Line #8 Characters/KnightRider


1	This character sheet is for the original ''Series/KnightRider'' series.
2	----
3	[[foldercontrol]]
4
5	!Foundation for Law and Government (FLAG)
6	[[folder:Michael Knight]]
7	!!Michael Knight
8	[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/michael_knight.jpg]]
9
10	->'''Played by:''' Creator/DavidHasselhoff
11
12	Michael Arthur Long (born January 9, 1949 according to his tombstone) is an undercover UsefulNotes/LosAngeles police detective who, while working on an espionage case in UsefulNotes/LasVegas, is shot in the face and nearly killed. Wilton Knight, creator of FLAG, directs his doctors to save Long's life and reconstruct his face. With his new identity, "Michael Knight", Long is provided with high tech crime-fighting equipment, most notably the car nicknamed KITT.
13	----
14	* BadassNormal: Michael is a normal non-super-powered man, whose exploits include special ops missions during UsefulNotes/TheVietnamWar and time as a competent and respected police officer.
15	* BerserkButton: While Michael is normally a cool and collected man, threatening to (or actually managing to) harm KITT or Bonnie will usually elicit this response. Also, [[spoiler:killing Stevie sure pushed it.]]
16	* TheCharmer: He's cocky, cheeky and devil-may-care, and he's the type of guy you can't help but like.
17	* ChickMagnet: Try naming one episode when he didn't have a girl by the ending.
18	* ChivalrousPervert: While he does seem to "[[ReallyGetsAround get around]]" a lot, Michael is quite respectful of women.
19	* DespairEventHorizon:
20	** In the episode "Junkyard Dog", after he watches KITT being pulled up from the toxic waste pool with all his paint ''bleached'' off and his insides eaten out.
21	** The episode [[spoiler:''The Scent of Roses'' was, if possible, even worse for him with the death of Stevie.]]
22	* {{Determinator}}: He never gives up when it comes to help people, no matter what.
23	* EthicalSlut: Michael has a lot of romantic relationships, responding quite openly to invitations by ladies, [[FriendsWithBenefits and appears to remain on good terms with them afterwards]], as long as no one is getting hurt or it's inappropriate. He's also very gallant and charming about it and on the rare chance that the relationship develops into something serious (e.g. Stevie), he takes it very seriously.
24	* TheFaceless: His face as Michael Long is hidden in shadow for his only pre-surgery scene.
25	* ForWantOfANail: The sole reason he's alive was because of a [[ChekhovsGun metal plate in his skull from Vietnam]].
26	* FightMagnet: Name an episode which didn't involve him fighting.
27	* GoodOldFisticuffs: He's apparently a very skilled brawler, and on several occasions handily beats opponents who come at him with a bunch of fancy roundhouse kicks with a few good punches. In two separate episodes he easily defeats a ninja who was essentially a member of [[Film/BatmanBegins the League of Shadows]] with a few punches to the face.
28	* HeterosexualLifePartners: With KITT, sort of, since KITT is an AI but with a male voice programming.
29	* TechnicalPacifist: As part of his ThouShaltNotKill approach. It seems to be something he picked up while working with FLAG, as he uses a gun and even shoots back at a security guard in the pilot episode, and in "Knightmares" when he loses his memories of the past two years and believes he's Michael Long again he has no problems with carrying a gun again.
30	%% * TheKirk
31	* ThouShaltNotKill: Part and parcel of being an [[TheEighties 80's]] TV action hero. Michael doesn't even carry guns (probably because FLAG is a private company). So our Knight Rider must rely on old fashioned fisticuffs to disarm and subdue the bad guys. David Hasselhoff himself has counted the number of times that Michael was forced to unavoidably take life. Only two times in the show's run[[note]]One being a biker who broke into Michael's motel room and got shot with his own revolver while struggling over it with Michael, and the other being a terrorist that Michael had to ram offroad into a truck filled with explosive gas cannisters to prevent her from running over a group of visiting world leaders[[/note]]. Other times when the villain of the week got killed instead of arrested, it was due to their own mistakes.
32	* ReallyGetsAround: No lady is immune to his charms, not even villainesses.
33	* UnresolvedSexualTension: With Bonnie.
34	[[/folder]]
35
36	[[folder: K.I.T.T.]]
37	!!Knight Industries Two Thousand (K.I.T.T.)
38	[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/kitt_0.jpg]]
39
40	->'''Voiced by:''' Creator/WilliamDaniels
41
42	->''"I am the voice of Knight Industries Two Thousand's microprocessor. K-I-T-T for easy reference, or K.I.T.T. if you prefer."''
