Knight Rider - why just 4 seasons?

chrisebourg · Post by **chrisebourg** » Tue Sep 14, 2004 9:46 pm

Hi

Like many of you, I was a very big fan of KR back in the early 80's when the show was first aired.

However, why had the show been cancelled after 4 seasons? Could it have aired longer or was it the NBC that no longer wanted to broadcast?

Curious because I feel that the show was a great hit and it could have gone on for few extra years.... Any thoughts?

R.J.1984 · Post by **R.J.1984** » Tue Sep 14, 2004 10:05 pm

As with many other t.v. shows - the networks canceled it due to the fact that they were tired of it, they wanted different shows and they thought they would get more ratings if they replaced it. However - like with the Dukes of Hazzard they were wrong. It is only now that they realize that people still want to watch the shows so they are bringing them back on dvd.

Skav · Post by **Skav** » Tue Sep 14, 2004 10:27 pm

Ratings were failing by the 4th season, hence why the SPM idea was introduced in an effort to raise the audience viewing, but failed.

So the studio was no longer interested in funding the show.

themarvelous3 · Post by **themarvelous3** » Tue Sep 14, 2004 10:30 pm

what i heard (from this board) was that the ratings were dropping by the end of the third season and the company didnt want to spend the money for the special effects for a show that was on its way down

chrisebourg · Post by **chrisebourg** » Tue Sep 14, 2004 11:39 pm

It is funny though how times change

Watch the shows back 15-20 years ago, almost no violence, nudity and / or foul langage and today, everything is hi tech, very violent and well, lots of "nudity".

Despite that technology wasn't as advanced as is today, I prefer the older shows - the acting was genuine - well worth watching. I am hooked on the 80's and wonder if I will ever overcome them... That's probably why I apreciate KR so much!!

imranbecks · Post by **imranbecks** » Wed Sep 15, 2004 12:48 am

They don't make shows like Knight Rider anymore in this generation.... Knight Rider was the best...

finalfadeout · Post by **finalfadeout** » Wed Sep 15, 2004 5:02 am

Ratings indeed had dropped by the 4th season, and SPM was a gimmick for more viewers, like when the A-team underwent a format change in season 5, or when aging sitcoms introduce the 'cute kid' or the like. However, KR wasn't cancelled because of ratings alone...though lower, they were still holding up well, and a conventional show would probably have been kept on, all else being equal. But KR was not a regular show, and it was quite expensive....and so the network brass decided that even though the ratings were decent, it was not worth keeping the show on instead of pocketing the savings and putting on another show in its place that might not have any better ratings, but was much cheaper to produce. This is kind of unfair as the bar was set pretty high, and there's no guarantee even if ratings had gone up that it would have been renewed, unless ratings were absolutely stellar. Bonus Question: Who took Knight Rider's time slot in the fall of 1986?

Milkman · Post by **Milkman** » Wed Sep 15, 2004 9:47 am

Airwolf maybe?

citizen_x · Post by **citizen_x** » Wed Sep 15, 2004 11:50 am

Knight Rider was one of a kind! the decision to cancel the show was a big mistake, and i believe that they realize it today.
all we have left with is the memory of once GREAT show ... and the DVD's of course

this is the result of ppl who where interested in one thing and one thing only - MONEY

for the sake of future shows i hope that those kind of mistakes will not happen again

KnightRiderGirl · Post by **KnightRiderGirl** » Wed Sep 15, 2004 12:46 pm

citizen_x wrote:Knight Rider was one of a kind! the decision to cancel the show was a big mistake, and i believe that they realize it today.
all we have left with is the memory of once GREAT show ... and the DVD's of course

this is the result of ppl who where interested in one thing and one thing only - MONEY
for the sake of future shows i hope that those kind of mistakes will not happen again

I have to agree with you, even though I'm a new age Knight Rider fan. They probally should have kept it going back then. I hope that they will not do that again, even though Sci-Fi channel did it last year. Stupid idiots......

chrisebourg · Post by **chrisebourg** » Wed Sep 15, 2004 1:26 pm

imranbecks wrote:They don't make shows like Knight Rider anymore in this generation.... Knight Rider was the best...

Yes, this is true. Could you imagine the original KR being created in 2004?

The characters would lack emotion and K.I.T.T. well, I don't even think he would "talk". The show would spend more money on special effects and high tech toys than the rest.

