Knight Rider: The Complete Series 4K Review (Universal)

Knight Rider is a 1982 television series co-written, executive produced, and created by Glen A. Larson (Knight Rider 2008, Team Knight Rider, Battlestar Galactica franchise, Magnum P.I., and The Fall Guy). It was directed by Winrich Kolbe (Star Trek franchise), Georg Fenady( (Terror in the Wax Museum), Sidney Hayers (Night of the Eagle), Bernard L. Kowalski (Magnum P.I.), Harvey S. Laidman (Matlock), Jeffrey Hayden (The Incredible Hulk), Bernard McEveety (Gunsmoke), and many others. It was executive produced by Robert Foster (Kate McShane, Chicago Story, Code of Vengeance, Dead Bang, and The New Maverick). It was followed by Knight Rider 2000, Knight Rider 2010, Team Knight Rider, and Knight Rider 2008. Undercover cop Michael Long is fatally wounded and he barely survives it. He is given a new identity and face from a wealthy unknown benefactor. It’s time to ride shotgun with mysterious hero now known as Michael Knight (played by: David Hasselhoff from Baywatch, Starcrash, Witchery, Knight Rider 2000, Dodgeball, Click, Anaconda 3: Offspring, and Nick Fury: Agent of Shield) and the most dangerous car on four wheels K.I.T.T. (voiced by: William Daniels from Boy Meets World, The Graduate, Reds, Blind Date, Blades of Glory, and St. Elsewhere), as they track down some of the worst criminals around. Will they be able to pull it off every time when the odds are stacked against this team???? Knight Rider was one of my favorite 80’s television shows from back in the day. I loved it’s ambitious concept and origin story. It was definitely something different at the time so it really stood out. There’s been some legendary vehicles over the years for both TV and movies but K.I.T.T. is in a league of his own. This supercar was a great sidekick and help to the Michael Knight character. This is the iconic role from television veteran and German popstar David Hasselhoff. He was perfectly cast as the unknown crime fighter with no past. He had to battle a variety of colorful villains during it’s run. It’s one of his better performances in his entire career. Character actor William Daniels provides the classic voice for the legendary K.I.T.T. in Knight Rider. It’s wild that he did this uncredited for all these episodes and the follow up television movie for the action packed franchise. The rest of the cast included Edward Mulhare (Knight Rider 2000), Richard Basehart (Moby Dick), Patricia McPherson (MacGyver), Rebecca Holden (General Hospital), Peter Parros (As the World Turns), Robert Englund (A Nightmare on Elm Street franchise), Geena Davis (The Fly), Jason Bateman (Ozark), David Hess (The Last House on the Left), John Vernon (Killer Klowns from Outer Space), Nicholas Worth (Darkman), Ken Foree (Dawn of the Dead), Dick Durock (Swamp Thing), Stuart Whitman (Night of the Lepus), P.J. Soles (Halloween), Clu Gulager (The Return of the Living Dead), Robert Sampson (Re-Animator), Andre Gower (The Monster Squad), Jim Brown (Any Given Sunday), Catherine Mary Stewart (Night of the Comet), William Smith (Maniac Cop), Cameron Mitchell (The Toolbox Murders), Mary Woronov (Death Race 2000), Brian Thompson (Cobra), Ron O’Neal (Super Fly), James Le Gros (Phantasm II), Blair Underwood (Just Cause), Vernon Wells (The Road Warrior), Robyn Lively (Teen Witch), Terry Kiser (Weekend at Bernie’s franchise), and William Sanderson (True Blood). There’s so many familiar faces that show up here for Knight Rider. This 80’s action series was so ahead of it’s time especially when it came to technology. Look at vehicles these days, it predicted the future for rides. It definitely takes the audience back to the 80’s and it completely represents it. There’s all kinds of unintentional hilarious moments that add to it’s charm. It has a little bit of everything for everyone. There’s a good mix of action, drama, comedy, science fiction, and so much more. They put some serious effort into those earlier scripts. That theme song is amazing and it’s probably going to be stuck in my head for awhile now. These few episodes that includes Knight of the Phoenix, Trust Doesn’t Rust, Goliath, Nightmares, Knight of the Drones, Halloween Knight, K.I.T.T. vs. K.A.R.R., and Knight of the Juggernaut were some my personal favorites. Knight Rider was something to turn off your brain and just enjoy. It wasn’t something to take serious for the most part. It kept itself very fun and entertaining. It still has some solid replay value to it, RECOMMENDED!!!! Let’s discuss this high definition presentation and list the special features from Universal Pictures! These 2160p (1.33:1) transfers on all episodes. Knight Rider will never be considered reference quality when it comes to television but this new set blows away the previous blu ray from Mill Creek. It’s awesome to see this 80’s action series at it’s sharpest. It has English: DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 Mono tracks for all 4 seasons on this 21 disc set. The action is all over the place for Knight Rider so it’s one of the better sounding TV shows from back in the day plus the theme sounds amazing. All of the dialogue is crystal clear, the crime solving is elevated, and the music has a nice boost to it. It has English SDH subtitles. Universal Pictures has carried over all of the archive extras unlike it’s older bare bones set. These are all upscaled standard definition. It has an “Audio Commentary” for the pilot two parter “Knight of the Phoenix” with creator Glen A. Larson and lead actor David Hasselhoff. It has the little over 6 minute “Knight Moves”. It has the almost 7 minute “Knight Sounds”. It has the almost 16 minute “Knight Rider: Uhder the Hood”. It has an “Photo Gallery” and a “Blueprints Gallery”. These are all from the first season. It has the little over 29 minute “The Great 80’s TV Flashback”. This is from the third season. It has the 1991 follow up TV movie “Knight Rider 2000” (1:34:44) directed by Alan J. Levi (Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman, JAG, Blood Song, Magnum P.I., Airwolf, The Stepford Children, Columbo franchise, Quantum Leap, and The Bionic Woman). It has a few familiar faces in the cast that includes Carmen Argenziano (Broken Arrow), Eugene Clark (Land of the Dead), Edwin Neal (The Texas Chain Saw Massacre), and Mitch Pileggi (Shocker). It’s located on season four. It has the brand new 61 minute full length documentary “Knight Rider: Behind the Wheel” on it’s own bonus disc. It’s available everywhere right now including MovieZyng.com, CHECK IT OUT!!!!