Knight Rider: The Complete Series (4K UHD Review)

• Reviewed by: Tim Salmons
• Review Date: Oct 22, 2025
• Format: 4K Ultra HD
• 

Director

Various

Release Date(s)

Various (July 22, 2025)

Studio(s)

Glen A Larson Productions/Universal Television (Universal Pictures Home Entertainment)

• Film/Program Grade: B
• Video Grade: C+
• Audio Grade: B+
• Extras Grade: B-
• Overall Grade: C-

Review

Prior to his success in Baywatch many years later, David Hasselhoff became a household name with Knight Rider, which was a big hit for NBC in the early 1980s. The show ran for four seasons from 1982 to 1986 and a had line of merchandise that included toys, video games, board games, lunch boxes, and model kits, among other items. Despite being a such a large success, none of the spin-offs and reboots that came in its wake could capture the magic of the original show. Developed by Glen A. Larson (who also had a hand in creating memorable TV shows like Battlestar Galactica, Magnum P.I., The Fall Guy, and B.J. and the Bear), it gained even further popularity in syndication, entering the pop culture lexicon and featuring one of the most iconic cars of the era, as well as one of the coolest opening theme songs ever.

Michael Long, an undercover police officer at a Las Vegas casino, is seemingly killed and left for dead after being shot in the face once his cover is blown. He’s subsequently saved and revived by private billionaire Wilton Knight (Richard Basehart), who has Michael’s face reconstructed surgically. Founder of Knight Industries and F.L.A.G. (Foundation for Law and Government), Knight, along with his assistant and close friend Devon Miles (Edward Mulhare), give Michael the new identity of Michael Knight (Hasselhoff). They ask him to join their organization, which is equipped with the best and latest technology, to fight and defeat the criminal underworld. Among their arsenal is K.I.T.T. (Knight Industries Two Thousand), an artificially intelligent Pontiac Trans Am (featuring the voice of William Daniels) that’s virtually indestructible and can aid Michael in his quest. Initially reluctant, Michael and K.I.T.T. eventually bond, driving from place to place and helping the innocent in a crusade to fight back against the injustices of the world.

Knight Rider was shot over the course of four years by cinematographers H. John Penner and Frank Beascoechea on 35mm film using Panavision Panaflex cameras and spherical Panavision lenses, finished photochemically, and presented on television in the aspect ratio of 1.33:1. Universal Pictures Home Entertainment debuts all four seasons of the show on Ultra HD for the first time with new 4K scans of the original camera negatives, which have been graded for High Dynamic Range in HDR10 only, and encoded to sixteen triple-layered BD-100 discs and four dual-layered BD-66 discs. For most folks, Turbine Medien’s amazing Region-Free Blu-ray boxed set from 2022 is the crown jewel when it comes to Knight Rider on physical media. It offered excellent picture quality, complete episodes of the show, and a mountain of extras and swag. Universal’s 4K debut, sadly, does not top it. In fact, it regresses, despite the uptick in quality, which is mixed. Too many episodes have been crammed onto each disc with lackluster compression, with bitrates that never get much higher than 55Mbps, but mostly sitting around 43 to 45Mbps most of the time. Even when there’s only two episodes on a disc, the encoding qualities are the same. The picture frequently winds up soft with uneven grain and macroblocking, completely decimating the core picture. It’s an incredible shame because the base scans of these episodes look terrific, with enhanced detail and booster color, thanks in no small part to the HDR grade. The picture is also stable and clean throughout with no other apparent issues. If they had simply added an extra disc per season and spread these episodes out with more precise encoding and bitrates sitting in the 70 to 90Mbps range or higher, there’s no question that these episodes would be the superior presentations visually.

The audio for all four seasons is presented in English 2.0 mono DTS-HD Master Audio with optional subtitles in English SDH. This is also a step back, at least when it comes to the fourth season of the show. It originally aired in stereo, which the Turbine Medien release corrected, aside from two episodes, Knight of the Juggernaut and Burial Ground, which were unavailable in stereo at the time. Also missing, and this will be the bone of contention for die-hard fans, is some of the music used in the show, notably by Prince and John Cougar Mellencamp. Once again, the Turbine release offered the original uncut audio, but the Universal release uses replacement music to cover for it. Despite what’s missing, the single-channel audio still offers excellent support of the various elements, and all tracks are clean and free of any other issues.

