Episode: Season 1, Episode 1
Title: The Knight Of The Phoenix
Previous: (none)
Next: Deadly Maneuvers
Recapper: Scooter007
Police Officer Michael Long is in the midst of a sting operation, hoping to catch a band of corporate spies before they rip off an electronics CEO. In this he is aided by the CEO's "trophy" girlfriend Tanya Walker. As the gang make with their industrial espionage, Long and Tanya follow them, ready to catch them red-handed. But oh noes, it turns out Tanya is one of them! She shoots Long in the face, and they leave him for dead in the middle of nowhere.
Long is saved by two things:
- He has a metal plate in his skull, a "souvenir" from the Vietnam War, which keeps the bullet from piercing his brain, though unfortunately the bullet does ricochet back out and takes his face with it;
- Agents in the employ of eccentric billionaire Wilton Knight find Long shortly after he is shot, and take him back to Knight's estate for medical treatment.
Said treatment mostly involves fixing Long's face — not restoring it, mind you, but giving him a whole new face, along with a new identity and a new mission in life. (We learn later that his new face is based upon Wilton's prodigal son Garthe). This mission involves chasing after criminal operations which operate "above the law" (whatever that means). Turns out Wilton's people finding Michael dying in the desert was not mere happenstance; Wilton has been planning this for a very long time, and has had his eye on Michael Long for quite a while as the ideal candidate.
Michael, however, is having none of that, thank you; all he wants is revenge on Tanya for betraying him. Wilton (who, incidentally, is close to death) doesn't force the issue, but Michael does promise the old man on his death bed to hunt down Tanya for him (it's stated that Wilton has also been the victim of corporate espionage, and the novelization implies that Tanya and her gang were responsible). Wilton's chief agent Devon Miles supplies Michael with a high-tech supercar, loaded with gadgets and computerized equipment — and indestructible, to boot. Oh, and it talks too. Much to Michael's annoyance.
Now re-christened Michael Knight, the former cop and his new partner-as-a-car (called KITT, for "Knight Industries Two Thousand") follow a lead out to Silicon Valley to root out Tanya and her gang. His first attempt at this, by flirting and chatting up a bar waitress, backfires when it turns out she has a... less-than-pleasant history with Tanya (she and her husband both worked at the high-tech company that Tanya is now espionaging; the husband was killed for snooping into Tanya's history, the wife fired) but he is quickly able to win her trust by stating that he's here to put Tanya out of business for good.
Michael draws Tanya out by entering his brand-new supercar into a demolition derby sponsored by her company — which, by using KITT's super-gadgets, Michael wins easily — and pretending to be interested in selling the car and its secrets to her. But, smelling a rat, Tanya instead sics the other drivers from the derby on him in a Bar Brawl, resulting in his getting arrested and KITT impounded. Somehow Tanya and her cronies wind up in possession of the car and its secrets after all... but they can't do anything with it because they cannot disassemble it nor even get inside. Nervous that someone is onto them (although not knowing who Michael is nor who he's working for), they decide to quickly finish up with their current tech-theft job and fly out of here tonight.
KITT has other ideas; he easily breaks out of the garage he's locked in, then goes and busts Michael out of jail by driving through the wall. Michael and KITT hurry back over to the tech company, anticipating Tanya's completing her theft before leaving. Michael confronts her in the act, and she manages to figure out that he is the Artist Formerly Known As Michael Long. She slips away when a security guard stumbles upon the scene and shoots Michael in the shoulder, but Michael escapes as well, although critically wounded, and he and KITT pursue Tanya's gang out to the local airfield for a final confrontation.
Tropes peculiar to this episode include:
- Attack Reflector: Physical projectiles in this episode have a nasty habit of bouncing off an impenetrable surface (usually KITT) and going straight back the way they came, often striking the attacker instead.Wilson: [right after shooting KITT from a helicopter] He hit us!
Gray: No, YOU hit us! - Bar Brawl: serves a number of purposes:
- It allows for petty revenge for the ComTron goons whom Michael beat in the demolition derby;
- It gets Michael arrested, so that Tanya and Wilson can use his fingerprints to try and trace his identity;
- It gets Michael arrested, so that he is out of the way of their espionage while still being available when they're ready to bump him off;
- It gets the car impounded, so that they can relieve the police of it and (attempt to) learn its secrets.
