‘Knight Rider’s’ shorter season

Back in October, NBC made a splashy announcement that it would order a full season of “Knight Rider,” its extremely low-rated caper series.

But hey, sometimes network executives change their minds. Word went around town this week that the network, ostensibly to save money, will cut back on the episodes for “Knight Rider.” Instead of the expected 22 episodes, the network will now produce just 17. A network spokeswoman confirmed the shift but declined to comment further.

In a news release, NBC said that “Knight Rider’s” 8 p.m. Wednesday time period will be given, starting March 4, to a “new show . . . to be announced soon.”

-- Scott Collins