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Unlike the Pixar movie of the same name, Inside Out is not about the inner workings of human emotions. Instead, it deals with something far more in line with the world of Knight Rider: a retired army colonel running his own private military operation from a heavily guarded compound. Naturally, this means Michael and KITT have to go behind enemy lines.
The Plot
Michael goes undercover as criminal wheelman Dugan after capturing the real driver and hiding him away in a trailer. Posing as Dugan, he infiltrates a criminal training camp run by retired General Alvin Kincaid, who is preparing his recruits for a major operation. While investigating the compound, Michael grows close to Linda, a woman desperate to escape Kincaid’s control, and discovers a plan to break captured associates out of a maximum-security prison. After sending KITT to warn Devon, Michael learns the prison escape is merely a cover for Kincaid’s true objective: hijacking a gold shipment. Forced to continue the operation while maintaining his cover, Michael must stop the robbery from the inside before his identity is exposed when the real Dugan escapes and arrives at the camp.
My thoughts
Following up an episode like Trust Doesn’t Rust was always going to be a challenge, and Inside Out never really had an easy task ahead of it. Interestingly, it was apparently the first episode filmed after the pilot, despite airing as episode 10. That’s something you could easily get away with in an episodic show like this, although a throwaway comment about Michael still getting used to his new name feels a little out of place after ten episodes have already aired.
This episode also marks Bonnie’s first appearance in production order, although you wouldn’t know it from watching it. She simply appears as an established character without any introduction or explanation. She does make a strong first impression, though, when she appears to ask Michael if he’s okay—only for the joke to be that she isn’t concerned about Michael at all. She’s actually talking to KITT.
For most of its runtime, Inside Out is a fairly routine Knight Rider episode. Michael and KITT spend most of the story undercover at a compound, gathering information to pass on to Devon. Michael gets plenty of opportunities to sneak around, while KITT demonstrates some of his usual abilities. The tension mainly comes from one suspicious employee slowly catching on to Michael’s presence and from the real Dugan attempting to escape captivity before eventually showing up at the compound.
It’s not until the final act that the episode truly comes alive, delivering some impressive stunt work and a sequence that may have even served as inspiration for the truck heist in The Fast and the Furious. This final caper is clever, exciting, and easily the highlight of an otherwise fairly standard episode.
Inside Out is ultimately a middle-of-the-road Knight Rider adventure. It’s not a bad episode by any means, but it also lacks the spark that makes the show’s best episodes stand out. It sits comfortably in the middle of the pack: entertaining enough, but hardly unforgettable.
Knight Rider tropes
KITT shenanigans
In the opening scene, KITT turbo boosts past a pair of speed-checking police officers while hitting well over 200 mph, leaving them convinced they may have just encountered something from another planet. Later, KITT takes matters into his own hands—or rather, his own wheels—when he drives himself off the compound to a secure location to send a message to Devon. Along the way, he encounters a police blockade where the same officers are directing traffic around a closed road. At first, the officer doesn’t even realize there is no one behind the wheel, only recognizing KITT when the car casually drives away.
KITT is also at his sarcastic best in this episode, constantly throwing dry remarks at Michael and delivering some of his trademark sass. This results in one particularly brilliant piece of dialogue:
KITT: Correct me if I’m wrong, but aren’t we en route to Colonel Kincaid’s current base of operations?
Michael: Yeah. What about it?
KITT: Unless I’m mistaken, didn’t Mr. Miles say that no law enforcement agent had ever returned from there?
Michael: That’s right.
KITT: I see.KITT: Do you happen to know what happened to their cars?
Damsel in Distress
This episode uses the classic trope of the woman working for the villain who turns out to be acting against her will and eventually joins forces with the hero. She is an important part of the operation because her gymnastic skills are needed to transfer from KITT to the moving gold truck at full speed. Although, realistically, that feels more like a job for a stunt performer than a gymnast. However, after she injures herself, Michael has to take her place, which does make you wonder how essential she really was to the plan in the first place.
Child in Peril
There are no children anywhere near this compound, nor are there any involved with the gold transport.
Michael’s Undercover Identity
Rather than using a short-lived undercover persona, Michael spends the majority of the episode undercover as wheelman Dugan. It’s an identity he successfully maintains throughout the mission, only being compromised when the real Dugan unexpectedly shows up at the compound.
The Villains
This episode features a particularly memorable villain in Colonel Alvin B. Kincaid. He is the central antagonist and remains present for most of the episode, which is actually somewhat unusual for Knight Rider. Often, Michael and KITT spend most of their time dealing with henchmen while the main villain appears only occasionally. Not here. Kincaid is a hands-on villain who actively participates in the gold robbery. He also resembles Sean Connery in the 1990s.
Notable Gadgets
KITT is equipped with a Microwave Jammer, allowing him to create electrical interference and disrupt nearby electronic devices. As is tradition, this very specific gadget proves to be exactly what is needed to solve a problem in this episode.
Memorable Guest Stars
Once again, none of the guest stars immediately stood out to me, but both Judith Chapman and Lawrence Dobkin have impressive IMDb resumes, even if most of their appearances were in smaller supporting roles.
Random Observations
KITT ejecting a man from the vehicle while traveling at over 100 mph should realistically be a guaranteed death sentence. Yet somehow, the guy survives the experience and ends up harmlessly stuck in a tree without so much as a scratch. Classic Knight Rider physics.
KITT’s original bumper from the pilot episode makes another unexpected appearance. This was most likely due to the show’s production schedule, where episodes were filmed out of order and car modifications weren’t always consistent.
The demonstration jump KITT performs for Colonel Kincaid is probably the easiest stunt he and the crew have ever had to pull off. For once, there is no need to hide the ramp, disguise it with clever camera angles, or make it look like KITT simply launched himself into the air—the entire point is to show off the jump.
