Knight Rider (season 1)
The first season of Knight Rider, an American television series, debuted on September 26, 1982, and ended on May 6, 1983. It aired on NBC.[1] The region 1 DVD was released on August 3, 2004.[2]
| Knight Rider | |
|---|---|
| Season 1 | |
 DVD cover | |
| Country of origin | United States |
| No. of episodes | 22 |
| Release | |
| Original network | NBC |
| Original release | September 26, 1982 – May 6, 1983 |
| Season chronology | |
Knight Rider had a 2-hour premiere on NBC, airing at 8PM on Sunday night. The show was put up against Dallas, and would eventually move NBC out of third place in the network race. No other show had ever survived that time slot. The show eventually aired on Friday nights, and in December 1982 became the second-highest-rated show of its day; MASH was number 1. The show was renewed for a second season during the filming of "Short Notice".
K.I.T.T.
A car of K.I.T.T was eventually sent out on tour to various car shows around the country. K.I.T.T. was designed by Michael Scheffe using Pontiac's 1982 Trans Am. Michael Scheffe had worked for Mattel designing toys, and had done some design work on Blade Runner. Scheffe had around 18 days to create his first mock up of K.I.T.T. for the NBC network.
Stuntman Jack Gill says the car was dropped about an inch and a half from GM's stock height. The car also had around $2,000,000 worth of modifications. Spare cars were always on hand, and Universal eventually did all of the modifications that were needed. The hero car was the only one of the vehicles on hand that contained the intricate dashboard. A mock up dashboard was used on a sound stage for closeups of the voice box or other buttons.
Glen Larson wanted the talking muscle car to have a heartbeat and asked Scheffe to design a beam of light like the Cylons had in Battlestar Galactica to be used on the front of the vehicle. The Pontiac's nose was eventually extended slightly.
Gill claims that they got the cars from Pontiac for $1 apiece. The only car Universal had to pay for was the hero car. Pontiac would call up the studio and ask how many cars were needed. Pontiac often gave the studio vehicles that had already been damaged.
William Daniels, the voice of K.I.T.T., would record his parts after the majority of the episode were filmed. Hasselhoff would work with a guy off camera who would read him K.I.T.T.'s lines. If the vehicle was in motion, the lines would be read through the car radio. The vehicle was usually towed during scenes where Hasselhoff appeared to be driving.
K.I.T.T. Knight Industries Two Thousand received an overhaul in 1984–1986, receiving a new interior, new updated dashboard to keep up with the times. K.A.R.R Knight Automated Roving Robot in his later return appearance also similarly later received a major significant overhaul as well to fully forever differentiate himself from K.I.T.T. Knight Industries Two Thousand which included a Yellow Scan Light Bar to match the color of K.A.R.R's yellow voice box as well as later a Black and Silver Two Tone Paint Finish and as well as once again the pure evil , pure villainous artificially intelligent talking voice among other major significant production changes for K.A.R.R Knight Automated Roving Robot as Previously in The Knight Rider Franchise as well as in Knight Rider, K.A.R.R Knight Automated Roving Robot had looked identical to K.I.T.T Knight Industries Two Thousand all black with a red light scanner bar just like K.I.T.T in his debut appearance with the exception of a Yellow Modulator on his Dashboard as well as the different artificially intelligent talking voice.
The studio had a marketing campaign for Knight Rider. Fans could write the network and they would receive a pamphlet detailing some features about K.I.T.T. The first campaign was held in August 1982. The pamphlet received said, "The Competition is NO Competition!." K.I.T.T was parked alongside a vehicle that resembled the General Lee from Dukes of Hazzard. The General Lee featured a double zero on the door. The pamphlet compared the two vehicles.
In the fall of 1985, an ad came out in TV Guide detailing K.I.T.T.'s upgrades.[3]
Season 1
The premiere episode featured Larry Anderson as Michael Long. In the pilot, the character is eventually gravely wounded and forced to undergo plastic surgery, becoming Michael Knight, as played by David Hasselhoff. As a result of Hasselhoff's voice being dubbed in to all of his lines, Anderson elected to remain uncredited in the episode.[3]
At the end of Season 1, lead actress Patricia McPherson was unfortunately fired from the show due to a falling out with producer Robert Foster. McPherson would later be replaced by Rebecca Holden. Hasselhoff was reportedly angry about McPherson's firing but was in no position to fight the network or the show's producers for her job. McPherson returned for Seasons 3–4.
