It’s been tried so many times that by now I’ve lost count, but if the world does indeed crave a watchable reboot of the classic eighties show Knight Rider, this would be the way to do it.
Another Chance
I say this with total humbleness, because there are more roads leading to Rome – if not all -, so this is merely one way for Knight Rider to join The X-Files, The A-Team, The Six Million Dollar Man, Prison Break, Heroes and maybe even Deadwood, Miami Vice and Models, Inc. Just kidding about that last one. Reboots are all the rage, so why not give Michael Knight and his shiny black friend another chance? There are rules, though. They can be found in the Reboot Manifest, which doesn’t exist yet, but at the very least writers and studios should have a sense of what should be in it.
In 2000 Years
They’ve tried to bring back ‘Man with talking car’ a few times. Most recently in 2008, with an updated version. Younger man, modernized car, and David ‘The Hoff’ Hasselhoff giving his blessing. What came out, lacked any creativity, style and humor. If Back to the Future ever gets remade – which could happen 2000 years after Robert Zemeckis has died, apparently, according to his will -, would you leave out the DeLorean? No, of course not. You need the car, flux capacitor, the Enchantment Under the Sea Dance, and give or take one or two pine trees.
Artificial Intelligence Gizmo
You should keep the things you loved about the original, and go from there. That means Michael Long turning into Michael Knight with a little help from a plastic surgeon. It means he’s the top secret agent employed by the Foundation for Law and Government, led by Devon Miles. And it certainly means a black Pontiac Firebird Trans Am, with a red light snaking across its nose, including the voice of William Daniels. That’s the framework you want. Otherwise, it could be just another show starring an action figure with an artificial intelligence gizmo at his disposal (like Person of Interest, Intelligence and Almost Human).
Serialized Procedural
Because a lot of television is serialized nowadays, and even the procedurals now have a tiny ongoing storyline they usually attend to in the last 5 minutes of every episode, the new Knight Rider should also find a strong antagonist, for at least one season – like Justified used to do. Each week, Michael and KITT are sent on a new mission by FLAG. That’s the procedural part. Meanwhile, they have to deal with the threat of somebody wanting to take down the Foundation. That could either be a politician (season 2), who wants to shut them down by any means necessary, a terrorist organisation (season 3), a competitor (season 4) like a private military company – which also paves the way for KITT-clone KARR to make its appearance, but for the first season, I’d suggest a more personal vendetta.
Trial and Error
I’m sure FLAG and Devon had been doing tryouts for a long time, before enlisting Michael. There were George, Jack, Jesse, Hank, Case and Jerald. And Caitlin. They all got plastic surgery, training, a KITT prototype, a watch to talk into; the whole Knight Package. But it’s always trial and error with these kind of things. Some got their faces screwed up, some got killed, some were left behind enemy lines, sacrificed. One of these men surely must have an axe to grind. Presumed dead, Hank (or George) could be the ‘shadowy flight’ that goes after FLAG for a number of episodes.
A Different Home
Although Knight Rider used to air on NBC, it’s not unthinkable the reboot would find a different home. NBC has seriously been stacking up its action series catalogue, so they might not be too eager with yet another one. I can’t imagine Rider to start its engines on cable, though. Netflix could be an option; they don’t shy away from a little warmed up nostalgia.
The Black Ox 