Knight Rider: Destroying my childhood, one episode at a time.

It's one thing to be open minded, it's another thing to be blindly devoted to a show that is a reincarnation of something you loved in the 80s. This seems to apply to a LOT of NBCs lineup... It's either Law and Order, or a "revisioned" version of a previous show, or a direct rip of a foreign show. Really... with The Office, they at least didn't make a point that it was a copy of a popular British Show. With Kath and Kim they just gave up and said "Hey, the Australians wrote a great show, we're out of ideas, so we're Americanizing it!"

So on the new KR... I had high hopes and great fears when I heard this was being made. I was not terribly upset about the switch to the Mustang, unlike some. I actually love the new mustangs. But then, instead of writing good tech and plot, the writers fell into that age old hole that sci-fi writers go when they can't actually create a believable bit of technology... we'll juts call it a Science Mystery!

So KITT is bullet proof. Ok... KITTs pretty tough too... but come on... a Transformer? Seriously? Really? A transformer. Why don't they just have KITT transform into a giant walking robot and have it do all the ass kicking instead of Mike?

Next, so far, I've seen three episodes. The premier was weak, but it wasn't all that bad. It was ok, as far as things go, and while I've seen better premiers, I've seen far worse too (Cop Rock, anyone?). The Premier did a decent job of tying the two series together and then giving this new series life... but then what happened? The writers and producers must not have expected the show to last more than the premier. They stopped actually writing any new scripts. Instead, they just parrot other shows/movies. Law and Order does the same thing, but at least L&O uses real life news for it's plots.

First, A Knight in Shining Armor was basically a tweaked retelling of "The Transporter". Guy with a fast car transports a package. OH! Package is actually a person. Throw in some mystery characters alluding to a past the protagonist can't remember. Mix, add ice and serve.

Then, Journey to the End of the Knight. Could they have at least PRETENDED to not be combining pretty much all three "The Fast and The Furious" movies? Hot girls? Check. Street racers? Check. Street racers who smuggle or steal stuff? Check. Actor from the third F&F movie (Sung Kang)? Check.

In fact, they were so blatant this time that Sung Kang even played basically the EXACT SAME character that he played in Tokyo Drift. They aren't even TRYING to write a good series. Their just looking through IMDB plot synopses and adding in just enough extra kruft to make their episodes just a bit different from the material that they are ripping off.

Sadly, watching this new KR series is like watching a train wreck. A train full of puppies. And all my childhood memories.

Next, NBC should "revision" Miami Vice. Maybe make it a sitcom?