The Knight They Drove Old Dixie Down

Just a friendly reminder to those of you who enjoy talking cars; the new revamp of the 80's classic 'Knight Rider' debuts tonight on NBC.

I don't know if it'll be better than the TV-movie they produced earlier this year, but it sure would be hard for it to be worse. I loved the original when I was a kid but it seems like this newest incarnation hasn't embraced anything that made the first series great. What was that, you might ask? Well the answer is simple: camp.

The first series was fun and campy because it didn't take itself too seriously. Heck, Michael Knight had and evil twin named Garth (you knew he was evil because he had a goatee). And if that wasn't silly enough, even KITT the car had and evil twin named KARR.

The show was aware that its premise was a little silly and followed suit. The same can not be said of the promos for this new version. 'Knight Rider' 2008 could take a big lesson from one of the greatest unsold pilots of all time; 'Heat Vision & Jack'.

If you have never seen this I suggest you watch this immediately:

This was a TV pilot that a pre-movie star Ben Stiller wrote and directed for FOX back in 1999. It starred Jack Black (a relatively unknown himself back in '99) as Jack, a former astronaut accidently exposed to high levels of solar radiation. Now, whenever the sun is up, Jack's brain expands making him the world's smartest man. But wait, that's not all! Jack rides around on Heat Vision, a motorcycle that contains the soul of Doug, his unemployed room-mate (as voiced by Owen Wilson).

So Jack and his talking motorcycle ride around getting in adventures just like Michael Knight and KITT used to. The only difference, this show turned the camp meter all the way to eleven. It's a real shame the FOX didn't see the brilliance in this show. Can you imagine how fun a weekly TV show with Jack Black, Owen Wilson, and Ben Stiller would've been?

Now if they made the new 'Knight Rider' more like 'Heat Vision & Jack', I would definitely watch. Especially if it included the villainous actor Ron Silver playing himself trying to hunt down and capture the new 'Knight Rider' just as he did on 'Heat Vision' (according to Jack, he is a talented actor AND a cold blooded killer).

P.S. Pop-culture fun fact: Did you know that Ben Stiller met his future wife Christine Taylor while filming the TV show 'Heat Vision & Jack'? It's true!