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[[folder: Knight Rider ]]

* The death of Wilton Knight in the "Knight of the Phoenix" pilot episode.
--> [[ArcWords "One man, can make a difference"]]
** We didn't know him well, but Muncie's death was certainly moving none the less.
* KARR in "Trust Doesn't Rust", he's not exactly pure evil (at least in his first appearance), we quickly learn about his FreudianExcuse and its [[JerkassWoobie possible to feel a little sorry for him]]. It's easy to tell he feels bitter over being deactivated, disassembled. Then left to collect dust in a museum, instead of being repaired or reprogrammed.
** Even worse for KARR, he can't help the way he is, it's how he was made. Even if he wanted to be better, his programming is standing in his way.
** By the end of "KITT vs. KARR", however, KARR's actions remove all traces of TheWoobie, leaving him nothing but a warped and twisted {{Jerkass}} to the core.
** By the end of "Trust Doesn't Rust" Michael asks KITT how it feels to be "one of a kind" again. KITT tells him it's a familiar feeling, Michael happily assumes that means KITT's happy. But if you listen closely when KITT says "[[LastOfHisKind Being one of a kind is a very familiar feeling]]", KITT almost sounds sad.
* The murder of Sonny and Lester Prince in "Give Me Liberty, Or Give Me Death". Sure the pair were a couple of stereotypical Southern yokels, but they didn't deserve getting blown up.
* In "Chariot of Gold", KITT forcibly reprogramed by Deauville and a [[MindManipulation mind controlled]] Bonnie. Poor KITT's tricked, and then brainwashed himself by the one person he trusts in the world more than Michael. The whole thing is reminiscent of [[Film/TwothousandOneASpaceOdyssey Hal's]] shutdown. Which if anything makes the scene ''worse'', as KITT is ''far'' more sympathetic.
--> '''KITT''': (''Bonnie starts pulling out KITT's components'') Bonnie. Bonnie. (''KITT's voice becomes distorted'') ''I still cannot find. I have no record of Michael's. of Michael's...'' (''KITT shuts down'')
** Bonnie's situation isn't much better. A DeletedScene from the script strongly implies that the villain intends to seduce her once his plot is carried out, and given her mental state, this could only be considered rape.
* From "White Bird", the hopeless wreck that is the life of one [[TheWoobie Stephanie Mason]]. First, she's set to take the fall for a crime she didn't commit. Then we learn she was once engaged to Michael (as in Michael "Long"), whom she thinks is now dead. Then to cap things off she's shot at, and once all's said and done. Stephanie has to go into the witness protection program.
** Michael doesn't have it any easier, sure he can protect Stevie. But he can't tell her who he really is for fear of putting her in even greater danger than she's already in at the moment.
* The murder of one [[RedShirt Sam Falker]] in "Knight Moves". Sure, he initially came off as a cut-throat businessman, but he was nice to [[NiceToTheWaiter Norma]]. And he certainly did ''not'' deserve to get blown up for his troubles.
* [[ChildrenAreInnocent Natalie Turner's]] kidnapping ([[ParentalNeglect by her own father no less]]), while her mother Nicole can only watch at the beginning of "Short Notice".
* Watching Michael and KITT getting thoroughly [[CurbStompBattle curb stomped]] by Garthe in part one of "Goliath".
** The pair are worse off in part two, with Michael in obvious need of medical attention and KITT so badly damaged he can't move and his speech is [[ElectronicSpeechImpediment slurred]].
* From "Merchants of Death", when Michael's investigation into the disappearance of Mrs. Amelia Clermont turns tragic. Devon, a former love interest takes the news as stoically as he can. Meanwhile her daughter Camela tries to put on a brave act, but quickly collapses into sobs.
* Seeing KITT helpless as he's callously played with like a child's toy once his central processor gets hacked in "Soul Survivor". He's being toyed with and he can't stop it, then he's forced to tell his tormentors everything they want to know.
** It gets even worse. KITT's CPU (his brain ''and'' heart) is carelessly yanked out of the car, and tossed into a box like trash.
* In "Knightmares", Michael wakes up not only suffering from amnesia, but he's horrified to see he now has an entirely new face! He spends the rest of the episode pausing every time he sees his reflection.
** Michael and KITT's reunion afterward is no better. First Michael runs from KITT, then he starts ''shooting'' at him. Of course KITT can't be harmed by bullets but, [[PunctuatedForEmphasis Michael was shooting at him.]]
---> '''KITT''': Michael, have you really forgotten me?
