article

For the American media company, see Knight Ridder.

Knight Rider was a popular United States television show that ran between September 26th, 1982 and August 8th, 1986. It was broadcast on the NBC television network and starred David Hasselhoff as Michael Knight; a kind of modern-day "knight" who drove an advanced smart car with artificial intelligence. Conceived and produced by Glen A. Larson, the show was an instant hit and inspired a subgenre of high-tech crimefighter series. "I want* to do The Lone Ranger with a car," Larson said in "The Last Great Ride." "Kind of a sci-fi thing, with the soul of a western."

Story

Michael Knight

In the pilot episode, undercover police officer Michael Arthur Long was betrayed and nearly killed by a gunshot wound to the head. In reality, a metal plate in Long's skull deflected the round which shattered and damaged his face. Declared dead to the public, his medical care was taken over by the Foundation for Law and Government (FLAG). This part of the story is shown in the pilot, titled "Knight of the Phoenix". The symbolism in this title is fairly clear to Americans, as Michael's car is a Pontiac Firebird Trans Am and most cars of that kind had a giant decal on the hood, showing the fire bird (the phoenix).

FLAG is a private crime-fighting arm of the Knight Foundation, founded by dying billionaire philanthropist Wilton Knight. Given a new face via plastic surgery, Michael Long was resurrected as Michael Knight. Together with a high-tech automobile called KITT, (Knight Industries Two Thousand), Michael set out to carry on Wilton Knight's crime-fighting crusade. He was usually given mission objectives by the new director of FLAG, Wilton's friend Devon Miles. Michael was selected for his high level of self-defense training, and deduction skills not to mention his ability and preference to work alone without assistance or back-up.

Michael Knight was a special type of hero, a modern knight who avoided unnecessary violence and refrained from using firearms unless absolutely necessary. Most episodes featured an attractive young woman in need of Knight's help. Although most of Knight's cases were based in Southern California where FLAG was headquartered, the operation wasn't confined there. He could travel to whatever part of the country where trouble arose, sometimes even crossing borders into Mexico. FLAG had facilities (at least) in Las Vegas and Chicago, also. FLAG's legal jurisdiction, however, was within the boundaries of the United States.

Michael Knight is played by actor David Hasselhoff, who also played a double role in the Season Two episodes Goliath and Goliath Returns, portraying not only Michael Knight but also Wilton's biological son Garthe Knight. At the time of Michael's surgery, Garthe was imprisoned in Africa. Believing that his son would never be seen again, Wilton had Michael's face modeled after his own son Garthe's. In the pilot episode, both Devon Miles and Wilton stated that Michael actually resembled the face of Wilton himself as a young man. In the novels written after the series aired, it is described that Michael's reconstructed face was based off of images of both a young Wilton and his son. In any event, the Garthe storyline would not go beyond the second season, primarily due to David Hasselhoff's request that the doppleganger villain be ended, due to the time it took to be made up and film both the roles of Michael and Garthe.

KITT

KITT, (short for Knight Industries Two Thousand), was, for many, the star of the show. The car boasted artificial intelligence of sufficient level to reason, talk, and deliver sarcastic one-liners to Michael Knight as an equal. KITT could drive himself when Michael was otherwise engaged, keeping in contact via a wrist communicator or "comlink" (disguised as a watch). KITT was actually considered two separate machines, the Knight 2000 vehicle, and the Knight 2000 microprocessor. According to series creator Glen A. Larson, as quoted from "Knight Rider Legacy", "The car is Knight 2000. KITT is the onboard computer. The car is one, and KITT is the nickname for the computer. I never considered the car was named KITT, just the character inside." The two entities were separated briefly throughout the series (refer to the episodes "Soul Survivor", "Junkyard Dog", and "Knight of the Juggernaut.")

KITT's Pontiac Trans Am chassis was reinforced with Wilton Knight's revolutionary Molecular Bonded Shell, and was resistant to most known weapons below heavy artillery. The vehicle's drivetrain consisted of a turbine engine, capable of accelerating to speeds over 300 mph; furthermore, the car featured numerous other special abilities, the most notable being a frequently-used 'Turbo Boost' for jumping over obstacles. This is a stunt similar to that being used by the famous General Lee in The Dukes of Hazzard, where the car (assisted by the aid of ramps and/or air compression) leaps into the air, usually flying over hazardous obsticles. In fact, the same stunt coordinator, Jack Gill, was involved in both series. In Give Me Liberty... or Give Me Death, where an alternative-fuel race takes place, a race car bearing great resemblance to the General Lee is racing with KITT. Though the car is missing the trademark Confederate flag and number 01, it is the same color and sports the same wheels as the General Lee. As an aside, its fuel is moonshine, in comparison with KITT's liquid hydrogen.

