I was obsessed with Knight Rider as a kid. Never missed an episode. Got to the point where I could draw KITT in every detail completely from memory. In the UK, we don't often see many Trans Am's, although I did pass a KITT replica on the way to work one morning, complete with the pulsing red LED light. Tempted to re-watch Knight Rider with my 7 year old 👍
me too! I was so obsessed with KITT that it became the very first car I dreamed to own! at some point every trans-am/firebird I saw on the street I thought it was KITT! I actually own 3 knight rider diecasts 2 ertl in 1/18 KITT and KARR and one hotwheels elite KITT
@@hugonubario Yep. Those toys even made it over the pond. I've still got one that I've passed on to my kids. Before Knight rider, I had a thing for the Firebird from Smokey and the Bandit 👍
I built the first screen accurate replica of KITT starting in 1985 and finishing in 1989. A lot of people in the 'bulid it yourself" or turnkey KITT world are long aware of Louisell Enterprises in Michigan who began building & selling KITT components to those who want to build their own. The original KITT's had no working dashes LED's of the day washed out in daylight. I was told they used reflective tape in the LED parts that lit up when the movie lights hit them. They did have a couple of fully functional dashes set up on a stage to film and they could offscreen control the displays to get what they wanted to film for the show. You can tell these shots as they only show the dash straight on or from an angle that never shows the driver. Shot from the left like through the door window, you can see a telltale blueish white light filling that bit of the left corner of the windshield screen as well. This effect was used in both day and night. Mine had all working an ACCURATE dash and a nose scanner that had the correct fading light tail effect I'm told the originals did not have. That dragging 'tail' I was told was the result of the way TV cameras of the day filmed bulbs. Mine had working TV screens and screen accurate "batwing" or fighter pilot yoke steering wheel too. I had watched that show from when it came on for 2-3 years and wondered; COULD I actually BUILD that? I',m in Louisiana. To say those LEDs weren't just laying around is an understatement. But I built everything from the nose to the dash and entire interior. (One or two of the parts sellers even late as 2015 still sold my overhead between the "T" console and noted it was built by "Dwayne Larriviere") I visited Louisell in Mi in 1989 and even bought a TA from him to use once my components were ready. Mine would auto start by remote control and had the dashboard Igniter sequence and the two rows of lights beside the voice display that operated just as the TV one did. One thing different I have to say, I called Universal and the KR people when I was in the middle of all this and THEY claimed George Barris created the KITT car. I subsequently called Mr. Barris and spoke with him. He did CLAIM to have done the car, but he gave me little guidance on how to build it. And of course NOTHING was for sale. BTW: if you ask Rob Louisell he claims he will tell you in his talks on the origins of all this that before he did it it there was a 'guy in Louisiana who was doing it better than he was" I have him a steering wheel and he gave me one of his dashes which was really roundy curvy at the time. I sold my copy in 1992 to a guy who did shows at malls of TV cars in Canada. At the time when I advertised it NO ONE did this kind of thing (now you can buy a Batmobile. ALL versions of them) and if I had built three more KITTs I could have sold them like party favors.
There was also the 1983 episode of The A-Team where Hannibal and Face were driving the "Kitt" transam. Both the A-Team and Knight Rider revived NBC's fortunes in the early 1980s so it was good coverage for both shows!
There's another A-Team/Knight Rider crossover in the series Steven Spielberg's Amazing Stories. In an episode which featured a magical television set with a 3D button, which caused TV shows to come to life, Dirk Benedict playing the character of Face, is rescued by KITT. I'm surprised this wasn't mentioned in this video, as it was great coming together of two iconic 80's shows.
I have been to the car museum in Orlando, FL on purpose to see the convertible KITT there, and had a nice personal show of the car in all details, by the very helpful guy in charge of that museum. As a huge Knight Rider fan, that was a great experience!
41 years. Man, I can't believe it was that long ago. Best thing about BJ and the Bear was the Landers sisters. 😁 I was 12 in 1982, and Knight Rider was a got-to-watch every week. Now I work on automobiles and computers partly because of that inspiration. Nobody ever gets the extreme stress placed on a vehicle's driveline when they roll out the back of a moving trailer onto a roadway. Zero to sixty in no seconds to those tires.
I've been a fan of Knight Rider since it first aired. It has given me a lot of great feelings growing up watching the show and all the episodes. Although I'm too old now to fall into and crawl out of one now, in my hay day I've been known to come home with a few in my lifetime. 10 to be exact. My first car I bought was an 82 Firebird. The styling is beautiful to me. The last one owned was an 89 GTA . It was my daily driver. Pass everything but a gas station ⛽. I appreciate the channel and ALL THE INFO. Thanks Joe.
Definitely know what you mean about not being able to get in/out of them anymore. I had a 2000 TA new, then much later a used one as a fun weekend car. Sold it after a couple years. Tall guy with limited mobility is not a good combination.
