HAL 9000, K.I.T.T. & K.A.R.R.

[Lost Knight]

It's a known fact that Glen Larson has stated that the inspiration for K.I.T.T. came from the HAL 9000 computer from 2001: A Space Odyssey. I had just finished watching the film on Blu-ray again recently and noticed a lot of similarities between HAL, K.I.T.T. and K.A.R.R. Some of these, such as the very essence of a computer with a synthesized voice (a new concept for a 1968 audience), were obviously intentional, while others were not.

In regards to K.I.T.T., for starters, HAL's voice (played by actor Douglas Rain) sounds somewhat similar to William Daniels', and I wonder if that was one of the reasons Larson wanted Daniels for the part. Ultimately, though, it was Daniels' idea to make K.I.T.T. human as opposed to sounding like a robot, which is strange considering how different that would have been than the character that inspired him in the first place. And of course, the artificial intelligence factor goes without saying, as HAL is in control of virtually every function on the spaceship Discovery, while K.I.T.T. is in control of every function of the Knight 2000. The number suffix on the name Knight 2000 is probably also influenced by HAL 9000's name, too, come to think of it.

At first, the astronauts aboard the Discovery have a good relationship with HAL. And despite the emphasis in the movie that no 9000 Series computer had ever malfunctioned or made a mistake, a turn of events changes everything, which leads me to K.A.R.R.

During the course of the film, HAL begins to make subtle strategic decisions regarding the ship's mission and learns manipulation techniques. Due to his supposed perfect operational track record, this alarms the astronauts, and they have to make a decision whether to trust HAL, or come up with a backup plan to bypass HAL altogether and disconnect him. HAL outsmarts the astronauts and is able to read their lips and discovers their plan, thereby making his top priority self-preservation. It's when this occurs that, ironically, HAL actually becomes exactly like K.A.R.R. and will do anything to protect himself, including killing the astronauts on-board.

So in actuality, HAL really is exactly like K.A.R.R. more than he is K.I.T.T. I know Larson never created K.A.R.R. as a character, but I think it's interesting that his inspiration for K.I.T.T. ultimately turned out to be K.A.R.R.

[blackthorntk]

Cool InFo Lost Knight.