Knight Rider(1982 TV series)

For other articles, seeKnight Rider (disambiguation).

Knight Rideris an Americanactioncrime dramatelevision series created and produced byGlen A. Larson.The series was originally broadcast onNBCfrom September 26, 1982, to April 4, 1986. The show starsDavid HasselhoffasMichael Knight,a sleek and modern crime fighter assisted byKITT,an advanced,artificially intelligent,self-aware,and nearly indestructible car. This was the last series Larson devised atUniversal Televisionbefore he moved to20th Century Fox Television.

Knight Rider
Genre	Action Crime Science fiction
Created by	Glen A. Larson
Starring	David Hasselhoff Edward Mulhare Patricia McPherson Rebecca Holden Peter Parros
Voices of	William Daniels
Narrated by	Richard Basehart
Theme music composer	Stu Phillips Glen A. Larson
Composers	Stu Phillips Don Peake Morton Stevens
Country of origin	United States
Original language	English
No.of seasons	4
No.of episodes	90(list of episodes)
Production
Executive producers	Glen A. Larson Robert Foster R.A. Cinader
Production location	California
Running time	48 minutes
Production companies	Glen A. Larson Productions Universal Television
Original release
Network	NBC
Release	September 26, 1982(1982-09-26)– April 4, 1986(1986-04-04)
Related
Knight Rider 2000(1991 TV film) Knight Rider(2008) Code of Vengeance Team Knight Rider

Plot

Self-made billionaire Wilton Knight rescues police Detective Lieutenant Michael Arthur Long after a near-fatal shot to the face, giving him a new identity (by plastic surgery) and a new name:Michael Knight.Wilton selects Michael to be the primary field agent in the pilot program of his public justice organization, the Foundation for Law and Government (FLAG). The other half of this pilot program is the Knight Industries Two Thousand (KITT), a heavily modified, technologically advancedPontiac Firebird Trans Amwith numerous features, including a highly durable shell and frame, controlled by a computer with artificial intelligence. Michael and KITT are brought in during situations where "direct action might provide the only feasible solution".

Heading FLAG is Devon Miles, who takes over after Wilton's demise and provides Michael with directives and guidance. Dr. Bonnie Barstow (season 1, 3 and 4) and April Curtis (season 2) are the chief engineers in charge of KITT's care and act as a technical assistant to Devon.

Cast and characters

• David HasselhoffasMichael Knight(born Michael Arthur Long), an undercover detective of theLos Angeles Police Departmentwho, while on a case inLas Vegas,is shot in the face and nearly killed. Wilton Knight, creator of Knight Industries and founder of FLAG, directs his doctors to save Long's life and reconstruct his face. With his new identity, "Michael Knight", Long is provided with high tech crime-fighting equipment, most notably the car named KITT.

Hasselhoff also played Garthe Knight, Wilton Knight's estranged son and a criminal mastermind who drives Goliath, aPeterbilt352 Pacemaker semi-truck armed with rockets, and protected by KITT's Molecular Bonded Shell.

• William Danielsas the voice ofKITT,or Knight Industries Two Thousand, the autonomous,artificially intelligentcar, with whom Michael Knight is partnered. Daniels, who simultaneously starred onSt. Elsewhere,requested not to be credited for his role as KITT's voice.
• Edward Mulhareas Devon Miles, the leader of FLAG, who appeared in every episode to provide mission details to Knight and KITT. He was also the spokesman for FLAG whenever it came under scrutiny.
• Patricia McPhersonas Dr. Bonnie Barstow (Seasons 1, 3–4), KITT's chief technician and romantic tension for Michael. The character was dropped after the first season, but due to strong fan reaction and lobbying by Hasselhoff and Mulhare, she was returned for the third season and remained through the end of the series.
• Rebecca Holdenas April Curtis (Season 2), chief technician for KITT. The character was written out when Patricia McPherson returned. The connection between the two was never established in any installments.
• Peter Parrosas Reginald Cornelius III aka RC3 (Season 4), driver of the FLAG mobile unit and occasional partner for Michael and KITT.
• Richard Basehartas Wilton Knight, the founder of FLAG, who dies in the pilot episode. Basehart's voice, however, is heard throughout the series, narrating over the intro and outro.

Production

Vehicle

A black Pontiac Firebird Trans Am built to mimicKITTfrom the TV seriesKnight Rider.

Main article:KITT

The car used asKITTin the series was a customized 1982Pontiac Firebird Trans Am,that cost US$100,000 to build(equivalent to $316,000 in 2023). The nose and dashboard of the car were designed by design consultant Michael Scheffe.

Stuntman Jack Gill says KITT's ride height was dropped 1.5 inches (4 cm) from a stock Trans Am. The hero car was the only vehicle that contained the intricate dashboard. Spare cars were always on hand, and Universal eventually did all of the modifications that were needed. A mock up dashboard was used on a sound stage for closeups of the voice box or other buttons.