@@lo1bo2 . I hear you 😃.. Every couple of months I'd come home with a new ( to me) one. Mom would just shake her head... Another one ?? My answer was always " As many as I could afford " All you needed was a 10mm socket and a Phillips screwdriver 🪛 and you could basically take apart the car.
I’m 55 yrs old when Knight Rider came out I fell in love with the trans am. I loved this show. I’m a car lover by nature. Please keep the content coming and thank you.
Thank you Pontiac for making such a handsome car, I wonder would a graphic novel of the original pilot script work, Joe & company, you're doin' GREAT work!!!
I never realized that so many of the TV shows that I enjoyed as a young kid were created by the same person; Battlestar Galactica, Buck Rogers in the 25th Century, The Misadventures of Sheriff Lobo, B. J. and the Bear, The Fall Guy, and Knight Rider. The list goes on, but these are the ones I liked.
A minor note on the flivver car. The idea behind a dune buggy is mostly that it is very light. It then does not really need strong engine or particularly heavy-duty suspension and that keeps the cost down.
In 1985 Nissan brought out the 300ZX and I can still remember the first time seeing one as a 12yo with the T-tops, digital dash and semi-concealed headlights. This thing was beyond futuristic in my young eyes. We never got the Trans Am in Australia and I thought then, this was the closest thing I would ever see to what could be a KITT. Even today I'm still convinced that in the 70s, Toyota based their Celica on the Mustang and Nissan/Datsun based their Z cars on the Fisher bodies from GM
You are correct that the Celica was based on the Mustang formula. Torquey engine,RWD, light body. Having the option of a hatchback and notch back. The Celica Supra later renamed just Supra in the US was to compete with the Z, Corvette, Porsche 944,928.
I so much remember the talk about using the 280 ZX! In fact that might have been one of my first comments on your channel, Joe (when I was using my old WannaBeatle channel)! But, that was definitely part of the reason why I bought an '84 300ZX a long time ago. The '84 and '85 model Z was very similar to a T/A...and it talked, too! So, it was the best of both worlds!
Amazing Top 10... Great work! Love the channel! I wonder how may REAL attempts to bring back/revive the show were made throughout the years... ignoring all the mediocre "spin-offs".
I actually met Greg Evigan two weeks ago. At the Gear Jammer truck show in Massachusetts. Its sad that BJ didn't get the in on the DVD tv series like every other show ever on tv.
Thank you very much! I watched K2000 when I was very young in France. Gave me the bug to get my Masters in Culinary so I could be cool, just like in the show and live in the US. 4 kids later in the US and thriving for 23 years. K2000 did this! I will subscribe.
I was such a Knight Rider fan that I built the 1/16 scale model trans am from MPC with opening doors and hood and t-tops and converted it visually into kit with the proper - and the proper front and rear. The only thing I was never able to determine because we didn't have a VCR at the time was how many lights were in the front scanner so I had to guess at 7.
Loved the countdown and oh yeah, do more of them! Very cool info about BJ and the Bear!! Loved that show and didn't realize that Glen A Larson was the creator of both.
I actually once came up with my own design of a KITT redesign based on a Japanese car, I actually used a Subaru SVX, since the futuristic design and grille shape, to me, played well into the aesthetic.
Little bit of trivia, as this video mentioned BJ and the Bear. Similarly, as you are planning to have the names of the contributors to the Knight trailer put in the trailer, my uncle was part of the people who built a Kenworth K-100 Aerodyne, for the BJ and the Bear show. I do not know if the original hero truck was the one they built, but the one they did build was purpose built for the show. As they knew it was going to be for the show, all the builders signed their names on the inside of a panel somewhere...not sure which though. It was built at the Kansas City, MO plant.
@@75aces97 of course there were multiple trucks. When I said I did not know if it was the original hero truck, I meant that it may have been like a second season hero, one not used for anything destructive. I do remember one episode when the truck was driven into a building, which would not have been the hero truck, just one painted quickly to look like it. The truck my uncle helped build was a hero truck, but may have not been first season one...not the original. Of course there would have been insert trucks too.
It's truely a shame to think that theres less than a hundred thousand that remember that the 70's/80's gave us the best TV shows, the best stunt performances and the best actors.
The fact that you have the car that drove in the amazing opening sequence is the ultimate nostalgia bonus. Loved the vid, thanks. Time to bust out the dvd box set and revisit after I push the button for the KITT LEDs!
Miles exclaiming that the face given 2 Michael uncannily looks like Milton in his younger yrs fully knowing that Milton's given Michael the face of his own sons, unforgivable..
I'm from Germany and I visited the Petersen museum yesterday. I was very suprised to see one of your KITT cars there, because I thought they are not on display at the moment. Big thanks to you. So I saw the screen used KITT and the DeLorean time machine at the same time... what a wonderful day 😊 Btw, I also spottet the Comtron trailer during the Universal Studio Tour. Without your work I could not make those great experiences. Thanks you.
