:lolham:
funny how stupid conversations can lead to big profits
The story of how Knight Rider came into being is a humerous one. The then head of programming at NBC recalls discussing the pros and (considerable) cons of casting handsome men in leading roles of television shows, the biggest problem being that the vast majority of them lacked any kind of acting talent. Jokingly, he suggested a show entitles ‘The Man of Six Words’, which would open with the hunk getting out of a woman’s bed and saying ‘Thank you.’ The ‘beef’ of the show would involve a car chase culminating in the hunk capturing the villain, using the age-old ‘Freeze!’ line in the process, and the show would then wrap up with the victim of the villain thanking the hunk, who would say ‘You’re welcome’ and then make his exit. Any dialogue in between would be provided by the hunk’s talking car. Sounds ridiculous, doesn’t it?
Despite the ridiculousness of the premise, however, Knight Rider, the resulting show, was a huge success with children and adults alike, not least because it had a charm about it that was difficult to ignore, and made NBC a lot of money in its 1982 season.