By the time this second Knight Rider Annual was being written the team had had more of a chance to become acquainted with the series and it shows. Don’t get me wrong, the previous book was a fun read with some simply beautiful David Lloyd artwork and writer Steve Moore had nailed the early characterisations of both Michael Knight and K.I.T.T. from the pilot movie. However, this year the stories definitely benefited from the broadcast of more episodes. K.I.T.T.’s capabilities have also been expanded and Michael feels more rounded.
Released in the summer of 1984 for that festive season, this annual is set during the second season of the show. In the UK, where programmes would normally begin airing about six months after the US back in the 80s, Knight Rider had proven to be such a phenomenal success for ITV that they broke with that tradition, moving straight on to season two the week after season one finished. So Steve and David had a wealth of episodes to work from and as a result there’s a different feel to this book. Let’s begin and I’ll show you what I mean.
This year’s origins feature focuses on Wilton Knight, the millionaire philanthropist who created Knight Industries and its F.L.A.G. (Foundation for Law and Government) division, who saved Michael from certain death before passing away himself in the pilot movie. Wilton was played so memorably by Richard Basehart (Moby Dick, Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea, La Strada) his commanding vocals were heard every week in the opening credits. The feature tracks his history back to World War 2 and the origins of that famous “criminals who operate above the law” line.
It’s also the first time it’s confirmed that it was cancer that killed him, though it was implied in the pilot movie. Apart from continuing to misspell Devon Miles’ name as ‘Deven’ this is a flawless introduction to the show and with all of the extra information it’s something fans should hunt out the book for. After Devon’s immigration into the US we find out there were flaws with how F.L.A.G. operated at the beginning. Remaining inside the same rules the criminals flouted was leading nowhere, so from the late 1970s research into a new project began, which would eventually lead to K.I.T.T.
It’s a brilliant start and benefits from extra research into the background of the series’ story. So it’s weird that the first strip, Beware of Imitations, is a rip off of a very popular story from the TV show. In the programme, K.A.R.R. was the prototype for K.I.T.T. However, while K.I.T.T.’s primary directive was the preservation of human life, K.A.R.R.’s was self-preservation (originally thought to be the best way to protect the driver). Here, we’ve got another ‘twin’ for the supercar. There’s a wonderfully atmospheric first page but then it boils down to a new female version of K.I.T.T. being prepared in record time, completely contradicting the introductory feature on the previous pages.
There are mentions made of the shortcuts taken and the fact only the nose of the car is armoured, but seeing it turbo boost etc. makes it seem like K.I.T.T. (and by extension K.A.R.R.) isn’t all that special after all. It’s not even all that fun, other than the solution to stopping the car is K.I.T.T. landing a turbo boost on top of it! Beautiful artwork from David Lloyd again though, with loads of fast action and big, impactful panels of destruction at the hands (tyres?) of the female car.
The first prose story is called Games People Play and involves industrial espionage in the video game industry, something else we’d have seen in the series by this point. However the episode in question, Nobody Does It Better, wouldn’t have aired when this was written so it’s more of a coincidence. Also, back in 1984 the video game explosion was in full force and it was a subject ripe for this hi-tech TV show.
The mission seems simple enough to begin with. Michael needs to protect Dr. Lesley Kelly, a gaming company’s lead engineer until she can complete the first build of their next hit title after some failed kidnap attempts. Michael is instantly attracted to Dr. Kelly but Lesley makes it crystal clear the feeling isn’t reciprocated, but she warms to K.I.T.T., speaking to him on a level footing and adding an enjoyable character dynamic between the three of them.
There are lots of little clues for the reader to pick up on before the big reveal of what’s really going on. It’s just a shame the person behind it all is revealed to be awfully similar to that of the aforementioned episode, an unfortunate coincidence in this case because viewers will see the shock ending coming a mile off. This doesn’t make it any less enjoyable though, with Michael resorting to stealthy tactics to protect someone who doesn’t want his protection, K.I.T.T. delivering some killer lines and it all comes to a climax below a frozen lake! It’s a scene the series simply wouldn’t have had the budget to handle properly and is exactly the kind of story these books are perfect for.
