Michael and K.I.T.T. have a dangerous mission, to guard a mysterious and volatile new isotope, "Cernium", that was inadvertently created in a Foundation laboratory.
Feared international terrorist Nordstrom plans to steal the isotope during its transportation and layover in Chicago. He intercepts Michael with "The Juggernaut", a specially designed mobile battering ram, which smashes into K.I.T.T., completely destroying him.
Separated from the Knight Foundation, Michael enlists some new friends to re-build a better K.I.T.T. and retrieve the missing isotope.
Phillip Nordstrom: ........ John Considine
Jennifer Knight: .......... Mary Kate McGeehan
Hower: .................... Nicholas Worth
Dr. Von Furst: ............ Mary Woronov
Lloyd: .................... Laurence Haddon
Marta Simmons: ............ Pamela Susan Shoop
Frank: .................... Richard Fullerton
Potts: .................... Blair Underwood
Cabbie: ................... Joe Shea
Ardell: ................... Michael Dickson
Technician: ............... Robert Kim
Messenger: ................ Tom Noga
Receptionist: ............. Sandy Maschmeyer
Head Butler: .............. R. Chandler Garrison
Voice # 2: ................ Luis Contreras
Voice # 1: ................ RCB
Gang Member: .............. V.C. Dupree
Pamela Susan Shoop on the making of this episode: "David Hasselhoff is a very hard worker and has a great sense of humor. It was absolutely amazing to see the streets of Chicago lined with fans who had come to watch us shoot -- just to get a glimpse of him. David was able to take a talking car and create a relationship with it that fans adored! (No small feat!)
"I'll never forget working with Edward Mulhare. As a child, I'd watched him in The Ghost & Mrs. Muir, and who didn't fall in love with that salty sea captain! He was one of those elegant, sophisticated gentlemen who happened to know his profession inside and out."
Like Michael (in GOLIATH), Devon also gains his own evil twin in this episode -- the villainous Elliott, who's face is changed thanks to laser reconstructive surgery. This story takes its cue from the classic Prisoner of Zenda.
The F.L.A.G. Board of Director's ultimatum to Michael: "No more notoriety, no more stunts, no more car chases, no more James Bond fantasies."
Jennifer Knight's anti-F.L.A.G. videotape is made up of scenes from KNIGHTMARES, A GOOD KNIGHT'S WORK, LOST KNIGHT, and K.I.T.T.'s jump through a train from A KNIGHT IN SHINING ARMOR. Interestingly, Jennifer's cut shows K.I.T.T. crashing through the train, but in the episode he passed safely through an empty boxcar.
Jennifer also bears a dislike for Michael because of his resemblance to her late brother Garthe (who appeared in the episodes Goliath and GOLIATH RETURNS). She believes that Michael -- like Garthe -- is "hooked on action to the point of inventing it if it doesn't exist."
Pamela Susan Shoop previously appeared in the very first Knight Rider adventure, KNIGHT OF THE PHOENIX. Other actors who had previously appeared in the show include John Considine (KNIGHT IN DISGRACE) and Nicholas Worth (KNIGHT OF THE CHAMELEON). Blair Underwood screentested for the role of RC3, and went on to co-star on L.A. Law.
SCRIPT TO SCREEN:
K.I.T.T.'s first transformation into Super Pursuit Mode is described as follows: "An Air Dam slides down on K.I.T.T.'s front end. The rear fin converts to a new aerodynamic shape as the rear end lifts up to expose two jet exhausts...Side vents slide outward. An air intake vent pops up from the hood. The Super Pursuit Mode transformation complete, we see a whole new K.I.T.T. -- sleeker, meaner, a car out of the future dropped into today."
Early drafts had Marta rescuing Michael and the already-destroyed K.I.T.T. by pretending to shoot him in front of Hower. The sequence in which Hower's goons attack Michael and K.I.T.T. on a freeway offramp was originally set inside a tunnel, with a dump truck blocking the exit.
Brief cuts include Michael and Devon discussing the board meeting -- Devon has faith that Jennifer won't shut down the Foundation because she's a Knight; Nordstrom telling Elliott to clip his consonants; more of Michael and Marta at the cafe; and Michael confusing the Street Avenger with Batman.
* Nitpicks contain spoilers
LaSalle St., Chicago River
433 S. Spring St., Los Angeles, CA 90013
Stagg St., Van Nuys, CA 91406
3rd & Santa Fe, Los Angeles
Jennifer Knight's Estate:
2425 S. Western Ave, Los Angeles, CA 90018
Whiteman Airport, 12653 Osborne Street, Pacoima, CA 91331
Universal Studios Backlot:
New York Street
Old Electric Warehouse
1742 N. Edgemont St., Los Angeles, CA 90027
We Don't Need Another Hero
- Tina Turner
1983 Ford Econoline
1985 Buick Electra
International Harvester Loadstar
1978 Checker Marathon
International Harvester Fleetstar
1968 Chevrolet Impala Convertible
Auto Window Left
Comprehensive Configuration Analysis
Emergency Braking System (x3)
Passive Laser Restraint System
Super Pursuit Mode (x3)
System Condition Readout
System - Protect
Tracking Radar System
Turbo Boost (x2)