Season 1, Episode 7
Date of airing: November 12, 1982 (NBC)
Nielsen ratings information: 12.83 million Households, 15.4 rating/25 share in Households
Written by: Judy Burns
Directed by: Bernard L. Kowalski
”If you'll allow me to continue, I will attempt to describe most of the qualities and capabilities of this truly unique vehicle.”
“You only got 40 minutes.”
“I'll try to squeeze it all in.”
Not that Michael or K.I.T.T. were very secretive about their work and mission before, but I find it just a little bit questionable that a stranger, a civilian, would get to learn absolutely everything about the experimental car and what makes it tick. As if intellectual property weren't a thing the characters in this show needed to worry about. If I were K.I.T.T.'s pilot, I would go into the missions with some secrecy about who I work for and what I work with. But not Michael, he and K.I.T.T. are just boasting about who they are and what they do.
Edward Mulhare was essentially the lead actor of this episode, showcasing that even KNIGHT RIDER, a show that always has a little too much of David Hasselhoff and the Trans-Am, can spare some of that screentime and give it to one of the other characters who have only been supporting players. I loved that Devon was the main character here, that he was in peril, that his life was essentially in danger, and I loved that he had some ingenuity himself to get himself out of a pickle. Yes, he may have been saved by Michael in the end, but I was sure that Devon would have made it on his own eventually. The farm he was hiding at was too big for one or two police vehicles to properly search for him, so Devon had ample chances to sneak out of there unseen.
Not to mention that the entire plot was about corrupt judges, sheriffs, and cops. It's always great to see the hero characters smash those types of villains into pieces, because we all love corrupt cops getting read their rights before being thrown into prison. Although I was a bit disappointed that the death of the investigative journalist was such a minor plot point. No one seemed to care that a journalist was murdered by the police force. Sounds very American...
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| Devon does not like the taste of corrupted justice in his mouth. |