- Barrier-Busting Blow: KITT does this to get Michael out of jail. He also does it to a semi trailer blocking the road.
- Berserk Button: Do not mention Tanya Walker's name within earshot of Maggie. Especially if she's got a beer handy.
- Black Dude Dies First: Michael's police partner, Muncie, is killed by Tanya's gang in the first scene.
- But Now I Must Go: Too bad; the little boy was hoping for one more ride in the car. Michael does promise to visit, of course.
- Car Fu: KITT manages to win a demolition derby outright by being sturdier than everything else competing.
- The Chooser of the One: As stated in the recap, Wilton Knight has had Michael Long in mind as the perfect candidate for this operation from the very beginning; at one point Devon even tells Michael that the Knight Industries 2000 has been designed specifically for him.
- Death by Adaptation: Gray, the guy who shot Muncie, survives the episode, but in the novelization he dies when the gang's Lear jet bursts into flame. See also Spared by the Adaptation.
- Death by Origin Story:
- As mentioned, Muncie wastes no time fulfilling Black Dude Dies First.
- Wilton Knight is dead by the 20-minute mark, although for him at least it's of natural causes.
- Michael Long could also qualify. Although the man himself survives, he is declared legally dead and is given a whole new identity.
- Death Glare: Michael drops an epic one on Tanya Walker when he meets her at the demolition derby. The best part? He's holding back.
- Determinator: Even after being shot, even as KITT is begging him to go to hospital, even while bleeding out (and blacking out) in the driver's seat, Michael will not quit while he's got Tanya's gang on the ropes.
- The Dragon: Wilson, who infiltrates companies as head of security. At one point Tanya tries to throw Michael off the scent by claiming that Wilson is the leader of their gang, but Michael knows better.
- Dressing as the Enemy: Michael steals a security uniform to escape ComTron, even responding to a call to check in. Subverted instantly when the security chief notes that this is the wrong voice.
- Early-Installment Weirdness:
- After the Plucky Comic Relief hoodlums manage to steal KITT (however temporarily), KITT rags Michael out for leaving the keys in the ignition; later episodes show that KITT employs a fully electronic, keyless ignition system.
- Michael Knight (that's Knight, not Long) uses a gun. The series would eventually establish the character as a Technical Pacifist.
- Explain, Explain... Oh, Crap!: Devon when he realises what a demolition derby is and that Michael has entered KITT into one, initially sounding jovial until it dawns upon him.
- Fun with Acronyms: KITT, as called out in the recap. FLAG (the Foundation for Law And Government) isn't mentioned here but turns up later.
- Genre Savvy: Zigzagged with Tanya. She is suspicious of Michael Knight from the start; later, when they determine that he has come to ComTron looking for them after busting out of jail, her Dragon states that he couldn't have gotten into the building past security, with Tanya saying "You want to bet your life on that?" On the other hand, right after saying this, she goes back inside to complete her espionage and leaves her gun unattended on a desktop <Face Palm>, and later she tries to shoot Michael through a bulletproof window.
- The Heavy: Gray. The novelization makes it explicit that he is the group's designated hit man, and he's the one who kills Muncie.
- Hint Dropping: A rather dark example. When holding Tanya at gunpoint at the start of the climax, Michael suggests he should just shoot her right there: "It's not a starry night in Nevada, but it will hurt just as much." This hint is enough to clue Tanya in that she's facing down Michael Long.
- Informed Ability: Wilson is stated to have control over the local police department, through ComTron security. The only actual on-screen evidence of this is Wilson's ability to get KITT out of impound and into ComTron's hands; by way of contrast, when he goes to get Michael out of jail (so he can kill him), he has to forge a court order. On the other hand, when he tries to shoot Michael inside the jail, the Sheriff doesn't do anything to stop him.
- Irony: Played for Laughs when Maggie (the bar waitress) rams her little car into KITT in a fit of frustration... and loses a bumper for her trouble. From the novelization: "They put these things on cars to prevent damage, and mine falls off!"
- "It" Is Dehumanizing: Invoked; at one point Devon refers to KITT as "he", and Michael is quick to correct him, having not yet accepted KITT as a 'person'. "It is an 'it', not a 'he'!"
