A lone crimefighter battles the forces of evil with the help of an indestructible and artificially intelligent supercar.
Creator:Glen A. Larson
Stars:David Hasselhoff, Edward Mulhare and William Daniels
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Details
Country:USA
Language:English
Release Date:
(USA)
Also Known As: Рыцарь дорог
Filming Locations:Burbank, California, USA
Storyline
Michael Long is a crimefighter who is seriously wounded during his
work. Nursed back to health by a mysterious benefactor (chairman of the
Knight Industries), he regains consciousness a new man with a new face
and a new name: Michael Knight. His mysterious benefactor (through the
guise of associate Devon Miles) provides Michael with equipment and
support so that he can continue his crime fighting work. The most
notable piece of equipment supplied, is "KITT", a high-performance
sports car fitted with artificial intelligence.
Company Credits
Production Co:Universal TV, Glen A. Larson Productions
Technical Specs
Runtime:
(90 episodes)
Sound Mix:Mono
Color:Color (Technicolor)
Did You Know?
TriviaIn many of KITT's jump scenes, the screen jumps to another angle (such
as Michael driving) before landing. This is because more often than not,
the front end of the stunt car is totaled upon landing.
Goofs---Continuity:
In almost every episode the landscape seen through the car-windows when
Michael is talking to K.I.T.T. while cruising doesn't match the exterior
views of K.I.T.T. driving along.
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?
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