David Hasselhoff eventually got his girlfriend on the show for an episode titled "White Bird". Catherine Hickland would play Michael Long's long lost fiancée Stevie Mason. Hickland was brought in to help write the episode. The episode was more mature and dealt with solicitation. At the end of season 1 during the wrap party, Hasselhoff celebrated Hickland's birthday. A cake was presented with a replica of K.I.T.T. sitting on top. Written in icing were the words "Look Under the Hood." An engagement ring had been placed under the hood, and Hasselhoff proposed.
The couple honeymooned during the shows second season. During the episode "Mouth of the Snake", Hasselhoff is barely seen, because he was on his honeymoon with Hickland. Hickland returned to the show on "Let it Be Me". NBC was trying to create a spinoff series during the episode "Mouth of the Snake". The couple divorced in 1989, and Hickland later married Michael E. Knight.
Theme Tune
Stu Phillips and Glen Larson composed the theme music for the show. The decision to use synthesizers was largely a network decision. Larson claims that they used five or six synthesizers, drums and a Fender bass.[3]
Busta Rhymes sampled the theme song in his 1998 song "Turn it Up/Fire it Up".
Stunts
Stuntman Jack Gill worked on the show, and had previously worked on the Dukes of Hazzard. In the episode, "Give Me Liberty...Give Me Death" K.I.T.T. jumps over a General Lee lookalike. In the book, "Knight Rider Legacy" Gill remembers one jump that was reused several times throughout the show. In the episode, "The Topaz Connection" K.I.T.T. jumps a 90-foot ravine. A camera was mounted inside a cage on the right side of the car for a point-of-view shot. The cameras had cables attached to it, but when the vehicle neared the ramp, the cables would be cut loose, and the camera would run for about a minute before shutting down. When the jump was performed, the cable came loose, and the camera tumbled in the vehicle. The cable can be seen in the footage. The footage was used in several episodes, including "Nobody Does it Better", "Lost Knight", "Junkyard Dog", and "Knight Flight to Freedom".
Hasselhoff performed a few stunts on the show. Hasselhoff was often seen doing 180-degree turns in the vehicle. In the book, Knight Rider Legacy, Hasselhoff explains that he achieved this by using the emergency brake while driving around 50 miles per hour. Hasselhoff eventually hit a palm tree, and the studio banned him from performing any more of his own stunts due to the liability.
In the episode "Return to Cadiz", K.I.T.T. appears to glide across water. K.I.T.T. was actually mounted to a submerged platform that had an outboard motor attached.
For the scenes in which K.I.T.T. appeared to be driving without a driver, Jack would sit behind the driver's seat. Jack would extend his arms and legs through the seat out of sight. A two-way mirror was created that hid the stuntman during scenes where K.I.T.T. appeared to be driving solo. K.I.T.T. was never seen driving for long periods of time solo due to the difficulty shooting it.
Spin Offs
Code of Vengeance was a TV show that didn't do very well. The show starred actor L. Charles Taylor who had been featured in the Knight Rider episode, "Mouth of the Snake."
The network was determined to have a spinoff, a show entitled, The Speed Demons was envisioned. The show was supposed to involve motorcycles that had been modified like K.I.T.T. The show never materialized. Street Hawk aired about a year later on ABC.
Cast
- David Hasselhoff as Michael Knight
- William Daniels as the voice of KITT (Knight Industries Two Thousand) (uncredited)
- Edward Mulhare as Devon Miles
- Patricia McPherson as Dr. Bonnie Barstow
- Richard Basehart as Wilton Knight (Knight of The Phoenix: Part 1), and the voice of Wilton Knight (rest of the series)
- Peter Cullen as the voice of KARR (Knight Automated Roving Robot) (First voice).