Glen Larsonwanted the talking muscle car to have a heartbeat and asked Scheffe to design a beam of light like the Cylons had inBattlestar Galacticato be used on the front of the vehicle. The Pontiac's nose was eventually extended slightly.

Gill said that the studio got the cars from Pontiac for $1 apiece, but Pontiac often gave the studio vehicles that had already been damaged from a train derailment. The only car Universal had to pay for was the hero car.

For the scenes in which KITT appeared to be driving without a driver, Gill would sit behind the driver's seat. Gill would extend his arms and legs through the seat out of sight. A two-way mirror was created that hid Gill during scenes where KITT appeared to be driving solo. KITT was never seen driving for long periods of time solo because of the difficulty of shooting it.

William Daniels, the voice of KITT, would record his lines after the majority of the episode was filmed. Hasselhoff would work with an assistant off-camera who would read him KITT's lines. If KITT was in motion during filming, the lines would be read to Hasselhoff through the car stereo. The vehicle was usually towed during scenes when Hasselhoff appeared to be driving.

The studio held a marketing campaign forKnight Rider.Fans could write to the network and they would receive a pamphlet detailing some features about KITT. The first campaign was held in August 1982. The pamphlet said, "The Competition is NO Competition!" KITT was pictured parked alongside a vehicle that resembled theGeneral LeefromThe Dukes of Hazzard.

Soundtrack

The "Knight Rider Theme" was composed byStu Phillipsand Glen A. Larson.The series DVD bonus material contains an interview about this lead music, where Glen A. Larson says he remembers a theme out of a classical piece ( "Marche Et Cortège De Bacchus" Act III – No. 14 fromSylviawritten by French composerLéo Delibes) from which he took pieces for the "Knight Rider Theme". The decision to use synthesizers was largely a network decision. Larson claims that they used five or six synthesizers, drums and a Fender bass.

The rest of the series music was composed by Stu Phillips for 13 episodes and Don Peake for 75 episodes. Glen A. Larson co-wrote music for one episode andMorton Stevenswrote the music for one episode. Peake took over scoring duties at S1E14 in 1983, when Larson moved toTwentieth Century-Foxand Phillips was working there on his projects.Peake remained as the series sole composer until the end of the series in 1986.

In 2005, FSM released a disc of music from the series, featuring the series theme, ad bumpers and Phillips' scores for "Knight of the Phoenix" (the pilot), "Not a Drop to Drink", "Trust Doesn't Rust", "Forget Me Not" and the composer's final episode "Inside Out", as well as the logo music for Glen Larson Productions. Albums of Don Peake's scores have also been issued.

Episodes

Main article:List of Knight Rider (1982 TV series) episodes

Season	Episodes		Originally aired
			First aired	Last aired
1	22		September 26, 1982(1982-09-26)	May 6, 1983(1983-05-06)
2	24		October 2, 1983(1983-10-02)	May 27, 1984(1984-05-27)
3	22		September 30, 1984(1984-09-30)	May 5, 1985(1985-05-05)
4	22		September 20, 1985(1985-09-20)	April 4, 1986(1986-04-04)

The intro throughout most of the episodes began with this narration:

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.

During the first season, the outro was Michael and KITT driving on a road in the desert with Wilton Knight's words of "One man can make a difference, Michael." These words were phased out after episode 7, "Not A Drop To Drink".

Then the narration goes on to say:

Michael Knight, a lone crusader in a dangerous world. The world of the Knight Rider.

The outro of Seasons 2 and 3 was Michael and KITT driving away from the sunset toward the camera. Season 4's outro was the same, except with KITT in Super Pursuit Mode.

Critical reception

At the time of its release,Knight Riderreceived mixed to negative reviews. Atreview aggregatorRotten Tomatoes,the first season scores 35%, based mainly on archived contemporaneous reviews, with an average rating of 5.60/10. The site's consensus reads: "This car can do anything -- except paper over how tiresomely sillyKnight Rider's concept is. ".Tom Shales,writing forThe Washington Post,commented:"'Knight Rider' is all revved up but has no place to go, except, maybe, headlong into a large brick wall. "In contrast, retrospective reviews have been more positive. Marc Bernardin ofEntertainment Weeklycalled the show "a relic from a simpler time, when audiences demanded less from their TV".

Syndication and home media

In syndication

Knight Riderwas first syndicated in the U.S. in the fall of 1986. Stations were initially offered either the original hour-long format (with three minutes cut from each episode), or severely-condensed into half-hour format.Reruns were later syndicated onUSA Networkin 1994,Sci-Fi Channelin 2003,Sleuthin 2005,and onG4in 2012.

DVD releases

Universal Studioshas released all four seasons ofKnight Rideron DVD in regions 1, 2 & 4. A complete series box set featuring all 90 episodes in a collector's edition box has been released in regions 1& 2.

On March 8, 2016, it was announced that Mill Creek Entertainment had acquired the rights to the series in Region 1; they subsequently re-released the first two seasons on DVD on May 3, 2016.On October 4, 2016, Mill Creek re-releasedKnight Rider - The Complete Series on DVD in Region 1.

