"Knight Rider" (1982) TV series 1982-1986

User Rating:

7.0/10   

Creator:

Glen A. Larson

Seasons:

1 | 2 | 3 | 4

Release Date:

26 September 1982 (USA)

Genre:

Action | Crime | Sci-Fi

Plot:

A lone crimefighter battles the forces of evil with the help of an indestructible and artificially intelligent supercar.

Plot Keywords:

Forces Of Evil | Artificial Intelligence | Detective | Electronic Music Score | Famous Opening Theme

Awards:

Nominated for Primetime Emmy. Another 3 wins & 6 nominations

Cast

David Hasselhoff	...	Michael Knight / ... (84 episodes, 1982-1986)
Edward Mulhare	...	Devon Miles / ... (84 episodes, 1982-1986)
William Daniels	...	K.I.T.T. (84 episodes, 1982-1986)
Richard Basehart	...	Narrator - Opening Titles / ... (83 episodes, 1982-1986)
Patricia McPherson	...	Bonnie Barstow (62 episodes, 1982-1986)

Runtime:

46 min (90 episodes)

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

Argentina:Atp | Netherlands:MG6 | Australia:M (some episodes) | USA:TV-PG | Australia:PG (DVD rating) | Singapore:PG

Filming Locations:

Backlot, Universal Studios - 100 Universal City Plaza, Universal City, California, USA

Company:

Glen A. Larson Productions

Trivia:

David Hasselhoff and William Daniels (voice of K.I.T.T.) meet on the Christmas party after six months filming the season. Until that point, Hasselhoff hadn't seen the face behind the voice of the car.

Goofs:

Crew or equipment visible: K.I.T.T. is supposed to have an air-plane style steering wheel. However, in many episodes, the top portion of the stunt-car's normal, round steering wheel is visible through car's windows.

Quotes:

[closing narration - early episodes]
Narrator: Michael Knight, a lone crusader in a dangerous world. The world... of the Knight Rider.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in "Punky Brewster: Visit to the Doctor/Go to Sleep (#1.8)" (1984)

Who cares what people think, it was still Entertaining...

A lot of people laugh at David Hasselhoff and write Knight Rider off as a corny piece of 80s television. I still think this is one of the coolest shows ever, and I freely admit that Knight Rider can be pretty idiotic at the same time. The series was basically a cartoon and that can make it hard for some people to revisit when they grow up. I think that Knight Rider is one of the best unintentionally hilarious shows ever created. The silly aspects of the series make it just that much more entertaining in adult life. Knight Rider is an endearing and nostalgic series that finds a way to entertain you despite how ridiculous it can all be. "Michael & KITT", how can you not feel the tug of the old days back in the 80s when you hear that? We all grew up with this show back in the 1980's as kids, the appeal of a cool looking black sports car that could TALK was irresistible back then. Today I guess we look back at Knight Rider and wonder "wtf". It might make us recoil, and get pretty damn embarrassed with some of the out there stuff we used to think was so cool.

The immense flaws of logic and continuity that plagued Knight Rider were easily hidden to a casual child viewing the show back in 1982 (I was 5 years old), but they really stick out like a sore thumb when viewed through adult eyes. The same damn stock footage was used ad nauseum, the frames were sped up to make a car going 20 mph look like it was zipping along at 400 mph, blue filters were always used to make it look like it was night time; and as others have mentioned, the fight scenes were never, ever believable. I don't think they even had any kind of trained fight specialist on Knight Rider, it always seemed like the director just told Hasselhoff or the stunt doubles to simply go out there and just make up some crap that could pass for jujitsu or tae-kwon-do. But again, this is what makes Knight Rider so fun.

This series is loaded with all kinds of unintentional hilarity. Some of my favorites are when David Hasselhoff's stunt double wears a mustache in a take, or the episode when the stunt double's Michael Knight afro wig accidentally flew off while he was doing one of those patented "Hasselhoff-Fu" roundhouse karate kicks. It seemed like Michael Knight could take down any bad guy with one well placed karate kick to the head. Let's all be honest with ourselves, a big reason this show was popular was because it featured a really cool looking black car with that cool looking red scanner mounted in the front. Everyone loved that car, and there is no doubt that is the reason Knight Rider is a part of American pop cultural lore. I'm 26 1/2 years old today and I still like this show because it's my childhood, and because it's from the 80's that we all love and grew up in. Things would get so stupid, you often wondered if there would be a button on KITT's dashboard that would say "Drive Very Fast" instead of "Super Pursuit Mode". The show didn't magically become any more nerdier in the 2000's then it was in the 1980s. Even back in the early-mid 80s most people over the age of 15 had a tendency to laugh at Knight Rider. It was always cool to children that didn't pick apart the series, but not so to anyone above the 9th grade. The prime target audience was boys that were roughly 9 years of age. So if you were already over the age of 13 back in 1982 when Knight Rider first aired, then you were likely going to always be too cool for a show like this that leaned on being a live action cartoon. Yes it is amazing that this series lasted on NBC's prime time for 4 years. But aren't we glad it did?