I know that many expected this to be Knight Rider II, and they were disappointed. It is difficult to consider that a sequel would be so successful 15 years after the original [we've seen next-year sequels fail miserably before].... I give the TKR team (cast & crew) kudos for such a valiant effort. For those that wanted an "episode-one" match-up to the original KR series ... it's really unfair to expect a series to fully develop in one season "to expectations." I think that happened here.
What makes TKR succeed in my mind consists of a few things cute (though corny-at-times) dialogue, complex interpersonal relationships, and the "personalities" of the vehicles. Too bad, on the last point, that the series was killed after the first season; I would have liked to see where things would have gone with the personalities of the five vehicles....
The show, which does at times seem like a fan-show (written by fans and not by/via/supported-by the real writers themselves), does play with the idea of different personalities ... what KITT "could have been" [ballsy Beast, sweet-n-sexy Domino, prim-and-proper Kat, eclectic Plato and by-the-book/snobby Dante]. Not knocking-on Glen Larson's idea for the original KITT, but sometimes, variation can be ... "fun!" You have to admit, the voices were beautifully cast and the "character" matches to the vehicles' drivers was ... classic [especially Jenny/Domino, Duke/Beast and, of course, Trek/Plato].
Sorry, but ... I think we lost-out in a large way when TKR was axed.
Nia, Tom, Andrea, Linda, Kerrigan, Jon, Christine, Brixton, Duane, Kathy, Nick: TKR fans wish you the best of future success in your careers!
~ Domino Rose