Knight Rider 2000
Encyclopedia
Knight Rider 2000 is a 1991 sequel
movie
to the television series Knight Rider. It is included in the Region 1, Region 2 and Region 4 versions of the Knight Rider Season One box set/
The movie served as a pilot for a proposed new series, but despite high ratings, the plan was abandoned.
The movie is set in Seattle, Washington, in the year 2000, handguns
have been banned and law enforcement carry non-lethal "stun" pistols. Criminals are sentenced to cryonic suspension
instead of conventional jail cells. Due to an assassination and an attempted assassination, the mayor demands a solution, which is found in the form of the "Knight 4000" – a car that will become the next generation of the Knight Industries' supercar KITT
.
The theme song, Knight Rider 2000, by Jan Hammer
was released on his 1994 album Drive.
) – a former cop turned psychotic killer, has been released from the prison and assassinates the mayor. Police officer Shawn McCormick (Susan Norman) confronts the masked Watts holding the next mayor hostage at gunpoint. She shoots Watts, who flees. Shawn finds the handgun used in the murder and hides it, not knowing what to do. The city's new mayor demands the gunman be found, but his fellow councilmen reprimand him for disarming the police and setting up the cryo-prison where the inmates "sleep away" their sentences and emerge the same people as before.
The Knight Foundation (Formally the Foundation for Law and Government), offers a possible solution – the "Knight 4000
". Devon Miles (Edward Mulhare
) and his partner, Russel Maddock (Carmen Argenziano
), are green lighted on the idea, but the city wants to see a working prototype of the 4000 in thirty days. Devon decides to bring in Michael Knight (David Hasselhoff
) as the test driver.
The Knight 4000 has most of KITT's original features, including a few new and improved systems such as an advanced amphibious mode (which allows the car to ride on water like a speedboat), a virtual heads-up display (or V-HUD, which utilized the entire windshield as a video display), and a microwave stun device that could remotely incapacitate a human target.
Shawn gives the gun to her partner not knowing what to do. Later, Watts ambushes Shawn, shooting her after she discovers that some of her colleagues are working with the assassin to rearm criminals so the city will be forced to give the police their "real" weapons back. Doctors save Shawn by installing a microchip implant
into her brain. She recovers, but can't remember the details of the attack.
Devon visits Michael and convinces him to join the project, but Michael is furious that KITT has been disassembled. Michael is ready to walk away, but later decides to rebuild KITT's AI unit, which he finds difficult since Maddock has sold most of KITT's technology to medical research. Michael is able to reactivate KITT's logic module and installs him in the dashboard of his 1957 Chevy Bel-Air
.
Actor James Doohan
makes a cameo appearance as an innocent bystander that KITT mistakes for a criminal stealing money from an ATM. KITT stuns the suspect and the man collapses. When Michael and Maddock pick up the man to arrest him, they find Mr. Doohan, delirious (from being stunned), and mumbling various lines from his role of Scotty
on Star Trek
.
Shawn quits the police force after she learns Daniels didn't want to authorize her brain chip implant, nor get involved in her case. She seeks employment with the Foundation where Michael learns one of KITT's missing cybernetic chips is now in her head. Because of this, KITT is able to link up with the chip through physical contact and extract her missing memories. Shawn remembers that Watts is the one who shot her and that her fellow officers were with him when he did it – including her partner.
Watts learns Shawn is still alive and sends the crooked cops to eliminate her and Michael, who are easily chased down when they try to get away in KITT. KITT helps them evade capture by driving off a pier where he quickly sinks. Michael and Shawn are kept safe inside the car, but KITT is damaged when water gets into his circuitry. With Watts believing Michael and Shawn are dead, he captures Devon and uses mind scanning technology to discover what Devon knows, killing him afterward.
Michael and Shawn swim to safety and return to the Foundation, learning of Devon's fate. After Devon's funeral, the mayor terminates FLAG's contract. With the Knight 4000's development complete, Michael quits. After Shawn confronts him, Michael returns and secretly retrofits the Knight 4000 with KITT's AI.
Michael and Shawn follow her former partner to a warehouse where the guns are stored. Shawn arranges a meeting and gun transaction with her former partner. She confronts him, but before he can fully cooperate with FLAG's investigation, Watts shoots him. Michael arrives just in time to prevent Shawn from being killed.