KITT was actually the second smart car developed by FLAG. The first, named KARR (Knight Automated Roving Robot), was built without the directive for the preservation of human life (see Three Laws of Robotics) that KITT possessed. KARR fell into the wrong hands and served as KITT's evil twin during two episodes, "Trust Doesn't Rust", and "K.I.T.T. vs K.A.R.R.". (See KARR's article page for more details on KARR).

KITT was improved greatly in the show's final season. During a mission in Chicago ("Knight of the Juggernaut"), KITT's Molecular Bonded Shell was neutralized and his body was severely damaged by an enemy battering ram. He was rebuilt in a miraculous 24 hours, with the help of Bonnie, RC3 (Peter Parros) and his streetwise mechanic friends.

Because they were not initially able to restore the car's Molecular Bonded Shell, they added a "Super Pursuit Mode", giving KITT a 40 percent increase in speed, in excess of 300 mph (483 km/h); made possible by retractable airfoils, and jet boosters. An "Emergency Braking System" was also installed to decelerate KITT from these high speeds using three large airflaps. (The Mercedes SLR actually uses some of this braking flap technology today). As a special "gift" to Michael, the street mechanics added a button marked 'C', which when pressed, brought KITT's top down and turn him into a convertible. The extra functions, designed by George Barris, cost $250,000 to create.

The series relied upon the same stunt coordinator as The Dukes of Hazzard, Jack Gill. Several episodes saw new technical gadgets added to KITT's repertoire, which were usually subsequently used to rescue Michael and KITT from some perilous situation in the same episode. (See KITT's article page for more details on KITT and a list of his features). The car (actually, a set of them; but is told that the first one out of the line was sent directly to Universal) is a customization of a stock Pontiac Firebird Trans Am, model year 1982. This overwhelmed Pontiac/GM with requests for the "Knight 2000" version of the car (which didn't exist). The major exterior difference from a stock Trans Am is the nose, which was redesigned in order to accomodate a cylon-like red scanner. In the pilot "Knight of the Phoenix", there are a few noticeable scenes where the nose is a mockup. The car itself still has a worldwide scene with passionate fans, and replicas are known to exist in an unusually high number, at various levels of fidelity.

Supporting cast

Devon Miles

Michael and KITT answered directly to Devon Miles (played by Edward Mulhare). Devon played the dual role of friend and leader of the team. He appears in almost every episode, usually to give the background on an assignment or situation in the beginning, and to help conclude the plot lines at the end. His extremely proper, British upbringing plays a large role in his demeanor, in a similar fashion to Higgins in Magnum, P.I., though a definite social hierarchy exists in Knight Rider (a boss and his employee).

In some episodes, his handling of situations is aided by his way with words, and in others that same ability is used for comic relief; a foil to American culture. Devon was an experienced and resourceful man who had evaded the Gestapo during World War II, and defended the Foundation for Law and Government whenever it came under negative scrutiny. On more than one occasion, Devon's role as leader of FLAG put him in situations of extreme danger, from which he was always somehow saved or able to recover.

Bonnie Barstow

Bonnie Barstow (Patricia McPherson) served as KITT's chief mechanic. She acted as a female agent "Q" from James Bond; and was just as argumentive with the hero of the show, Michael Knight. She also served as romantic tension for Michael, as well as constructing new devices to aid KITT's performance in the field. Bonnie was chief mechanic in Seasons 1, 3 and 4.

April Curtis

April Curtis (Rebecca Holden) replaced Bonnie's role in Season 2. Holden was brought in because Patricia McPherson was fired at the end of season one, and producer Robert Foster wanted to add (his own words) "glitz" to the series. April seemed to be more knowledgeable in medicine than Bonnie. However, the relationship between Michael and April was virtually identical to Bonnie's relationship with Michael.

RC3

Reginald Cornelius III (Peter Parros), or "RC3" for short, appears in Season 4. RC brought a different set of talents to FLAG, most notably his "street smarts" and ability to back Michael up in physical confrontations. He also seems to be the new driver of the Semi. His appearance meant that the enemies presented had to also become more organized and numerous. He saves Michael on more than one occasion, but also requires rescuing himself at times since he does not share Michael's high level of martial arts training. The character was added to bring a more multiethnic appearance to the show (though the series regularly featured Hispanics and other minorities in the Guest Cast) and to add storylines.

Enemies

Michael and KITT generally had different enemies in each episode. No single type of criminal was the norm, as Michael clashed head on with mobile assassins, saboteurs, bio-terrorists, psychopaths, and even nuclear-powered military groups. Most adversaries were permanently defeated or captured after one encounter, though a select few would later return to challenge the duo.

