Knight Rider: "Knight of the Phoenix."

"Knight Rider.....a shadowy flight into the world of a man who does not exist...."

If we can compare Larson to Dr. Frankenstein, then this is his real monster.  The one that causes everyone to scream and run away from, shrieking in horror.  For, you see, the world hasn't really gotten over "Knight Rider."   And that reason is David Hasselhoff.  And, oh God, if I could only just review the episode without getting into Hasselhoff territory.  Ignoring him and his own brand of evil and claims of being a shrewd businessman in airing "Baywatch" into successful syndication.  Hell, I could have made "Baywatch" a success.  T&A is always a bestseller.

But, sadly, the only thing that Knight Rider truly did was create Hasselhoff's singing career.  Another staple of Glen Larson's shows of this period is the fact that in the background, you can hear (then) popular songs.  But they don't sound quite right.  At first, you might believe that it's your TV and that somehow the audio on your set is just playing tricks on you.  Or, possibly, WGN doesn't clean their negatives and just let's this gap in the soundtrack pass.  But neither is true.  For you see, in order to evade more costs to play the actual music, Larson was either conned or threatened-with-a-shotgun to let Hasselhoff sing these songs.   And they are BAD songs.  Of course, they were playing songs by Huey Lewis and The News and other pop bands of the '80s, so take your choice.  They're bad either way.

Plus, "Manimal" had this problem as well.

But my main point is that whatever Hasselhoff did to promote "Baywatch" (aka NOTHING), it didn't start with "Knight Rider."  In fact, "Knight Rider" main fault is the deus ex machina of KITT's (that's the car, remember) powers.   In later episodes, this would get more silly as KITT could do anything from opening doors inside a house with no outside assistance or operating electronics without disrupting other electronics or the system itself.  He was just 'high-tech,' and that was expected to solve everything.   But, despite this fault, the series pilot promised a lot of things that would have been interesting if followed out.

Or, simply put, the quote above would have made more sense to the pilot than it would if you came in later in the show's history.   For the pilot of Knight Rider, "Knight of the Phoenix," is a darker story than other episodes you may have seen.   In fact, the slight darkness of the pilot had all but vanished except for a few stray episodes (the BETTER ones, may I add) and was replaced with the recurring plot of Hasselhoff taking it easy while he and KITT just kicked ass.  No more mourning over his lost previous life or loves, or such.  Except for those aforementioned episodes.

Anyway....

"Knight of the Phoenix" begins with the origin of Michael Knight.  Once, he was just a cop who, thanks to a sting gone wrong, ends up at the wrong side of a gun held by a treacherous lover who was in cahoots with the man he was chasing.  Michael, however, gets a bullet to the face, which is quite funny.  Funny in the sense that, looking back at the episode, it ends the goofy editing of Hasselhoff's voice to some nameless actor who portrays the first Michael.  And it's obvious, too.  Try to watch the first five minutes of this episode without cracking a smile.  You'll bust a gut, I assure you.

But, still, Michael Whatshisface gets shot in the head.  But, luckily, the bullet is deflected by a plate he had in his head from a war or something.  But, when the bullet is deflected, it deflects and makes an exit wound out of his face.  A nasty one that supposedly ruins his face completely (we are never shown the carnage).   After the criminals drive off, a helicopter carrying Richard Basehart lands and takes the wounded Michael away.

Cut to the Knight Foundation.  Michael is now in bandages as we watch a doctor tell Wilton Knight (Richard Basehart) that his face was ruined, we saved it, blah blah blah.  The doctor, ironically, is none other than Richard Anderson who is best known as Oscar Goldman in "The Six Million Dollar Man."  So, after expecting Martin E. Brooks to show up to tell everyone that bionics cost money, Richard Anderson bolts and Devon Miles (Edward Mulhare) arrives.  He's the second-hand man to Wilton Knight and, in the series, will be the guy who gives Michael his missions.  See?  It's all coming together!  Finally, Michael (now Hasselhoff) awakens to the real premise of the series.  His face now changed, he is the man who does not exist.   Wilton informs him that his past identity is gone, he is now Michael Knight, and he wants the resurrected Michael to head F.L.A.G., the Federation for Law and Government, an anonymous agency funded by the Knight Foundation to battle out of control crime.  See?  Once again, Out of Control Crime plays a part.   Welcome back to Reagan's America!!!

And I'll give:  Hasselhoff does try to play the role as enbittered and bewildered about his resurrection.  Too bad it wasn't to stay.  And, in doing so, he refuses Wilton's request.  Hurt, Wilton walks off to be bitter or something while Devon tells Michael that Wilton is dying, this will mean so much, so forth and so on.

Eventually, the guilt trip works, and Michael takes the job.  Of course, the main weapon in this arsenal is KITT, the first computerized deus ex machina on wheels.  Michael at first recognizes it to be his own car, but Devon quickly dismisses this as just coincidence.  Since this is 1981 or so, I suppose midnight black Trans-Ams were a dime a dozen.   No biggie.

Anyway, to the plot in a nutshell:  Wilton Knight dies of his disease, emotional moment, Michael takes off to avenge his own 'death' and finds that KITT can talk.  In fact, he sounds like that teacher guy from "Boy Meets World" and that guy opposite Lara Parker in the Galactica '80 episode "The Night the Cylons Landed."   And, he is.  William Daniels is his name, and you'll never see his name on the credits of ANY Knight Rider episode.  Why?  Simple voice work, I guess.  Plus, he sounds like a Shakespearean actor so voicing a sentient Trans-Am isn't the best thing for one's career.  Of course, I could go on about his career...

But I won't.  I'll ignore that.

The rest of the episode is typical Larson stuff:  criminals fire at KITT to find he's indestructible, Michael Knight shows he's the big man (a total change from his later, lighter side that would evolve in the series) by wailing on people and finally brings the men who caused his death down.  No, not dead.  He brings them to justice.  The traitorous bitch who 'killed' him, however, dies in a silly way when she goes up to Michael while he's in KITT and unloads a bullet.  But wait!  Isn't KITT bulletproof?

Yup.  And, thanks to that little thing I call Irony/Fate/Justice the bullet kills herself instead.

So, the series begins, with Michael Knight (nee Long) fighting crime...as the Knight Rider.  Despite the fact that he travels during the day and that the dark part that the series was going for was now in the rear view.

Oddly, the 'dark world of the Knight Rider' was abandoned a few episodes later.  The sunny rural areas of California really didn't add credence to the 'darkness' and 'gritty' world that was originally intended.  Plus the fact that Hasselhoff started singing his versions of then-popular hits was a horror of a very different kind.   Can anybody say 'Huey Lewis and the News?'  Springsteen?  Now start your screaming.

But, despite it all, the pilot is very watchable but a good fourth of it all is just padding that is strictly Gary Larson material, featuring some atrocious comedy relief bits and some very broad and stupid stereotypical bad guys I could take with a hand tied behind my back.  But that is the earmarks of this series.  Aside from some very well-done episodes, most are just mediocre.

RATING:  A journey into darkness?  Sid and Marty Krofft had darker moments, but it's enjoyable if you don't think too hard about it.  Two stars out of Four.  Enjoy the '80s, if you can.