No one in the 1980s had his finger on the pulse of gizmo-crazy adolescent boys like producer Glen Larson, creator of Battlestar Galactica and Manimal. But the peak of Larson's particular genius has to be Knight Rider, the love story of an absurdly handsome man and his absurdly indestructible car. Former detective Michael Knight (David Hasselhoff, later to achieve worldwide media dominance with Baywatch) zooms across the U.S. in K.I.T.T., a supercharged talking Trans Am with an impenetrable shell and the catty voice of William Daniels (St. Elsewhere). From the Las Vegas desert to the Louisiana bayou, Michael and K.I.T.T. solve crimes and help the downtrodden with the aid of a multi-million-dollar corporation run by dapper Devon Myles (Edward Mulhare) and mechanic/secretary/nanny April Curtis (Rebecca Holden, who took over from Patricia McPherson for the second season only). The first season was goofy camp from the start, but the second turned even more giddily ridiculous: K.I.T.T. developed supersensors, telekinesis, and the ability to drive on water; plots included amnesia, super attack helicopters, a desperately needed transplant for a sick girl, and a supremely cheesy evil-twin storyline featuring Garthe Knight, son of the multimillionaire who gave Michael his identity-changing facial surgery, played by Hasselhoff with a mustache, soul patch, and even more luxuriant hair. In one episode, Michael goes "undercover" as the lead singer of a rock band, allowing Hasselhoff to flaunt his beloved-in-Germany vocal stylings. Of special note is an episode featuring Geena Davis (future Oscar-winner for The Accidental Tourist) as the daughter of a cat burglar, perhaps the only episode with a love interest as cartoonishly good-looking as Hasselhoff himself. This is definitive trash television, the kind of empty calories that, for some viewers, are irresistibly tasty. For Knight Rider fans, Season Two is a feast. --Bret Fetzer
Login
Add tags