Universal’s Knight Rider: The Complete Series is presented on 20 4K Ultra HD discs with a bonus 1080p Blu-ray in four separate multi-disc cases with individual trays for each disc (maddeningly, three of the four cases have a spindle for an extra disc). Everything sits in a thin slipcase with some poorly-Photoshopped artwork. The following episodes and extras are included on each disc:

DISC ONE (SEASON ONE: EPISODES 1-5)

1. Knight of the Phoenix (Parts 1 & 2) (96:04)
2. Deadly Maneuvers (48:54)
3. Good Day at White Rock (48:46)
4. Slammin’ Sammy’s Stunt Show Spectacular (48:33)

• Audio Commentary on Knight of the Phoenix with David Hasselhoff and Glen A. Larson

DISC TWO (SEASON ONE: EPISODES 5-9)

5. Just My Bill (48:47)
6. Not a Drop to Drink (48:47)
7. No Big Thing (48:09)
8. Trust Doesn’t Rust (47:51)
9. Inside Out (48:45)

DISC THREE (SEASON ONE: EPISODES 10-14)

10. The Final Verdict (48:50)
11. A Plush Ride (48:49)
12. Forget Me Not (48:52)
13. Hearts of Stone (48:29)
14. Give Me Liberty... or Give Me Death (48:47)

DISC FOUR (SEASON ONE: EPISODES 15-19)

15. The Topaz Connection (48:51)
16. A Nice, Indecent Little Town (48:50)
17. Chariot of Gold (48:49)
18. White Bird (48:47)
19. Knight Moves (48:51)

DISC FIVE (SEASON ONE – EPISODES 20-21)

20. Nobody Does It Better (48:47)
21. Short Notice (48:51)

• Knight Moves (aka Knight Stunts) (Upscaled SD – 6:07)
• Knight Sounds (Upscaled SD – 6:37)
• Knight Rider: Under the Hood (Upscaled SD – 15:51)
• Photo Gallery (Upscaled SD – 2:54)
• Blueprints Gallery (Upscaled SD – 3:07)

DISC SIX (SEASON TWO – EPISODES 1-5)

1. Goliath (Part 1) (45:11)
2. Goliath (Part 2) (45:04)
3. Brother’s Keeper (48:39)
4. Merchants of Death (48:39)
5. Blind Spot (48:40)

DISC SEVEN (SEASON TWO – EPISODES 6-10)

6. Return to Cadiz (48:39)
7. K.I.T.T. the Cat (48:41)
8. Custom K.I.T.T. (48:39)
9. Soul Survivor (48:39)
10. Ring of Fire (48:40)

DISC EIGHT (SEASON TWO – EPISODES 11-15)

11. Knightmares (48:37)
12. Silent Knight (47:40)
13. A Knight in Shining Armor (48:39)
14. Diamonds Aren’t a Girl’s Best Friend (48:39)
15. White-Line Warriors (48:36)

DISC NINE (SEASON TWO – EPISODES 16-20)

16. Race for Life (48:39)
17. Speed Demons (48:37)
18. Goliath Returns (Part 1) (45:10)
19. Goliath Returns (Part 2) (45:02)
20. A Good Knight’s Work (48:38)

DISC TEN (SEASON TWO – EPISODES 21-24)

21. Mouth of the Snake/All That Glitters (Part 1) (45:15)
22. Mouth of the Snake/All That Glitters (Part 2) (44:56)
23. Let It Be Me (48:38)
24. Big Iron (48:38)

DISC ELEVEN (SEASON THREE – EPISODES 1-5)

1. Knight of the Drones (Part 1) (45:11)
2. Knight of the Drones (Part 2) (48:00)
3. The Ice Bandits (48:30)
4. Knights of the Fast Lane (48:30)
5. Halloween Knight (48:30)

DISC TWELVE (SEASON THREE – EPISODES 6-10)

6. K.I.T.T. vs. K.A.R.R. (48:30)
7. The Rotten Apples (48:29)
8. Knight in Disgrace (48:29)
9. Dead of Knight (48:29)
10. Lost Knight (48:28)

DISC THIRTEEN (SEASON THREE – 11-15)

11. Knight of the Chameleon (48:27)
12. Custom Made Killer (47:57)
13. Knight by a Nose (48:28)
14. Junk Yard Dog (48:19)
15. Buy Out (48:26)

DISC FOURTEEN (SEASON THREE – EPISODES 16-20)

16. Knightlines (48:29)
17. The Nineteenth Hole (48:31)
18. Knight & Knerd (47:57)
19. Ten Wheel Trouble (48:25)
20. Knight in Retreat (48:28)

DISC FIFTEEN (SEASON THREE – EPISODES 21-22)

21. Knight Strike (48:28)
22. Circus Knights (48:33)

• The Great 80s TV Flashback (Upscaled SD – 29:01)

DISC SIXTEEN (SEASON FOUR – EPISODES 1-5)

1. Knight of the Juggernaut (Part 1) (44:54)
2. Knight of the Juggernaut (Part 2) (45:16)
3. Kittnap (48:24)
4. Sky Knight (48:26)
5. Burial Ground (48:23)

DISC SEVENTEEN (SEASON FOUR – EPISODES 6-10)