Blu-Ray releases

In Japan,NBCUniversal Entertainment Japan—a subsidiary ofNBCUniversal—released aBlu-raybox set containing all four seasons, replicas, props, and memorabilia under the title ナイトライダー コンプリート ブルーレイBOX (Knight Rider: The Complete Series). The set is limited toRegion Code A,which includes the U.S. It was released on November 27, 2014.

In North America, Mill Creek Entertainment released the complete series on Blu-ray in Region 1 on October 4, 2016.

On December 30, 2022, the German company Turbine Media worked with Universal to put togetherKnight Rider: The 40th Anniversary Edition Blu-Ray Collection.This set is a restored uncut version with the original music when it first aired on NBC. The series is on twenty discs, with three bonus discs, and includes bonus features about the series and theKnight Rider 2000andKnight Rider 2010movies in SD. Also in SD are all 22 episodes of the seriesTeam Knight Rider.This set was a limited edition. Only 3,939 copies were made.

On November 10, 2023, Turbine Media made a smaller release calledKnight Rider: The Special Edition Set,which includes the first twenty uncut episode Blu-ray discs and the first bonus discs with the interviews.

Digital streaming

The series was available for streaming onNetflixandPeacock,but is no longer streaming on any major streaming service as of May 2024. It can be purchased onPrime Video,Apple TVandYouTube.

Spin-offs and sequels

Main article:Knight Rider

These adventures were continued with thetelevision filmsKnight Rider 2000andKnight Rider 2010and the short-livedTeam Knight Rider.One other television movie,Knight Rider,served as apilotfor the 2008 television seriesKnight Rider.In 1985, aspin-offseries,Code of Vengeance,also premiered.

In 1988, Angelo di Marco made a French comic strip based on the series, titledK2000and published byDargaud.

In popular culture

TheKnight Ridertheme has been sampled in the songs "Clock Strikes","Turn It Up (Remix) / Fire It Up",and"Mundian to Bach Ke".It was also featured as Ted'sringtonefor John's phone in the 2012 comedy filmTed.

Zen Studiosreleased a digital pinball table inspired byKnight Rideras part of the Universal Pinball: TV Classics downloadable content with other well-known nostalgic hit NBCUniversal TV shows likeXena: Warrior PrincessandBattlestar Galactica.

See also

• 1982 in American television
• Knight Rider(franchise)
• Automan(1983)
• Blue Thunder(1983)
• The A-Team(1983)
• Airwolf(1984)
• Street Hawk(1985)
• The Highwayman(1987)
• Thunder in Paradise(1994)
• Viper(1994)

Further reading

Non-fiction

• Nugent, Nick (2008).The Knight Rider Companion: The Ultimate Guide to Original Knight Rider Mythology.Will Garris Publishing.ISBN9780977450596.
• Huth, Joe F.; Levine, Richie F. (2002).Knight Rider Legacy: The Unofficial Guide to the Knight Rider Universe.Writers Club Press.ISBN9780595298488.
• Joe Huth, David Bronstein: Knight Rider: 30 Years of a Lone Crusader and His Talking Car. ISBN 9781478221470.

Fiction

• Glen Larson and Roger Hill (1983).Knight Rider.Pinnacle Books.ISBN0-523-42170-2.Adapted from and expanded upon the feature-length / two-part pilot episode — among other differences, Tanya is shot in the face rather than the chest in the climax.
• Glen Larson and Roger Hill (1984).Knight Rider: Trust Doesn't Rust.Pinnacle Books.ISBN0-523-42181-8.Adapted from and expanded upon the first-season episode of the same name.
• Glen Larson and Roger Hill (1984).Knight Rider: Hearts of Stone.Pinnacle Books.ISBN0-523-42182-6.Adapted from and expanded upon the first-season episode of the same name.
• Glen Larson and Roger Hill (1984).Knight Rider: The 24-Carat Assassin.(UK publication only) Adapted from and expanded upon the feature-length / two-part second-season episode 'Mouth of the Snake'. The back of the book actually states that it is adapted fromAll That Glitters– the working title for the story.
• Glen Larson and Roger Hill (1984).Knight Rider: Mirror Image.(UK publication only) Adapted from and expanded upon the feature-length / two-part second-season episodeGoliath.The back of the book states that it is adapted fromGoliathandGoliath Returns,but the actual story is only adapted fromGoliath.This novel also states that April is Devon's daughter, but this was never mentioned in the series.

Anannualwas published each year in the UK byGrandreams.These books consisted of a mix of text stories and cartoon strips, as well as photos and articles on the show's stars and KITT. There were five annuals produced in total, each reflecting the season of the show that was airing at the time, with the final two releases covering the final season. (The last annual was printed in a quite small quantity, due to the fading popularity of the show, and is thus considerably rarer.)

External links

• Knight RideratIMDb
• Knight Rideratepguides.com
• "Knight Riderpage ".Sci Fi Channel.Archived fromthe originalon October 27, 2004.includes episode guide, and David Hasselhoff biography
• "Knight Rider" page on NBC Classics