Where is FLAG Headquarters?

[knightshade]

Okay, I have always thought that the Foundation was supposed to be headquartered in LA -- or thereabouts anyway. I know there's some suggestion that it was at the 'Knight Estate' in Nevada to begin with -- the different exterior shots of the mansion in the earlier season 1 eps -- but I have always taken the Villa Arden location as being near LA (and the novelizations have them actually moving from Nevada to California).

But I just finished watching Merchants of Death (which I haven't seen in a while) and it's implied that they aren't in California. They talk about Southern California like they've never been there before (certainly not like it's their home base). In Goliath they show an establishing shot of a metal plate on a door that says "Foundation for Law and Government, Las Vegas" but the furnishings are different than Devon's usual office so I just took that to be a branch headquarters kind of thing.

At the end of Brother's Keeper, Michael all but kidnaps April and tells her he's going to take her to the beach and Fenton has a business near a marina. Assuming that means they're on the coast and given the almost always sunny weather, they pretty much have to be in Southern California.

Not to mention that Kitt has always had California plates.

It's just very odd. I know Knight Rider isn't exactly known for being consistant, but it almost seems like the writers for Merchants of Death didn't know where the characters live.

[Michael Pajaro]

Haven't seen Merchants in a while... Can you give an example of some of the things they were saying?

[knightshade]

Being incredibly lazy and not wanting to transcribe it, these are the snippets taken from the script posted at The Knight Rider Archive. These bits of dialog are pretty much what made it into the episode.


Michael is at the wheel, a beat more as he tries to
remember the song title; still trying, until:

K.I.T.T.
'California Girls' by the Beach Boys.

MICHAEL
Took the words right out of my mouth.

K.I.T.T.
Michael, I fail to see the appeal of
these songs. They're all about surfing,
sun, and girls in bikinis. What exactly
is the allure of Southern California?

MICHAEL
(smiling)
You just said it, pal. And thanks to
the Foundation, that's our next stop.

-----

DEVON
Michael, I have an urgent matter for
you to attend to. You are to reverse
course and head for Phoenix immediately.

MICHAEL
Phoenix? The new assignment's in
California, land of ---

DEVON
California can wait.

And later:

They wave one last time to Camela. The cab turns a corner
and is gone.

MICHAEL
Why don't you two follow us to
Southern California?

APRIL
Hey, that's a terrific idea.

MICHAEL
With a little luck, I'll get to
see you in a bikini.

It just sounds a lot more like a place they're visiting than home.

[Knight Rider Archive]

I think what it all comes down to is Michael's desire for a vacation. The Foundation is ostensibly located in Los Angeles, but if you look at Michael and K.I.T.T.'s missions, they were travelling all across the USA:

PILOT: Las Vegas; Silicon Valley
FINAL VERDICT: Albuquerque
HEARTS OF STONE: Just outside of Houston, Texas; was on his way back from New Orleans
TOPAZ CONNECTION: Las Vegas
KNIGHT MOVES: New Mexico
SHORT NOTICE: Arizona
GOLIATH: Las Vegas

... Not to mention all those deserts.

I think Michael is excited about the sun, surf and girls of Southern California simply because it's so far removed from the norm of his job. That assignment represented a bit of a working vacation.

- Paul
- http://www.knightriderarchive.com

[FuzzieDice]

Looks like they stuck primarily in the SW states for the most part, except the New Orleans thing.

Funny we never saw KITT in a snowstorm.

[Lost Knight]

It looks that way, but they also got a few northern states as well. From what I remember, they were in Chicago in "Knight Of the Juggernaut" and "Knight Song" as well as New York at some point right before "Out Of the Woods."

I agree with Knight Rider Archive; they traveled across the country so much that they never got to spend much time vacationing.

[LadyV2000]

Funny we never saw KITT in a snowstorm.

Yeah you're right. I think that would have interesting. I can just hear KITT complaining about the cold, potholes, road salt, and loss of traction in the snow. He would get buried in a blizzard and Michael would have to dig him out. I think that would be hilarious to see.

[knightshade]

I guess the thing that seems the most odd about it, is Michael saying "Why don't you two follow us to
Southern California?" It was said to Devon and April (who were in Phoenix with the semi). If they were done with a case where else would they be going if that was home? I don't know.

[walter h. anderson]

I don't know. I always thought that FLAG was located somwheres in sunny Californ-i-a.

LadyV2000 is right. If KITT complains'about potholes in New York in "Out of the Woods", wait'll he sees what's in store for him outside the Cleveland area, the road crater capitol of the world.

[FuzzieDice]

Dryden then must be tougher than KITT. LOL! I don't know HOW many times he's accidentally hit a large pothole (also sometimes referred to as a 'creater' by me, since they get so big). They are most likely to appear in spring and stay until the road crew gets to fixing them, which takes a few months.

[LadyV2000]

I don't know. I always thought that FLAG was located somwheres in sunny Californ-i-a.

LadyV2000 is right. If KITT complains'about potholes in New York in "Out of the Woods", wait'll he sees what's in store for him outside the Cleveland area, the road crater capitol of the world.

Oh I don't know about that. You should drive the streets of Pittsburgh sometime. We're notorious for our potholes. My mom actually cracked one the rims on my car hitting one. We also get a lot from broken water lines. I've driven the roads so much I just learn where they are and dodge them, but there're always new ones that pop up. Are city also sucks at repairing them too.