Episodes
| No. overall | No. in season | Title | Directed by | Written by | Original air date | Prod. code |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 2 | 1 2 | "Knight of the Phoenix" | Daniel Haller | Glen A. Larson | September 26, 1982[1] | 57375 57376 |
|
After Detective Michael Long is shot and left for dead, he is saved by the eccentric billionaire, Wilton Knight and his associate Devon Miles. He is given a new face by plastic surgery, a new identity as Michael Knight, and the Knight Industries Two Thousand (KITT for short) – a dream car with super-spy gadgets and nearly invulnerable armor. Wilton asks Michael to carry on his crime-fighting crusade believing "one man can make a difference." Soon Michael manages to locate his shooter, a woman named Tanya Walker, who is stealing technology secrets from a computer company and selling them to the highest bidder. With the help of a woman named Maggie, Michael lures Tanya into a trap by showing off KITT's abilities as bait.
| ||||||
| 3 | 3 | "Deadly Maneuvers" | Paul Stanley | William Schmidt & Bob Shayne | October 1, 1982[1] | 57305 |
| Michael helps a stranded Army Lieutenant named Robin Ladd who learns her father has died in a suspicious accident. Michael conducts his own investigation which leads to uncovering the theft of nuclear warheads from an Army weapons depot and evidence the top brass may be involved. | ||||||
| 4 | 4 | "Good Day at White Rock" | Daniel Haller | Deborah Davis | October 8, 1982[1] | 57303 |
| Michael Knight plans a rock-climbing holiday in small town White Rock. There he experiences bullying, even against nice young boy Davey, and an equally coward sheriff taking the side of the strongest 'to avoid worse'. Michael tries to help when the Scorpions motor gang moves in, but gets incarcerated and escapes. He deals with them himself and finds out they expect the rival gang Road Dogs for a confrontation which would wreck the town. | ||||||
| 5 | 5 | "Slammin' Sammy's Stunt Show Spectacular" | Bruce Bilson | E. Paul Edwards & John Alan Schwartz | October 22, 1982[1] | 57315 |
|
Devon instructs Michael to investigate corporate raider Lawrence Blake, who buys mortgages and firms which all 'happen to' go broke shortly after. The next prey is Sammy Phillips's private stock car and motor vehicle stunts show, which he runs with his son, a would-be motorbike stuntman Mark. Michael infiltrates as new stunt driver after Sammy has a suspicious accident. Driving Kitt, stunts are almost too easy anyway, Blake's goon Bill Gordon just the right size, although he has an inside accomplice. Guest stars: Marc Alaimo (Gul Dukat on Star Trek: Deep Space Nine) | ||||||
| 6 | 6 | "Just My Bill" | Sidney Hayers | Story by : Catherine Bacos Teleplay by : Deborah Davis & David Braff | October 29, 1982[1] | 57311 |
| Devon assigns Michael to protect Senator Maggie Flynn who has made enemies in her political crusade to fight a new energy bill. After numerous attempts on her life, Michael arranges for her to hide out with Devon, much to Devon's chagrin, while he conducts an investigation with Flynn's assistant Jane Adams, who suspects a rival politician to be involved in the attacks. | ||||||
| 7 | 7 | "Not a Drop to Drink" | Virgil W. Vogel | Hannah L. Shearer | November 5, 1982[1] | 57304 |
| Michael and K.I.T.T. are send to protect a group of ranchers who's water supply is being cut off by a wealthy landowner. Michael meets his match in a hotheaded young widow who leads the fight for their rights and is instructed to make sure she doesn't do anything too impulsive. | ||||||
| 8 | 8 | "No Big Thing" | Bernard L. Kowalski | Judy Burns | November 12, 1982[1] | 57313 |
| Devon Miles is arrested on a traffic violation in Lyndhurst Flats and ends up sharing a jail with Frank Reston, the very journalist he was planning to meet. When Reston is killed by the corrupt police officers because he had too much evidence against them and a corrupt judge that controls them, Devon's life is now on the line because he is the only witness to see Reston alive. Michael teams up with Frank's ex-wife Carol in his search for Devon and expose the corruption to the proper authorities. | ||||||
| 9 | 9 | "Trust Doesn't Rust" | Paul Stanley | Steven E. De Souza | November 19, 1982[1] | 57307 |
