Season 1, Episode 8
Date of airing: November 19, 1982 (NBC)
Nielsen ratings information: 14.58 million Households, 17.5 rating/28 share in Households
Written by: Steven E. de Souza
Directed by: Paul Stanley
”I do not wish to go back to the slammer!”
Peter Cullen as the voice of K.A.R.R. was just a delight. The way he spoke in sophisticated English and still made it sound menacing was both terrifying and hilarious at the same time. It made K.A.R.R. an interesting villain for his first appearance in the franchise: a fish-out-of-water car that was accidentally programmed to be evil, but still had the mind of a child who didn't know what certain words meant. If K.A.R.R. had stuck with the two idiot goons a little longer, maybe he would have picked up some more of their villainous slang, and then he would have been the most hilarious character of 1980s television. He already had me cracking up sometimes during this episode, making this hour extremely fun to watch.
What a shame though that the premise of Michael and K.I.T.T. being confused for K.A.R.R. was finished so quickly. I wouldn't have minded at all an act or two with Michael on the run because of K.A.R.R.'s crime spree, having to prove his innocence first before going on the hunt for the evil car. But I guess it was cheaper to just get more screentime to the two drunken goons and have them battle it out first (“I was watching you deactivate the Rev. Was he malfunctioning?” is probably the funniest line of the show so far) before the ultimate car-on-car chase. The “K.I.T.T. confused for K.A.R.R." plot could have been used for the show's first two-part episode, but it looks like series creator and showrunner Glen A. Larson wasn't interested in a continued story. But what a big missed chance it is to turn K.A.R.R. into a bigger villain...
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| Two alcohol-loving idiots could never handle an artificial intelligence out for revenge. |
