by Unknown
Commentary:
A very well done episode, with the perfect mix of humor and action. A classic scene at the beginning has Bonnie finding seaweed beneath K.I.T.T.’s hood. When confronted about it, Michael tells Bonnie that he was pursuing criminals at the marina and took K.I.T.T. out to sea (it would only be a short time later when we see K.I.T.T. ride on water in
“Return to Cadiz”). It is odd to see Michael driving another car, but Devon insists in order to demonstrate to Redmond that Michael can hold his own for the mission.
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Notes:
A close eye will spot that when Jacobs punches K.I.T.T.’s door because he couldn’t get in, he actually puts a small dent in it above the handle!
Throughout the first season, Michael can be seen wearing a large silver belt buckle emblazoned with the letter “K.”
Featured Songs:
“Pickin’ Up Strangers” by Johnny Lee
“Home on the Range” sung by the cast
Quotes:
(Michael) “Why didn’t you warn me that Redmond was in my room?”
(K.I.T.T.) “You said that he could be trusted.”
(Michael) “Is that some sort of example of your logic?”
(K.I.T.T.) “No, it’s an example of yours.”
Trivia:
M.C. Gainey returns in “Out of the Woods.”
Michael meets Devon and Bonnie at the Buckaroo Club, which was frequented by Colt Seavers in Glen Larson’s The Fall Guy. Forget Me Not
Episode: 12
PROD. #57312
Original Airdate: December 17, 1982 (Friday)
Rerun #1: July 8, 1983 (Friday)
Teleplay By: Richard Christian Matheson, Thomas Szollosi, Karen Harris, and Deborah Davis
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Story By: Chris Lucky, Richard Christian Matheson, and Thomas Szollosi Director: Gil Bettman
Guest Cast: Alejandro Rey (Rudy DelJuago), Judy Landers (Micki Bradburn), Maria Conchita (Marie Elena Casafranca), Reid L. Shelton (David Burns/The Eagle), Victor Millan (Eduardo Casafranca), Michael Lane (Jerry), Fred Lerner (Ray), David Olivier (The Frenchman), Katia Christine (Margo), Michael Horsley (Valet Attendant), Michael Lamont (Male Guest), Helen Duffy (Actress)
Michael and K.I.T.T. team up with Marie Casafranca whose father, a Latin American President, has received threats against his life. Michael and Marie attend a party undercover to catch whoever is being ordered to carry out the assassination and Michael runs into Micki Bradburn. She slips into a room to rest and the two criminals discuss how they are going to proceed. They find Micki, knock her unconscious, and drive off with her. Michael sees this and follows the car. Micki escapes but not before she loses her memory when she falls out of the car and down a cliff. Commentary:
One of the most watched Knight Rider episodes across the world, “Forget Me Not” uses the classic “person loses their memory and they must regain it in time to stop a catastrophe” plot. Devon, of course, approved of Marie and Michael working side by side to stake out the house and Michael takes full advantage of the situation. This is the most skin-revealing episode, having Michael bare-chested, Marie wearing just a towel, and Micki in a nightgown.
Notes:
When K.I.T.T. turbo boosts off the cliff, it’s not a Trans Am that performs the feat but footage from a movie called The Car. Knight Rider Season One •
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Michael makes a reference to driving a ‘56 Chevy and cruising the drive-thru, something he mentions again in Knight Rider 2000. Highlights:
A girl asks Michael if anyone ever calls him Mickey, to which he replies “No.” It’s only a few years later, when K.I.T.T. hits a bump in
“Out of the Woods,” that he calls Michael “Mickey.”
Featured Songs:
“Get Closer” by Linda Ronstadt
Quotes:
(K.I.T.T.) “I hate to break this to you, but automobiles aren’t human. They have no lineage or personality.”
(Michael) “I wonder why I keep forgetting that?”
Trivia:
Michael Horsley is in season three’s “Knight in Disgrace;” Judy Landers returns in “Knight Strike;” and Fred Lerner guest stars in
“Brother’s Keeper.”
The turbo boost over some stalled cars is reused from the pilot episode.