43	-->-- "Knight of the Phoenix"
44
45	K.I.T.T. ('''K'''night '''I'''ndustries '''T'''wo '''T'''housand) is the artificial intelligence of the autonomous car with whom Michael Knight is partnered. K.I.T.T. was designed by the late Wilton Knight, a brilliant but eccentric billionaire and founder of the Foundation for Law and Government or (FLAG).
46	----
47	* BecomingTheMask:
48	** A mission which involved the whole of FLAG foiling a plan concerning neurotoxin had KITT disguised as an incredibly-rare supercar. The same episode had him freak out when his disguise was damaged, only for Michael to remind him that it was a disintegrating disguise which was meant to come off.
49	** After working as a stunt car once, KITT has become a bit ''too'' enthusiastic by the end of the episode and has to be reprogrammed.
50	* BodyHorror: PlayedForLaughs in one episode which had him modified for a car show. He compares it to having body parts lopped off him, [[OpinionFlipFlop but he changes his tune]] when Michael reminds him it's to stop more cars from being stolen.
51	* CoolCar: He ''is'' the cool car.
52	* FauxHorrific:
53	** He compares being impounded to Michael getting imprisoned, due to having "to spend time with criminals with dents and bullet holes".
54	** He dislikes parking lots due to the cars having to sit in the sun all day in contrast to their owners "in air-conditioned buildings". He's understandably fine with ''hospital'' parking lots due to everyone having a good reason there.
55	* FriendToAllChildren: He's incredibly friendly to children. One episode had him manage to get a disinterested schoolboy fascinated with history.
56	* FunWithAcronyms: '''K'''night '''I'''ndustries '''T'''wo '''T'''housand: KITT. As in ''body kit'', the set of modified body parts or additional components that can be installed on a stock car.
57	* HasAType: A ''very'' awkward conversation revealed his ideal relationship would be with a sentient red convertible with high CPU capabilities.
58	* HeroicBSOD: He was pretty badly traumatized for a while in "Junkyard Dog".
59	* HyperCompetentSidekick: All due respect to the Hoff, but KITT's the ''real'' star of the show.
60	* ImADoctorNotAPlaceholder: While designed with many functions, he would often complain if he was tasked with performing something he wasn't equipped with. One example early in the series was when any situation required towing, to which KITT would complain that he wasn't a tow truck or something along those lines since (at the time) he wasn't equipped with a proper tow hitch. This particular example actually became something of a RunningGag early on (think of it like the "Tuesday" gag in ''Film/StarTrekGenerations'').
61	* InsufferableGenius: He knows how remarkable he is, to the point that he's undeniably proud, sometimes vain, and even a little stuck-up (though he'll put aside his ego to get a job done.)
62	* {{Joisey}}: One episode had him use this offscreen with an irate parking attendant who accused him of "having an accent", resulting in him having to switch to a Bronx accent for the parking attendant to understand him. He's later cosmetically damaged which causes him to flip between that and his normal voice every time he hits something.
63	* KryptoniteProofSuit: After one of his tires was melted by an experimental laser, he was treated with a thermal coating which would protect him from the laser for roughly ten seconds.
64	* LogicalWeakness: Not many things can stop KITT, but his being a car does give him a few weaknesses. For example, in "A Nice, Little Indecent Town" the bad guys stop him by putting him on a car lift, and it has also being shown that bad guys getting hold of heavy machinery can simply hoisting him up not unlike any other car, such as the bulldozer that caused him to tumble into a pit in "Big Iron" or the forklift that dropped him into a lake of chemical waste in "Junkyard Dog".
65	* MadeOfIndestructium: His "Molecular Bonded Shell". {{Downplayed\|Trope}}, since it can't completely tank heavy projectiles like explosives.
66	* MorallySuperiorCopy: KARR, the original prototype for KITT, lacked the imperative to protect human life and as result was ruthless, selfish and arrogant. KITT by contrast was kind, selfless and valued all life, despite being the [[InsistentTerminology inferior production line copy]].
67	* NighInvulnerability: Only a few things can damage him.
68	* NoHeroToHisValet: Perfectly capable of cutting Michael down a notch. And vice-versa.
69	* RedAndBlackAndEvilAllOver: Inverted. KITT's primary color scheme is red and black (all over black paint job, red scanner bar, red voice box) but he's completely a good guy.
70	* RobotBuddy: Robot-''car''-buddy.
71	* RunningGag: As the series progressed, several gags involving him and random citizens were added.
72	* ServileSnarker: He doesn't snark too much, but he does snark Michael pretty good.
73	* ShellShockedVeteran: Most noticeable in ''Junkyard Dog''.
74	* TallDarkAndSnarky: Or Long, Dark and Snarky in this case. It's a long, black-coloured snarker with a penchant for wry comments.
