Knight Rider - Season 1 [DVD]

The four discs in this set are double-sided, so the publishers were able to save money on the cost of printing discs, keeping the price of the set low. Points to them for that. When you first load up a disc, the unforgettable KR theme music starts and your options are provided in a cool, perspective-shifted layout that has an effect like KITT's scanner behind it. Once you choose which of the episodes you want to watch (there are four episodes per side of each disc), you are presented with a brief synopsis, original air date, and a still image before you dive in. This is GREAT. I'm also a Star Trek fan, and I have to say that Paramount's menus and navigations on the TNG and Voyager DVDs are horrendous compared to this. Knight Rider has got the kind of DVD menus that all DVDs should have. Animated, colorful, yet still very fast to navigate through and full of all the information you need.

Visually, the episodes look stunning. Both the audio and video tracks have been remastered, and all of KITT's electronics, glossy black paint and Michael's goofy grins are more sharp and clear than they've ever been, even in 1982. The sound track is unbelievable. Occasionally the sound quality is so good, I wonder if they've actually dubbed in new foley in places. But I think that's just a trick of the ears, as all of the effect seem to be original, they just sound...BETTER. The mixing is perfect, too. And the best part? They didn't screw around with anything, change any content, cut anything out, or fix any bloopers. It's just classic Knight Rider, complete and uncut, and totally "un-fooled-around with." These are the original cuts of each episode as aired on NBC in the '80s, and they contain footage which (unless you have the Columbia House tapes) hasn't been seen since, due to syndication and commercial edits.

One other thing I must add here is that ALL of the episodes from Knight Rider's first season are included. My biggest disappointment with the Columbia House release of the show is that they remastered only a handful of episodes from the series' four-year run. This set contains the entire first season of the show in its entirety, presumably with the complete seasons two, three and four to follow.

The extras are great, too. There are interviews with David Hasselhoff, Glen Larson and even Stu Phillips (who, together with Glen, composed the infamous Knight Rider theme). Speaking of the theme, there's even an entire extra devoted to how the theme music was created, which was awesome for someone who loves the KR soundtrack (like I do). My only complaint was that Don Peake, the talented man who used Stu and Glen's theme to score probably 85% of the show's episodes, was never mentioned.

The bonus fourth disc includes some more nice interviews, some nifty blueprints of KITT's dash, scans of set designs, and even the entire Knight Rider 2000 movie that aired on NBC in 1991! Additionally, "Knight of the Phoenix," the show's pilot episode, has a commentary track available, featuring the voices of Glen Larson and David Hasselhoff. (David's really hamming it up.)

This is the DVD boxed set that any Knight Rider aficionado absolutely must own. The producers of this set are to be congratulated for putting together a real quality product. Now I'm waiting for the next three seasons to arrive on DVD too!

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All 21 episodes are in chronological order on 8 DVD's (although the Pilot episode is on disc 7 for some reason) and also includes the more recent made-for-tv movie - Knight Rider 2000. Other bonus features include photo stills, a behind the scenes featurette, info on how the Knight Rider theme was composed, a display of KITT's dash explaining what all the functions do and the humourous audio commentary over the Pilot episode from David Hasselhoff and Glen Larson which gives you a lot of interesting info you may not have noticed/known.

The only slight downside to this set is the lack of the cut scene's that are usually before each of the episodes, but since all that footage is in each episode anyway you're not really losing anything.

Definitely a must if you're a Knight Rider fan, and Amazon's price on this set is far far lower than anywhere else i have seen it, so go buy it right now!! I will definitely be buying the rest of the seasons when they are released!!

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