Today sees the anniversary of another classic Knight Rider show, Goliath Returns. Originally airing as a movie-of-the-week, it was the second of three feature-length adventures of the 1983-84 season.

Garthe Knight (David Hasselhoff) escapes from prison with the aid of Goliath, rebuilt and now completely invulnerable thanks to the efforts of Adrianne St. Clair (Ann Turkel), who has also evaded justice. Together they set about kidnapping a prominent scientist in order to sell him to a foreign power, but not before Garthe has also kidnapped Devon and April to force a final confrontation with Michael and K.I.T.T.

It’s a fan-favourite, and rightfully so. Written during a long lunch at the Hamburger Hamlet in Hollywood by producers and staff writers Robert Foster, Robert W. Gilmer, Janis Hendler and Tom Greene, Goliath Returns was the first show to bring back successful badguys to challenge Michael and K.I.T.T.

Garthe and Goliath previously appeared in the second season premiere Goliath. Their accomplice, Adrianne St. Clair, previously crossed paths with Michael and K.I.T.T. in the episode Soul Survivor — although for that episode she was credited as ‘Adrianne Margeaux’; the name-change isn’t explained, and she is referred to as ‘Margeaux’ in the episode.

If you haven’t seen it, it comes highly recommended and is available on DVD as part of Knight Rider: Season 2.