knight rider online

Posted: **Thu Dec 16, 2004 10:18 am**

I know it may be possible that this has been mentioned before but is Knight Of The Pheonix the episode where we see Michael Long and not Michael Knight??

I only ask because I caught Knight Of The Pheonix Part II last night on TV and discovered that Part I was on TV on Tuesday.

Thanks,

Mike

Posted: **Thu Dec 16, 2004 10:36 am**

Well it's more of the first 20-30 minutes are Michael Long, until he (no spoilers here I hope) gets shot by Tonya in the desert.

Posted: **Thu Dec 16, 2004 2:05 pm**

I remember hearing somewhere that the man who played Michael Long was also David's stunt double.. Any truth to that?

Posted: **Mon Dec 20, 2004 5:33 pm**

No spoilers therre. I know he gets shot and if I remember correctly he gets shot in the face doesn't he???

Posted: **Mon Dec 20, 2004 6:04 pm**

Yes, he gets shot in the face, but because of a metal plate in his skull from his time in Vietnam, the bullet was deflected.

Posted: **Mon Dec 20, 2004 8:12 pm**

more specifically, he was shot in the head that, cos of the plate, bounced back through his face.

Posted: **Mon Dec 20, 2004 8:15 pm**

That's one thing that Michael Knight and I have in common, about our faces. His was blown off, and half of mine was torn off....

Posted: **Mon Dec 20, 2004 9:27 pm**

Uhhhhhhh....

Concerning the title of the episode, my take on why it is named "Knight Of the Phoenix" is because it's metaphoric for Michael being shot down only to rise again more powerful like a phoenix. The phoenix could also maybe be tied into the Firebird Trans Am as well, with the gold phoenix symbols.

Posted: **Tue Dec 21, 2004 5:45 am**

That's very possible. The one that shocked me was KITT vs KARR - This is when I found out that Michael Knight was actually modelled on Garth Knight - the bad guy.

What I did like about the 2nd part of Knight Of The Pheonix was at the end where there's a voice over. I can't remember what it said but I thought it was great. Seemed a little wierd seeing the intro without the voice though. "A young loner on a crusade to champion the cause of the innocent, the powerless, the helpless. In a world of criminals who operate above the law." <-- Great line.

Best,

Mike

Posted: **Tue Dec 21, 2004 9:24 am**

Now in the Knight of the Phoenix didn't Wilton and Devon discuss that Michael's face was modeled after a young Wilton Knight?

It would also explian the similaraties between Garth and Michael wouldn't it?

Posted: **Tue Dec 21, 2004 11:12 am**

You're right, Tasha, this is an inconsistency with the story. The most likely explination is that the idea of the character of Garthe had not been established yet at the time the pilot was written. The producers also did not know the show was going to last (they didn't even know if they were going to be granted a second season), so I think it was more of a "make it up as you go along" type of situation. Ultimately the explanation has to be that Wilton blocked Garth out of his mind when he was sent to prison and turned his back on him, therefore maybe subconsciously Michael was modeled after Garth, but also consciously after Wilton himself as a young man.

Posted: **Tue Dec 21, 2004 11:57 am**

could also be that garthe and wilton would have been very similar at the same age group, it's not uncommon in the world. and as for "making it up as you go", this is not the fault of knight rider, rather the fact that pre-planned stories and arcs hadn't really been seen in american telelvision and wouldn't be until the late 80s.

Posted: **Fri Dec 24, 2004 7:43 am**

Any way that anyone can get hold of a picture of Wilton Knight and Garthe at all for comparison??

Mike

Posted: **Fri Dec 24, 2004 7:45 am**

comparing would be no good because there is no footage or pic available of a young wilton.