Sometimes you come across things on the web that you just don’t expect. Like – for instance – a Japanese Anime video featuring an animated version of an 80s action tv show about a talking car.

That’s right, this rarely seen video shows us 1:28 of an anime version of “Knight Rider” where Michael sits in the driver’s seat munching down on a bowl of noodles while K.I.T.T. almost runs into a kid pulling a cart.

This is insane – and I REALLY wish I could find the complete video. Take a look

via KRO Forums

Official Episode Description:

MIKE’S NEW MISSION SENDS HIM AND KITT SOUTH OF THE BORDER WITH AN UNLIKELY NEW PARTNER – Mike (Justin Bruening) and Zoe (Smith Cho) go undercover in Baja as a honeymooning surfer couple in order to stop terrorist weapons from getting into the states. Sarah (Deanna Russo) and Billy (Paul Campbell) are brought into the mix and they quickly find the mission taking an unusual turn. KITT is voiced by Val Kilmer. Bruce Davison and Yancey Arias also star.

via kittsite

The classic “Knight Rider” style continued this week, while we also got a chance to learn a bit more about Zoey and Billy, the resident KITTcave lab rats. Michael’s mission this week sent him after mercenaries hiding within the surf culture of an international beach hot spot. Needing someone who knew how to surf for effective cover, Zoey was recruited to join Michael and pose as his wife.

“Devon” and “Bonnie” (Michael and Zoey’s under cover identities – and a nice little nod to the original series) quickly found themselves in over their heads…literally.

We saw K.I.T.T. as a submarine for a brief moment in tonight’s episode, plus we spent more time in “Attack” mode than I think we have in any of the previous episodes.

I have to say – I really dislike the “Attack” mode look. The regular Mustang has really grown on me, but I don’t care for the big silver pipes, or the blue neon light of the “Attack” mode. I’m hoping next season we see it tweaked a bit.

As for the story, it was nice to see more of Zoey and Billy. At first Zoey and her “surf speak” seemed really forced, and kind of annoying, but by the end of the first act, she was starting to grow on me – and by the end of the episode, I no longer wanted her off the team.

Billy is an interesting character as well. He’s sort of the Jimmy Olsen to Michael’s Superman – and it works really well. The entire team dynamic was really focused on this week, and I think it clearly showed how they can all work together and serve important roles in the series.

All in all, there’s not a lot for me to complain about. As a fan of the original “Knight Rider” this show is about the best I could hope for in a 2008 incarnation. Sure, there are things that I don’t like (like the afore mentioned Attack Mode), but knowing the realities of television and this generation of viewers, the show is exactly what I would expect a modern “Knight Rider” to be.

I still say – it’s the most fun on television.

(S01e02) Journey To The End Of Knight

Official Episode Description:

Mike (Justin Bruening) reunites with a former Army buddy (guest star Johnny Messner, “The O.C.”) to bring down a drag racing gang that is smuggling weapons overseas. Sarah (Deanna Russo) joins Mike and KITT (voiced by Val Kilmer) on this dangerous undercover mission, much to her father’s (Bruce Davison) dismay.

Thanks to KittSite for the info

This week’s episode was classic “Knight Rider” for the new millennium. Michael and Sarah ended up infiltrating a racing crew that was smuggling weapons. A friend from Mike’s army days worked at the bar where the crew hung out, and even though Sarah was initially suspicious of him, she eventually grew to trust him…which may or may not have been a good thing.

We learned another element of Michael’s past – there is something up with his tatoo. When it came in contact with KITT’s shield, there was an anomaly – and when Michael tried to find out exactly what happened, he found that the files were erased.

There is something fishy in the KITT Cave.

This episode had all the elements of classic Knight Rider. Racing, beautiful women, fist fights, Turbo Boost – you name it.

One could gripe about the excessive shots of the Ford Mustang logo – or the Ford GT that KITT raced, or the almost absurd use of the F-150 transformation again this week – but…whatever…this is KNIGHT RIDER, man!!!

This is the first “real” episode of this new incarnation of the series as far as I’m concerned. Last week’s episode was fixing the mess of the TV movie and making into the new series that Gary Scott Thompson wanted to make. Now we’re seeing the show that he wants to make…and I’m digging it!

(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.

We’re still 9 days away from NBC’s revamped “Knight Rider” appearing on the peacock network, but iTunes and Hulu will have the show on Wednesday the 17th.

The first episode will be a free download in iTunes and will also be free to watch on Hulu.com. KR is one of several shows that NBC is releasing earlier to help build buzz.

You can expect a full review of the show on Wednesday right here on TV Jab.

It just does not get any cooler than this. The complete “Knight Rider” original series is coming to DVD on October 21, 2008 and it looks like this…

Yup. That’s right…it includes a scanner. “Knight Rider” fans are going to go nuts on this thing. With all the hype surrounding the new series I was tempted to go buy the DVDs of the original show, but now that I know this bad boy is coming out -I’m just going to save my pennies.

It retails for $119.98.

Starting on the first day of September, all the way through to the 30th of October we have new shows debuting on all the major networks. Below you’ll find a complete list of all the new and returning shows and their premiere dates!

Be sure and check back here at TV Jab for reviews of these new programs as they premiere…we’ll be covering almost all of them this year!
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It’s becoming more and more obvious that the “Knight Rider” tv-movie we saw earlier this year will have very little to do with the upcoming series on NBC. The show has been completely retooled, and its looking much better. There is a weird “cheese” factor in the new “ball” KITT dashboard…um…thing – but overall the show is looking promising.

I have to say this is one of the shows I’m the most interested in, although TV remakes haven’t had a terribly good success rate recently – so the future of this show is still definitely up in the air – but I have high hopes.

Today NBC revealed the new “Attack Mode” for K.I.T.T. on the upcoming “Knight Rider” series. The show is being produced by the writer of “The Fast and the Furious” so I don’t know why I should be surprised, but this new “Attack Mode” is obviously inspired by the types of cars that appear in those films.

The online fan community is already unimpressed mixed, but that means little to the people responsible for the show. Obviously if there were enough “Knight Rider” fans out there already the show would still be on the air, so the producers aren’t looking to please the original fans…but rather bring in a new generations of fans.

Will this car do it?

I don’t know…but I don’t care much for it myself. I’m not the target demographic though, so who knows?

NBC is going out of its way to make sure that viewers are aware that the “Knight Rider” series coming in September is going to be different from the 2-hour movie we saw in Jan.

In these promos we hear KITT with a cocky attitude, and even get a hint at the “Turbo Boost” to come.

The issue of over-Fording the show with too much product placement has also been addressed, and I think “Knight Rider” fans are going to be in for something special.