Perhaps most noted for repeat appearances was Michael's physical double Garthe Knight, an international criminal who happened to be Wilton Knight's natural son. Garthe piloted a huge, nearly indestructible truck named Goliath. Goliath also counts as a nemesis of a sort for KITT, since it shared the same Molecular Bonded Shell, although it had no artificial intelligence.

Other repeat enemies included KARR, an "evil" prototype of KITT, and Adrianne Margeaux, a highly educated and wealthy criminal who made appearances in two episodes (one of them a two-parter). In her second appearance, she teamed up with Garthe Knight and Goliath to attempt to defeat Michael Knight (the only occurrence that two previous villains team up).

It is notable that while Knight Rider portrayed a wide variety of situations and enemies, some actors and actresses were re-hired to play different roles later in the series. Both Ann Turkel (first as the aforementioned Adrianne Margeaux, then later as Bianca, the leader of a team of female extortionists) and John Considine (first as Boyd LaSalle, an electronics expert operating in Louisiana in Season 3, then as Phillip Nordstrom, a cybernetically-enhanced international terrorist in Season 4) made repeated appearances, as did other actors in more minor roles. Other television shows such as Macgyver have also employed "re-casting". Maud Adams was also recasted in two separate James Bond Films.

A few episodes, such as Season 3's "Knight of the Chameleon," feature Michael and KITT facing adversaries that dialogue indicated they had encountered in the past, despite such encounters not having been previously depicted in an actual produced episode.

List of Recasted Characters

Spinoffs

Second season writer Tom Greene originally pitched the episode Speed Demons to be a new pilot, similar to 1985's Street Hawk. The deal fell through.

The two part episode "Mouth of the Snake" served as a backdoor pilot for a short lived series entitled Code of Vengeance, revolving around the former Vietnam vet David Dalton. The Knight Rider episode featured David exhibiting great gymnastics, not unlike The Six Million Dollar Man sans bionics, but when Code of Vengeance aired, Dalton was an ordinary-skilled drifter. It soon fell off the schedules after only five episodes.

In 1997, the fleet of intelligent vehicles grew in the TV series Team Knight Rider. The show featured Attack Beast, a Ford F-150 all-terrain vehicle; Dante, a Ford Expedition sport-utility vehicle; Domino, a Ford Mustang convertible; and Kat and Plato, twin customized motorcycles. The voice of Domino was Nia Vardalos, later the creator and star of My Big Fat Greek Wedding.

The television show spawned two movies: Knight Rider 2000, a sequel; and Knight Rider 2010, loosely based on the show. There is talk of a third movie, previously thought to be named Super Knight Rider 3000. It is now known as The Movie, proposed by Hasselhoff.

According to USA Today, Glen Larson is in talks with a major production company to write the script for the new Knight Rider movie. Larson intends that the film be a bit darker than the original series, utilizing "foxhole" humor.

Cultural impact

Similar shows

Debuting in 1982, the show was an instant hit, and inspired several other "crimefighter plus high-tech vehicle" series, such as Airwolf, Viper, Street Hawk, Blue Thunder and The Highwayman. There were also a few animated cartoon series partially inspired by the series; one was Turbo Teen, which featured a teenager who could morph into a talking car. Also, the cartoon series Pole Position, which was based off the popular Atari videogame featured high-tech talking racecars. Glen A. Larson also produced a short-lived show called Automan that featured a hero with a virtual computer sidekick called "Cursor" that could become whataver was needed at the moment. Cursor often rendered the form of a car that would turn corners at 90 degrees, throwing passengers across the car.

Toys and games

Various toy versions of KITT were released and produced solid profits. Among the more notable of the Knight Rider memorabilia includes the remote controlled KITT, the Knight Rider lunch box, and the deluxe version of KITT. This final model, sold by Kenner Toys, spoke electronically, featured a detailed interior and a Michael Knight action figure as well. Also various electronics firms sold kits to add the running red lights to any car.

Knight Rider was turned into a computer game in 1986 for several popular 8-bit formats, although it only received a partial release. In the modern era, Knight Rider the Game was produced by Davilex International under license. Players drive KITT through 15 missions. With the popularity of Knight Rider the Game, Davilex also released a sequel in late 2004.

Stardom

Knight Rider was David Hasselhoff's first major television role and, although many people watched the show purely for KITT, it established him as a popular star. He achieved even greater fame in the worldwide syndicated hit Baywatch.

Music

The fondly-remembered theme music, written by series producer Glen A. Larson and Stu Phillips (who also scored several episodes), was sampled for two 1997 hit singles: Busta Rhymes' "Fire It Up" and Timbaland & Magoo's "Clock Strikes *". Several other artists, including the alternative metal band System of a Down's "I-E-A-I-A-I-O" from Steal this Album, have copied the tune as well. Panjabi MC sampled the theme tune for his 2002/2003 UK and European crossover Bhangra influenced dance hit, "Mundian to Bach Ke (Beware of the Boys)."

