Knight Rider is inspired by news firm Knight Ridder.
Knight Ridder (founded in 1974, so predates the show) is a possible inspiration for the title. The real reason Garthe Knight wanted Michael dead was because he was jealous of him.
- That would explain why he kept trying to kill Michael as opposed to, "getting the hell out of dodge".
- This makes sense, especially that Wilton treated Michael more like a son in such a short time, and even going as far as to give Michael his son's face. Essentially, Garth hates Michael because he is the kind of person his father wanted for a son instead of the person that Garth became.
The 1985 TV series "MacGyver" takes place 30 years after Knight Rider (same universe), and Angus MacGyver is the love child of Michael and Bonnie.
- Mac has Bonnie's humility, technical/mechanical wizardry and off-the-cuff improvisation, and has Michael's charm, humor, adventurous spirit, and good looks. Mac's different name is due to being adopted as an infant after Michael and Bonnie are murdered, and his blonde mullet is a professional dye job to help protect his identity. The Phoenix Foundation itself is a resurrection and worldwide expansion of FLAG, ditching the car for logistical and expense reasons.
KITT is built from the wreckage of a Cylon that crash-landed on Earth...
...Hence the wavering LED eyes and the unreproducible A.I.- Further evidence of this theory comes from the Galactica 1980 episode, "The Night The Cylons Landed" — At the end of the episode, a damaged Cylon Centurion falls into a NYC dumpster and is taken away by a garbage truck.
- Actually, Glen A. Larson himself said that both series have zero connection, Larson admitted that he just thought the flashing light was cool.
- However, in the episode of "The Long Patrol" in Battlestar Galactica, established many of what Larson would reuse for the show, including an artificial intelligence controlled vehicle and an A.I. with a name that's an abbreviation of four words (in the episode, it's C.O.R.A.) and a graphical voice box.
- Actually, Glen A. Larson himself said that both series have zero connection, Larson admitted that he just thought the flashing light was cool.
KITT is an amnesiac Transformer.
Knight Rider could be considered a prequel to the Transformers Film Series; that film did say all our technology was based on theirs...- This explains KITT's demonstrated mass-shifting abilities. All the parts for the other modes (like the van and 4-wheel drive) go wherever Optimus Prime's trailer goes. And the 2008 version of KARR practically has "Decepticon" written all over him.
KITT would only benefit from exposure to the Allspark.
Since he already has an AI, it would be the basis for his mind, which would make him better than the feral, animalistic ordinary devices transformed in this manner. After consulting with Optimus, KITT will decide to stay with his current job as the first 8-mode Autobot. (Normal, Attack, F-150, E-150 van, Flex, Crown Victoria Police Interceptor, "old school", Robot) Mike is a robot.
The real Mike Tracer was killed in an incident when he was very small - perhaps one explaining why his father left his life, due to his connections with FLAG. Graiman made a robot copy based on a prototype AI he created that was loosely based on the original Knight Industries Two Thousand AI. It worked so perfectly that, eventually, Mike integrated and became indistinguishable from a normal human... and he was even given human "tells" like a mechanical heartbeat. Mike was accepted into the Marines because of meddling by government agencies - perhaps the same agency that supplanted FLAG in the new series; he can't remember what's happened because his memory banks of it were wiped.- KITT knows that Mike is a robot and has been specifically instructed not to reveal that fact.
- Why is Mike a robot? Well, functioning on the level he did when he was poisoned is nearly physiologically impossible, and KITT's countdown was too accurate. Mike's internal sensors are programmed to react generally to poison, specifically based on suggestions of potential symptoms observed by his input. That's why he did suffer the truth serum effect, but also why he was sweating—something that doesn't happen with Hyoscine.
- Also, the Shanti virus, in an alternate universe, is what kills everyone in Stephen King's The Stand, except much earlier. (This is supported by King himself, who said that The Stand universe was an alternate version of ours). It may be because of time-travel, or it may be because the Company experimented with an early form of the virus. The Company's coverups would also explain all the weird stuff that keeps happening to Mulder and Scully, especially if you've read the "Last One Standing" fanfic.
