| Knight Rider | |
| Episode 201: Goliath | |
| Air Date | October 2, 1983 |
| Written by | Robert Foster Robert Gilmer |
| Director | Winrich Kolbe |
| Episode guide | |
| previous Episode 121: Short Notice |
next Episode 202: Brother's Keeper |
Guest Cast[]
Zakes Mokae as Tsombe Kuna
Ivan Naranjo as Chief 'car salesman
Shawn Ora Engemann as Rita Wilcox (credited as Shawn Southwick)
Barbara Rush as Elizabeth Knight
Paul Lambert as General Maddox
Plot[]
Michael goes to Las Vegas to help a woman named Rita Wilcox, whose brother, Ron, has gone missing. Elsewhere, Devon has a meeting with Elizabeth Knight, Wilton Knight's widow, who remains involved with funding the Foundation, although Devon distrusts her motives. Both Devon and Michael are stunned to find Wilton's criminal son, Garthe Knight, who has been in an African prison for four years, has returned to the picture.
Things get more complicated when Michael learns Rita is also involved with Garthe, and her brother was conducting some kind of investigation on him. Michael uncovers her brother's audio tapes containing information on a place known as "Red Bluff", a classified weapons storage facility deep in the Nevada desert. Red Bluff currently holds a collection of tactical missiles which would be dangerous in the wrong hands, especially a third world nation. When Michael learns Garthe is secretly meeting with an African military general named Tsombe Kuna, the pieces come together.
Just how Garthe intends on getting the missiles out of the highly guarded facility isn't certain; that is until Michael comes face-to-face with a massive semi truck known as "Goliath" which is protected with the same indestructible molecular bonded shell technology as K.I.T.T.. Garthe shows Michael just how unstoppable Goliath is when he lures Michael to a dry lake bed in the middle of the desert for a showdown. Goliath clobbers KITT in a collision that nearly destroys him.
KITT is immobilized, and Michael is left for dead, but he manages to get KITT back on his wheels and modifies his engine to become a improvised ramjet to get them back home. April Curtis repairs KITT and installs a powerful laser weapon which may give him an edge against Goliath.
Michael surprises Garthe when he shows up alive and well at the casino and embarrasses Garthe by beating him at a craps table. In anger, Garthe chases Michael down in his Mercedes, but Michael lures him into a trap where Devon and April hold him hostage. Michael then poses as Garthe to fetch Rita from the casino, and intercept Goliath before General Kuna uses it to break into Red Bluff.
Garthe manages to escape and rushes to stop Michael before he can plant a bomb on Goliath. Once Michael is discovered, he is taken prisoner by General Kuna and is forced to watch Goliath smash its way into Red Bluff. A squad of Kuna's soldiers then load the missiles into Goliath's trailer. Michael has K.I.T.T. cause a disturbance so he can slip away. Back inside KITT, Michael chases down Garthe to confront him in a final showdown before Kuna can take possession of the weapons.
Trivia[]
- This episode originally aired as a special two-hour episode. For syndication, it has been divided into two one-hour parts, resulting in cuts and trims to allow time for the extra sets of credits and the "previously on Knight Rider" recap. The original two hour presentation has been restored for the DVD boxed set release.
- This episode is probably adapted in the Knight Rider book Mirror Image from Target Books in the UK.