When Stu Phillips left the series, Don Peake became the music composer during the rest of the series. The change of the style between the composers can be felt in the middle of the first season, from Hearts of Stone onward. The style of the music composed by Phillips was more symphonic, Peake's was more electronic and rock.

Knight Rider has the notable distinction of being one of the first U.S. television series to utilize popular music throughout the episodes. Most of the time, for cost reasons, a cover band was hired to sing the songs (therefore, the production company only had to pay for the music itself and not the artist to sing it.) Also, most of the songs were used in driving montages. It wouldn't be until 1984 when Miami Vice utilized music, both original and popular, for both dramatic scenes and action scenes.

DVD release

The show's first season (which includes the Knight Rider 2000 bonus disc) was released on DVD in North America (United States and Canada) on August 3rd, 2004. The second season was released on April 12, 2005. The third season (which includes the bonus episode "Knight of the Rising Sun" as a taster of season four) was released on January 31st, 2006. The fourth and final season (which includes KITT's blueprints and a 1980s TV Flashback special) was released on April 4th, 2006. The DVDs are produced by Universal, the series' original distributor. DVDs of the first two seasons have subtitles in English, French, and Spanish, but season three DVDs have no French subtitles and season four DVDs have no Spanish subtitles, either.

The season boxsets have also been released in European markets. The main difference is that the discs are PAL instead of NTSC color system. There are other diffences as well. For instance the cover art may be different, at least the language used on the cover may be other than English (thus the boxset may not actually have the "Knight Rider" text on it). The order of episodes may be different too, this was the case with the first season discs. The first season discs were released on 8 one-sided discs in Europe whereas the American release had 4 two-sided discs. But for the most part the discs, or at least the overall content of the boxsets, are identical as Region 1 and Region 2 versions. One should also notice that there are many language areas in Europe, so all Region 2 boxsets may not necessarily have identical subtitle and soundtrack options. However each version should have the original English soundtrack available.

Cable and Satellite Re-Runs

Episodes of the original show were re-broadcast on several Cable TV channels including USA Network, the Sci-Fi Channel and most notably a widescreen version remastered in HDTV format on Universal HD. The show can currently be seen in the United States on the NBC Universal cable television channel, Sleuth. In Canada, this show can be seen on Saturday & Sunday on Deja View. In the UK, re-runs can be seen on the Satellite and Cable channel Bravo at selected times.

Popularity in other countries

Knight Rider proved immensely popular overseas, and continues in syndication in various countries today. David Hasselhoff remains one of the most recognized stars worldwide thanks to his role as Michael Knight.

