This has been the day that many fans of Knight Rider both feared and hoped for. We knew things were not going well for some time as ratings declined after the Obama special in November, and NBC reduced the episodes of the season from 22 to 17. When the final episode of the season aired in March, many critics who had been negative towards Gary Scott Thompson's initial re-imagining of David Andron's Backdoor Pilot, started to smell the blood in the water. They began to write that Knight Rider was canceled, when in fact NBC had never publicly provided that confirmation.
They still haven't.
So what now? Well, NBC announced some of their fall schedule - but they wont be revealing it all until May 19th, still a few weeks away. Knight Rider is in good company in limbo land, as popular shows like Chuck, Law & Order and My Name is Earl, also do not know their fate. There are several ways that Knight Rider might still ride on.
While many of the shows announced today are for the fall, it is common practice for networks to also announce midseason replacements. Take last year, the show Friday Night Lights, thought by many to be canceled, survived for this year (and now two more) thanks to sponsorship by DirecTV. This is similar to Knight Rider's case, as the show might not have ever made it to a season had it not been for the promotional and financial support of Ford. Will Ford pick up the tab for another year? Yes, the automotive industry in America is in bad shape, but Ford is looking better than all of them. Will Ford save Knight Rider like DirecTV did for FNL...
Knight Rider is a 25 year old show, with millions and millions of fans around the globe. Just now, the show is starting to air regions across the globe. Regions like Germany, that some say single handedly gave Knight Rider the original support it needed and launched David Hasselhoff to singer stardom. If the ratings in these countries do so well that they ask NBC for more shows, it's quite possible it might happen...
Many shows in the past left NBC to thrive. The peacock hasn't been that affectionate to foster it's original programming. Take Seinfield that was nearly canceled several seasons before it finally found it's grove. Baywatch started there too, but thanks to Hasselhoff and financial backers, it moved to syndication and became a pop culture phenomenon. Viper is another that had several years in syndication. While NBC aired the show, Universal (NBCs parent company) owns it, and if NBC decides to pass on the series, Universal might find it still worthy enough to syndicate or move to another channel like Sci-Fi...
But none of this can happen, without you and without me. Our collective voices need to be heard now more than ever. We've been preaching this for sometime, but if you want Knight Rider, if you need it in your life, show it. Tell NBC, Tell Ford, write letters, sign the campaign and tell your friends. Knight Rider doesn't, and probably will never have, the critical support that these types of campaigns succeed with - we need the numbers of support to tip that balance. We can all make a difference, if you want it.
