The following contains MAJOR SPOILERS for the premiere episode of "Knight Rider" on NBC.

Let me start out by saying that I'm a "vehicle" fan. Even though I can't rebuild an engine or identify what's wrong when my car breaks down, I love the looks of modes of transportation, including cars, starships, planes and trains. So I already like the new KITT and its many Transformer-like shapes.

The question is, will the show reviving one I was tepid about when it first aired be something special?

Sadly, the answer is, "No." At least, the first episode left me cold.

Here's what happened this week. Mike Traceur, son of Michael Knight (the original KITT driver), is now a full-fledged secret agent, complete with tuxedo, and he and flame Sarah Graiman are infiltrating an organization to get secrets as the show opens. Sarah isn't as good at sneaking around as Mike is, so she gets captured. Mike, with KITT's help, rescues her, and the duo escapes, but not before KITT is covered with a flaming concoction that turns KITT into an oven. Luckily, Mike can take his shirt off (sigh), and both he and Sarah strip down so they can keep cool. KITT rushes to get back to the organization's base before Mike and Sarah are crispy critters, but Billy, a tech at the home base, struggles to get the door open. In the nick of time, the door opens, so car and passengers survive.

The rest of the episode is spent by Mike searching for "The Package," which turns out to be a nerdy guy who has a cypher to decode important information in his DNA. Standing in Mike's way is Kelli Maddigan, a mysterious woman from his past, who claims they know each other, but Mike can't remember her at all.

What Worked

Okay, KITT is cool. No matter what Ford vehicle he turns into, KITT is my favorite part of the show. Val Kilmer does a good, Spock-like job of voicing the eminently logical KITT, stating facts with machine-like precision.

There is a lot of motion, and some things happen. I'm not sure that qualifies as what I like to call "action," but things did happen on screen.

It was also fun to see Paul Campbell play another "Billy" after his stint in "Battlestar Galactica."

What Didn't Work

Where to start? Perhaps it is the two-dimensional characters who tend to look befuddled and bemused all the time. Mike Traceur has less range of emotion than KITT does, and that's being kind. Each person is a role, not an individual. You have The Boss, The Daughter Of The Boss, The Driver, The Tech Guy, The Government Agent and The Gruff Governmen Agent Who Gets In The Way All The Time. I hope they flesh out some of these people in the coming weeks.

A lot of things happen, but they are movement without explanation or consequence. For example, Billy struggles with the door, but we have no idea why it won't open. It just won't. Luckily, Billy figures out what to do (without telling us), and things resolve happily. In fact, pretty much everything resolves nice and neatly, which is something I hate. I like things a little messier, a little less happy.

I sure hope this program gets better!

Giving Credit Where Credit Is Due

"A Knight In Shining Armor" was written by Gary Scott Thompson, and was directed by David Solomon. "Knight Riders" airs on NBC each Wednesday at 8 p.m. The show stars Jason Bruening, Deanna Russo, Bruce Davison, Paul Campbell, and Val Kilmer.

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