A little over a month ago, we
reported on the official announcement from Universal Studios Home Entertainment for a September 9th DVD release of
Knight Rider, the 2008 pilot telefilm for the new series coming to NBC this fall. Interested fans have been asking us about why this title still isn't available to pre-order at popular retailers, such as Amazon, and we've been looking into it for our readers.
In the process, we discovered that the title was no longer being listed at the studio's password-protected press site, and our retailer friends tell us that it isn't listed at the studio's retailer sites, either (which explains why the online retailers haven't got it up for pre-order). We DID find it at Universal's consumer website, but it's now devoid of all the detail which had previously been there. So we contacted the studio and asked them about it.
Yesterday afternoon we got our answer! A spokesperson for Universal Studios informed us that the separate DVD release of the pilot episode by itself has been CANCELED. The studio has instead decided to include this feature - about the first adventure of Michael Traceur (the correct spelling of the last name per
NBC's website) and K.I.T.T. ("Knight Industries Three Thousand") - on the eventual DVD release of
Knight Rider - Season 1. No reason was specifically given, but as we look back on fan complaints when the studio has released separate "pilot" DVDs in the past (
Battlestar Galactica, Monk and others), it makes sense that the studio would simply deliver it all in one big package for the consumers. Stay tuned and we'll have word on the Season 1 set down the road, when the episodes have aired and the studio is ready to announce it.
In the meantime, keep an eye in the coming weeks on NBC's website for the new show (linked above); there they will report on the Comic Con revelation of the new "attack mode" look for K.I.T.T.!
