Name: Pilot
Genre: Adventure
Released: 1993-06-08
Rating: 5.5
Cast: Erika Anderson, John Capodice, Dan Cortese

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Erika Anderson

Natalie

John Capodice

Steven

Dan Cortese

Arthur Clark

Stacy Haiduk

Lily

Art LaFleur

Robert

Bobbie Sunday Starr

Bus passenger who sees train coming

James Wilder

Nick Lewis

Did you know

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Goofs
The premise of the story is that Nick Lewis is willed the red 1961 Corvette from his absentee father Buz Murdock as a continuation of the original show. However, in the original series, the car was owned by Tod Stiles, receiving it in his father's will. And when the series ended, Buz was long gone, replaced by Linc, and the car with a 1963 Corvette. None of the Corvettes were red. The first, the 1960, was blue. The rest were Fawn Beige or Silver. So any red 1961 Corvette in this show had nothing to do with the original series.

Connections
Referenced in Dawson's Creek: Self Reliance (2000)

In this sequel to the classic show, James Wilder plays Nick Lewis, the illegitimate son of Buz Murdock, who was played by George Maharis in the original series. He never knew his now deceased father but inherited a few old record albums, some photos and a perfectly preserved 1961 red and white Corvette convertible. He picks up Arthur Clark, a loud-mouthed hitchhiker (Dan Cortese) and their journey into escapism begins. On June 3, 1993, Cortese and Wilder served as emcees for "Route 66 Day" in Santa Monica, California, organized to kick off the series and also celebrate the 40th anniversary of the Corvette. They presented Mayor Judy Abdo with a bronze plaque on behalf of NBC and Columbia Pictures Television saluting the city for its participation in "Route 66 Day" and the city's historic position near the end of the famous highway. Harley Peyton, executive producer and writer of the new series, said the idea for the show simply came from his desire to do a road show. He said he knew that such a show would be a rip-off of the early 60s series, so he just concluded he might as well do a new Route 66. But I personally think he should have used an original title like "The Highway" or whatever. I think he was probably capitalizing on the name of the original series to give it a shot in the arm. Hey, at least he didn't use the original theme song. The music for the new show was by the very capable Warren Zevon. I was a big fan of the original Route 66, and to be completely fair, instead of scoffing at the idea of a sequel, I welcomed it. Most Generation-Xers had probably never seen or heard of the original series and it could have been a great modern day adventure of a couple of guys travelling the highways and byways, meeting new people and experiencing life. But with just four episodes, it just didn't get the chance to completely develop the characters or stories. Part of what made the original series such a hit was the scenery. All four episodes of the remake were filmed in beautiful California, but not enough scenery was shown.