Great job on this list. I remember the show BJ and the Bear, but had no idea it was inspired by a single episode from that. Glen A Larson I was more familiar with from producing; The Six Million Dollar Man.
I love KITT's outwitting of the security guard attempting to report KITT's illegal parking to get the vehicle towed in "Just My Bill" - when KITT self drives out of the current parking spot to outwit the tow truck driver. I also love the way KITT handled the driver of that garbage truck who refused to move his truck to allow Michael and KITT to leave the restaurant in "The Final Verdict." Congrats your pending 100k subscribers. Further validation that the original show was deeply loved by fans around the world.
This I believe is the first top 10 post on RU-vid where I knew none of the top 10, and I am a former voice of KITT, for Universal Studios. Well done. They were a couple of lines could have used another check. I would welcome a top 10 per episode.
Problem with a 1982 280ZX: Michael: "KITT, approach in stealth mode" KITT: "On my way, Michael!" Michael opens the door, and a voice eminates, saying "Please Turn off the Lights" 😂 (the 1982 Datsun 280ZX was the second talking car on the market in the USA, the first being the 1981 Datsun Maxima)
This show drove me (no pun intended) as a kid to admire the Pontiac Trans Am. When I was 17, the fourth gen Trans Am with the LS1 debuted. I still own one in black.
Wow. Glen Larson. Richard Lindheim. Eric Dahlquist. Bill Hoglund. All Swedish - Americans. You should follow this up. Greetings from Sweden 😁 Glen Larson had a Swedish mom who found a Swedish American. Fun🎉
I'm -70's kid so I loved The Knight Rider. Luckily I found the whole series online so now I have all Knight Rider episodes plus extras. Also I was able to find original Battlestar Galactica series so I am lucky owner of that series too. Glen A. Larson was great with his brilliant ideas.
Thank you I really did like this count down and yes you should do lots more of them. I loved that show and watched every week on the TV in Australia man this count down brought back a lot of really cool memories thank you again Loved it
Thanks for the upload. Your videos are a great source of info for all the Knight Rider enthusiasts and lovers for sure. I would forward this video to my nephews who live in Tustin and would be very happy to go and have a look at KITT which is on display in Marconi Museum in Tustin California as they live in Tustin. Cheers for you.
Watching the show and these videos is going back to my teenage years. The same four years the show was in production are the same years I was in high school. I would watch the show with my mom and uncle. The night "Knight of the Juggernaut" premiered, I was building a KITT model. In the early 90s I would watch the show again. And again now. My 11year old son really likes the show too.
I was a huge fan of the show Growing Up as a kid in the 80s. I even had the toy car and Michael Knight action figure where you push down on the license plate in the back and K.I.T.T. said a couple phrases from the show. Memory serves, that car was close to 10 to 12 inches long(?) and the Michael Knight figure was pretty big and it still fit inside the car, of course I could be mistaken as I was a kid and smaller back then so of course the car in action figure looked bigger to me.
Well I thoroughly enjoyed this!!! Fun fact, my profile image is a 1:18 Hot Wheels built K.I.T.T which sits in my family room (among other Knight Rider and Back to the Future paraphenalia) The photo of the K.I.T.T model was taken in my back yard. I used photoshop to add the glowing scanner light ;-)
No better voice could have been used than William Daniels! His voice really carried the emotions that K.I.T.T. Portrayed. Anything to add as a video on that if not already covered?
That would have been scary to think about, our pal as a Datsun??? I saw pictures of the train wreck before, it's funny one of the cars looked like it tangled with the Juggernaut!!!🤠 I couldn't help myself and had to rewatch this, the "Prototype" from BJ and the Bear has a dash from Battlestar Galactica's Recon Viper 1 AKA Cora😎
I found this video interesting. Please make more like it. I've loved Knight Rider ever since it originally aired on NBC. I have seen it in syndication as well in the years afterwards, but I don't recall ever seeing a 1/2-hour version of any episodes. I didn't know they did that.
I Love this!!!! Im so glad I found this. I was a huge fan and it drove my grand parents nuts lol. My grandmother used to buy me all the knight rider toys and I’d be jumping them down the stairs and she’d flip lol.
More countdowns. Also, top 10 things you “didn’t notice the difference” of the cars or truck and trailer - inside and out. Was the inside of the trailer ever changed? I think it was? Maybe? Ran some thoughts… thanks!
Lol... My notification sound is the kitt scanning sound, and has been for about a decade. When that sound played around 2:45, i was going through my phone to figure out which app was giving me notifications, cause i didn't see them. Then i remembered which video i was watching
Did I miss it? I thought you were going to tell us which car survived. from the train wreck, and being crushed... You said it wasn't a Kitt, but thats all... Well unless I miss something.