Hearts of Stone
Working Title: “High Noon in Houston”
Episode: 13
PROD. #57322
Original Airdate: January 14, 1983 (Friday)
Rerun #1: September 11, 1983 (Sunday)
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Writer: Robert Foster
Director: Jeffrey Hayden
Guest Cast: Mary McCusker (Angeline Beth Martin), Rudy Ramos (Roberto Laguna), Jeff Cooper (Ricky Stone), Sam Vlahos (Father Carlos Laguna), Zitto Kazann (Emile Pavlon), Arell Blanton (Danny Dwight), Constance Ball (Nurse), Connie Downing (Girl at Party), Larry Bame (Bartender)
Michael infiltrates a ring of gunrunners selling advanced-design rifles in Central America. Devon takes Michael out and demonstrates how powerful the new breed of guns is that is being sold on the black market. In order to get to the people who have the guns, Michael gets in contact with a young woman named Angie. She reluctantly agrees to set up the money for the gun exchange. Angie, however, decides not to give the money to the men Michael had dealt with and runs away with her boyfriend Roberto. Michael discovers this and eventually retrieves the money and convinces Angie to help him.
Commentary:
This is the first episode under the direction of Executive Producer Robert Foster and Composer Don Peake. They would stay with the series for the remainder of its run. The teaser contains two scenes that were not in the episode—one spoken by Devon (“This weapon is what K.I.T.T. is to conventional cars”) and one by Michael (“Hang on to your fenders pal. This could be tough”). This episode is the first to feature K.I.T.T.’s three-lined voice modulator (which Michael comments is “nice, real nice”) and is the first under new executive producer Robert Foster. The semi returns here with a new paint job. Foster adds, “One change that I made after the first thirteen episodes was the semi. If you recall, it used to pull over on the side of the road and K.I.T.T. would come up the ramp. I thought it would be Knight Rider Season One •
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a nice idea to paint it black to match K.I.T.T. and have them be able to do it on the move.”
Notes:
The semi is given a black paint job and gold trim. Notice that the chess emblem and the stripes are slightly different than in later episodes. Producer Gerald Sanford recalls, “When Foster took over, he said, ‘Change everything to black. Make the truck black and put David in black to match the car’.”
This episode, along with “Give Me Liberty…or Give Me Death,”
utilize different fonts styles for the beginning episode credits. Featured Songs:
“Skin Game” by John Hiatt and Ry Cooder
“Lonesome, On’ry and Mean by Waylon Jennings
“Don’t You Think This Outlaw Bit Has Done Got Out of Hand” by Waylon Jennings
Quotes:
(K.I.T.T.) “I don’t have a strange dash. I’m proud of my dash.”
Trivia:
Arell Blanton guest stars in “Mouth of the Snake;” Sam Vlahos returns in “Blind Spot.”
The semi’s license plate is California 1U1365.
The helicopter used in this episode is the same one used in “Just My Bill,” “Knight Strike,” and “Knight in Disgrace.”
This episode is one of the few where K.I.T.T. drives past the semi after he exits. See “Knight of the Drones” and “Knight By a Nose”
for others.
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Give Me Liberty…or Give Me Death
Episode: 14
PROD. #57323
Original Airdate: January
21, 1983 (Friday)
Rerun #1: September 4, 1983 (Sunday)
Rerun #2: July 1, 1984 (Sunday)
Writer: David Braff
Director: Bernard L. Kowalski
Guest Cast: Robin Deardon (Liberty Cox), Brett Halsey (Clark Sellers), Alan Fudge (Ed Shaw), Francine Lembi (Dorothy Ackridge), Kai Wulff (Helmutt Grus), Kenneth Tigar (Dr. Norman Kempler), Sab Shimono (Hito Osaka), Richard Young (Sonny Prince), Adam Ageli (Hashi Al Qatar), Gary Houston Phillips (Lester Prince), Frank Pesce (Director), Robert Balderson (P.A. Announcer)
Devon sends Michael and K.I.T.T. undercover to find out who is killing drivers in the Alternative 2000 race. Devon tells Michael his goal is not to win the race, but to find the saboteurs. As Michael is ready to attend the meeting for the drivers, he is introduced to the Prince brothers and a reporter named Liberty Cox. Liberty goes with the Prince brothers and later abandons when they become too rowdy. Seconds later, the Prince brothers car explodes in a fiery ball.
Commentary:
There are several knocks at CBS’ The Dukes of Hazzard in this installment. The Prince brothers Dodge Charger (which happens to be orange) runs on
“moonshine,” they are brothers (whose entry into the car is through the window just like the Dukes) and the turbo boost over them was NBC’s sly way of showing how superior Knight Rider was to The Dukes of Hazzard. The Charger was later blown up, making the competition no competition!
