A series of high-profile truck highjackings have come to the attention of Michael Knight, a lone crusader, and his faithful four-wheel companion KITT. With Devon’s help, they quickly learn that the gang’s leader is Dominic “Dom” Toretto, a street racer, mechanic, and ex-convict who lives his life one quarter-mile at a time. Boasting that Dom’s Dodge Charger is no match for his turbo boost, KITT trash-talks his way into a street race.
That’s the premise for the latest video from Lampoonery!, a YouTube site dedicated to comedy mashups using AI and a little imagination. Crazy as it may sound, a “Fast and The Furious” Knight Rider episode would be fun to watch. Especially with Michael Knight going undercover with Brian O’Conner.
Before you know it, KITT is lining up in a drag race with Dom’s Mazda RX-7, Brian’s Mitsubishi Eclipse, and some other cars, including an Acura Integra. KITT gets the jump on the other racers, easily cruising to victory. It’s debatable that turbo boost would beat nitrous oxide, but with a few mods, there’s no doubt KITT could beat an 11-second drag car.
The creators behind Lampoonery! and this sendup of Knight Rider and The Fast and the Furious are not above having fun at the expense of their source material. However, they seem like genuine fans of both franchises and car culture. It’s an impressive effort and entertaining to watch.
More impressive is the use of what their site calls “transformative editing,” likely using AI and other tools to insert Michael Knight into the world of early 21st-century street racing. The use of light and color shading and the lip-syncing to the dialog isn’t too bad and stands out less than you would think.
Really the only thing that stands out is early 80s David Hasselhoff with his glorious mane of curly hair, red shirt, and leather jacket. He clearly stepped out of a world with a soundtrack of Pat Benatar, John Cougar Mellencamp, and 80s synthesizers into one with Method Man, Ja Rule, and Limp Bizkit. If that seems weird, stay tuned for parts two and three, where the A-Team shows up.