Maddock sends KITT a copy of the prison release papers for Watts, signed by the murdered mayor. Michael has KITT print more copies, sending one with a fake signature to Daniels using her name, and a similar one to the mayor, this time with his name. Following the mayor's limo, they record a conversation between the mayor and Watts discussing the release papers.
After showing the police commissioner the video of Mayor Abbey's conversation with Watts, Maddock proposes a pact with the police force. After ambushing a caravan of corrupt cops, they find no guns. KITT informs Michael there is another group of police cars headed for the local mall. Maddock convinces Daniels to allow KITT to pursue them.
When they arrive, Watts has begun a transaction with a gun buyer. When one of the corrupt cops guarding Watts sights Shawn moving in, he shoots her, and then the buyer and Watts flee. Michael catches up to Watts and disarms him. A fight ensues between Michael and Watts, Michael only stopping when Watts picks up his handgun. Shawn (only slightly wounded) arrives with the other handgun, instructing Watts to drop his. Michael talks Shawn down from shooting Watts. Watts then draws another gun hidden under his coat but Michael draws out an ultrasound gun and shoots Watts, who falls to his death.
After Watts' defeat, the mayor is incarcerated, Michael returns to retirement, and KITT remains behind at the Knight Foundation with Shawn and Maddock. The trio continue their police work.
and Corpus Christi
. In some scenes, characters are in San Antonio locations such as Paseo del Río
and the Tower of the Americas
one moment, and the next they are at the shoreline of Corpus Christi.
The studio was unable to use the real Pontiac Banshee
IV concept car for the movie, so instead it hired Jay Ohrberg
Star Cars Inc. to customize a 1991 Dodge Stealth for the Knight 4000. The custom car can also be seen, albeit briefly, as a stolen supercar in CHiPs '99
, and as a future police vehicle in Power Rangers Time Force.
Sequel
A sequel is a narrative, documental, or other work of literature, film, theatre, or music that continues the story of or expands upon issues presented in some previous work...
movie
Film
A film, also called a movie or motion picture, is a series of still or moving images. It is produced by recording photographic images with cameras, or by creating images using animation techniques or visual effects...
to the television series Knight Rider. It is included in the Region 1, Region 2 and Region 4 versions of the Knight Rider Season One box set/
The movie served as a pilot for a proposed new series, but despite high ratings, the plan was abandoned.
The movie is set in Seattle, Washington, in the year 2000, handguns
Pistol
When distinguished as a subset of handguns, a pistol is a handgun with a chamber that is integral with the barrel, as opposed to a revolver, wherein the chamber is separate from the barrel as a revolving cylinder. Typically, pistols have an effective range of about 100 feet.-History:The pistol...
have been banned and law enforcement carry non-lethal "stun" pistols. Criminals are sentenced to cryonic suspension
Cryonics
Cryonics is the low-temperature preservation of humans and animals who can no longer be sustained by contemporary medicine, with the hope that healing and resuscitation may be possible in the future. Cryopreservation of people or large animals is not reversible with current technology...
instead of conventional jail cells. Due to an assassination and an attempted assassination, the mayor demands a solution, which is found in the form of the "Knight 4000" – a car that will become the next generation of the Knight Industries' supercar KITT
KITT
KITT is the short name of two fictional characters from the adventure TV series Knight Rider. While having the same acronym, the KITTs are two different entities: one known as the Knight Industries Two Thousand, which appeared in the original TV series Knight Rider, and the other as the Knight...
.
The theme song, Knight Rider 2000, by Jan Hammer
Jan Hammer
Jan Hammer is a composer, pianist and keyboardist. He first gained his most visible audience while playing keyboards with the Mahavishnu Orchestra in the early 1970s, as well as his film scores for television and film including "Miami Vice Theme" and "Crockett's Theme", from the popular 1980s...
was released on his 1994 album Drive.
Plot
Thomas J. Watts (Mitch PileggiMitch Pileggi
Mitchell Craig "Mitch" Pileggi is an American actor. Pileggi is known for playing FBI assistant director Walter Skinner on the long-running popular series The X-Files. He also had a recurring role on Stargate Atlantis as Col. Steven Caldwell...
) – a former cop turned psychotic killer, has been released from the prison and assassinates the mayor. Police officer Shawn McCormick (Susan Norman) confronts the masked Watts holding the next mayor hostage at gunpoint. She shoots Watts, who flees. Shawn finds the handgun used in the murder and hides it, not knowing what to do. The city's new mayor demands the gunman be found, but his fellow councilmen reprimand him for disarming the police and setting up the cryo-prison where the inmates "sleep away" their sentences and emerge the same people as before.
