(Se01ep01) A Knight in Shining Armor

Knight Rider is back – this new series, which spins out of the TV movie from earlier this year, is almost as different as the tv movie was from the original show.

What we have here is essentially a second pilot for Knight Rider. This one carries over most of the characters from the tv movie, and introduces us to a few new characters as well.

The episode starts off with an extended action scene that takes up the entire first act. Here we get a good idea of what to expect from the action on Knight Rider. K.I.T.T.’s new vehicle modes (including a new “Attack Mode” and a Ford F-150 mode) are showcased, and we get to see the team in the “KITT Cave” work to solve a relatively “hot” problem for Mike and Sarah. The team reminds me of the crew in the labs of shows like “Bones” and “CSI”. Or even the secondary crew members on Star Trek.

For the most part the action scene works well – with the only real noticeable problem being that you can easily tell when the green screen action is in effect in the cars. This is a problem that persists throughout the episode, and I hope its something they can improve upon as time goes on.

After a last second rescue the ongoing plot for season one begins to take shape. The rest of the first episode is basically set up that gets rid of the name “Mike Tracuer” and introduces us to our new “Michael Knight”.

There are a lot of elements here that remind me of the original show, and other elements that seem to have been influenced by the super hero movies from the 90s. There are lots of bright colors and neon seems to be everywhere.

In a world filled with almost a dozen Law & Orders and CSIs, it’s really nice to what a show that is just plain fun…and make no mistake about it, Knight Rider is the most fun on television right now.

This series has real potential to be a modern interpretation of the 80s action show – and I for one, can’t wait to see more. It is not the type of show that is going to beat you over the head with a message, it isn’t pretentious, and it doesn’t want to be the smartest kid in the room.

The show is not flawless, but there is some great potential here. I’m in for the long haul.