AirLockAlpha.com

Why can't you just die, KITT? Fans really want to know.

Apparently suffering from amnesia from all the previous false starts of this franchise, NBC once again wants to try and put the pedal to the metal for that classic 1980s series "Knight Rider." And this time they're serious.

Hoping to cash in on what seems to be successes in other franchise reinventions like "Battlestar Galactica" on its SciFi Channel network, and "Bionic Woman" which premiered last night, NBC is bringing in Doug Liman to film a two-hour backdoor pilot that could be ready for broadcast by the end of this season, Variety reported. If the pilot is a success, a new series could be gracing NBC's airwaves as early as next fall.

This is not the first time someone has tried to bring the franchise, which first premiered in 1982 on NBC, back from the dead. "Knight Rider 2000," which featured a strange view of the world in 2000, was aired in 1991 as a backdoor pilot that never went anywhere. There also was 1994's "Night Rider 2010," but no one knows what the hell that was about. And don't forget the first-run syndicated series "Team Knight Rider" in 1997.

Dave Andron is writing the script for Universal Media Studios and Dutch Oven Production, while Liman and Dave Bartis will serve as executive producers.

Let's hope they have the wrist-watch walkie-talkie.