Knight Of The Phoenix
Police Lieutenant Michael Long is part of a sting operation intended to bring down an industrial espionage suspect. When his partner is gunned down during the operation, Michael's thoughts turn to revenge, and he neglects to think twice about a woman who witnesses his partner's murder – until she draws a gun on him. She's part of the ring he's supposed to be reeling in. She shoots Michael in the face at point-blank range and escapes with her cohorts; the sting is a failure.
But so is her attempt to kill Michael. Thanks to a fortuitously-placed metal plate in his skull, he is able to recover with the help of extensive reconstructive surgery that leaves him with a new face. His benefactors in his recovery are a man named Devon, and an older man, the wealthy Wilton Knight; they have arranged for the man known as Michael Long to be declared officially dead, leaving a man with a new face – "Michael Knight" – and no past. Wilton Knight, a tech tycoon, believes that someone has been stealing his secrets, and enlists Michael's help. Devon introduces him to a nearly-indestructible custom car designed by Wilton Knight, the Knight Industries 2000 (or KITT for short), a Trans-Am whose outer body seems to be incapable of being scratched or dented. But it also has a built-in artificial intelligence programmed to aid Michael; it can assume complete control of the car in a pinch, and unflappably offers advice to its driver.
One trip to Silicon Valley and one death-and-dent-defying demolition derby later, Michael is investigating a company called Comptron, discovering that the people who stole Wilton Knight's secrets were the same people Michael Long's anti-espionage operation was meant to capture. These people are willing to kill; Michael, being an ex-cop, is trained to avoid killing unless necessary…which may be his undoing even with KITT and all of Knight Industries' resources behind him.
written by Glen A. Larson
directed by Daniel Haller
music by Stu Phillips
Cast: David Hasselhoff (Michael Knight), Edward Mulhare (Devon), Phyllis Davis (Tanya Walker), Pamela Susan Shoop (Maggie), Lance LeGault (Vernon Gray), Noel Conlon (William Benjamin), Michael D. Roberts (Jackson), Bert Rosario (Brown), Vince Edwards (Dr. Wesley), Richard Basehart (Wilton Knight), Edmund Gilbert (Charles Acton), Shawn Southwick (Lonnie), Brian Cutler (Bar Manager), Barret Oliver (Buddy), Robert Phillips (Symes), Alma L. Beltran (Luce), Ed Hooks (Guard), Tyler Murray (Sally), Victoria Harned (Doris), Larry Anderson (Michael Long), William Daniels (KITT), Herbert Jefferson Jr. (Muntzy)
LogBook entry by Earl Green
Knight Rider, Season 1	NBC, Season Premiere, Series Premiere
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