40 Years Ago, Knight Rider Pulled The Most Iconic Car Stunt In TV History

Kids of the ’80s and ’90s know that the list of best TV show cars is very short. While you could debate endlessly about the merits of various awesome ’80s movie cars — the DeLorean from Back to the Future versus Ecto1 in Ghostbusters — the best TV car was pretty much a lock. The all-black 1982 Pontiac Trans-Am known as KITT, the true star of Knight Rider, remains one of the most iconic TV cars ever. And exactly forty years ago, on January 28, 1983, Michael Knight (David Hasselhoff) took KITT for a ride that everyone would remember — even if you don’t actually remember it.

In a lot of classic TV shows, certain special effects shots, or big stunt moments would get reused over, and over again. This was especially true of shows produced by Glen A. Larson, the creator of Battlestar Galactica (1978) and, yes, Knight Rider. And in Season 1, Episode 16 of Knight Rider, one car stunt debuted for the very first time, which would later be reused on the show, repeatedly. You may not remember Knight Rider, Season 1, Episode 16, “The Topaz Connection,” but one specific stunt featured in the episode was recycled often enough to burn it into your brain… read more >