  • In Brazil the series was called A Super Máquina (literally The Super Machine, meaning more like "the super ride") and was dubbed in Portuguese language. The names of the characters remained unchanged.
  • In Finland, the series was called Ritari Ässä, which would translate in English as Knight Ace. In Sweden the show has two names, Nattens riddare, literally meaning "Knight of the Night" and Knightrider, thus the Swedish speaking minority in Finland may use either the Finnish title or Swedish (identical to English) title when talking about the show. In Scandinavian countries most series are shown in original language with subtitles, so except for the title of the show, characters' names, voices, etc. are exactly as in the original version.
  • In France, the series was called K 2000, K for Knight, the intro also reference Michael as a knight and his horse; originally aired on "La Cinq", reruns occasionally on M6.
  • In Germany and Austria the series was called Knight Rider. The FLAG was called "Foundation für Recht und Verfassung" (Foundation for Law and Constitution). All the names of the characters remained unchanged. The show aired on RTL and Das Vierte in Germany and ORF1 in Austria and is rerunning regularly.
  • In Greece Knight Rider was aired by the public television in the original language, and its title was translated as "O Ippotis tis asfaltou", literally "The road Knight".
  • In Hebrew the show was translated as Abir al Galgalim or Knight on Wheels. The series was very popular in Israel and reruns are still broadcast.
  • In Hungary the title of the series was left in its original state, as Knight Rider. KITT was voiced by László Versényi, although in a heavily deepened state. The reason for such a deep voice was that Hungarian people weren't used to a telephone voice like William Daniels's KITT voice. Most of KITT's functions were translated in a way that they were named "Mode", for example, "Turbo Boost" was called "Turbo Mode", or sometimes "Turbo Drive",. Super Pursuit Mode was translated S-P-M-Stage (S-P-M-Fokozat). During the original airing in 1992, the episodes were scrambled and were left in this scrambled way until the latest airing in 2005-2006, when the episodes were aired according to the original episode list. FLAG was translated as "Jogért és Igazságért Alapítvány (Foundation for Right and Justice). In Hungary, Knight Rider was one of the first crime fighter series and is still popular among many fans.
  • In Italy, the series was called Supercar, while all the characters' names remained the same. It is widely recognized as one of the most successful series in the history of Italian television, as it still airs occasionally. The intro soundtrack is always the instrumental one from the pilot "Knight of the Phoenix", as the narrated version never plays, in neither language.
  • In Japan, Knight Rider has been transliterated as ナイトライダー in Katakana (Romaji: Naito Raidā. TV Asahi started airing the episodes since 1984. However, the sequence of the episodes was very different from the original American one. For example, "Voo Doo Knight" was the last episode in the USA, but "The Scent of Roses" was the last one in Japan. Most Season Two episodes were aired before starting Season One. The following episodes (from Season One unless otherwise indicated) were not aired in Japan, but they are still available in Japanese version (Region 2) of Knight Rider DVDs:
    "Slammin' Sammy's Stunt Show Spectacular"
    "Not a Drop to Drink"
    "A Plush Ride"
    "Forget Me Not"
    "Hearts of Stone"
    "A Nice, Indecent Little Town"
    "White Bird"
    "Knight Moves"
    "Short Notice"
    "Silent Knight (Season Two)"
  • In Lithuania the show was translated as Ratuotas Riteris, meaning Knight on Wheels. It is very popular among the viewers and the series gets a re-run every 3 or 4 years.
  • In Mexico, Knight Rider was known instead as El Auto Increible, or The Incredible Car. KITT's voice was provided by a well-known actor (Germán Robles) who, oddly enough, was born in Spain.
  • In Poland the show was translated as Nieustraszony which means Fearless in English. The character names and KITT itself has not been changed in the first translation, although in the second one KITT was called "K". Due to bad sound quality in some episodes, many fans were thinking that Michael was driving KARR. Although, in episode 3 or 4 of the first season, KITT says "Jednak wolę być K 2000", which can be translated as "I want to remain as K 2000". That convinced Polish fans that Michael was driving KITT.
  • In Portugal the series was called O Justiceiro (roughly meaning The Bringer/Enforcer of Justice) - it was subtitled and no names were changed. However, some years after its prime there were reruns of the show, only these were the dubbed version from Brazil, which to many made the show unintentionally funnier than the original version (Brazilian and Portuguese people tend to consider each other's pronunciation funny in general).
  • In Slovenia, the series was called Vitez za volanom meaning Knight Behind the (steering) Wheel. It was subtitled and no names were changed. The show still reruns from time to time.
  • In South Africa, Knight Rider had an effect out of all proportion to its immediate stature at the time of production, by creating a significant circumvention of the UN imposed sanctions during the era of Apartheid. The episode "Goliath pt 1 & pt. 2" with the confrontation between Garthe Knight and Michael Knight, and therefore between KITT and Goliath, were filmed in South West Africa, then the U.N. mandate of South Africa. Moreover, local black acting talent John Kani provided a compelling African Dictator, Tsombe Kuna, as a supporting villain to Garthe Knight, as the driving force supporting the construction of Goliath.
    The effect of the production for the SABC's syndication was electric - they furnished the Knight Rider crew with all facilites, and a number of SABC crew names appear on the credits of the two part episode. Universal Studios then syndicated as part of the agreement for production of the episodes, all of their popular television programs, past and future production. South Africa in the 1980's therefore rebroadcast programs such as The Six Million Dollar Man, Buck Rogers in the 25th Century, after translation into Afrikaans by Leephy Studios.
    New programs such as Knight Rider, A-team, The Bold and the Beautiful, Miami Vice, Dallas and Dynasty were broadcast in English. Children's programs, and all manner of other televised entertainment enetered the country through this one deal, as did music and many other media. Knight Rider therefore reshaped the South African entertainment market at the height of Apartheid and Sanctions.
  • In South America, except Brazil, the show was renamed "El Auto Fantástico" (The Fantastic Car) and is generally known by that title. Incidentally, many shows are renamed overseas to better suit the subtleties of different languages. In this case the play on the word "Knight" in the title (a triple meaning, with Michael Knight, the Knight Foundation, and the classic medieval Knight all playing part of the meaning) was not as effective in Spanish speaking countries, as the word Knight is translated to "Caballero" (meaning both "Knight" and "Gentleman"). "El Auto Fantástico" also contained slight differences in the naming of certain elements, with the Foundation for Law and Government (FLAG) being renamed FLO (La Fundación de la Ley y el Orden, translated as the Foundation for Law and Order) to suit the audience. Names of the characters remained unchanged, with the only other differences being the voices of the actors who recorded the lines in Spanish.
  • In Spain, Knight Rider was known as "El Coche Fantástico" (Literally "The Fantastic Car". "Coche" also translates to car, this is a stylistic difference of the Spanish language, whose vernacular varies from country to country) and FLAG was called "Fundación para la Ley y el Orden". The voice of KITT was dubbed by Carlos Revilla, a loved actor for his excellent work as Homer Simpson (The Simpsons); he died in 2000.
  • In Turkey, the show was known as Kara Simşek (literally Black Lightning). This name referred to KITT itself. The show was such a big hit that during the years of the initial run, many automobiles and vans were fit with a thin row of red lights that imitated similar lights on KITT's hood. It has left such strong memories that stand-up comedian Cem Yılmaz came up with a series of television commercials as recent as 2005, where he had a talking car named GITT.
  • In the UK the show was a massive hit also. Broadcast on ITV - the channel raked in a massive audience, even though it wasn't networked for much of its run, with each region showing episodes in their own selected time-slots. It still has a huge following - thus the repeats on the SKY and Cable satellite channels.
  • In India, the show used to be shown on the public broadcast terrestrial channel, Doordarshan. The satellite channel Star World has started airing episodes of Knight Rider as of June 2006.