The Knight Foundation (Formally the Foundation for Law and Government), offers a possible solution – the "Knight 4000
KITT
KITT is the short name of two fictional characters from the adventure TV series Knight Rider. While having the same acronym, the KITTs are two different entities: one known as the Knight Industries Two Thousand, which appeared in the original TV series Knight Rider, and the other as the Knight...
". Devon Miles (Edward Mulhare
Edward Mulhare
Edward Mulhare was a popular television actor whose career spanned four decades.Born at 22 Quaker Road, Cork City, County Cork, Ireland, and educated by the Irish Christian Brothers, Mulhare intended to study medicine, but was sidetracked by a growing interest in acting...
) and his partner, Russel Maddock (Carmen Argenziano
Carmen Argenziano
Carmen Antimo Argenziano is an American actor who has appeared in over 50 movies and around 100 television movies or episodes....
), are green lighted on the idea, but the city wants to see a working prototype of the 4000 in thirty days. Devon decides to bring in Michael Knight (David Hasselhoff
David Hasselhoff
David Michael Hasselhoff is an American actor, singer, producer and businessman. He is best known for his lead roles as Michael Knight in the popular 1980s US series Knight Rider and as L.A. County Lifeguard Mitch Buchannon in the series Baywatch...
) as the test driver.
The Knight 4000 has most of KITT's original features, including a few new and improved systems such as an advanced amphibious mode (which allows the car to ride on water like a speedboat), a virtual heads-up display (or V-HUD, which utilized the entire windshield as a video display), and a microwave stun device that could remotely incapacitate a human target.
Shawn gives the gun to her partner not knowing what to do. Later, Watts ambushes Shawn, shooting her after she discovers that some of her colleagues are working with the assassin to rearm criminals so the city will be forced to give the police their "real" weapons back. Doctors save Shawn by installing a microchip implant
Microchip implant (human)
A human microchip implant is an integrated circuit device or RFID transponder encased in silicate glass and implanted in the body of a human being...
into her brain. She recovers, but can't remember the details of the attack.
Devon visits Michael and convinces him to join the project, but Michael is furious that KITT has been disassembled. Michael is ready to walk away, but later decides to rebuild KITT's AI unit, which he finds difficult since Maddock has sold most of KITT's technology to medical research. Michael is able to reactivate KITT's logic module and installs him in the dashboard of his 1957 Chevy Bel-Air
Chevrolet Bel Air
The Chevrolet Bel Air is a full-size automobile that was produced by the Chevrolet division of General Motors for the 1950–1975 model years. Hardtops in the Chevrolet Deluxe Styleline model range were designated with the Bel Air name from 1950–1952, but it was not a distinct series of its own until...
.
Actor James Doohan
James Doohan
James Montgomery "Jimmy" Doohan was a Canadian character and voice actor best known for his role as Montgomery "Scotty" Scott in the television and film series Star Trek...
makes a cameo appearance as an innocent bystander that KITT mistakes for a criminal stealing money from an ATM. KITT stuns the suspect and the man collapses. When Michael and Maddock pick up the man to arrest him, they find Mr. Doohan, delirious (from being stunned), and mumbling various lines from his role of Scotty
Montgomery Scott
Montgomery "Scotty" Scott is a Scottish engineer in the Star Trek media franchise. First portrayed by James Doohan in the original Star Trek series, Scotty also appears in the animated Star Trek series, seven Star Trek movies, the Star Trek: The Next Generation episode "Relics", and in numerous...
on Star Trek
Star Trek: The Original Series
Star Trek is an American science fiction television series created by Gene Roddenberry, produced by Desilu Productions . Star Trek was telecast on NBC from September 8, 1966, through June 3, 1969...
.
Shawn quits the police force after she learns Daniels didn't want to authorize her brain chip implant, nor get involved in her case. She seeks employment with the Foundation where Michael learns one of KITT's missing cybernetic chips is now in her head. Because of this, KITT is able to link up with the chip through physical contact and extract her missing memories. Shawn remembers that Watts is the one who shot her and that her fellow officers were with him when he did it – including her partner.
Watts learns Shawn is still alive and sends the crooked cops to eliminate her and Michael, who are easily chased down when they try to get away in KITT. KITT helps them evade capture by driving off a pier where he quickly sinks. Michael and Shawn are kept safe inside the car, but KITT is damaged when water gets into his circuitry. With Watts believing Michael and Shawn are dead, he captures Devon and uses mind scanning technology to discover what Devon knows, killing him afterward.