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Notes:
The Prince brothers in the orange Dodge Charger had a conversation that was cut from the final script. They make a reference to The Dukes of Hazzard: “Are you kidding? After we win this race and get all that publicity, we’re goin’ to Hollywood. Gonna get us our own TV show.” At the mention of the word they emit rebel yells. Highlights:
Bonnie installs an infrared tracking scope and changes K.I.T.T.’s fuel system over to liquid hydrogen for the race.
A quick eye can spot the Bates Motel from Psycho at the beginning and ending of the race. That house is featured in “Halloween Knight.”
K.I.T.T. tints his windows for the first time.
Featured Songs:
“Hold Me” by Fleetwood Mac
“Hurts So Good” by John Cougar Mellencamp
Quotes:
(K.I.T.T.) “Michael, the car of the future is already here—me.”
(Michael) “That’s our little secret pal.”
Trivia:
Kai Wulff plays the bad guy in “Custom Made Killer;” Robin Dearden guest stars in “Buy Out.”
In earlier versions of the scripts, Dr. Kempler’s first name was Gordon, Dorothy Ackridge’s last name was Arnold, and there was a seventh driver named Andy Russel.
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The Topaz Connection
Episode: 15
PROD. #57321
Original Airdate: January 28, 1983 (Friday)
Rerun #1: May 20, 1983 (Friday)
Rerun #2: August 12, 1983 (Friday)
Writer: Stephen Katz
Director: Alan Myerson
Guest Cast: Michael Durrell (Paul DeBrett), Jeanna Michaels (Lauren Royce), Jack Starrett (Hagen), Michael Alldredge (Bob Kroiger), John Ericson (Philip Royce), Tina Louise (Anne Tyler), George Caldwell (George Olin), Pendleton Brown (Photographer), Richardson Morse (Doctor), Joy Hyler (Janet), Natalie Carroll (Model), Charles Walker (Franks the Pilot), Herb L. Mitchell (Butler), Eve McVeagh (Slot Granny) A journalist is found murdered when reports of an expose codenamed
“Topaz” was being released. Michael is sent to help his daughter, Lauren, find the people responsible and see to it that the expose is published. Lauren receives a phone call from a mysterious man claiming that he worked with her father on “Topaz,” but he is killed before she is able to extract the information from him. A new lead forms when Philip Royce’s pilot informs Lauren that her father recently went to Las Vegas with the mystery man. Michael and Lauren set a course for Las Vegas and continue the search for her father’s killer.
Commentary:
A nice installment from the first season, “The Topaz Connection” has all the elements of a good Knight Rider story. An amusing scene occurs when Lauren takes off in her private airplane for Las Vegas and leaves Michael Knight Rider Season One •
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behind. Not willing to give up on Lauren’s case quite yet, he hops in K.I.T.T. and arrives at the Las Vegas airport in time to see Lauren’s plane land! K.I.T.T. also enjoys himself when he inadvertently becomes the centerpiece for a modeling photo shoot at the Escape mansion. When the photos are printed, K.I.T.T. doesn’t comment on the models, but the staple that is in his fender! Dialogue like this, as well as wild car moves and the always spectacular turbo boosts, keep “The Topaz Connection” moving at a steady and enjoyable pace. Notes:
Michael returns to Las Vegas for the first time since he was shot in the pilot. He would again revisit the city in “Goliath.”
Notice that when K.I.T.T. is parked in the semi, he is facing toward the ramp. In the next scene when he pulls out, he pulls out in reverse. Highlights:
This episode features the first use of K.I.T.T.’s Computer Printout feature.
Featured Songs:
“Hold Me” by Fleetwood Mac
“Down Under” by Men at Work
“Love’s Been a Little Bit Hard On Me” by Juice Newton
Trivia:
Jack Starrett guest stars in “K.I.T.T. the Cat” and “Sky Knight.”
This marks the first time K.I.T.T. jumps the ravine, a scene that is reused in “Nobody Does It Better,” “Junk Yard Dog,” “Knight Flight to Freedom,” and from a different angle in “Lost Knight.”
