Brandon Tartikoff, youthful head of programming at NBC, once
gave California magazine this version of the creation of Knight Rider:
It seems he and one of his assistants were discussing the problems of
casting handsome leading men in the series, because many of them can’t
act. Why not have a series, he mused, called “The Man of Six words,”
which would begin with the guy getting out of a woman’s bed and saying
“Thank You.” Then he would chase down some villians and say “Freeze!”
Finally the grateful almost-vitims would thank him, and he would murmur,
“You’re welcome.” End of show. In between, the car could do the
talking. The series that made it to the air as Knight Rider was scarcley
less preposterous than that, but it was played with such a twinkle in
the eye that viewers–especillay kids–made it one of the hits of the 1982
season.
The opening episode told the story of how a dying millionaire named
Wilton Knight rescued a young undercover cop who had been shot in the
face. After plastic surgery officer Michael Long had a new face, a new
identity (Michael Knight), and a new mission in life: to fight for law
and justice in the Knight’s incredible super-car, the Knight Industries
Two Thousand–or KITT, for short. It was love at first sight between
Michael and KITT. The car, a sleek, black, customized Pontiac Trans-Am,
was impervious to attack, could cruise at 300 mph, could leap up to 50
feet through the air, and was loaded with such armaments as
flamethrowers, smoke bombs, and infrared sensing devices. Best of all,
it could talk, and in fact had a personality all its own; peevish, a bit
haughty, but totally protective of Michael. He could summon the car
when in trouble, and it would come crashing through the walls to get
him. Its deceased inventor had left behind a huge fortune to finance the
crime-fighting, and a trusted associate, the suave Devon, to look after
things. Based at a palatial estate, called somewhat grandly the
Foundation for Law and Government, Michael (and often Devon) went forth
each week, trailed by a large maintenance van that served as a sort of
mobile command post. Rounding out the crew was a beautiful mechanic,
variously Bonnie or April, and “RC3,” a streeet-wise mechanic who joined
the team in the fall of 1985.
Michael Knight and his “Buddy” K.I.T.T began their future together
fighting crime and criminals who operated “above the law”. We find that
with each episode that “One man (and his KITT) CAN make a difference”.
Our Knight in shining armor arrived to fill our hearts with hope and our
world with peace.
Nema komentara:
Objavi komentar