Ah, the Hoff.
The epitome of 80s cool. He had the looks, he had the car, he had the hair, for pete’s sake. He had everything. Women wanted him, and men wanted to be him.
It was, after all, 1982. Standards have changed,1 and what was cool then is not exactly cool now. But I digress.
Let me just steal IMDb’s plot synopsis, because I can’t put it any better:
Michael Long is a crimefighter who is seriously wounded during his work. Nursed back to health by a mysterious benefactor (chairman of the Knight Industries), he regains consciousness a new man with a new face and a new name: Michael Knight. His mysterious benefactor (through the guise of associate Devon Miles) provides Michael with equipment and support so that he can continue his crime fighting work. The most notable piece of equipment supplied, is "KITT", a high-performance sports car fitted with artificial intelligence. Written by Murray Chapman <muzzle@cs.uq.oz.au>
Hear that? He’s a crimefighter. Not a cop, a friggin' superhero.
Of course, everyone knows damn well the real star of Knight Rider was the car, KITT.2 Basically indestructible, loaded with weaponry, able to act on its own, and voiced by Mr. Feeney from Boy Meets World, KITT was the ultimate 80s supercar.
Intro time:
Man. Just look at that perm.
At any rate, this was a classic 1980s Action TV Show, so it deserves its own wine pairing. I’m going to pair Knight Rider with German riesling. Why?
Because Germans love David Hasselhoff.
Yeah, I said it.
Germans love David Hasselhoff
So the next time you sit down with an old episode of Knight Rider, pining for days when men could actually get away with hair like that and never buttoning the top three buttons of their shirts, enjoy a nice cold bottle of riesling. Preferably from Germany. And remember the Hoff in his coiffed, KITT-driving, crime-fighting heyday.
Some (unfortunately not German) rieslings I can recommend: