The episodes are listed in no particular order. There’s 14 tapes to go through (that I have anyway, not sure how many tapes total were in the series run) and I don’t have the patience to organize it all. I’ve kept it as it appeared on the back covers save for a couple typos and all the bolds. It’s annoying that Columbia House calls the series “the Knight Rider” instead of just “Knight Rider”.
KNIGHT OF THE PHOENIX
KNIGHT KNOWLEDGE: Before finding international fame as Michael Knight – the Knight Rider, David Hasselhoff spent six and a half years on the daytime drama The Young And The Restless where he bided his time in the more mundane role of Snapper Foster. Other stops on the road to success for Hasselhoff included a stint on a short lived sitcom Semi-Tough (a quasi Three’s Company about two football players who share an apartment with a beautiful female) and the daytime game show Fantasy.
DEADLY MANEUVERS/SLAMMIN’ SAMMY’S STUNT SHOW
KNIGHT KNOWLEDGE: The peevish and somewhat haughty voice of K.I.T.T. was provided for the Knight Rider by actor William Daniels. Simultaneous to his voice only role on the Knight Rider, Daniels appeared as Dr. Mark Craig on the acclaimed series St. Elsewhere.
JUST MY BILL/TRUST DOESN’T RUST
KNIGHT KNOWLEDGE: The creator, producer (and sometimes writer) of the Knight Rider, Glen Larson, started his career in show business as twenty-five percent of the vocal group the Four Preps who scored a number of hits from 1956 to 1964. After leaving music, Larson’s production company was responsible for developing such hit programs as BJ & The Bear, Battlestar Galactica, McCloud and Quincy in addition to the Knight Rider.
CHARIOT OF GOLD/NOBODY DOES IT BETTER
KNIGHT KNOWLEDGE: In 1983 David Hasselhoff revealed to People magazine that his screen test for the Knight Rider was a near disaster but that positive reinforcement won him the role. “I couldn’t remember one line, so I asked for five minutes to get it together,” recalled Hasselhoff. “I went backstage and shouted at myself, ‘You are the Knight Rider.’ I walked back in and did the scene dead on.”
RETURN TO CADIZ/K.I.T.T. THE CAT
KNIGHT KNOWLEDGE: NBC was initially dumbfounded when fan mail began arriving at their offices addressed to K.I.T.T. the car. Some discussion followed as to how to answer the letters, or rather how K.I.T.T. would answer the letters if only he could. Their solution was to send each fan a photograph of K.I.T.T. autographed with a tire tread stamp!
SHORT NOTICE/BROTHER’S KEEPER
KNIGHT KNOWLEDGE: At the peak of the Knight Rider’s mid-80’s popularity David Hasselhoff turned his long held fantasy of being a professional singer into a reality with the album Night Rocker. Just a few years later Hasselhoff was awarded the “Most Popular and Best Selling Artist of the Year” honor in Germany, a country where his personal appearances were greeted with great fan fervor. In fact, to this day Hasselhoff enjoys a substantial recording career in Europe, where his acting exploits are viewed as ancillary to his music.
RING OF FIRE/KNIGHTMARES
KNIGHT KNOWLEDGE: Although General Motors was initially reluctant to participate in promotion of the Knight Rider for fear that the show might flop, the series’ runaway success changed their attitude considerably. In fact, David Hasselhoff was given to Trans-Ams for his own use under the condition that he make some personal appearances on behalf of Pontiac. Not one to enter into anything halfheartedly, Hasselhoff took pains to appear completely in character for these events. He even wore Michael Knight’s wardrobe including the brass and ivory belt buckle emblazoned with a large letter K.
SILENT KNIGHT/A KNIGHT IN SHINING ARMOR
KNIGHT KNOWLEDGE: When Knight Rider series creator (and ex-Four Preps group member) Glen A. Larson when into TV and film work in the early ‘70s, he did not entirely abandon his music pursuits. In fact he co-wrote the synth-heavy theme song for the Knight Rider. It should be noted that Larson performed a similar task for a number of other series he was involved with, including The Fall Guy, Buck Rogers in the 25th Century, Battlestar Galactica, The Hardy Boys Mysteries, Quincy, Switch and McCloud.
DIAMOND’S AREN’T A GIRL’S BEST FRIEND/THE ICE BANDITS
KNIGHT KNOWLEDGE: Appearing as the sinister Bernie Mitchell in Diamonds Aren’t A Girl’s Best Friend is veteran actor Cameron Mitchell. Mitchell (who died of lung cancer in 1994) gained early recognition for his portrayal of Happy in the stage and screen versions of Death of a Salesman. Although he appeared in more than three hundred film and television programs, Mitchell was probably best remember for his work on The High Chaparral television series in which he played the happy-go-lucky Buck Cannon.
GOLIATH
KNIGHT KNOWLEDGE: Because of the strenuous stunt work required in filming the Knight Rider series, four different Pontiac Trans-Ams were employed in shooting. Similar to K.I.T.T.’s fantasy super car structure each vehicle was outfitted with multiple protective outer shells so that when a layer was damaged it could be peeled back to make the car look brand new.
CUSTOM K.I.T.T./SOUL SURVIVOR
KNIGHT KNOWLEDGE: During the filming of “Soul Survivor” actor Brian Robbins (who plays computer whiz Randy Merritt in the episode) reportedly caused quite a stir when he took K.I.T.T. off the set for a brief joy ride. Robbins later went on to star in the series Head Of The Class.
GOLIATH RETURNS
KNIGHT KNOWLEDGE: Distinguished actor Edward Mulhare portrayed the role of Devon Miles for the Knight Rider’s entire 1982-1986 run. Outside of David Hasselhoff and K.I.T.T. he was the only series regular to appear on all seasons of the program. Mulhare (who died in 1997 of lung cancer) got his big break on the Broadway stage in 1957 when Rex Harrison bowed out of the lead in My Fair Lady. From there Mulhare when on to a long list of film, television and stage work, but is perhaps best known for his portrayal of the cranky Captain Daniel Gregg in the ‘60s series The Ghose And Mrs. Muir. Ironically, Mulhare’s last television appearance came when he appeared opposite David Hasselhoff in a February 1997 episode of Baywatch Nights.
JUNK YARD DOG/KNIGHTLINES
KNIGHT KNOWLEDGE: Actress Patricial McPherson portrayed the sexy technician/mechanic Dr. Bonnie Barstow on the Knight Rider from 1982 to 1983 and again from 1984 until the series’ demise in 1986. McPherson was let go from the series during its second season (when she was replaced by Rebecca Holden) but was asked back for all other episodes of the show. David Hasselhoff in particular supported McPherson’s return and admitted, “It was a real emotional scene when she came back. What you saw on the screen was happening on stage.
RACE FOR LIFE/BIG IRON
KNIGHT KNOWLEDGE: The Race For Life episode was specially dedicated to actor Mario Marcelino (who played the gang leader Julio Rodreguiz). His son Marcel tragically died during the filming of this very special Knight Rider Story.
Enjoy.
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