Knight Rider
For the American media company, see Knight Ridder.Knight Rider was a popular
American television series 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[ed] 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."
Michael Knight
|
Michael Knight behind the wheel of KITT |
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 related to Michael's car, which 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). The phoenix is traditionally symbolic of rebirth.
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, but mostly refrained from using
firearms for some inexplicable reason. 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 on 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 real 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 obstacles. 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 accommodate 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.
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 (even though the actor is, in fact, Irish) 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.
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.
There have been multiple times through-out the series where they would recast a character playing a separate part.
*Ann Turkel
*
Soul Survior as Adrianne Margeaux
*
Goliath Returns: Parts 1 & 2 as Adrianne St. Clair (same character but different last name)
*
Knight in Retreat as Bianca Morgan
*Peter Mark Richman
*
Goliath Returns: Parts 1 & 2 as Dr. Klaus Bergstrom
*
Many Happy Returns as Kleist
*Lance LeGault
*
Knight of the Phoenix: Parts 1 & 2 as Security Officer Gray
*
A Knight in Shining Armor as Christopher Stone
*Mary Beth Evans
*
White-Line Warriors as Cindy Mattheson
*
Deadly Knightshade as Nancy Marsden
*Robin Dreaden
*
Give Me Liberty... or Give Me Death as Liberty Cox
*
Buy Out as Melanie Mitchell
*Allan Oppenheimer
*
Deadly Maneuvers as General Duncton
*
Custom Made Killer as Louis
*James Callahan
*
Good Day at White Rock as Sheriff Bruckner
*
Circus Knights as Jeff Barnes
*Pamela Susan Shoop
*
Knight of the Phoenix: Parts 1 & 2 as Maggie
*
Knight of the Juggernaut: Parts 1 & 2 as Marta Simmons
*John Considine
*
Knight in Disgrace as Boyd LaSalle
*
Knight of the Juggernaut: Parts 1 & 2 as Phillip Nordstrom
*Nicholas Worth
*
Knight of the Chameleon as Ryles
*
Knight of the Juggernaut: Parts 1 & 2 as Hower
*John Vernon
*
A Good Knight's Work as Cameron Zachary
*
Voo Doo Knight as Claude Watkins
*Julie Ronnie
*
A Knight in Shining Armor as Stacey
*
The Wrong Crowd as Erika
*M.C. Gainey
*
A Plush Ride as Jason Keller
*
Out of the Woods as Jerry Nash
*Judy Landers
*
Forget Me Not as Micki Bradburn
*
Knight Strike as Shiela
*Lenore Kasdorf
*
Lost Knight as Lori Wainwright
*
Fright Knight as Karen Bennett
*Grainger Hines
*
No Big Thing as Officer Rex Saunders
*
Knight Racer as Steve Cochran
*Jack Starrett
*
The Topaz Connection as Hagen
*
K.I.T.T. the Cat as Lt. George Barth
*
Sky Knight as Sheriff
*Robert O'Reilly
*
A Good Knight's Work as Jake Simpson
*
KITTnap as Snyder
*Alex Kubik
*
Just My Bill as Luger
*
Big Iron as Sam
*
Junk Yard Dog as Zoormagian
*Don Gordon
*
The Final Verdict as Police Lt. Dickerson
*
Knight by a Nose as Randy Cavanaugh
*Kai Wulff
*
Give Me Liberty... or Give Me Death as Auto racer Helmut Gras
*
Custom Made Killer as Vlud
*Angel Tompkins
*
Nobody Does It Better as Connie Chasen - Tennis Instructor
*
Custom K.I.T.T. as Nora Rayburn
*Guy Stockwell
*
Knight Moves as Riggins
*
Return to Cadiz as Zachary Sloate
*Michael Horsley
*
Forget Me Not as Valet Attendant
*
Knight In Disgrace as Guard
*Jason Evers
*
Not a Drop to Drink as Herb Bremen
*
Halloween Knight as Edward Grant
*Tom Williams
*
Circus Knights as Ringmaster
*
Knight Racer as Lon
*Shawn Southwick
*
Knight of the Phoenix: Parts 1 & 2 as Lonnie
*
Goliath: Parts 1 & 2 as Rita Wilcox
*Anne Lockhart
*
Good Day at White Rock as Sherry Benson
*
Return to Cadiz as Jennifer Shell
*Michael Champion
*
Good Day at White Rock as Monk
*
Speed Demons as Wade Fontaine
*Logan Ramsey
*
No Big Thing as Judge Roland S. Paxton
*
Knight Strike as Edgar
*Ramon Bieri
*
The Final Verdict as Al Farland
*
Junk Yard Dog as 'Acid' John Byrock
*Tim Rossovich
*
The Final Verdict as Butch
*
Knights of the Fast Lane as Bloodworth
*Norman Burton
*
A Nice, Indecent Little Town as Barnswell
*
Redemption of a Champion as Damon Leland
*John Crawford
*
A Nice, Indecent Little Town as Sheriff Moore
*
Knight Racer as Mac Thomas
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
Knight Rider: The Movie, proposed by Hasselhoff.
According to
USA Today, Glen A. 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.
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.
Automotive Design
Knight Rider had a profound effect on consumer expectations, and the motor industry reacted accordingly. Within a couple of years of the show's runaway success, motor manufacturers began offering vehicles with digital
LED instrumentation, and even
trip computers and security systems which used electronic voice synthesisers which played back "talking" messages to the driver.
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 [Remix]". 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. UK Garage outfit
So Solid Crew sampled it for their 2002 hit "Ride Wid Us".
Panjabi MC also 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. Season Three has some sound effects missing from some episodes (such as gun shots, eject lift, etc.) and by contacting Universal, they will send you information about getting replacement discs sent to you via mail. 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
Saudi Arabia, the series was broadcast in English on Saudi Aramco Channel 3 during the middle to late 1980s. It was one of the few shows that was permitted airtime, despite the fact that many of the female actresses would wear short shorts, something unacceptable in Saudi culture.
*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 facilities, 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 Şimşek (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 GİTT.
*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.
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.* 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.
* Asides from the many Trans-Ams used to perform various stunts, there were at least four KITT cars used for filming, with two more versions added in the fourth season:
** 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.
* In the pilot episode, Michael Knight is given KITT's
California registration card, showing a
vehicle identification number of B56T149137; an effective date of
January 10,
1982; a registration address of
2457 Ybarra Rd., Nores, California 93666; and title fees of
USD 175.00.
* 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 referenced 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
2001. 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
Herbie: 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.
*KITT has made a cameo in the movie
The Benchwarmers as one of Mel's cars.
*KITT has appeared in two
America's Got Talent Episodes. The first was in Michelle L'Amour's act in the semifinals where Michelle, the burlesque dancer, portrayed a mechanic in her act. The second, in the results show in the episode after the above mentioned one, KITT is seen on stage when David Hasselhoff is singing "Jump in my car".
In 2006, after years of speculation, original Creator Glen A. Larson announced that The Weinstein Company has bought the rights to Knight Rider, and
Knight Rider: 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.
*
List of Knight Rider episodes*
List of famous automobiles*
KITT*
KARRNonfiction:* 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)
*
Don Peake*
Stu Phillips*
*
The Knight Rider Car*
Psychological Roots of Knight Rider*
David Hasselhoff Online - David Hasselhoff Club of America Website & Fan Club
*
The Knight Rider Archive
