Running on TV screens across the world for a total of 90 episodes and four seasons, Knight Rider was a mega hit between 1982 and 1986 and it launched the actor who played the lead role to stardom and made David Hasselhoff the household name he is today.
By modern standards the show pretty much sucks, don’t get me wrong, I love it, but just like the original Battlestar Galactica, the A-Team, the Six Million Dollar Man, Charlie’s Angels and Buck Rogers if you want to enjoy them today it is mandatory that you insert your tongue firmly in your cheek and just roll with it. All of these super successful shows from the past are very much a product of their time and have not really weathered all too well, I mean do you think if Miami Vice got rereleased today that kids across the country would think that it was totally bad a$$?… didn’t think so.
This type of aging and its corresponding erosion of coolness is all part of the natural course of things and I don’t believe that it really diminishes the legacy of a franchise at all. Like I said, I sit here at my laptop today typing this post as an enduring fan of the Knight Rider show and love it just as it is and wouldn’t want to see a single piece of it changed in anyway (yes, not even the god awful parts of which there are many).
OK, enough of the reminiscing time to get cracking on the toy part of this post. Believe it or not a new Knight Rider product just dropped and is hitting stores right now as we speak. Yep, thirty years after first gracing the airwaves Michael Knight is back in full effect. I am so excited that it’s not even funny.
Check this out.
Put out by Art Asylum and released as a Diamond Previews exclusive it is a Minimates version of KITT and Mr. Knight. More specifically it is the Super Pursuit Mode K.I.T.T. Knight Industries Two Thousand with Michael Knight… now that is a mouthful.
I love these sets that they have been producing over the past couple of years. You may recall that I reviewed some previous releases of vehicles from Battlestar Galactica, Back to the Future and the Terminator before (click here to refresh your memory).
As with all Minimates the figures are just 2″ tall and believe it or not they are surprisingly posable in spite of their diminutive stature. I love how they are able to capture the near perfect likeness of David Hasselhoff with so few lines on his face. Top that off with the rockin’ eighties hair and wow! It’s too bad they skimped on the chest hair though 
The car is right around 6″ in length and can easily accommodate the figure.
These super deformed style vehicles are just so awesome and I can’t wait to see a Ghostbusters Ecto1 or even an A-Team van… the thought is just tantalizing!
You can grab this latest set for under $20 and it is well worth it. Look at it this way, you will not only get this cool combo but you will also encourage the manufacturer to put out more waves of different characters and vehicles. I for one can’t wait.
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I’m not a huge fan of the MiniMates, but Kitt looks sweet.
I enjoy the fact that it is KITT with Michael Knight and not the other way around.
I don’t know though, does KITT have an ejector seat? That might be a deal breaker if I can’t launch Michael out of the sun roof.
So, Knight Rider gets 90 episodes and Firefly gets 14…
…Why does the universe continue to mock me?
Sorry Mat, but KITT had loads more personality than Serenity & the Hoff is sexier than Nathan Fillion.
Here’s my favorite scene from the series with the final battle between KITT & the evil KARR. Watch about 4 minutes in when KARR screams “No!”. Priceless.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dCY1pmBxg90
Garth, so I understand you correctly, you are saying that you find BOTH David Hasselhoff AND Nathan Fillion sexually attractive, but you find David Hasselhoff MORE sexually attractive than Nathan Fillion. Got it.
Hey, I may be straight but I’m not blind. I can spot a sexy guy.
Although Jason Statham is even sexier than those two.