'Knight Rider' returns to TV! Who should take the wheel from the Hoff?

Notice that I am not filing this under “To Care or Not to Care,” because we should all be psyched that NBC just greenlit a two-hour backdoor pilot for a new Knight Rider series. According to Variety, Doug Liman (The Bourne Identity, Go, Mr. & Mrs. Smith) will produce, and possibly direct, the “Transformers-inspired” TV movie that should air later this season — and could lead to a fall ’08 serial if it doesn’t suck. Or tank.

Since original Knight Rider David Hasselhoff (pictured) will likely be busy filming his own pilot— a Fat Actress/So NoTORIous-style scripted show produced by Ryan Seacrest for E!— KITT is in need of a new owner. The first name that came to my mind was Ron Livingston. I could see him conversing with a car and taking on his evil double and a semi named GOLIATH. (Yeah, you’ll want to relive that great moment in Hoff History here.)

If you were Liman, which actor would you be calling? And what are your favorite memories of Knight Rider, which debuted 25 years ago yesterday?

addCredit(“Knight Rider: Photofest”)