Praise KR was created in the 80's when acting was a real JOB!!!! and money, well it kept things going I guess.

chrisebourg · Post by **chrisebourg** » Wed Sep 15, 2004 1:29 pm

citizen_x wrote:Knight Rider was one of a kind! the decision to cancel the show was a big mistake, and i believe that they realize it today.
all we have left with is the memory of once GREAT show ... and the DVD's of course

this is the result of ppl who where interested in one thing and one thing only - MONEY
for the sake of future shows i hope that those kind of mistakes will not happen again

Let's look at it this way... if they would have ran more seasons, the network would have killed the show and fans would have gotten bored with the storyline. and yes, the money - well, they would have had a smaller budget - need I say more!

Post by **Michael Pajaro** » Wed Sep 15, 2004 5:26 pm

I prefer to think of Knight Rider as "not being renewed" rather than "being cancelled." It just sounds less harsh that way.

I was actually OK when I found out it wasn't coming back for season 5. I think the show had 4 good years (well, maybe 3 1/2) and it was time to let it go. There's nothing worse than seeing a show run past its prime.

As much as I supported the show, I think NBC made the right decision from both a financial and creative standpoint.

citizen_x · Post by **citizen_x** » Wed Sep 15, 2004 5:58 pm

chrisebourg wrote:
Let's look at it this way... if they would have ran more seasons, the network would have killed the show and fans would have gotten bored with the storyline.

You don't know that, maybe they would have introduce us with a new villain, new crew mate ... and as a result, the show's rating was growing up again.

I think that KR had the potential for two more seasons

Post by **Michael Pajaro** » Wed Sep 15, 2004 6:07 pm

The television geek in me loves these discussions...

I know we like to think of studios and networks as greedy forces of evil, but you have to remember that they, along with advertisers, were fronting millions of their own dollars to provide people with FREE entertainment. (only about half of U.S. households had cable when Knight Rider went off the air, so for the most part Knight Rider truly was free.) If TV execs want to be concerned with the bottom line, I think they have every right to be.

I did a little research... here are some of the shows NBC got rid of from 1986 to 1987:
Knight Rider
Riptide
Remington Steele
Misfits of Science

Shows they kept:
The A Team
Highway To Heaven
St. Elsewhere
Miami Vice

New shows they added in 1987:
L.A. Law
Matlock
Alf
Valerie

In hindsight, looking at the big picture, did NBC improve its line-up? I think they did.

chrisebourg · Post by **chrisebourg** » Wed Sep 15, 2004 7:02 pm

Michael Pajaro wrote:I prefer to think of Knight Rider as "not being renewed" rather than "being cancelled." It just sounds less harsh that way.

I was actually OK when I found out it wasn't coming back for season 5. I think the show had 4 good years (well, maybe 3 1/2) and it was time to let it go. There's nothing worse than seeing a show run past its prime.

As much as I supported the show, I think NBC made the right decision from both a financial and creative standpoint.

Yes, you have a great point. You don't want to watch a show for 15 years - you get fed up with it after a while.

knightshade · Post by **knightshade** » Wed Sep 15, 2004 9:02 pm

Michael Pajaro wrote:
New shows they added in 1987:
L.A. Law
Matlock
Alf
Valerie

In hindsight, looking at the big picture, did NBC improve its line-up? I think they did.

I'm not really arguing your point, but . . . Alf?

I'm not sure that the quality really went up, but maybe the types of shows on got a little more diverse.

Post by **Michael Pajaro** » Wed Sep 15, 2004 9:29 pm

Ah... yes... Alf....

OK, I admit that it wasn't the classiest show NBC ever aired. But by an improved line-up I meant having shows that looked like they would bring in more viewers, and crazy as it sounds Alf was a big hit for NBC.

knightshade · Post by **knightshade** » Wed Sep 15, 2004 9:41 pm

Yeah, I could see where the 4 shows they cancelled all had probably about the same types of viewers -- who were probably still watching The A-Team and Miami Vice. So adding a couple of comedies and a more soap like lawyer show probably brought in a different demographic.

But I stll . . . Alf. ::shakes head::

Although I do think they were pretty hard up for fresh stories by the second half of season 4. I don't know if they needed new writers or needed to shake up the formula or what. But things were getting kinda stale.

cloudkitt · Post by **cloudkitt** » Wed Sep 15, 2004 10:49 pm

Alf was awesome!! I loved that show.

