Team Knight Rider
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Team Knight Rider (TKR) is a syndicated television spin-off series of the Knight Rider franchise that ran between 1997 and 1998. TKR was created by Rick Copp and David A. Goodman, and based on the original series created by Glen A. Larson. Larson was also TKR's executive producer. TKR was produced and distributed by Universal Domestic Television and ran only a single season of 22 one-hour episodes before it was canceled.
The story is about a new team of high tech crime fighters assembled by the Foundation for Law and Government who follow in the tracks of the legendary Michael Knight and his supercar KITT. Instead of "one man making a difference", there are now five and each has their own computerized talking vehicle counterpart. Like the original duo, the TKR goes after notorious criminals who operate "above the law" — from spies and assassins, to terrorists and drug dealers.
Contents |
[edit] The Cast
Team Knight Rider is comprised of six members:
- Kyle Stewart a former CIA agent and leader of TKR (played by Brixton Karnes)
- Jenny Andrews, daughter of Michael Knight and a former Marine and Gulf War veteran (played by Christine Steel)
- Duke DePalma a former Chicago police officer and small time boxer (played by Duane Davis)
- Erica West former con artist and thief who was given a second chance to use her skills for law enforcement (played by Kathy Trageser)
- Kevin "Trek" Sanders a geeky yet handsome technical genius (played by Nick Wechsler) His nickname was given to him by his parents who are huge Star Trek fans.
- Jim Marland replaced Devon Miles as leader of FLAG and was responsible for the design and construction of KRO. Later, Marland stepped down and gave Stewart complete control over TKR. This fact may or may not be adheered to in the upcoming Knight Rider movie. His mindset since the KRO incident was "One man can be given too much power" and thus the 5 vehicles were created, each with their own weaknesses.
TKR takes place in 1997-1998, however it retcons Knight Rider 2000 out of existence, as Devon Miles is killed in Knight Rider 2000, and has been mentioned on more than one occasion as dead in this series as well.
[edit] The Vehicles
Team Knight Rider uses five different vehicles for their missions; each a high-tech wonder with a computer AI system like the original Knight 2000 vehicle.
- Dante - Dante is a modified Ford Expedition sport-utility vehicle driven by Kyle, but the truck has enough room to transport the entire TKR team and functions like a mobile command center. Dante's AI expresses himself in a haughty British manner and has no misgivings about making his driver and passengers feel uncomfortable. He is the ad hoc leader of the vehicles (if they'd ever listen to him) and he usually speaks on their behalf. (Dante is voiced by Tom Kane).
- Domino - Domino is a modified Ford Mustang convertible driven by Jenny. The AI's manner of course is sleek, sexy and flirtatious. She is also talkative and likes to gossip to the annoyance of the other TKR vehicles. (Domino is voiced by Nia Vardalos).
- Attack Beast - Attack Beast, or just "Beast", is a modified Ford F-150 full-sized pick up with off-road capability and is driven by Duke. Beast's AI has a stubborn and argumentative attitude that talks tough and is not afraid to stand up to a fight. His favorite tactic is to crash through walls and surprise the enemy. Beast also does not like to take orders from Duke or anyone else, but he is fiercely loyal and gets the job done. TKR member Jenny is the only one Beast will listen to, and his aggressive nature softens when she is around. (Beast is voiced by Kerrigan Mahan).
- Kat - Kat is a high-tech motorcycle that merges with her twin, Plato, to form the advanced High Pursuit Vehicle. Kat is driven by Erica and her AI has a polar opposite personality to that of her devious operator. Kat is always concerned with rules and regulations and is in constant conflict with Erica's amoral traits. She acts more like Erica's mother than her partner, but she will do whatever is necessary to get Erica out of a jam. (Kat is voiced by Andrea Beutner).
- Plato - Plato is a high-tech motorcycle that merges with his twin Kat, to form the advanced High Pursuit Vehicle. Plato is driven by Trek, and the two couldn't match each other better. Like his operator, Plato is a nerdy brainiac completely consumed by facts, figures and data. Plato likes to quote television commercials and famous movie lines and talks in sort of a code that only Trek can understand. The two have developed a strange symbiotic relationship that the other TKR members can never figure out. (Plato is voiced by comedian John Kassir).
[edit] Other Vehicles
- High Pursuit Vehicle - The motorcycles Kat and Plato can merge together to form an unusual looking 4-wheeled vehicle capable of high speeds and incredible maneuverability
- Sky One - Sky One is a massive C5 military cargo airplane with special VTOL capability. Sky One acted as TKR's mobile base and vehicle transport. (Sky One is voiced by Linda M. McCollough).