Michael and Shawn swim to safety and return to the Foundation, learning of Devon's fate. After Devon's funeral, the mayor terminates FLAG's contract. With the Knight 4000's development complete, Michael quits. After Shawn confronts him, Michael returns and secretly retrofits the Knight 4000 with KITT's AI.
Michael and Shawn follow her former partner to a warehouse where the guns are stored. Shawn arranges a meeting and gun transaction with her former partner. She confronts him, but before he can fully cooperate with FLAG's investigation, Watts shoots him. Michael arrives just in time to prevent Shawn from being killed.
Maddock sends KITT a copy of the prison release papers for Watts, signed by the murdered mayor. Michael has KITT print more copies, sending one with a fake signature to Daniels using her name, and a similar one to the mayor, this time with his name. Following the mayor's limo, they record a conversation between the mayor and Watts discussing the release papers.
After showing the police commissioner the video of Mayor Abbey's conversation with Watts, Maddock proposes a pact with the police force. After ambushing a caravan of corrupt cops, they find no guns. KITT informs Michael there is another group of police cars headed for the local mall. Maddock convinces Daniels to allow KITT to pursue them.
When they arrive, Watts has begun a transaction with a gun buyer. When one of the corrupt cops guarding Watts sights Shawn moving in, he shoots her, and then the buyer and Watts flee. Michael catches up to Watts and disarms him. A fight ensues between Michael and Watts, Michael only stopping when Watts picks up his handgun. Shawn (only slightly wounded) arrives with the other handgun, instructing Watts to drop his. Michael talks Shawn down from shooting Watts. Watts then draws another gun hidden under his coat but Michael draws out an ultrasound gun and shoots Watts, who falls to his death.
After Watts' defeat, the mayor is incarcerated, Michael returns to retirement, and KITT remains behind at the Knight Foundation with Shawn and Maddock. The trio continue their police work.
Cast
- Carmen ArgenzianoCarmen ArgenzianoCarmen Antimo Argenziano is an American actor who has appeared in over 50 movies and around 100 television movies or episodes....
as "Russell Maddock/Voice of Knight 4000" - Lou Beatty Jr. as "Mayor Harold Abbey"
- Chris Bonno as "Andrew"
- Megan Butler as "Officer Marla Hedges"
- Robert F. Cawley as "Prison Guard"
- Eugene ClarkEugene Clark (actor)-Football career:Before he began acting, he played college football. He was an all-conference offensive guard at UCLA and was selected by the Pittsburgh Steelers in the ninth round of the 1975 NFL Draft...
as "Officer Kurt Miller" - William DanielsWilliam DanielsWilliam David Daniels is an American actor and former president of the Screen Actors Guild . He is known for his performance as Dustin Hoffman's father in The Graduate , as John Adams in 1776, as Carter Nash in Captain Nice, as Mr. George Feeny in ABC's Boy Meets World, as the voice of KITT in...
as "Voice of KITT" (uncredited) - James DoohanJames DoohanJames Montgomery "Jimmy" Doohan was a Canadian character and voice actor best known for his role as Montgomery "Scotty" Scott in the television and film series Star Trek...
as "Himself" - Francis GuinanFrancis GuinanFrancis V. Guinan, Jr. is an American film, television and stage actor who is perhaps best known for his role as Edgar Teller the patriarch in the short-lived NBC series Eerie, Indiana....
as "Dr. Jeffrey Glassman" - Philip Hafer as "Charlie" (as Phillip Hafer)
- David HasselhoffDavid HasselhoffDavid Michael Hasselhoff is an American actor, singer, producer and businessman. He is best known for his lead roles as Michael Knight in the popular 1980s US series Knight Rider and as L.A. County Lifeguard Mitch Buchannon in the series Baywatch...
as "Michael KnightMichael Knight (Knight Rider)Michael Knight is a fictional character and protagonist in the 1980s Knight Rider television series played by David Hasselhoff. The character first appeared in the opening scenes as Michael Long, played by Larry Anderson in the beginning of the pilot.- Michael Long :Born Michael Arthur Long on...