Knight Rider still has a large following in Australia, New Zealand, Japan, India and China, and reruns of the show air across the world to this day.

Cast and credits

Actor Role
David Hasselhoff Michael Knight
William Daniels KITT
Edward Mulhare Devon Miles
Patricia McPherson Bonnie Barstow
Rebecca Holden April Curtis
Peter Parros Reginald Cornelius "RC3" III
Glen A. Larson --- creator

William Daniels was one of the stars of St. Elsewhere, as Dr. Mark Craig, and worked on both series simultaneously. In 1967 he played Benjamin Braddock's father in The Graduate, appeared as future President of the United States John Adams in the 1972 musical 1776, and he later starred in the series Boy Meets World as George Feeny. As explained on the first season DVD, Larson saw Daniels in the film Two For The Road with Audrey Hepburn. The character Daniels portrayed in that film was one of the inspirations for K.I.T.T.

Rebecca Holden still acts to this day in character roles, as well as singing, and Patricia McPherson is an environmental advocate in California.

Wilton Knight was played in the pilot by Richard Basehart. Basehart died in 1984, but his voice served as the narration until cancellation in 1986.

In his first appearance (“Trust Doesn’t Rust”), KARR was first voiced by Peter Cullen (who was also best known as the voice of Optimus Prime and Ironhide, also Vector Sigma in The Transformers). In his second appearance ("KITT vs. KARR"), he was voiced by Paul Frees. Like William Daniels, Frees was uncredited on-screen, resulting in some sources mistakenly crediting Peter Cullen as providing the voice for both episodes.

Music composer Don Peake can be seen doing a cameo in the bar in Short Notice playing Sweet Home Alabama.