Of course Knight Rider blew it away, that wasn't my point, but it was an amusing show

The movies sucked though-as did the KR movies.

FuzzieDice · Post by **FuzzieDice** » Thu Sep 16, 2004 5:06 pm

I can't help to wonder how on earth (or anywhere ELSE for that matter) Star Trek kept going and going and going... I love Star Trek and watch it sometimes. Still. And it started in the 60s and went through several versions. But I never got tired of it. It was high-tech and great sci-fi. I was hoping that they would think of Knight Rider the same way. I admit they tried (TKR, KR2000 Movie, etc.) but I think ultimately it really was the ratings. People just weren't watching it. But now with the following seeming to come back, hopefully they might bring it back. At least, I'm very happy they are taking the time to produce DVDs of the previous seasons. I think Universal is doing a wonderful job with the DVD set and can't wait for the next season. Maybe when David Hasselhoff gets to the movie project he's been trying to work on, he might even try to make another series again.

There were many shows that kept going for many many years. Sesame Street, Mr. Rogers Neighborhood, Star Trek, etc. And then there are shows that they air repeats (even KR was aired on Sci-Fi recently).

So really, even without a "5th" KR season, we'll still be able to enjoy it anyway. It won't ever really "go away" thankfully.

cloudkitt · Post by **cloudkitt** » Sat Sep 18, 2004 12:11 am

Are they still making new Sesame Street's? If so, are they in they're like...76th season?

TransAmKITT2000 · Post by **TransAmKITT2000** » Sun Sep 19, 2004 10:31 am

I enjoyed Knight Rider back in the 1980s and still enjoy it today in
reruns and the DVD set.I enjoyed the show up until they introduced the
SPM and had spoilers coming out of KITT's body.That kind of turned me
off to the show a bit.If a shows gets too "crazy" it will hurt the show in some way.As it is said that the first season and second season of a
series is its best.

chrisebourg · Post by **chrisebourg** » Sun Sep 19, 2004 3:45 pm

FuzzieDice wrote:I can't help to wonder how on earth (or anywhere ELSE for that matter) Star Trek kept going and going and going... I love Star Trek and watch it sometimes. Still. And it started in the 60s and went through several versions. But I never got tired of it. It was high-tech and great sci-fi. I was hoping that they would think of Knight Rider the same way. I admit they tried (TKR, KR2000 Movie, etc.) but I think ultimately it really was the ratings. People just weren't watching it. But now with the following seeming to come back, hopefully they might bring it back. At least, I'm very happy they are taking the time to produce DVDs of the previous seasons. I think Universal is doing a wonderful job with the DVD set and can't wait for the next season. Maybe when David Hasselhoff gets to the movie project he's been trying to work on, he might even try to make another series again.

There were many shows that kept going for many many years. Sesame Street, Mr. Rogers Neighborhood, Star Trek, etc. And then there are shows that they air repeats (even KR was aired on Sci-Fi recently).

So really, even without a "5th" KR season, we'll still be able to enjoy it anyway. It won't ever really "go away" thankfully.

:

When I was young, I remember watching Sesame Street between 5 and 6 hours a day. Plus, when I wasnt watching Sesame Street, I was watching the Littlest Hobo....

I wouldn't watch Sesame Street anymore @ 29 but I still prefer the oder episodes of the 80's.... Watching TV back then was not just entertaining but it was good.

Knightwolf · Post by **Knightwolf** » Sun Sep 19, 2004 9:43 pm

But on the other hand look at what happened to the shows that made the end of 1986 cut, and what happened to them. The 5th season of the A-Team (other then the season opener) was awful compared the rest of the season. Also look at the 4th season of Airwolf, where they replaced the entire cast, although some of the scripts wern't all too bad. Just imagine if they did to Knight Rider what they did to Airwolf.... Recasting Barry Van Dyke as Michael's long lost brother, and replaceing Bonnie with Michelle Scarabelli, and have every piece of Kitt footage reused from prior seasons.

In any case I do happen to enjoy watching the 4th season of Airwolf, but I'm also glad that they didnt try to do the same thing with Knight Rider.....

That gives me a good idea.....a Knight Rider-Airwolf crossover

Knightwolf

Knight Rider - why just 4 seasons?

Knight Rider - why just 4 seasons?

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