- I Work Alone: Michael, still stinging from the loss of Muncie, does not want another partner. Wilton Knight anticipated this and, again, wanted Michael specifically for the job primarily due to his loner streak.Devon: Oh, is it "we" now? Two days ago you practically ran over my foot to be on your own!
- Jaw Drop: Michael drops one when Devon, demonstrating KITT's armor, smacks the car with a hammer, without leaving so much as a smudge. Lampshaded by Devon: "Well, don't just stand there with your mouth open, get in!"
- Laser-Guided Karma: In the end, Tanya tries to shoot Michael through KITT's bulletproof window, with predictable results. In the novelization, the ricochet tears her face off.
- Law Enforcement, Inc.:
- The Foundation for Law And Government is basically a privatized version of the FBI.
- The ComTron security force, headed by Tanya's lackies Wilson and Gray, appears able to operate as a bona fide police force, evidenced by their ability to engage in high-speed chases on city streets using sirens and flashing lights. It's also stated that they control the actual constabulary, though this is something of an Informed Ability.
- Look Behind You: Michael pulls this on a security guard. The guard is not fooled; on the other hand, he wasn't counting on a self-driving car.
- Name-Tron: The Silicon Valley company Tanya's gang is infiltrating when Michael catches up with them is called ComTron.
- One-Man Army: Downplayed, but Wilton Knight was a firm believer in the mantra "One man can make a difference." Well, one man and an indestructible supercar, at any rate.
- Plucky Comic Relief: Two hoodlums try to steal KITT whenever Michael steps away. First, they try to break in with a brick (with predictable results); later they actually succeed in stealing the car when Michael leaves the door wide open, but KITT gives them what for and dumps them onto the nearest police car.
- Punch-Clock Villain: One of the ComTron goons involved in the Bar Brawl ends up in a cell next to Michael's; they make nice in short order.
- Revenge:
- Michael's primary motivation for going after Tanya, even ostensibly on behalf of Wilton Knight, is because she shot him in the face. Which, to be fair, would be quite off-putting.
- Tanya has the ComTron derby drivers pick a fight with Michael in a Bar Brawl, partly for this reason.
- Same Language Dub: Larry Anderson plays Michael Long in the episode's prologue, with David Hasselhoff looping all his lines.
- Schmuck Bait / What Does This Button Do?: When Buddy stows away in KITT during the demolition race, Michael tells him not to touch any buttons. No points for guessing what happens next.
- A possible one when Michael gets Tanya not to fire, likely know she'll do just that and end up shooting herself.
- Secret Identity: Michael's new face prevents Tanya and her gang from recognizing him; later, Tanya deduces who he is via Hint Dropping.
- Shipper on Deck: In-Universe; Maggie's housekeeper Luce and son Buddy just automatically assume that Maggie is totally going to marry this huge hunky stranger she's brought home from practically nowhere.
- Shout-Out: "What is all this [dashboard]? It looks like Darth Vader's bathroom."
- Spared by the Adaptation: Tanya, the ringleader and she who shot Michael's face off, presumably dies at the end of the episode, but survives (barely) in the novelization. See also Death by Adaptation.
- Take That!:
- When advertising the series' debut, NBC compared KITT to the General Lee and said that KITT "can do a lot more than jump puddles." Knight Rider originally aired opposite The Dukes Of Hazzard.note
- In another dig at the competition, the pilot episode features a lot of hicks and rednecks... out in Silicon Valley, California. Most, if not all, of them are on Team Villain.
- Talking Appliance Sidekick: KITT is introduced as this, although it's actually not revealed immediately.
- Tear Your Face Off: Tanya's bullet to Michael Long has this effect, thanks to the plate in his skull. Tanya gets it back in Laser-Guided Karma.
- Title, Please!: The original airing of the two-hour pilot did not include an episode subtitle. The sobriquet "Knight Of The Phoenix" was added in reruns / syndication.
- Train Escape: A variation on Type I using semi trucks; these park across the highways and even attempt to ram KITT head-on to keep Michael away from the airstrip where the villains are making their escape. KITT has little problem evading (or even just smashing through) these obstacles.
- Villain Ball: Having already ascertained that the car is practically indestructible, Tanya goes to shoot Michael through the window. Laser-Guided Karma ensues.