- K.R.O. - KRO (pronounced "Crow") is an acronym for Knight Reformulation One. He would have ultimately replaced KITT (however the TKR series gives no mention of the Knight Rider 2000 series where the Knight 4000 was KITT's original replacement). KRO is a modified black Ferrari GTS with a highly unstable AI. After events that led to his murdering of five people, KRO was deactivated. KRO's operator, Martin Jantzen, was equally unstable. KRO later escapes to kill his creator and FLAG is forced to destroy him. (KRO was voiced by John B. Wells).
- K.A. - short for "Knight Alpha", a prototype vehicle introduced in "Legion of Doom" for a possible European Knight Rider team being prepared for delivery to Berlin. KA is a European-made Ford Ka compact hatchback. KA only speaks German. (He is capable of many languages, but chooses to speak German in protest of the egocentric Americans.)
[edit] Episode list
- 101. Fallen Nation (10-6-97)
Debut: Five super-intelligent vehicles are driven by five highly trained operatives who take over when conventional law-enforcement agencies fail. The opener tests the loyalty of a former Marine commander embroiled in an anti-Government plot.
- 102. The Magnificent TKR (10-13-97)
Jenny leads the team south of the border to catch an outlaw who stole a device that could threaten national security.
- 103. The 'A' List (10-20-97)
Trek and Erica impersonate a whiz-kid millionaire and his girlfriend to investigate the deaths of two technology tycoons.
- 104. K.R.O. (10-27-97)
The team must intercept an evil predecessor (K.R.O.), from exacting revenge on its creator, who aborted the project after the car and its driver went out of control.
- 105. Inside Traitor (11-3-97)
Erica infiltrates a gang of financial saboteurs, but her behavior leads Kyle to think she may have worked her last day for the team.
- 106. Choctaw L-9 (11-10-97)
While on the trail of a stolen helicopter, a mishap forces the suspension of Kyle, but a mysterious voice guides him to find the aircraft.
- 107. Everything to Fear (10-17-97)
An assassin kidnaps Jenny to lure the team into escorting him to his next hit.
- 108. Sky One (11-24-97)
Terrorists led by Max Amendes seize Sky One.
- 109. The Iron Maiden (12-1-97)
The team must subdue the latest in military technology gone awry: fighting machines clad in "super suits" impervious to gunfire, lasers and human commands.
- 110. Oil and Water (12-8-97)
Exploding cars on the freeway lead the team to a sinister inventor (Andrew Steel), bent on sabotaging the automotive industry.
- 111. Et Tu Dante (1-5-98)
When a madman targets Washington, D.C. landmarks for destruction, the team suspects one of its own to be a saboteur.
- 112. The Bad Seed (1-12-98)
Duke and Trek land on an island inhabited by beautiful women, where they must stop a doctor planning to poison the world's rivers with a deadly virus.
- 113. Out of the Past (1-19-98)
When Kyle disappears in a South American jungle, the crew must deal with jewel thieves, natives and a centuries-old ray gun to rescue him from the daughter of a former double agent.
- 114. The Return of Megaman (1-26-98)
Recruiting a reluctant former member (Richard Kulhman) is the team's only chance to diffuse a satellite weapon that crashed into Earth after falling out of its orbit.
- 115. Angels in Chains (2-3-98)
Jenny is charged with treason when she is linked to some stolen files and the team must rally to prove her innocence before she spends the rest of her life in prison.
- 116. The Blonde Woman (2-10-98)
A cross-dressing assassin (Victor Bevine) tricks the team into capturing the wrong "man", and they must find the real one before he can claim another victim.
- 117. The Ixtafa Affair (2-16-98)
A leisurely vacation hike for Jenny and Trek puts them in the middle of a plot to free a Guatemalan drug lord from a mountaintop prison.
- 118. Home Away From Home (2-23-98)
The team follows a computer hacker (Sadie Kratzig) to an idyllic Midwestern town eerily remindful of the 1950s, but the KGB finds her first.
- 119. EMP (4-27-98)
When the team investigates a break-in at a military-software company, they discover that a device that can render electronic equipment useless is missing.
- 120. Apocalypse Maybe (5-4-98)
When an "earthquake machine" falls into the sinister hands of a depraved televangelist (Rod McCary) the team must stop him before he levels Las Vegas. The earthquake machine was created by Dr. Jackson Roykirk, who also invented the machine called Nomad which was in the Star Trek episode "The Changeling."
- 121. Spy Girls (5-11-98)
Kyle agrees to cooperate with another undercover agency to return a stolen microfiche to the government before a deposed dictator can use it to assemble a dangerous weapon.
- 122. Legion of Doom (5-18-98)
A mysterious presence warns the team about a showdown with their arch-enemy Mobius (David McCallum), after several of his allies break out of prison.