Back in the 1980s we had to rely on magazines to keep us abreast of the latest news about our TV shows or to find out more about our favourite celebrities. One such title was Look-In, the ‘Junior TV Times‘ mentioned in the previous Knight Rider Annual review. Alongside the weekly strip there’d be occasional interviews and features about the show, as well as full-page photographs of its stars, automotive and otherwise, which this second annual has in abundance. That’s right, cue some very 80s pin-ups.
Other such pages include photos of Rebecca Holden (who played K.I.T.T.’s Cyber Technician April Curtis in season two) on a cross trainer in her living room and Michael Knight himself David Hasselhoff in his running gear. Clearly the team behind the annual believed the teen audience wouldn’t appreciate some photos of the superb Edward Mulhare and leaving out K.I.T.T. seems criminal! It feels like the book is trying to appeal both to the readers keen for action stories as well as those who’d buy Look-In for the attractive celebrities inside.
While I wouldn’t have had any interest in cutting these out, this shift in focus from the first annual does bring something else Look-In was great at. In here are two brilliant interviews with none other than The Hoff and Rebecca themselves. Quite the scoop. In A Knight and His Damsel David talks about his relationship with fiancée Catherine Hickland who played Stephanie Mason, the fiancé to Michael Long before he died and was reborn with a new life and identity. She’d appear in a trilogy of episodes across the four seasons, including the episode that would act as the finale. As such it’s strange her guest role isn’t mentioned at all here.
But what is here is fascinating, telling the story of David’s rise to stardom, the tragic loss of his agent, how he and Catherine met and how she kept his feet firmly planted on the ground, especially when Knight Rider took off. There are even some funny anecdotes about Catherine’s reactions to the times David would do some of his own stunts, such as high speed driving or even hanging from a helicopter. Just as an aside, the couple married at the end of season two, their wedding day reproduced for that final episode in season four. They then divorced a few years later and in 1992 Catherine went on to marry an actor by the name of Michael E. Knight!
Anyway, back to the book.
“Cathy gets mad when [female fans] approach me in the street and I can’t blame her. These women tell me they think I’m gorgeous or something like that and invite me home… right in front of her. I tell them that Cathy is my fiancée but it doesn’t put them off.”
David Hasselhoff
This next feature was a very pleasant surprise. I’ve bought quite a few Knight Rider books in my time, mostly fan-written and while some of them are great they’re usually quite light on depth, offering up nuggets of information episode-by-episode gleaned from obviously much longer interviews. I long for a book with plenty of in-depth discussions with the writers, cast and crew which doesn’t feel the need to break it down like that. So you can imagine my joy when I came across five garishly coloured pink pages and a proper, lengthy interview with Rebecca Holden.
Despite having the ever-so-80s and cringeworthy subtitle of ‘The Beauty With Brains’ it’s a great read covering Rebecca’s past, her family life and her career. She talks at length about what it was like to work on Knight Rider, especially coming on to an already established show and replacing a popular character. Most interestingly, or perhaps frustratingly for fans of April, we find out some plans the producers had for the character in later years, but of course this was her only season, with Bonnie returning in season three.
It’s clear Rebecca was incredibly proud of the character she portrayed and was looking forward to developing April more, emphasising how rare it was for a strong female character to feature as a regular in a series like this at the time. Certainly, the show explored April’s character more in one year than in all three seasons with Bonnie and while the latter will forever be a fan favourite, I’ve a soft spot for April. I think that has a lot to do with Rebecca herself and her ability to switch naturally between the technical, the dramatic and genuinely funny moments in an instant.
Talking about what the fans wanted, as I touched upon last year it’s hard to describe to those raised in a world of the internet just how exciting it was for us to see photos of K.I.T.T. It was a huge selling point for any magazines which featured him, such was the pull of the show and of this car. If you didn’t have a VCR you’d see the show once a week and that was it, so you relied on books and magazines to get your fix. I remember at some point during the four years Knight Rider was on we got our first VCR and a year or so later for Christmas Santa Claus brought me my very own 3-hour blank VHS cassette. I was so excited! It meant I could now record and rewatch Michael and K.I.T.T. over and over and over again.