| Two petty thieves, Tony and Rev (William Sanderson), break into a Foundation warehouse and unwittingly reactivate KARR (the Knight Automated Roving Robot) (voiced by Peter Cullen), which was sitting in storage. Responding to the break in, Michael and KITT arrive to see the two thieves make a getaway in KITT's identical twin. After Michael learns that KARR was KITT's prototype and programmed with an unstable self-preservation AI, he goes after the vehicle which the two thieves are using to crash into bank vaults. Things become more complicated when KARR has the thieves kidnap Bonnie so she can repair a malfunctioning circuit. Michael and KITT managed to get Bonnie back, and try to disable KARR using a laser. When this fails, Michael sets KITT on a direct collision course with KARR, betting on KARR's self-preservation to defeat him. | ||||||
| 10 | 10 | "Inside Out" | Peter Crane | Steven E. De Souza | November 26, 1982[1] | 57302 |
| Michael captures a criminal named Dugan and takes his place as Colonel Kincaid's new driver. His goal is to find out for what purpose Kincaid is building his own private task team and catch him red-handed. | ||||||
| 11 | 11 | "The Final Verdict" | Bernard Kowalski | Story by : Tom Greene and John Alan Schwartz & E. Paul Edwards Teleplay by : John Alan Schwartz & E. Paul Edwards | December 3, 1982[1] | 57316 |
|
Cheryl Burns, an old friend of Michaels, has been accused of murder. Michael asks for some time off to search out the only man who can clear Cheryl: accountant Marty King, a 'Woody Allen' type. However Marty is a person of interest by the police to expose his crooked employer for "cooking the books". This episode was dedicated to R.A. Cinader, stating "he was an original". | ||||||
| 12 | 12 | "A Plush Ride" | Sidney Hayers | Gregory S. Dinallo | December 10, 1982[1] | 57306 |
| Devon Miles has organized an anti-terrorism treaty between three rather unstable third world nations. Michael is assigned to find a plant (and possible hit-man) amongst the security team. He joins them during their special training session at Redmond's Victory Academy. However Michael wonders if this is the work of one person or a team. | ||||||
| 13 | 13 | "Forget Me Not" | Gil Bettman | Story by : Chris Lucky and Richard Christian Matheson & Thomas Szollosi Teleplay by : Richard Christian Matheson & Thomas Szollosi and Karen Harris & Deborah Davis | December 17, 1982[1] | 57312 |
| Michael Knight is staying at a beach house with the daughter of newly elected president of the South American country of San Marada. His assignment is to protect both her and her father. A young woman named Micki overhears the conspirators' plot to assassinate El Presidente and is thrown off a cliff. Michael manages to rescue Micki, though she ends up with temporary amnesia. Can the only witness remember in time before the assassination can take place? | ||||||
| 14 | 14 | "Hearts of Stone" | Jeffrey Hayden | Robert Foster | January 14, 1983[1] | 57322 |
|
Michael goes to Texas to meet Father Carlos Laguna, whose family is feuding with a group of gunrunners in possession of an advanced assault rifle called the X-19. The situation worsens when Carlos' brother Roberto is shot with an X-19 during a drive-by attack. With the help of a bartender named Angie, Michael poses as a gun collector and makes contact with the gunrunners where he offers to buy the whole shipment of X-19s. They strike a deal, but Angie tricks Michael and steals his suitcase full of money, which was charity funds provided by Devon. Note: KITT's voice modulator is finally upgraded for the first time into the trio of digital bars seen during the remainder of the series run as first seen in K.A.R.R Knight Automated Roving Robot in his debut appearance. | ||||||
| 15 | 15 | "Give Me Liberty… or Give Me Death" | Bernard L. Kowalski | David Braff | January 21, 1983[1] | 57323 |
| Michael and Kitt enter the Alternative 2000, a cross country race for cars that run on alternative fuel. They are there to find a saboteur, not to win, but find themselves having to rescue nosy reporter Liberty Cox in each lap. The mastermind is the ambitious TV broadcaster sponsor of the race and a member of the race safety crew. | ||||||
| 16 | 16 | "The Topaz Connection" | Alan Myerson | Stephen Katz | January 28, 1983[1] | 57321 |