" - Christine HealyChristine HealyChristine Healy is an American television and film actress. She has had recurring roles in television series such as ER and The Days and Nights of Molly Dodd, and her film appearances include Like Father Like Son , Voices Within: The Lives of Truddi Chase and Little Sister .-External links:...
as "Commissioner Ruth Daniels" - Carolyn G. Jackson as "Bag Lady"
- Ron JacksonRon JacksonRonnie Damien Jackson is a coach and a former player in Major League Baseball. He was a hitting coach for the Boston Red Sox from 2003-2006...
as "Highway Police Officer" - Stacy Lundgren as "Sandy"
- Matthew Menger as "Shawn's Father" (as Matt Menger)
- Paul MenzelPaul MenzelPaul Menzel is an actor, writer, producer, and business consultant in Houston, Texas.He began his career by organizing a comedy troupe while a student at Carleton College in Northfield, Minnesota. After graduation, he was performer and writer at Dudley Riggs' Brave New Workshop in...
as "Businessman" - J.W. Moore IV as "Medical Technician"
- Edward MulhareEdward MulhareEdward Mulhare was a popular television actor whose career spanned four decades.Born at 22 Quaker Road, Cork City, County Cork, Ireland, and educated by the Irish Christian Brothers, Mulhare intended to study medicine, but was sidetracked by a growing interest in acting...
as "Devon Miles" - Edwin NealEdwin NealEdwin Neal is an American actor, perhaps best known for his role as the Hitchhiker in The Texas Chain Saw Massacre or his role as Lord Zedd in Mighty Morphin' Power Rangers. He has been a top voice talent and actor for years appearing on screen and off in such diverse projects as The Lord of the...
as "Warehouse Clerk" - John Cannon Nichols as "Lieutenant Justin Strand"
- Susan Norman as "Officer Shawn McCormick"
- Marco PerellaMarco PerellaMarco Perella is a Texan character actor and author, who has played a variety of bit part characters in films shot in Texas over the last twenty years, as well as a recurring role in Walker, Texas Ranger, playing Cobalt.-Career:...
as "Police Sergeant" - Mitch PileggiMitch PileggiMitchell Craig "Mitch" Pileggi is an American actor. Pileggi is known for playing FBI assistant director Walter Skinner on the long-running popular series The X-Files. He also had a recurring role on Stargate Atlantis as Col. Steven Caldwell...
as "Thomas J. Watts" - Ellis Posey as "Mayor Frank Cottam"
- Larry Roop as "Police Officer"
- Lori Swierski as "Lori"
Production
Knight Rider 2000 was filmed in two Texas cities, San AntonioSan Antonio, Texas
San Antonio is the seventh-largest city in the United States of America and the second-largest city within the state of Texas, with a population of 1.33 million. Located in the American Southwest and the south–central part of Texas, the city serves as the seat of Bexar County. In 2011,...
and Corpus Christi
Corpus Christi, Texas
Corpus Christi is a coastal city in the South Texas region of the U.S. state of Texas. The county seat of Nueces County, it also extends into Aransas, Kleberg, and San Patricio counties. The MSA population in 2008 was 416,376. The population was 305,215 at the 2010 census making it the...
. In some scenes, characters are in San Antonio locations such as Paseo del Río
San Antonio River Walk
The San Antonio River Walk is a network of walkways along the banks of the San Antonio River, one story beneath downtown San Antonio, Texas...
and the Tower of the Americas
Tower of the Americas
Tower of the Americas is a 750-foot observation tower/restaurant in San Antonio, Texas. The tower was designed by San Antonio architect O'Neil Ford and was built as the theme structure of the 1968 World's Fair, HemisFair '68....
one moment, and the next they are at the shoreline of Corpus Christi.
The studio was unable to use the real Pontiac Banshee
Pontiac Banshee
The Pontiac Banshee is a line of concept cars designed by General Motors. Four of these "dream cars" were fabricated as design exercises beginning in 1964...
IV concept car for the movie, so instead it hired Jay Ohrberg
Jay Ohrberg
Jay Ohrberg is a car collector and car builder specializing in cars for film and television. His company Jay Ohrberg Star Cars has an extensive collection of original cars and replicas, many of them are offered for hire....
Star Cars Inc. to customize a 1991 Dodge Stealth for the Knight 4000. The custom car can also be seen, albeit briefly, as a stolen supercar in CHiPs '99
CHiPs '99
CHiPs '99 is a film reunion of the 1977-1983 American television series, CHiPs. It was directed by Jon Cassar and shown on Turner Network Television in the USA on October 27, 1998.-Cast:*Larry Wilcox as Capt...
, and as a future police vehicle in Power Rangers Time Force.