Nom de code: TKR

I recall watching this a couple of times when it was new. My impression at the time was that they did a pretty good job on a fundamentally bad idea.

The original show focused on the relationship between one man and one artificially intelligent car. The show was cheesy, but the two characters were sufficiently well developed and portrayed that audiences cared enough to tune in. The original kept it simple and concentrated on making the car seem human and the overblown Hollywood star (Hasselhof) seem like a real person, albeit with unrealistic hair. The idea that one man can make a difference is enigmatic and inspiring.

The idea that a flock of five people and five vehicles working with a seemingly unlimited budget and with constant governmental oversight can make a difference is just oppressive and obvious. How do you keep the stories coherent and how do you keep the audience caring about ten characters, all of whom only get very limited screen time? You don't! You need a scorecard just to keep track of what car has what personality. I kinda felt pity for the poor criminals. It's hardly fair, in a story context, that they should have to try to stand up to this virtual army of foes, blasted about the world in a cargo jet, armed with superweapons and hyperintelligent computers. Give the poor crooks a break! With all that in mind, the production company did a pretty good job. The show looked great, the cars were jazzy and the voice acting was adequate. The effects were as good as should be expected and there was lots of mindless action. The vehicles had a mass produced feel, compared to the original KITT. KITT had a "one-off" feel to his design, apart from his evil twin, KARR. The five new cars had a consistency of design that made them feel less personal. It kind of contributed to the show's downfall, which was that it failed to focus on key characters that the audience could identify with and care about.

TV producers forget, in their rush to display fancy machinery, and car crashes, that the long-term success of a TV series is almost entirely based on it's portrayal of compelling characters. Design your characters first, flesh them out, make them human, make the audience care about them, and what happens to them. Put actors in the roles that match the personalities being portrayed and let them do their jobs. Create screenplays and stories that challenge your well-developed characters. Put them in situations that test their limits. After you've done all that, worry about special effects and stunts. It helps if you don't try to have ten central characters.

The severe problem with this series was that we got no back story with the new cast. Who were they, why were they chosen, and who chose them? Sure we got little looks into their past (i.e. Kyle's past with the CIA, Jenny's past with the military, Erika's life as a thief) but we don't get anything past that. Why should we accept these guys as the predecessors to Michael and KITT when we know nothing about them?

A good back story would have gone along way in helping the fans warm up to the new show, but sadly we don't get that, we just get introduced to them and told "Here's the new team, they have talking cars too, enjoy!"

The show would been great if they addressed that major detail, its just something you cant over look.

This show was the best. I have to admit, it is my favorite show, and i have all 22 episodes on tape. The stories are top notch, and unlike many action shows, it leaves just enough hanging so that you always come back for more. Too bad the show was cancelled, before some of the mysteries were solved.

In 1982, David Hasselhoff and the cast did a wonderful job in knight rider, But this remake of a television classic, is by far even worse than the original, this time they have 5 operatives with 5 super vehicles of their own, the acting is wooden, the teleplay is pointless and the special effects are horrible, they should have called this Thunderbirds without a plot

RIP Edward Mulhuare and thank god he did not live to see this and thank god this show didn't get pick a second season

Team knight Rider is Boring Five people can't make a difference.

No Stars.

I know that many expected this to be Knight Rider II, and they were disappointed. It is difficult to consider that a sequel would be so successful 15 years after the original [we've seen next-year sequels fail miserably before].... I give the TKR team (cast & crew) kudos for such a valiant effort. For those that wanted an "episode-one" match-up to the original KR series ... it's really unfair to expect a series to fully develop in one season "to expectations." I think that happened here.

What makes TKR succeed in my mind consists of a few things cute (though corny-at-times) dialogue, complex interpersonal relationships, and the "personalities" of the vehicles. Too bad, on the last point, that the series was killed after the first season; I would have liked to see where things would have gone with the personalities of the five vehicles....

The show, which does at times seem like a fan-show (written by fans and not by/via/supported-by the real writers themselves), does play with the idea of different personalities ... what KITT "could have been" [ballsy Beast, sweet-n-sexy Domino, prim-and-proper Kat, eclectic Plato and by-the-book/snobby Dante]. Not knocking-on Glen Larson's idea for the original KITT, but sometimes, variation can be ... "fun!" You have to admit, the voices were beautifully cast and the "character" matches to the vehicles' drivers was ... classic [especially Jenny/Domino, Duke/Beast and, of course, Trek/Plato].

Sorry, but ... I think we lost-out in a large way when TKR was axed.

Nia, Tom, Andrea, Linda, Kerrigan, Jon, Christine, Brixton, Duane, Kathy, Nick: TKR fans wish you the best of future success in your careers!

~ Domino Rose