All this made features based around him even more exciting, even if he only got three pages to himself this year. What we do get is a fun little look into how his personality changed over the first and second seasons, a more accurate representation of his capabilities and limitations compared to the previous annual, as well as the physical gadgets of the car in which he resides (such as Turbo Boost etc). Although, it’s a bit of a stretch to say he “is also self-repairing, and rarely has to go into one of F.L.A.G.’s garages for servicing”. While this sounds more in line with the 2008 sequel series, it’s actually a reference to his ability to self-diagnose, a highly advanced feature of high-level computers at the time.
Back to the fiction and prose story Bandit Queen is another standout. The fictional Central American Republic of Havamala has been at war for a while now, the government and guerrillas pretty evenly matched and neither side making headway. The once beautiful country has been devastated by battles and Melanie Black, the ‘Bandit Queen’ has used this as the perfect cover. Originally pretending to be on the side of the guerrillas, they disowned her after discovering she’s wanted in the US for armed robbery, murder and terrorist offences. With no hope of official extraction in the middle of a war, Michael and K.I.T.T. find themselves crossing into this dangerous land to find Black and bring her back to America for trial.
Straight away the dialogue between our two heroes is perfect. The way they speak to each other matches the rhythms of the series in such a way I could hear David’s and William Daniels‘ voices as I read it. The journey to Black’s compound is equal parts action and lovely descriptive moments of the tragedy of war as Michael sees the potential in the country and its people destroyed by the fighting. It’s a surprisingly mature outlook on the consequences of war and completely fitting for the character of Michael. He’s a Vietnam vet and clearly recognises this scenario.
The second Knight Rider Annual is a perfect example of the genre and offers depth and interest beyond what you’d probably expect
So, under the cover of night, and with Black’s compound shrouded in darkness with no lights to give away its position to enemy aircraft, we’ve the perfect set up for this unique partnership to strut their stuff. Using K.I.T.T.’s sensors to sneak up on the gate, Michael disabling the guards while K.I.T.T. disables the electronic alarms, scanning for their target, deducing possible routes through the buildings, analysing their tactics together, it all feels just right. It’d make a hell of a great episode too, especially when, just like the best TV stories, it doesn’t go as expected.
A last minute upset means the carefully worked out plan is thrown out and they have to act by the seat of their pants, or the treads of their tyres. It’s great fun and rockets towards the end without sacrificing any of the earlier depth or characterisation. By contrast the final strip, Crime-Buster K.I.T.T. is a fun little distraction, even if it is another idea taken direct from the television, as two criminals con their way past Michael to steal his car.
We can’t say this is a coincidence this time because right back in the pilot movie Jackson and Browne (hilariously played by Michael D. Roberts and Bert Rosario) tried a few times to steal the shiny new Pontiac Trans Am and eventually succeeded. What K.I.T.T. put them through, and how he got rid of them in the end by driving to a police station and literally ejecting them into the hands of the law, is exactly what happens here, albeit with different characters. This similarity makes the strip rather forgettable, it would’ve been better as a fun reenactment of a favourite scene for younger viewers. But hey, any excuse to get such lovely David Lloyd artwork is fine by me.
The second Knight Rider Annual is a great book for fans and curiosity seekers of 80s retro goodies. This is a perfect example of the genre of 80s TV tie-ins and offers depth and interest beyond what you’d probably expect. It feels like a proper progression of what came before, despite the lack of K.I.T.T.-based features, but we did get plenty of them last year. What will the rest of the series contain? As Knight Rider is my favourite thing in the universe I can’t wait to find out, and you’ll find out right along with me during Christmas 2024.
Don’t forget there’s also a special interview with David Lloyd already up on the blog, in which he reminisces about working on these first two books and shared some of his original design sketches.
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