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“Guns! Guns! Guns!” Clarence Boddicker once shouted in the ’80s classic RoboCop. And there’s no more suitable quote for an episode that deals with just that: guns. Michael Knight has to retrieve a high-tech weapon, while KITT turbo boosts off the back of a pickup truck. Sounds great on paper, but is this a surefire hit or rather a blank?
The Plot
Michael goes undercover as an arms dealer to retrieve the X-19, a high-tech assault rifle capable of firing rockets. His investigation brings him into conflict with a pair of ruthless arms dealers and their feud with a Latino family, while waitress Angie Martin finds herself caught between the two sides. With KITT by his side, Michael must navigate the dangerous arms deal and prevent the weapon from falling into the wrong hands.
My thoughts
After the fun episode Forget Me Not, Knight Rider takes a slightly more serious turn with Hearts of Stone, an episode about a pair of arms dealers warring with a Latino family that includes a priest. There’s also a bit of Romeo and Juliet thrown into the mix, as one of the family members is involved with a waitress who works for the arms dealers.
The MacGuffin of the episode is the X-19, an assault rifle packing some serious firepower, including the ability to fire rockets. Hi-tech weaponry: a classic staple of ’80s and ’90s action movies. The weapon gets a demonstration from none other than Devon, who basically turns into an excited kid when he has Michael fire it. It’s a goofy gun, though, and the rocket-firing aspect is never really explained. Is it a one-and-done deal? Do you have to carry a bag of rockets around with you? What’s the deal here?
The first and second acts largely revolve around Michael trying to set up a deal, constantly crossing paths with waitress Angie Martin, who is played pretty terribly by Mary McCusker. Her accent changes from scene to scene, and her line delivery is awkward at times. Sadly, she’s also pretty integral to the story, especially in the first two acts, meaning there’s a lot of screen time dedicated to a character who deserves as little of it as possible.
Usually, something like this makes me look for redeeming factors, but this episode has very little to offer. I could never really get invested in the story, and that now has me wondering why this Latino family was feuding with the arms dealers in the first place. A quick search makes it clear that it had to do with the weapons ending up in Mexico, but that plot element clearly didn’t stick with me. By comparison, I can still remember why the bad guys wanted to sabotage Slammin’ Sammy’s Stunt Show Spectacular or why that biker gang was heading to White Rock. If I have to look up the basic motivation behind the central conflict after watching an episode, it probably hasn’t done a great job of making its story memorable.
This episode has some nice stunt work, particularly when KITT chases a helicopter. During another chase scene, he manages to jump onto the back of a moving pickup truck, which is pretty cool. But other than that, there’s nothing particularly spectacular on display when it comes to the stunt work.
Hearts of Stone is a grittier episode that takes an anti-gun stance, making it a darker and more political outing than usual. That’s not to say it’s an entirely different beast for the series, though. There’s still a lighthearted element to the story, along with some good stunt work on display. Unfortunately, I never found myself fully invested in the plot, making this a subpar episode for me. Its main redeeming quality is the introduction of KITT’s new three-bar LED Voice Modulator, which would go on to become one of his defining features.
Knight Rider tropes
KITT shenanigans
This episode is a bit light on KITT shenanigans, though he does get a fun little moment in the finale when he turbo boosts on the back of a pickup truck.
Damsel in distress
Angie Martin is a waitress who also serves as a connection to the arms dealers. She swindles Michael out of his $200k and has a secret relationship with Roberto Laguna, making her a bit of a departure from the usual damsel in distress. She’s not available as a romantic interest, and there’s little trust between her and Michael, even though she does end up being the obligatory woman in the passenger seat during the finale.
Child in peril
It’s been a while since the show featured a kid, and this episode doesn’t break that streak. Another week without a child in danger.
Michael’s undercover identity
Michael uses his own name but poses as an arms dealer to get his hands on a shipment of hi-tech weapons. It’s the first time he spends most of an episode undercover, as his undercover identities usually last a scene or two at most.
The Villains
The bad guys of the week are a duo of arms dealers who are more ruthless than the average Knight Rider antagonists. They’re responsible for things like a drive-by shooting that actually leaves someone injured. Death was a recurring element in the first few episodes before the show became a tad lighter, but this episode feels like a callback to those early days, with the bad guys even being responsible for a death.
Notable gadgets
There are no new gadgets introduced, but KITT does get his three-bar LED Voice Modulator in this episode. The change is even acknowledged during his first exchange with Michael, in a scene that feels like it was added later once the makers realized they probably needed to explain why KITT’s voice modulator suddenly looked different. KITT also deploys tear gas at one point, but that just seems to be one of the many liquids and gases he can dispense.
Memorable guest stars
Once again, there are no familiar faces among the guest stars.
Random observations
We finally get the black F.L.A.G. Mobile Unit, and this is also the first episode where KITT enters and exits the truck while it’s moving. This was always one of the coolest moments in these episodes when I was a kid.
In 1982, $400 will get you a helicopter and a pilot.
There’s a lot of ADR in this episode, with plenty of dialogue inserted over establishing shots of KITT or the F.L.A.G. truck driving. This is often a clear indicator that they had to fiddle around with the episode after filming had already wrapped.
We rarely see Michael shooting a gun, but this episode has him going all out with a hi-tech weapon.