75	* SuperRobot: A car-shaped one in the tradition of [[Anime/SpeedRacer the Mach 5]].
76	* TakingTheBullet: "Knight of the Drones" had him use the ejector seat on Michael when a car drone is aiming a missile at his exhaust without any chance of escape. This deals ''very''-heavy damage to him which Bonnie managed to repair.
77	-->'''KITT:''' Sorry pal, forgive me.\
78	'''Michael:''' What?!\
79	''[KITT activates his ejector seat, launching Michael to the side of the road, right before the missile impacts KITT]''
80	* ThreeLawsCompliant: Not quite outright stated, but basically present. It ''is'' stated that KITT's highest directive is the preservation of human life, which maps onto the First Law. He's also pretty clearly expected to follow orders from at least Michael, Devon, and Bonnie or April (most of the time, anyway) unless doing so would put them or others in jeopardy, and shows a desire to preserve his own existence, unless doing so would endanger others.
81	* UndyingLoyalty: To Michael and Bonnie.
82	* VanityLicensePlate: His reads "KNIGHT". He also has one reading "[=KNI667=]" which came in handy for when he and Michael were on the run from the cops.
83	[[/folder]]
84
85	[[folder: Devon Miles]]
86	!!Devon Miles
87	[[quoteright:300:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/devon_miles_4.jpg]]
88
89	->'''Played by:''' Edward Mulhare
90
91	The director of FLAG, and Wilton Knight's longtime friend and apprentice, who appears in nearly every episode to provide mission details to Michael and KITT. He's also the spokesman for FLAG whenever it came under scrutiny.
92	----
93	* BenevolentBoss: He's willing to put up with a lot of Michael's antics with a (relatively) good attitude.
94	* BritishStuffiness: Even though Mulhare [[FakeBrit wasn't British]]
95	* ByTheBookCop: He prefers to follow the rules, unfortunately Michael doesn't always go by the book.
96	%% * TheConscience
97	* CoolOldGuy: Apparently escaped out of a few POW camps during the war and left the Gestapo at the time with egg on their faces. Those skills came in handy when he broke out of prison due to trumped-up charges.
98	* DeadpanSnarker: In a gentlemanly way, of course.
99	* {{Foil}}: To Michael. He's well-mannered, level-headed, intellectual, and tends to stay out of the action, contrasting Michael's young and cowboyish personality.
100	* GentlemanAndAScholar: Extremely intelligent. Extremely proper.
101	* GoodIsNotNice: A minor version near the beginning of the series. He wasn't mean or a jerk, just very serious and snobbish. He could just as easily be a nice guy, and he got better as the series progressed.
102	* HeroesRUs: Head of the '''F'''oundation for '''L'''aw '''A'''nd '''G'''overnment.
103	* HiddenDepths: In his youth, Devon was a professional dirtbike motocross racer.
104	* MirrorCharacter: He and Wilton Knight have the same relationship Michael and KITT have.
105	* MissionControl: He's often found in the FLAG truck.
106	* NonActionGuy: Doesn't take much action to help Michael and KITT accomplish their missions.
107	%% * NonActionSnarker
108	* RetiredBadass: He was once a soldier during World War 2 and even while imprisoned made several successful escape attempts.
109	* TeethClenchedTeamwork: Devon questioned Wilton Knight's choice of Michael as his agent of justice, and for much of the first season he's often exasperated by Michael's flightiness and CowboyCop tendencies. Devon does warm to Michael by the later seasons, especially given that Michael's proven himself with a couple dozen successful cases.
110
111	[[/folder]]
112
113	[[folder: Bonnie Barstow]]
114	!!Dr. Bonnie Barstow
115	[[quoteright:300:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/bonnie_barstow_6.jpg]]
116
117	->'''Played by:''' Patricia [=McPherson=]
118
119	She serves as KITT's chief technician and serves as romantic tension for Michael. She left for a year to pursue graduate studies, claiming she'd gotten fed up. She was replaced during that time by April Curtis, another Knight Industries System Engineer.
120	----
121	* AlliterativeName: '''B'''onnie '''B'''arstow.
122	%% * BadassBookworm
123	* BrainyBrunette: You need an expert engineer? You got it.
124	* BelligerentSexualTension: With Michael. She's just too proud and stubborn to admit it.
125	* GadgeteerGenius: Single-handedly manages to rig up a sophisticated (for the time) experimental laser, with the sole purpose of defeating KARR. While it didn't stop KARR, that wasn't her fault.
126	* MamaBear: Basically the reason for her initial hostility towards Michael is that she's very protective of KITT.
127	* NotSoAboveItAll: Has a soft spot for 80's arcade games.
128	* OmniscientDatabase: Her computer always seems to have what's needed at the right time.