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A Nice, Indecent Little Town
Episode: 16
PROD. #57317
Original Airdate: February 18, 1983 (Friday)
Rerun #1: June 3, 1983 (Friday)
Writer: Frank Telford
Director: Gil Bettman
Guest Cast: Luke Askew (Ron Austin), Norman Burton (Charles Barnswell), John Crawford (Sheriff Moore), Jean Bruce Scott (Jobina Bruce), Eric Server (Agent Peter Larkin), Amzie Strickland (Martha Haberstraw), Charles Bartlett (Deputy Hanks), Stacy MacGregor (Deputy Cole)
Michael is hot on the trail of counterfeiter Ron Austin when he loses him in a traffic jam. Austin can’t leave town yet because he is using the Hallelujah Press as a front for a counterfeit money making scheme. Michael checks into the local hotel where he talks with Jobina Bruce, an ambitious young journalist trying to make her way into the big time. Together, they must stop Ron Austin from leaving the country and shut down the counterfeit money making scheme.
Commentary:
The friendly banter between K.I.T.T. and Michael, as well as Aunt Martha’s joyride in K.I.T.T. make this episode a lot of fun. “A Nice, Indecent Little Town” also featured some impressive stunt work. The show’s producers on the episode: “Perhaps one of the most beautiful pieces of perfection was during an episode which was filmed in a small town. The streets were very narrow and we did a chase sequence through them. This involved doing a lot of precarious stuff like driving on two wheels down alleyways. The drivers who did it are quite remarkable and highly Knight Rider Season One •
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trained. It’s one thing just doing a stunt like that in a field, but to do it in a built up area you really have to be something.”
Notes:
The prison break scene is reused footage from the pilot episode. During a promotional commercial, NBC played up the idea that Granny might want to steal K.I.T.T., with a voiceover that went,
“When Granny discovers those turbo boosters, will K.I.T.T. ever see Michael again?”
In the script, Bonnie tells Michael that K.I.T.T.’s rotors are overheating (which can be heard in the episode) and asks if he has been overusing Turbo Boost.
Highlights:
when she returns him to Michael.
Featured Songs:
“I’ve Got a Rock N Roll Heart” by Eric Clapton
“Shame on the Moon” by Bob Seger
Trivia:
Norman Burton guest stars in “Redemption of a Champion;” John Crawford returns in “Knight Racer.”
Jean Bruce Scott would go on to co-star in another “super machine”
series— Airwolf. Coincidentally, Luke Askew (Ron Austin) would guest star there as well.
Michael again sports his red turtleneck with black leather jacket that he made famous in the pilot episode.
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This is the first episode with the familiar “Desert” ending that would be used (with the exception of “Chariot of Gold”) for the rest of the series.
This is the only episode in which the guest star credits at the beginning of the episode are listed in alphabetical order. Chariot of Gold
Episode: 17
PROD. #57326
Original Airdate: February 25, 1983 (Friday)
Rerun #1: June 10, 1983 (Friday)
Writer: William Schmidt
Director: Bernard L. Kowalski
Guest Cast: Theodore Bikel (Graham Deauville), George McDaniel (Peter Stark), Lynne Topping (Charlene Hanover), Sandy Helberg (Irving Farber), Garnett Smith (Jim Litton), Lorinne Vozoff (Ellen Sullivan) Michael visits the elite Helios Society to uncover the reason why two prominent members recently died. Bonnie and Devon arrive where Graham Deauville, the head of Helios, greets them at the front entrance. Bonnie is given a private tour with Graham and is injected with a mindaltering drug. That night, Michael goes back to Helios and finds a videotape in the main office labeled “K.I.T.T.” and he watches it. Michael doesn’t like what he sees and tracks Bonnie down. They leave, but Bonnie pulls a gun out and orders Michael back to Helios. Graham tells Michael they brainwashed Bonnie so she could reprogram K.I.T.T. to help in the theft of some jewels at the county museum worth millions. Knight Rider Season One •
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Commentary:
Another stand out episode of the first season, this installment clearly demonstrates that K.I.T.T.’s programming can be altered. It is, however, hard to believe that K.I.T.T.’s systems can be overridden simply by turning a knob underneath the dash, or shutting him off by pulling out a few circuit boards. Storylines in which the main characters turn against our hero are always fun to watch, and seeing Michael telling Bonnie how close they are is a very poignant scene. The entire episode has a darker feel to it, with a mysterious drug that is killing people, a group of people huddled in a room watching a videotape of K.I.T.T.’s capabilities, and a mysterious woman who disappears as fast as she appears. Michael no doubt was on guard during his visit to Helios and probably felt a chill go up his spine when he discovered the “K.I.T.T. videotape” in the Helios office.