Making Cool Cooler

Writers strike or not, there's a new show coming to NBC in February. Well, maybe not a show yet, but a telemovie pilot destined for series-hood, and it's also not that new either. Sunday, February 17, 2008, "Knight Rider" returns to television.

The good news is that this is not a horrific re-imagining like NBC's recent shots at "The Bionic Woman" and "Battlestar Galactica" - this is an update and a sequel to the successful 1980s action/scifi series that launched David Hasselhoff's career. The Hoff even makes an appearance in the pilot as his character Michael Knight.

While some will say Hasselhoff was the star of "Knight Rider," those of us who know better will tell you it was really the KITT-2000, the supercar of which the Hoff was only the driver. KITT's voice was done by the silky and sarcastic William Daniels and had a cool Cylon eye in its Pontiac Trans Am hood. Among other things, KITT could drive itself and was a certified artificial intelligence - the epitome of 1980s TV cool.

But it's not the 1980s anymore, so how do you make cool cooler? The new KITT-3000 is a Ford Mustang with an artificial intelligence that has cult favorite Will Arnett's voice and nanotech abilities. Yep, that's right, this is one badass car o' the future - not only can it repair itself, it can change shape and color at will. Can't wait for Feb.

As for a story, it sounds pretty typical, but storytelling was never the forte on this show, the car was. It's obviously a sequel to the original series, but let's just hope they ignore previous attempts like "2000," "2010" and *groan* "Team Knight Rider."