‘Knight Rider’ returns

AS a fan of the original “Knight Rider,” I’m excited to see the new TV series that NBC will unleash on Feb. 17.

I just hope that it can live up to expectations. The original KITT (Knight Industries Two Thousand) was one of the coolest characters ever on TV (heh, yeah, I miss the talking car more than David Hasselhoff, heh).

Anyway, to whet your appetites, check out these video clips from NBC.com.

(UPDATE 1: OK, something seems to be wrong as of this writing with the embed codes and even the Share URLs of the clips below, so I removed the embedded clips. Just click here for the clips.

UPDATE 2: And now the video of the pilot episode is no longer available. Is it technical difficulties? Or, jeez, NBC, why make video clips available for sharing if you’re just going to pull the plug later on, huh? Sheesh, when will TV networks really embrace the Web?)

Here’s the teaser for the Feb. 17 two-hour pilot episode.

Here’s writer and producer David Andon talking about making the new “Knight Rider” relevant to today’s audience.

Here’s Justin Bruening, who’s playing Mike Tracer, the estranged son of the original show’s Michael Knight.

And here’s Deanna Russo, the actress playing Mike Tracer’s love interest Sarah Graiman.

And, of course, here’s the real star of the show, heh, the new KITT.