
Bonnie Barstow (Seasons 1, 3–4), KITT's chief technician and romantic tension for Michael. He was also the spokesman for FLAG whenever it came under scrutiny.

Edward Mulhare as Devon Miles, the leader of FLAG, who appeared in every episode to provide mission details to Knight and KITT.Elsewhere, requested not to be credited for his role as KITT's voice. Daniels, who simultaneously starred on St. William Daniels as the voice of KITT, or Knight Industries Two Thousand, the autonomous, artificially intelligent car, with whom Michael Knight is partnered.Hasselhoff also played Garthe Knight, Wilton Knight's estranged son and a criminal mastermind who drives Goliath, a Peterbilt 352 Pacemaker semi-truck armed with rockets, and protected by KITT's Molecular Bonded Shell. With his new identity, "Michael Knight", Long is provided with high tech crime-fighting equipment, most notably the car named KITT. Wilton Knight, creator of Knight Industries and founder of FLAG, directs his doctors to save Long's life and reconstruct his face. David Hasselhoff as Michael Knight (born Michael Arthur Long), an undercover detective of Los Angeles Police Department who, while on a case in Las Vegas, is shot in the face and nearly killed.Bonnie Barstow is the chief engineer in charge of KITT's care, as well as technical assistant to Devon (April Curtis fills this role in Season 2). Heading FLAG is Devon Miles, who provides Michael with directives and guidance. Michael and KITT are brought in during situations where "direct action might provide the only feasible solution". The other half of this pilot program is the Knight Industries Two Thousand (KITT), a heavily modified, technologically advanced Pontiac Firebird Trans Am with numerous features, including an extremely durable shell and frame, controlled by a computer with artificial intelligence. Wilton selects Michael to be the primary field agent in the pilot program of his public justice organization, the Foundation for Law and Government (FLAG). It also helped reestablish the supremacy of American muscle cars, and for that we’re supremely grateful.Self-made billionaire Wilton Knight rescues police Detective Lieutenant Michael Arthur Long after a near fatal shot to the face, giving him a new identity (by plastic surgery) and a new name: Michael Knight. It’s a constant reminder of how the show was his big break as an actor and helped define his career. The Hoff has the Knight Rider theme song set as his ringtone. But what adds the fun element is the fact the car does a lot of the crime fighting work. You have a hero with some really cool gadgets – actually just one really cool gadget – who also is a ladies’ man but focuses more on getting the bad guys. Since KITT was sassy towards Michael a lot, the show’s producers definitely gave the Trans Am an attitude, which obviously was really effective.Īnother undeniable appeal of Knight Rider was that the show in a way was America’s answer to James Bond. That personification of the Pontiac went so far that some crew members fully expected to hear it talk right there, even though everyone really knew the voiceovers were added in post-production afterward. On the production set everyone would talk about KITT as if the car were one of the actors, not a set piece. That’s when GM asked the show’s producers to stop referring to the car as a Trans Am, because apparently that would fix things since nobody would know what it was. People were asking dealers for a Trans Am that looked just like KITT, including all the tech goodies on the inside and the scanner on the nose.

We also learn that the commercial might have been a little too good. It was a success as shoppers flocked to showrooms because they wanted to be more like Michael Knight.
The knight rider theme song series#
There’s no doubt GM saw the primetime series on NBC as an excellent commercial for its newest muscle car. The mini-documentary accompanying this article explains some of the behind-the-scenes elements of the show everyone seems to love.įor example, you learn the first two 1982 Pontiac Firebird Trans Am cars taken off the assembly line were used to make the pilot episode. People around the globe have gone to great lengths to make KITT cloneswhich they proudly show off at shows, cruises, and meets. There’s no denying the lasting influence of Knight Rider on American culture and the automotive world. It’s time to learn more about everyone’s favorite crime-fighting muscle car.