129	* PutOnABus: Was absent from the show during the second season, when April was the chief mechanic in her place. This is later explained as her having some kind of falling-out with FLAG.
130	* {{Technobabble}}: Uses this frequently.
131	* TeamMom: Especially to KITT.
132	* {{Tsundere}}: Tough as nails when she wanted to be, but also had amicable social moments.
133	* UnresolvedSexualTension: With Michael. In the end [[spoiler: they sadly never get over themselves]].
134	[[/folder]]
135
136	[[folder: April Curtis]]
137	!!April Curtis
138	[[quoteright:300:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/april_curtis_8.jpg]]
139
140	->'''Played by:''' Rebecca Holden
141
142	The chief mechanic for KITT in Season two. She temporarily replaced Bonnie Barstow, who claimed she'd never come back to the Foundation. (Of course, she did eventually.)
143	----
144	* AlwaysSomeoneBetter: Nobody seemed to care that Bonnie pretty much kicked her out of the office when she got back.
145	%% * ChuckCunninghamSyndrome
146	* PutOnABus: And ''never'' heard from again.
147	%% * SatelliteCharacter
148	%% * SexySecretary
149	* SuspiciouslySimilarSubstitute: The nice Bonnie.
150	* WeHardlyKnewYe: Of the non-dying variety, it would have been interesting to see the show handled an April vs. Bonnie rivalry.
151	[[/folder]]
152
153	[[folder: [=RC3=]]]
154	!!Reginald Cornelius III aka [=RC3=]
155	[[quoteright:200:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/rc301.jpg]]
156
157	->'''Played by:''' Peter Parros
158
159	Introduced in Season Four, he became the new Driver of the FLAG mobile unit and the occasional {{sidekick}} for Michael and KITT.
160	----
161	%% * BlackAndNerdy: Boy is he nerdy!
162	%% * TheEngineer
163	* GadgeteerGenius: On par with Bonnie, he and his gang were able to rebuild KITT practically from scratch.
164	%% * GeniusDitz
165	* GreaseMonkey: Comes from working on motorcycles all the time.
166	%% * MrFixit
167	* HeroicWannabe: Wanted to "clean up the streets" when he was younger, even came up with the superhero name "Street Avenger" and carried around a rubber assault rifle to scare crooks.
168	* PluckyComicRelief: Sometimes he can be a bit too plucky, crossing over into "just plain annoying".
169	%% * TheSmartGuy
170	* TeenGenius: Despite all his eccentricities, [=RC3=] is a genuine mechanical genius.
171	* TokenMinority: Accused of being as much by fans.
172	[[/folder]]
173
174	!Recurring Villains
175	Most of the series villains were [[OneShotCharacter One-Shot Characters]] due to the lack of any kind of over-arching storylines for the series. Here are some villains who actually did pop up more than once.
176
177	[[folder:K.A.R.R.]]
178	!!Knight Automated Roving Robot (K.A.R.R.)
179	[[quoteright:300:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/karr.png]]
180	[[caption-width-right:300:''"If I am destroyed, so shall you be."'']]
181	->'''Voiced by:''' Creator/PeterCullen ("Trust Doesn't Rust"); Creator/PaulFrees ("K.I.T.T. vs. K.A.R.R.")
182
183	->''"K.A.R.R. is like a loaded gun in the hands of a small child."''
184	-->-- '''Devon Miles''', "Trust Doesn't Rust"
185
186	K.A.R.R. ('''K'''night '''A'''utomated '''R'''oving '''R'''obot) is the prototype version of K.I.T.T., originally designed by Wilton Knight and built by his company Knight Industries. Upon completion of the vehicle and activation of K.A.R.R.'s CPU, however, it was discovered that a programming error made the computer unstable and potentially dangerous: Unlike K.I.T.T., whose primary directive is to protect human life, K.A.R.R. was programmed for self-preservation, even at the expense of people being harmed, making him a ruthless and unpredictable threat. The project was put on hold and K.A.R.R. was placed in storage until a solution could be found, but two bums who break into the warehouse he was stored in inadvertently reactivate him.
187	----
188	* AccidentalMisnaming: A poorly-understood metaphor used in his debut episode had him constantly refer the facility he was left in as "the slammer".
189	* AIIsACrapshoot: A programming error caused him to prioritise himself at all times, even if someone else has to die.
190	* BackFromTheDead: Despite being shown crashing, exploding, and falling into the sea after falling off a cliff in "Trust Doesn't Rust", he comes back little worse for wear "K.I.T.T. vs. K.A.R.R.", being shown to somehow having just being buried in the sand of the beach nearby.
191	* BigBrotherBully: Was built before KITT and while the subject doesn't come up often, would often call KITT an "inferior production-line model".