* A happy tear-jerker, Michael's face when he meets Stevie again in "Let It Be Me". His undisguised joy at seeing her again is simply heart-melting.
* KITT's ''drowning'' scene in "Junkyard Dog". You could hear the actual fear in his voice as he's ''begging'' Michael for help, ''while he's sinking into an acid bath!'' (Props to Creator/WilliamDaniels' rather impressive voice acting.) Meanwhile all Michael can do is stand there ''helplessly'' while someone is trying to drag him away from the scene for his own safety.
** Later, when they drag KITT out of the ''muck'' and Michael takes a look inside... only to find KITT ''eaten'' from the inside out. He then tries asking KITT if he's alright, only to receive no response.
** Initially when his AI has been restored, KITT was noticeably cold and distant towards Michael. The next time he sees him, he is overly jovial and talkative. One of the scientists later surmises that he's hiding his insecurities so as not to upset Michael.
** After KITT's restored he attempts to complete an obstacle course. When he does get on the track, it's easy to see he's struggling.
** An AI psychologist is brought in to monitor KITT's recovery, and almost immediately writes him off as hopeless, stating that after such a crushing defeat and near-death experience, [=AIs=] like KITT are likely to develop what basically amounts to intense PTSD, and refuse to perform at their peak for fear of being placed in such dangerous situations again. Yes, the show ''invoked'' DespairEventHorizon on a talking car! And KITT spends the bulk of the episode on the other side of it, and takes a heroic effort from Michael and Bonnie to pull him back.
* The scene just before KITT gets blown-up in "Knight of the Drones". Michael and KITT are being targeted by a missile they're ''both'' aware will hit KITT no matter what they try to do. So KITT ejects Michael to safety. It's not so much that KITT did it, it's the fact that he did it without asking or insisting Michael push the button himself (most likely knowing full well that Michael would never abandon him). Not to mention what he says to Michael, that really brings on the waterworks.
--> '''KITT''': Sorry pal, forgive me.
--> '''Michael''': What? (''suddenly gets ejected from the car'')
* "Scent of Roses", probably one of if not ''the most tearjerking episode'' from the original series.
** The same thing could be said about all the episodes in which Stevie appears. In "White Bird", Michael has to keep quiet about his true identity, since she was his fiancé before he was shot and became Michael Knight. At the end of the episode, she leaves behind a necklace he had given her back when he was Michael Long, indicating she knows it's him. In the second episode, "Let It Be Me", towards the end, though the murder case was solved, Michael and Stevie share a tearjerking moment with Michael telling her he's willing to leave the Foundation to stay with her, and she tells him not to do so, especially at the time.
* The episode where a teenage girl is asked to help find a treasure left to her by her father before his death (which the bad guys are after as well). She hated her father all her life, while others idolized him, feeling pushed aside, and agrees only reluctantly. In the end it turns out that [[spoiler: the treasure her father left her is a beautiful, but monetarily worthless hoard of crystal/stone compounds in a cavern – a beautiful sight reserved only for her, and which had no cash value to him whatsoever. He loved her more than money after all.]]
* In the "Knight of the Juggernaut" two-parter, KITT again gets into another CurbStompBattle. The real tearjerker occurs when Bonnie finds Michael and KITT, Michael in a daze and KITT severely smashed. Michael is so out of it, he doesn't realize the severity of the damage. When he comes around and realizes it, he begins to panic at not hearing KITT respond.

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[[folder: Knight Rider 2000 ]]

* The death of Devon Miles while the BigBad is poisoning him while also using mind scan tech on him. The flashing back of his memories is to Michael and him after the events of the pilot episode, toasting to Wilton Knight's dream as his last flash of his life.
* Michael's reaction to Devon's death, KITT damaged possibly beyond repair and FLAG being disbanded again is also a tearjerker. Seeing him, who had an unwavering dedication to helping those who couldn't help themselves in the original series, suffer a minor DespairEventHorizon hurts. And if that's not enough, him finally declaring, "He was wrong! One man CAN'T make a difference," is a hell of a gut punch for those who are fans of the original series.