Knight Rider is an American science-fiction action television series created by Glen A. Larson for NBC. It ran from September 26, 1982 to April 4, 1986 for four seasons, plus a TV movie, Knight Rider 2000. Code of Vengeance, Team Knight Rider, and Knight Rider are its spin-offs.
Series summary
Self-made billionaire Wilton Knight rescues police detective Michael Long (David Hasselhoff) after a near- fatal shot to the face, giving him a new identity (via plastic surgery) and a new name: Michael Knight. Wilton hires Michael as the primary field agent in his privately funded crime-fighting organization, the Foundation for Law and Government (FLAG). Michael is partnered up with KITT, a heavily modified, artificially intelligent Pontiac Trans Am with gadgets that can be used to fight crime.
Spin-offs
- Code of Vengeance was a spin-off from Knight Rider that ran for five episodes, including a TV-movie pilot.
- Knight Rider 2000 a sequel made-for-TV movie.
- Knight Rider 2010 a made-for-TV movie loosely based on the series.
- Team Knight Rider was created as a continuation of Knight Rider; in the final episode, Michael Knight, the protagonist from the original series, appears, viewed from behind.
- Knight Rider acts as a pilot to the following televisin series and introduces Mike Traceur.
- A 2008 version of Knight Rider attempted to return the brand to TV but was swiftly canceled.
Westphall connections in Knight Rider
In Star Trek "The Changeling", Kirk and the crew have to deal with Nomad, a space probe from the 21st century created by artificial intelligence pioneer Dr. Jackson Roykirk. Dr Roykirk subsequently appeared as a character in the Team Knight Rider episode "Apocalypse Maybe".