Knight Rider

In 1982 an unknown actor named David Hasselhoff burst onto the scene in a weekly Friday night series aired on NBC. Hasselhoff played Michael Knight on a brand new 80s vehicle oriented TV show (that frequently targeted boys) called Knight Rider to rival The Dukes of Hazzard on CBS.

Hasselhoff was what many in the industry call an "8 x 10", a perfect hunky man with shoulder length wavy hair and beaming smile. Hasselhoff was also gifted with a keen sense of humor and wit, which allowed many of the outrageous stories of Knight Rider to work and not be taken too seriously. Knight Rider was about an undercover cop named Michael Long who was betrayed and left for dead in the desert. Long was rescued by an eccentric billionaire by the name of Wilton Knight, who nursed Long back to health. Wilton Knight also gave Long a new face and identity as "Michael Knight". Knight convinced Long to use his police officer skills to help his private organization (The Foundation for Law and Government), and equipped him with a super car with artificial intelligence named KITT (Knight Industries Two-Thousand). The supporting actors like Edward Mulhare, Patricia McPherson complemented Hasselhoff wonderfully as Devon Miles and Bonnie Barstow. It is rare that a cast gels so well like this, and in many ways KR was more about the characters then the stories or KITT.

Despite some negative and absurdly over the top reviews here, Knight Rider remains one of the most fondly remembered action adventure TV shows of the 1980s. Knight Rider was not an L.A. Law or St. Elsewhere type drama, nor was it Harlan Ellison level science fiction, and it never tried to be. Knight Rider had some camp, but campy doesn't mean a dog meat series. Every single one of those action/adventure shows from the 80s like A-Team, Dukes of Hazzard, Blue Thunder, Airwolf, Hunter and MacGyver had plenty of instances of overt stupidity. They ALL had their "what the hell was that about?" moments. Every one of those 80s shows. So why is Knight Rider singled out and getting ridiculously picked on like this?

The show was a fun yet not too serious one hour adventure series. Many people here seem to be overly concerned with "looking cool" as adults and join in on the over the top teasing of a series that you know everyone loved back in the 80s. Stop trying to be so cool just because you're now an adult in the 2000s versus being the young kid that watched this show every week back in 80s. I highly recommend Knight Rider, (it will blow you away!) and check out the newly released DVD if you can. The Season 1 DVD has rich vibrant colors and sound, complete with an assortment of extra features that will keep you busy for days.

My Rating:

9/10

The basic premise of Knight Rider has already been covered here numerous times, so I'm not going to delve into that. Everyone knows that Knight Rider is about an ex-cop with a new identity, working for a private foundation that provides him with an indestructible super car. But if you read some of the reviews here, you might think that Knight Rider is the worst TV show that was ever made. Knight Rider could get corny at times but it was nowhere near as terrible as some people say it is. There's nothing at all wrong with a show being campy.

Knight Rider wasn't "all about a cool car" either. If that was true then why didn't the two attempts to revive the show in the 90s work? Knight Rider 2000 in the early 90s and Team Knight Rider in the late 90s both failed to recapture the 80s glory of the original. Team Knight Rider even had 5 talking super vehicles. That proves that there was something to David Hasselhoff (Michael Knight), William Daniels (voice of KITT) and Edward Mulhare (Devon). They had a special chemistry that made the series work. David Hasselhoff for all his William Shatner overacting antics, made the show work too. Another man might have tried to play the material seriously, but the Hoff knew better. Knight Rider wasn't a show that was trying to change the world, it was merely a one hour action/adventure block of entertainment. The people slamming Knight Rider were probably too old to appreciate the show as children in the 80s, or they are too young to have been around in the 80s. I bet a lot of these mean spirited comments are from some dopey Generation Y kids born in 1989 or something like that. I think the shows success speaks for itself.

I was 3 years old when Knight Rider was released in 1982, I remember vaguely seeing some of the episodes when they were new. I find it puzzling that people will "nit-pic" a TV show that lasted a decent 4 years on the air, yes maybe corny to todays standards, but the show was harmless entertainment. Unlike TV programming today, at least it had it's own originality. Kids could watch it without a lot of heavy violence or nudity, (which was like none in Knight Rider. to name only a few.) on the contrary, it was very much sci-fi, as well as drama, and action. Bottom line, it's a TV show, get real folks, does anyone have imagination anymore?

People are picking on this show for ridiculous reasons. IT was not SUPPOSED to be this great acted, perfectly mistake free show. It was an homage to the classic cliff hangers of the 50s. The flashing lights on the gas pedal were there for effect. It was never supposed to be a guide to those driving. A simple formula, really. Flashing lights = cool! By the way, to complain about show for mistakes and actually make a mistake in your complaint is kind of funny. We DID see the truck driver. In fact, in later years, he became a regular cast member. (And quite frankly, it made the show worse.)

The show was fine. Seriously, if you are watching the show expecting Shakespeare, then the mistake is YOURS not the shows.

Knight Rider is a show that is basically only good for 80's nostalgia. Watching it makes me feel like a kid again, back when I had no worries in life beyond going to elementary school and doing homework. Knight Rider is as 80's as Mr. T, Punky Brewster, Run DMC and WHAM! Michael and KITT give me that warm feeling inside and they take me back to my childhood. Unfortunately this is not a show with much substance or intelligence. It is true that this series does not feature the best acting and writing around, and it caters to children and the kind of crowd that love movies like "The Fast and the Furious" or "Armaggedon". Yes, this is a kiddie show.

But after reading many of the comments here I feel that people are just being waaaaaay too hard on Knight Rider. Now that 80's kids have grown up, we're adults and we are looking back at this show through adult eyes. So a lot of people are really slamming Knight Rider for being a stupid goofball series and I think that is very unfair. I think Knight Rider is entertaining fluff. Just take your brain out, ignore the toy model cars and bad stunt doubles and simply enjoy the show for what it is. A fun 1 hour diversion from the hardships of daily life, and a brief nostalgia trip to the 80's.