Trivia

  • The 1982 Pontiac Trans Am that KITT was based on featured the WS6 performance suspension that included 15 x 7 Turbo Cast-Aluminum wheels and hubcaps which can command up to $2000 on the collector market says David Sanchez "theturbocastking" Who specializes in the rims.
  • The first piece of background music used in the series that was not specifically created for the series was the Eagles' "Take it Easy", and another Eagles hit, "Peaceful, Easy Feeling", can be heard soon after. This happens in the scene immediately following the scene where KITT reveals that he can talk to Michael, when Michael reveals that he wishes he had some music with him and KITT instinctively asks, "What would you like to hear?"
  • William Daniels, the voice of KITT never appears in any episode of the series. The car thief in the pilot is played by Bert Rosario, a Glen Larson contract actor.
  • William Daniels and David Hasselhoff never met face to face until they met at a Christmas party. All lines for KITT during the production were done by a script person, while William Daniels would read the lines for KITT at a recording studio.
  • KITT is a modified Pontiac Trans Am, originally designed by Michael Scheffe. The convertible and super-pursuit versions of KITT were customized by the legendary George Barris; a photo in the book Knight Rider Legacy shows David Hasselhoff and George Barris on the set of the episode The Nineteenth Hole, suggesting that Barris came aboard the show during late season three.
  • The Trans Am body is designed for speeds up to 300 mph, meaning the airfoils in KITT's super pursuit mode are technically not required under ideal conditions. A Trans Am with a standard body proved this at Bonneville during Speed Week. However, KITT's altered configuration gave him greater acceleration at takeoff.
  • There were at least five KITT cars used for filming:
    • One was a normal car with the prop KITT dashboard that Michael's character drove. It was also used for most interior shots. It was commonly referred to as the "hero car", or sometimes the "camera car", as it would be the model that was polished up to look good for the cameras.
    • Another car was made specifically for jumping and sometimes suspended by a crane as it passed through the air. It can be seen in various episodes with a sparse underside, an obviously fake fiberglass body, and thicker tires. According to stunt coordinator Jack Gill, this car weighed only 1500 pounds, and was weighted in the back to create a smoother looking descent.
    • A third car was modified to be driven from the back seat as the stunt driver (Jack Gill) hid behind the driver seat under a tarp. The driver looked through a little window in the headrest. You can usually see the "hidden driver" in most of the scenes where KITT drove himself by noticing the different design and size of the interior seats. A blooper in the very end of the last episode of first season, called "Short Notice", you can clearly see the stunt driver pop his head up and wave to the camera.
    • A fourth car was driven by a stunt driver. It had no custom KITT dash and was equipped with a roll bar. In some scenes with the car, you could see a round steering wheel and dashboard that were straight out of a normal Trans Am. This car was equipped with a nitrous oxide system and was used in scenes whenever KITT "burned rubber" or went "skiing" on two wheels.
    • In fourth season a "Super Pursuit Mode" KITT was created. Scenes where panels and airvents popped out were used on a static mock up model of the car.
    • ..."The 'C' button" was also introduced in the fourth season, which would turn KITT into a convertible.
  • According to Glen A. Larson, in his interview on the Season One DVD, after the show became a big hit, Pontiac dealerships across the country were swamped with calls and visitors looking for the black Trans Am model that had KITT's features. Many people were practically laughed out of the dealership after learning the car really didn't exist. Toward the end of the first season, in a formal letter to Universal Studios, General Motors kindly asked them to never refer to KITT as a "Pontiac" or a "Trans Am" ever again. From then on KITT was just called KITT, or referred to as a "black t-top."
  • KITT's red scanner was a carryover from the "eye" of the robotic Cylons of Glen A. Larson's previous television series, Battlestar Galactica.
  • The opening title narration (used from "Good Day At White Rock", season 1, onwards) was spoken by Richard Basehart (who played Wilton Knight):
Knight Rider, a shadowy flight into the dangerous world of a man who does not exist. Michael Knight, a young loner on a crusade to champion the cause of the innocent, the helpless, the powerless, in a world of criminals who operate above the law."
  • KITT had a California license plate, yellow letters on a dark blue background, that read "KNIGHT." In another tip to the James Bond franchise, KITT was able to rotate his plate in the episode Brother's Keeper reading the very simliar "KNI 667." The function was never seen again in the series.
  • KITT's grille scanner was red, and his "voice modulator" was a simple red square that lit up when he "spoke." In KARR's first appearance, it had a red scanner but a yellow voice modulator with lines increasing by degrees with the voice's decibels. KITT was eventually given a similar voice modulator, but it was still red. When KARR debuted, it had no license plate. But when it returned, its scanner was yellow, and it had a California license plate reading "KARR."
  • David Hasselhoff's ex-wife Catherine Hickland starred in 3 Knight Rider episodes. Ironically, after their divorce, she went on to marry Michael E. Knight, a soap opera star.
  • Knight Rider was parodied on The Simpsons episode And Maggie Makes Three. Homer and the family are watching a show called Knight Boat which featured a man named Michael driving a boat with artificial intelligence.
  • Knight Rider was also parodied in an episode of Futurama where his windshield wipers were used in the creation of Project Satan, the most evil vehicle ever created. When Fry says that "Knight Rider wasn't evil" he is told that "his windshield wipers were."
  • KITT was seen in the The Chappelle Show saying, "Puerto Ricans are lazy Michael."
  • Knight Rider was also parodied in an episode of South Park which parodied Family Guy making a parody of Knight Rider where David Hasselhoff jumps on Peter's back to drive him, and Peter's smile becomes KITT's grille scanner.
  • The Knight Rider theme music was sampled by System of a Down in their song I-E-A-I-A-I-O
  • The Strong Bad E-mail #87 (Mile)on Homestar Runner has a brief mention of Knight Rider on the TV ("TV Show featuring The Cheat in a Trans Am").
  • Glen Larson admits to not spending enough money on season one of Knight Rider. See the Legacy book. Part of the cheesiness of the show people pick on is the constant use of stock footage, and sometimes, miniatures.
  • Fans of the series regard a device installed in KITT that only appears in second season episodes as an "April gadget".
  • The speech room in the president's mansion in "Knight Flight to Freedom" and the party room in "Voo Doo Knight" were both in the same set.
  • The third generation Trans Am was Larson's initial choice of car. However in very early pre-production, pilot producer Harker Wade was looking to use a Datsun.
  • The idea of KITT was modeled after HAL 9000 in A Space Odyssey (film). However, Larson had used the concept earlier in Battlestar Galactica (C.O.R.A., Episode "The Long Patrol") and Buck Rogers (Dr. Theopolous, Twiki). The car was inspired by a prominent television executive seeing a similar car in B.J. and the Bear, another Glen Larson production.
  • In the same fashion as Star Trek fans are known as "Trekkies", some people refer to Knight Rider fans are "Knerds", in homage to the episode "Knight and Knerd."
  • When Knight Rider aired in syndication, 30-minute versions of the first season and many second season episodes were prepared and was aired by some television stations. These 30-minute versions (22 minutes minus commercials) cut many significant sections of the show out and deleted entire subplots and characters to fit the shows into this vastly shortened time-frame. These heavily cut episodes were, understandably, not popular and did not continue to be aired for long. However, these edited versions also turned up overseas, including the United Kingdom, when ITV ran the butchered versions in the late 1980s, and have turned up on Five, then Channel 5, as recently as 2000.
  • KITT makes a cameo in the 2005 Disney film Fully Loaded during the opening credits. As supposedly old newspaper clippings are shown, displaying Herbie's past racing success (all articles were fabricated for the movie), an (edited) photo shows Herbie and KITT "hanging out" together, as a sign of Herbie's once-celebrity status.
  • The last, originally aired episode of Knight Rider was "Voo Doo Knight." This episode was not intended to be the series finale, however. When David Hasselhoff was informed that the show would be canceled at the end of its fourth season, he came up with the idea for the episode "The Scent of Roses", which would serve as the finale. Ultimately, however, NBC wanted "Roses" as a January sweeps episode, and chose to run it at that time. Most fans support Hasselhoff's vision of the end to Knight Rider over the network's vision. However, some fans consider Knight Rider 2000 as a finale to the series, principally because it involved KITT, Michael, and Devon; some other fans, however, choose to ignore it.
  • Devon's last name was originally Shire. The name "Miles" was originally intended to be the name of the surgeon performing the operation on Michael Long's face.
  • In the 2000s, the Knight Rider Theme Song was remixed by Paul Oakenfold.
  • The song Turn It Up (Remix)/Fire It Up by Busta Rhymes has an iterpolation of the KITT theme.
  • In the United Kingdom, a Knight Rider comic strip appeared for several years in the 1980s as part of the children's television magazine and comic Look-In, to tie in with the British run of the series.
  • Also in the U.K., when the Thames (London) region began running fellow "super-machine" series Street Hawk, it was trounced in the ratings by hit London-based comedy Only Fools and Horses on BBC1. In response, after a few weeks Thames replaced Street Hawk with ratings-certainty Knight Rider, which put a big dent in Only Fools' ratings as a result.
  • When it began, Knight Rider took several light-hearted digs at the other popular "car show" of the time, The Dukes of Hazzard. An early TV Guide advertisement showed KITT over-taking a car very similar to the General Lee (the Dukes' car), announcing KITT as television's new super-car.
  • ...Furthermore, the first season Knight Rider episode 'Give Me Liberty... Or Give Me Death' features a souped-up orange Dodge Charger (the model used for the General Lee), driven by the moonshine-guzzling "Prince Brothers" (as opposed to the "Duke Boys"). The car is blown up mid-way through the episode!
  • Contrary to what many viewers may remember, KITT did not Turbo Boost in every episode. Turbo Boosts (or any form of leaping) were not seen in Deadly Maneauvers, Goliath, and Many Happy Returns to name three such examples.