| A high-profile "skin magazine" editor named Philip Royce is murdered and Michael helps his daughter Lauren investigate who killed him and why. The clues may be found in Royce's computer, but the file he was working on is password protected under the code name "Topaz". The plot thickens when a private investigator Royce hired calls Lauren to reveal the story, but the man is killed by a sniper. Lauren and Michael then follow the P.I.'s leads to Las Vegas in hopes of uncovering the meaning behind Topaz, but quickly come across more thugs who want them eliminated. | ||||||
| 17 | 17 | "A Nice, Indecent Little Town" | Gil Betteman | Frank Telford | February 18, 1983[1] | 57317 |
| Michael travels to Alpine Crest posing as a skip-tracer in pursuit of a counterfeiter. There he and Kitt find out CIA is keeping an eye on a much bigger operation. Michael's only ally is a local journalist, while taking on a group of corrupt police officers aligned with the counterfeiter. | ||||||
| 18 | 18 | "Chariot of Gold" | Bernard L. Kowalski | William Schmidt | February 25, 1983[1] | 57326 |
| Bonnie is given the honor of joining the Helios society, whose members all have genius level I.Q.'s. This to Devon's chagrin, who was expecting a nomination himself, but has to be content with honorary membership. However, it soon becomes clear that high ranking members of the society are planning to ensure their own survival by committing the perfect crime. For this they need to get their hands on KITT and to get rid of its driver, Michael Knight. | ||||||
| 19 | 19 | "White Bird" | Winrich Kolbe | Virginia Aldridge | March 4, 1983[1] | 57330 |
| Michael learns that the woman he was once engaged to, Stephanie Mason (Catherine Hickland), has been arrested for her involvement in a money laundering scheme. Unfortunately, he was engaged to her when he was Michael Long and Stephanie thinks he is dead. The Justice Department has given Stephanie the option of turning in her boss Gilbert Cole, or face conspiracy charges if she refuses. The situation intensifies when Cole sends thugs to eliminate her before she can testify before a grand jury. Now Michael must protect the woman he once loved and capture the people who are setting her up, all the while avoiding slip ups that may give away his secret identity. | ||||||
| 20 | 20 | "Knight Moves" | Christian I. Nyby II | William Schmidt | March 11, 1983[1] | 57332 |
| A shipment of highly sensitive Micro-Tech electronic components is stolen near Albuquerque, New Mexico. When Michael goes to investigate, he finds himself attracted to the cause of the Alliance of Indipendent Truckers, who have lost 6 shipments. He is also attracted to AIT spoke-person and lady trucker Terri 'The Tiger' Calley. | ||||||
| 21 | 21 | "Nobody Does it Better" | Harvey Laidman | David Braff | April 29, 1983[1] | 57331 |
| A CEO of an electronics firm (Robert Ginty) hires the Foundation to help catch whoever is stealing software from his company. Michael suspects someone on the inside – a programmer named Julian Groves (Tony Dow) when he learns of his involvement with a con-woman named Connie Chason. Soon an overzealous private investigator named Flannery Roe (Gail Edwards), hired by Grove's wife, gets into Michael's way, but things become more complicated when Connie is found murdered in Julian's bungalow and the programmer is on the run. Michael doesn't believe Julian is capable of murder and he and Flannery are forced to tolerate each other to find the real killer. | ||||||
| 22 | 22 | "Short Notice" | Robert Foster | Robert Foster | May 6, 1983[1] | 57336 |
| Michael picks up a hitchhiker who's looking for her daughter. When he defends her from a couple of bikers from the Satan's Stompers motorcycle club, he ends up charged with second degree murder himself. The only reason she is reluctant is because her husband, the leader of the gang, has her daughter and she has the evidence that can put him away. | ||||||
References
- "Knight Rider: Original - Full Episodes - Season 1". NBC.com. Retrieved 2014-06-04.
- "Knight Rider - Season One (1982)". Amazon.com. Retrieved 2011-02-23.
- Knight Rider Legacy
External links
- Knight Rider – list of episodes at IMDb
- List of Knight Rider season 1 episodes at TV.com
- Knight Rider at epguides.com