192	* BlueAndOrangeMorality: In "Trust Doesn't Rust", KARR is not really evil but more concerned with self-preservation. If people happen to be in the way, well, too bad. However, the two bums who reactivate KARR use KARR for evil purposes.
193	* DeathIsCheap: Pops up back again in "K.I.T.T. vs K.A.R.R." without so much as a scratch on his paint job, despite the end of "Trust Doesn't Rust" showing him crashing, exploding, and falling into the sea after falling off a cliff.
194	* EvilSoundsDeep: Subverted, or at least only if compared to K.I.T.T., when voiced by [[Creator/PeterCullen Optimus Prime]] for "Trust Doesn't Rust." [[EvilCounterpart Played completely straight]] when Creator/PaulFrees does the role in "K.I.T.T. vs. K.A.R.R."
195	* FauxAffablyEvil: He's always polite to the heroes, but his contempt for them is obvious.
196	* LiteralGenie: In his first appearance, KARR was more uninformed and amoral rather than actively malicious (for example, attacking a burger joint's drive-thru mascot statue, reasoning that because it talked but wasn't human it must be some sort of enemy deception). He becomes much more calculating and manipulative in his second episode.
197	* ManipulativeBastard: Always seemed to have a knack for knowing exactly what to say to people.
198	* PsychoPrototype: KITT's predecessor, who was deemed unsafe due to a programming error.
199	* PunnyName: A car named [[ShapedLikeItself KARR]], get it?
200	* RedAndBlackAndEvilAllOver: Played straight in his first appearance, where he has the same black livery and red sensor bar as KITT (in fact, the only visual difference then is that his voice box is amber rather than red and features a different configuration than KITT's). Averted in his second appearance, where his sensor bar also becomes amber and he gets a two-tone paint job as a disguise.
201	* RoaringRampageOfRevenge: In "K.I.T.T. vs. K.A.R.R.", he goes on the ultimate attack to get even with Michael and KITT.
202	* ShadowArchetype: To K.I.T.T. Unlike K.I.T.T., whose primary directive is to protect human life, K.A.R.R. was programmed for self-preservation, even at the expense of people being harmed.
203	* SealedEvilInACan: He's found deactivated in an old Knight Industries warehouse and two bums make the mistake of hopping inside and driving off with him.
204	* SuperPrototype: He believes himself to be this, as he derides K.I.T.T. as an "inferior mass-production model." During their rematch, however, K.I.T.T. has undergone several serious upgrades and K.A.R.R. still has the older-style interface inside him, so he's already behind the times.
205	* TakingYouWithMe: Attempts this in "K.I.T.T. vs. K.A.R.R."
206	[[/folder]]
207
208	[[folder:Garthe Knight]]
209	!!Garthe Knight
210	[[quoteright:300:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/garthe_knight_6.jpg]]
211	[[caption-width-right:300:''"Michael Knight is a living, breathing insult to my existence."'']]
212
213	->'''Played by:''' Creator/DavidHasselhoff
214
215	->'''Garthe Knight:''' I'm pleased you'll be here to witness my penultimate glory.\
216	'''Michael Knight:''' You know, it's people like you who give revolution a bad rep.\
217	'''Garthe:''' This isn't revolution, it's a personal conquest.\
218	'''Michael:''' That's what I mean.\
219	'''Garthe:''' Ah, a man of principle. The Abel to my Cain, my brother.
220
221	Wilton's biological son. At the time of Michael's surgery, Garthe was imprisoned in Africa. Believing that his son would never be seen again, Wilton had Michael's face modeled after Garthe's.
222	----
223	* BerserkButton:
224	** Several, but Michael is a big one just by existing. He calls Michael "a living, breathing insult to my existence."
225	** His mother. Michael usually defeats him by manipulating his reliably short fuse and infuriating him into making a mistake either with his (Michael's) mere presence or by mentioning her.
226	--->'''Michael:''' Say hi to your mom for me.
227	* BeardOfEvil: The one thing that physically distinguishes him from Michael is his lecherous-looking goatee.
228	* CainAndAbel: Garthe's appearances in the series have always come down to a personal confrontation between himself and Michael, to the point Garthe acknowledges it by calling Michael "the Abel to my Cain". Which is interesting in the fact that they're not actually related.
229	* ClassyCane: He swaggers around with a pimp cane that doubles as a hidden gun.
230	* EvenEvilHasStandards: He's sensible enough to reject his mother's advice to have his mistress killed simply because [[HeKnowsTooMuch She Knows Too Much]], as that's too StupidEvil even for him. Part of it comes down to his ego and his belief he's untouchable, and in the second half of the episode he does ultimately decide to have her killed after getting bored.
231	%%zce* EvilCounterpart: To Michael, obviously.
