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KNIGHT RIDER BEHIND THE SCENES
THE SCENT OF ROSES
David Hasselhoff and Catherine Hickland
Both David Hasselhoff and Catherine Hickland were married in real life and wanted to bring a marriage to Knight Rider. So, Scent of Roses became about Michael leaving the foundation and marrying his former fiancee Stevie. While many believe that Voo Doo Knight was the last aired episode, Scent of Roses was the last produced episode. NBC has had a history of holding back episodes such as Big Iron and placing them out of order. In this case, Scent of Roses became a final farewell, as it became obvious that Knight Rider was facing cancellation. All the other episodes were in the "can" so to speak. David in a People magazine article commented that, "Glen Larson had to fight just to produce this Knight Rider episode." NBC had given the ax in late 1985 and Hasselhoff rushed to get his idea of Michael and Stevie "reunited." Killer KITT and other episodes according to the USA Today story dated May 26, 1986 were being edited and getting ready to air. "I had to have this episode, and Catherine had no problem reprising the role that she had originated in Whitebird and Let It Be Me, we had fun together." Well, NBC right after the episode aired, began to air the remaining Knight Rider episodes it had paid for. The lack of Turbo Boosts in Killer KITT and Voo Doo Knight are indications that the budget had been sliced by NBC. The low quality writing made Knight Rider falter in the lineup. The jumps were getting costly and the super pursuit mode scene was recycled over and over. The network had all but given up on Knight Rider and Hasselhoff never forgot that. When a similar situation came up in the NBC (89-90) Baywatch, NBC cut the show loose. Hasselhoff had to get the show syndicated and the rest was history. NBC once again lost out on great ratings, all because they would not put money into their shows. It still survived for 11 years, a testament to the will of David Hasselhoff.
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