]

If this was a continuation of the original show.
Then this is what’s missing!
The innocent, the helpless and the power less
The original show was foremost about helping people, not the government.
And K.I.T.T. was not a classified top secret car.
Bring the show back to its roots, back where it came from!

[JIMMAGS]

Put the show on Sunday at 6:00pm CST against 60 minutes (CBS) & Home Improvement (ABC)I bet the numbers would shoot way up. It's called COUNTER-PROGRAMMING!! The 1st episode back,have it introduced by David Hasselhoff and tie it into a new Knight Rider
online Trivia Game that can be played online. Give away about 5-10000 Black Hot Wheel Mustangs to the first 10000 that sign on with an answer. THAT will get people tuned in!