6. The Wrong Crowd (48:28)
7. Knight Sting (48:26)
8. Many Happy Returns (48:24)
9. Knight Racer (48:25)
10. Knight Behind Bars (48:24)

DISC EIGHTEEN (SEASON FOUR – EPISODES 11-15)

11. Knight Song (48:23)
12. The Scent of Roses (48:24)
13. Killer K.I.T.T. (48:24)
14. Out of the Woods (48:25)
15. Deadly Knightshade (48:31)

DISC NINETEEN (SEASON FOUR – EPISODES 16-20)

16. Redemption of a Champion (48:30)
17. Knight of a Thousand Devils (48:29)
18. Hills of Fire (48:31)
19. Knight Flight to Freedom (48:31)
20. Fright Knight (48:30)

DISC TWENTY (SEASON FOUR – EPISODES 21-22)

21. Knight of the Rising Sun (48:28)
22. Voo Doo Knight (48:30)

• Knight Rider 2000 (Upscaled SD – 94:44)

DISC TWENTY-ONE (BONUS DISC)

• Knight Rider: Behind the Wheel (HD – 61:00)

More bad news is that Goliath, Goliath Returns, Mouth of the Snake/All That Glitters, Knight of the Drones, and Knight of the Juggernaut have been included in their syndicated versions only, originally airing as 96-minute episodes. This is also another area where Turbine got it right since they included the original versions.

The good news is that most of the show’s studio-produced extras have carried over, including the audio commentary for Knight of the Phoenix with David Hasselhoff and Glen A. Larson, Knight Moves aka Knight Stunts, Knight Sounds, Knight Rider: Under the Hood, and a Photo Gallery, and a Blueprints Gallery. The Great 80s TV Flashback, which was included on the Region B Fabulous Films Blu-ray release of the show, talks about various TV shows from the 1980s with a variety of writers and historians, as well as some of the folks who made them. Knight Rider 2000 is a 1991 TV movie continuation of the original series featuring David Hasselhoff, William Daniels, and David Mulhare.

A new addition is the documentary Knight Rider: Behind the Wheel, which interviews some of the unsung members of the cast and crew, interspersing some outtakes from the show throughout. Featured are directors Bob Bralver and Gil Bettman; associate producer Bernadette Joyce; writers and producers Hanna Louise Shearer and Tom Greene; first assistant director Robert Villar; special effects coordinator Larry Fioritto; K.I.T.T. construction coordinator Michael Scheffe; stunt coordinator and second unit director Jack Gill; stuntpeople Allan Graf, Charlie Picerni, Marian Green, Rick Avery, Tanya Russell, and Ted Barber; composer Don Peake; actors Catherine Hickland, Rebecca Holden, and Toni Hudson; author Nick Nugent; enthusiasts A.J. Palmgren, Jacob Pedersen, Joe Huth, and Mark Puette; and K.I.T.T. replica builder Peri Fractic.

The rest of the extras from the Turbine Medien Blu-ray release haven’t carried over. They include:

Road Music: An Interview with Composer Stu Phillips, A Spring in Her Step: Rebecca Holden Recalls April Curtis, A Man and His Horse: Steven E. de Souza on Knight Rider, The Unknown Stunt Man: Jack Gill on the Challenges of Driving a Legend, Writing for Prime Time: Deborah Davis Remembers Knight Rider, A Kit for Small Screen Success: Tom Greene and the Knight Rider Phenomenon, KnightCon 2011 with Tom Greene, MyKitt.de: The Fulfillment of a Childhood Dream, a Sketch Gallery, Knight Rider 2010 (1994), and all 22 episodes of the Team Knight Rider series.

That release also featured deluxe packaging with two double-sided posters featuring Knight Rider artwork on one side and David Hasselhoff on the reverse; a K.I.T.T. dashboard layout concept art card reproduction; six pressbook photo reproductions; further reproductions of Michael’s driver’s license, social security card, government identification, press pass, and vehicle registration; two stickers, one featuring the Knight Industries logo and the other featuring the F.L.A.G. logo; and a 334-page book entitled Knight Guide (with German text).

It’s also worth noting that the Code of Vengeance TV movie and 4-episode TV series spin-offs, as well as the Knight Rider 2008 TV movie and series reboot, haven’t been included with any release of the show.

I’m disappointed to report that the UHD debut of Knight Rider: The Complete Series is far from perfect. Going in, I think most of us expected that all of the extras from the Turbine release and all of the original music wouldn’t be included, but even so, this is a very sloppy release overall. Some folks may be happy enough with the results, but this is unfortunately not something worth recommendeding to long-time fans. $129.98 (around $117 on Amazon, as of this writing) is a lot of money to throw down on a compromised product. If you already own the Turbine set, then you already have the definitive home video release of the show. If not, I’d suggest tracking it down, or waiting and hoping that Turbine picks up the reins and corrects Universal’s mistakes.

- Tim Salmons

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