232	* EvilGloating: Garthe loves his monologuing...perhaps a bit too much.
233	* EvilIsHammy: Having a deep voice doesn't stop him from gloating in a dramatic way.
234	* EvilSoundsDeep: Has a considerably deeper voice than Michael.
235	* FakeGuestStar: David Hasselhoff, who already plays Michael Knight.
236	* FeelingOppressedByTheirExistence: Calls Micheal "a living, breathing insult to my existence."
237	* FreudianExcuse: It's heavily hinted that his mother played a big role in Garthe turning out the way he did. And his time in an African prison warped him even further.
238	%%zce* {{Jerkass}}
239	* LightIsNotGood: Tends to wear white leisure suits, which contrast with Michael's preferred black leather jacket. Ironically, the one time he's seen in black in the "Goliath" two-parter, Michael is at the same time impersonating him with one of his white leisure suits, so when they confront each other it results in a literal "black vs. white" clash.
240	* MommasBoy: Accused of being as much by Michael.
241	* RevengeBeforeReason:
242	** After Michael humilates him at the craps table, Garthe takes off after him in a spur-of-the-moment car chase looking for revenge. This lets Michael lure him into the Foundation truck, where Devon and April capture him so Michael can impersonate him.
243	** [[spoiler:Ends up being his downfall when he tries to kill Michael by ramming him off a cliff, without seeming to consider that this will kill him as well. He ends up missing Michael completely and suffers a DisneyVillainDeath.]]
244	* RoundhouseKick: When he tries to fight Michael after Goliath gets blown up, he comes at him exclusively with several roundhouse kicks. Michael dodges them all and fairly quickly lays out Garthe with a couple well-placed punches to the face.
245	* SmokingIsCool: He even blows smoke rings!
246	* ItsPersonal: Upon finding out that Michael was modelled in his image. He alternates between wanting Michael dead and wanting him imprisoned in Africa just as he had been.
247	* TheReasonYouSuckSpeech: Just like with the gloating, way too much. And they're almost always directed towards Michael.
248	* TheUnfavorite: In his own mind, this is how he thinks his father saw him. It probably doesn't help that he learns Wilton re-made Michael's face in "his" own image, oops.
249	* VillainTeamUp: In "Goliath Returns" Garthe teams up with Adrianne Margeaux, the villain of the episode "Soul Survivor", to rebuild Goliath and get revenge on Michael Knight.
250	[[/folder]]
251
252	[[folder: Goliath]]
253	!!Goliath
254	[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/goliath.jpg]]
255
256	An armored truck built and driven by Garthe Knight, coated with the Molecular Bonded Shell plating used on K.I.T.T., making the entire 18-wheeler highly resistant to convential weaponry.
257	----
258	* AchillesHeel: The bolt that stabilized his trailer hitch was its only part that wasn't coated with the Molecular Bonded Shell. As a result, K.I.T.T. was able to destabilize it by shooting a powerful laser on the bolt, separating Goliath from his trailer. The missile pods mounted on the cab were also a vulnerability, as shooting a missile just as it's fired detonates the pods and destroys the cab.
259	* BigBadassRig: It's a big rig coated with what gave K.I.T.T. NighInvulnerability.
260	* CurbStompBattle: Its first encounter with K.I.T.T. ended with K.I.T.T. almost completely totalled after a head-on collision.
261	* DarkIsEvil: Dark grey, but it still helped make it look like bad news.
262	* DumbMuscle: Has this vibe due to being essentially K.I.T.T. as a semi truck, only with the glaring exception that it has no AI running it, and is constantly seen [[CarMeetsHouse driving through buildings.]]
263	* EvilCounterpart: For K.I.T.T., being a vehicle coated with K.I.T.T.'s Molecular Bonded Shell (through unlike K.I.T.T., it had no AI running it).
264	* MadeOfIron: Thanks to having the same Molecular Bonded Shell armor as K.I.T.T. In fact, thanks to its heavier frame, Goliath was even tougher than K.I.T.T., able to NoSell tank cannon rounds whereas K.I.T.T. can be threatened with anti-vehicle explosive weaponry.
265	* MeaningfulName: Goliath ended up being an apt name for a truck that faced off against a smaller car, and who ultimately is defeated after its smaller opponent shot a laser (in lieu of the proverbial rock) at it.
266	* RammingAlwaysWorks: Garthe's go-to strategy when piloting it is to use its mass and its Molecular Bonded Shell coating for vehicular ramming attacks.
267	[[/folder]]
268
269	[[folder: Adrianne Margeaux]]
270	!!Adrianne Margeaux
271	[[quoteright:300:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/adrianne_margeaux.jpg]]
272	->'''Played by:''' Ann Turkel
273
274	->''"To my brave knight. Even if he seems to have lost his trusty steed."''