    • Revival

    In 2006, after years of speculation, original Creator Glen A. Larson announced that The Weinstein Company has bought the rights to Knight Rider, and The Movie is currently underway. The film is set to star David Hasselhoff, and Universal plans for a release in 2008 (according to the IMDb). However, both Larson and Hasselhoff have made similar announcements before, and have yet to carry the project through.

    See also

    External links

    Literature

    Nonfiction:

    • Joe F. Huth and Richie F. Levine (2002). Knight Rider Legacy: The Unofficial Guide to the Knight Rider Universe. Writers Club Press. ISBN 0-595-23910-2.

    Fiction:

    • Glen Larson and Roger Hill (1983). Knight Rider. Pinnacle Books. ISBN 0-523-42170-2
    • Glen Larson and Roger Hill (1984). Knight Rider: Trust Doesn't Rust. Pinnacle Books. ISBN 0-523-42181-8
    • Glen Larson and Roger Hill (1984). Knight Rider: Hearts of Stone. Pinnacle Books. ISBN 0-523-42182-6
    • Glen Larson and Roger Hill (1984). Knight Rider: The 24-Carat Assassin. (UK publication only)
    • Glen Larson and Roger Hill (1984). Knight Rider: Mirror Image. (UK publication only)

    Music

    Knight Rider | 1980s TV shows in the United States | NBC network shows | Television shows set in California | NBC Universal Television shows

    Knight Rider | El coche fantástico | K 2000 (série télévisée) | Supercar | אביר על גלגלים | Knight Rider | Knight Rider | ナイトライダー | Nieustraszony | Ritari Ässä | Knight Rider | 霹靂遊俠

     

    This article is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License. It uses material from the "Knight Rider".

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