Thought it was good for what it is. Bar far not the best thing I've seen. But also not the worst.
The minor flaws I can look over (like not sweating while KITT's on fire, or KITT's new transformation sequences). They're easy enough to ignore or improve upon as they get into the groove of putting a weekly show together. I did prefer KITT's transforming in the pilot: the nanotech transformation where his skin 'flowed' into shape. It would also be easier to explain how he can get bigger (truck-sized) because it would just be his skin shifting out into different positions. Instead, they've got components coming out where there just isn't any room for them (like the hubcaps). Cool to look at, but requires a large suspension of disbelief.
Major flaws. Writing and directing. That's right, I didn't say acting. Why? Because we knew how they'd act from the movie, and they actually acted better in the movie then this first episode. It means they are capable of acting at least a little better when they get a director that can pull the performance out of them. Other signs the director was lacking included the reactions of background characters. Watch when Mike is 'killed'. Everyone screams and runs. Good. When the woman walks onto the train, everyone is calm and thinks nothing of it. Bad. They should have been flinching and either running out, or hiding back further on the train. At the very least they should have seemed really curious about what was going on with all the cops and dead body (assuming they missed the actual shooting). We'll see what happens as they get more comfortable in their roles and other directors come in.
As for the writing. Formulaic, yes. But that's not really the problem. When you're just starting out, you stick to the formula because you'll turn away the fewest number of people. But it was rather weak. Some dialog could have been better, and there were plotholes. For example, when they remove the oxygen to snuff the fire, if KITT runs on gas (like in the movie) or some other combustible fuel, how could his engine have run without oxygen to ignite the fuel. (Maybe he doesn't run on it anymore, but they didn't explain it.)
Ok, now general nitpicking. I call it general because I see it on every show. If your having a character use a computer with a window based operating system, it's not a crime to have them use a mouse every once in a while. You can't do overthing they do with just a keyboard. Well, I guess you can, but a mouse sure makes things easier.
On the other hand, the Microsoft Surface-type system they were using was pretty cool.
a better storyline so as not to hinder on weekly storylines.