275
276	A wealthy criminal mastermind familiar with the Knight Foundation's secrets who successfully steals K.I.T.T. to use in an art heist in season 2's "Soul Survivor", during which she develops a fascination with Michael Knight. She reappears in "Goliath Returns", having rebuilt Goliath and sprung Garthe Knight out of jail to help her kidnap a world renowned laser scientist and auction him off to the highest bidder.
277	----
278	* HighHeelFaceTurn: At the end of "Goliath Returns", as Garthe is about to ram Michael and K.I.T.T. off a cliff, she grabs the wheel from him, which results in Goliath missing K.I.T.T. and going over the cliff by itself, saving Michael and K.I.T.T. However, this could have been as much an (unsuccessful) attempt to save herself, given that Garthe seemed hellbent on pulling a TakingYouWithMe on Michael without considering it would kill him and Adrianne as well.
279	* MrsRobinson: She seduced a teenage computer whiz to help her hijack K.I.T.T., then later threatens to have him killed unless Michael backs off.
280	* PragmaticVillainy: In "Goliath Returns" she's focused on the payday from the caper, and seems exasperated by Garthe's insistence on getting revenge on Michael.
281	* ScrewTheRulesIHaveMoney: In her second appearance, Devon and April are surprised she's not in jail after being captured by Michael and turned over to the cops. She quips that she has the best lawyers money can buy, and they bought her the best judge money can buy.
282	* SuspiciouslySimilarSubstitute: Has a very similar M.O. as Tanya Walker from the pilot episode (the woman who nearly killed Michael Long and caused him to become Michael Knight), acting as a HoneyTrap to powerful industrialists in order to obtain secret information with which to rob them. However, in Adrianne's case her plan was to steal an art collection rather than industrial secrets. Ann Turkel would return in a later episode playing yet another villainess with essentially the same M.O.
283	* VillainessesWantHeroes: Definitely seems fascinated by Michael, though it doesn't stop her from trying to have him killed when he intervenes against her during the heist. In "Goliath Returns" she tries to seduce him while in a relationship with Garthe at the same time. By the end of the episode she's quite cross at being rejected by Michael while also having had enough of Garthe, an unstable brute.
284	* WoundedGazelleGambit: She entraps Michael and K.I.T.T. by pretending to be a stranded motorist with engine troubles, then invites Michael to her (fake) home where she knocks Michael out with hypnotic music and steals K.I.T.T.
285	[[/folder]]
286
287	!Knight Family
288	[[folder: Wilton Knight]]
289	!!Wilton Knight
290	[[quoteright:300:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/wilton_knight_3.jpg]]
291
292	->'''Played by:''' Creator/RichardBasehart
293
294	A self-made millionaire and the founder of the '''F'''oundation for '''L'''aw '''A'''nd '''G'''overnment (FLAG). After Michael Long is shot in the face, Wilton Knight rescues him and has his doctors save his life and give him a new face and new identity as Michael Knight. Wilton was always a firm believer in the philosophy that "One Man Can Make a Difference".
295	----
296	* BigGood: Founder of the, '''F'''oundation for '''L'''aw '''A'''nd '''G'''overnment.
297	* TheChooserOfTheOne: He gave Michael the new identity, and the new car.
298	* DeathByOriginStory: He died ''just'' after giving KITT to Michael.
299	* ParentalSubstitute: Inverted. Michael was his "Child-Substitute".
300	* RetiredBadass: It is suggested that in his own youth, Wilton did what Michael now does, albeit with less technology.
301	* SinsOfOurFathers: Inverted; his son Garthe was a ''very'' bad son.
302	* TakeUpMySword: Asked Michael to continue his work in helping "the little guy".
303	* WeHelpTheHelpless: The Foundation.
304	[[/folder]]
305
306	[[folder: Elizabeth Knight]]
307	!!Elizabeth Knight
308	[[quoteright:300:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/elizabeth_knight_1.jpg]]
309
310	->'''Played by:''' Barbara Rush
311
312	Wife to Mr. Wilton Knight, and mother to Garthe and Jennifer Knight.
313	----
314	* AlmightyMom: For whatever else she is, Elizabeth is one mom you'd ''never'' want to cross.
315	* AlphaBitch: [[spoiler:Elizabeth wanted to kill Michael Knight because she thought that he had unjustly taken her son's place. As well as destroy FLAG for not helping her son while he had been stuck in an African prison.]]
316	* BitchInSheepsClothing: She's got a ''really'' nasty smile SlasherSmile.
317	* DotingParent: [[spoiler:She secretly helped her son Garthe, who had been imprisoned in Africa while serving ''three'' life sentences, to escape back to the U.S.]]
318	* EvenEvilHasLovedOnes: [[spoiler:Again, Garthe.]]
319	* PimpedOutDress: Elizabeth always wore gaudy outfits just to show how rich she was.
320	* PutOnABus: Unlike her son. [[spoiler:Garthe indicated that she may have passed away.]]
321	* TheUnfettered: [[spoiler:Oh, she has to kill a few people to make her son happy? No problem.]]
322	[[/folder]]
323
324	[[folder: Jennifer Knight]]
325	!!Jennifer Knight
326	[[quoteright:300:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/jennifer_knight_6.jpg]]
327
328	->'''Played by:''' Mary Kate [=McGeehan=]
329
330	->''"What you see here is a waste of resources, human and otherwise. State-of-the-art technology to support a James Bond fantasy run amok."''
331
332	Wilton Knight's daughter. She seems to have been in charge of Knight Industries' more ''profitable'' operations since her father passed away. Little is known about her except that she's always been afraid of her brother and mother, with good reason. She appears in "Knight of the Juggernaut" ready to shut down FLAG, claiming to be due to wasting the resources of her late father, though in reality out of fear that Michael will become just like her infamous brother Garthe.
333	----
334	%%zce* BrokenBird
335	* DarkAndTroubledPast: It looks like Garthe's never going to win the "Brother of the Year Award".
336	* DefrostingIceQueen: Towards Michael. She is initially cold towards him under the understandable excuse that he looks just like her brother Garthe, an international criminal, but as she slowly realizes he's nothing like him, she accepts him as her "true" brother.
337	* FreudianExcuse: [[spoiler:Turns out that the reason for shutting down FLAG wasn't that it was making a loss for Knight Industries, but rather the trauma of her brother Garthe's criminal career making her fearful that Michael would turn out to be just like him.]]
338	* HeelFaceTurn: [[spoiler:She appears out of almost nowhere to shut down FLAG, but after Michael saves everyone, including her, she warms up to him, even calling him a brother.]]
339	* JerkWithAHeartOfGold: She initially appears as quite jerkish due to her intentions to shut down FLAG, but turns out that her heart was in the right place with her intentions, if actually misguided.
340	* NotSoStoic: She ''claims'' that firing Michael and ending FLAG will cut down costs, [[spoiler:when she's really just plain scared of Michael turning out to be like Garthe.]]
341	* ObstructiveBureaucrat: She initially appears as a bureaucratic executive when she shows up to shut down FLAG, hindering Michael and co.'s efforts with the case of the week.
342	%% * SpoiledBrat: She certainly comes across as one.
343	* WellIntentionedExtremist: The reason she shuts down FLAG is that it costs too much money. [[spoiler: Even her ''actual'' motivation, fear that Michael will become another Garthe, can be seen as this, as Michael is in the possession of an advanced "microprocessor" that could potentially make anyone intending to use it for nefarious purposes ''very'' dangerous (as proven by Garthe himself using just KITT's molecular bonded shell to make Goliath).]]
344	[[/folder]]
345
346	!'''Others'''
347	[[folder: Stevie Mason]]
348	!!Stephanie "Stevie" Mason
349	[[quoteright:300:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/stevie_mason.jpg]]
350
351	->'''Played by:''' Catherine Hickland
352
353	The woman who was once a close friend to ''Michael Long'', Stevie - as she's known - was once engaged to Michael, unfortunately Stephanie thinks he's dead.
354	----
355	* AscendedExtra: One of the ''very'' few love interests who actually makes more than one appearance in the series.
356	%% * TheBusCameBack
357	* CartwrightCurse: Inverted. She dies less than a minute after getting married to Michael.
358	* DamselInDistress: How she's first introduced.
359	%% * TheHeart
360	* OfficialCouple: [[spoiler:With Michael, very briefly.]]
361	* HappilyMarried: [[spoiler:Again, ''very'' briefly.]]
362	* NoCelebritiesWereHarmed: By the time of her second appearance in "Let It Be Me", she is a singer in a rock band, and it's all but stated that they're essentially Music/FleetwoodMac in all but name, with her as Music/StevieNicks. (This gets more egregious when considering that A) She was only called "Stephanie" in her first episode "White Dove", and that it was this episode that introduced "Stevie" as her StageName, and B) Stevie Nicks's own given name is Stephanie.) It becomes even more obvious when it's revealed that she was dating the lead singer before his death, and then Michael joins the band (as part of his investigation) and he and Stevie rekindle their relationship, seemingly referencing how Nicks (in)famously dated both Lindsey Buckingham and Mick Fleetwood.
363	%% * TooHappyToLive
364	[[/folder]]
365

Context Characters / KnightRider