The classic ’80s television series Knight Rider became available to stream on Netflix on Dec. 1. For the uninitiated, the show featured a former police officer, Michael Knight, who teamed up with an AI-enhanced Pontiac Firebird Trans Am named KITT. The smart car was bulletproof, could jump over objects — and talk. The premise provided material for four television seasons plus the less-than-stellar sequel made-for-TV movie, Knight Rider 2000. It debuted in 1991 and was set in the “future” in the year 2000. Nevertheless, new viewers might recognize more than they expect.

In the original series, the show focused on the weekly adventures of Knight, “a young loner on a crusade to champion the cause of the innocent, the helpless, the powerless, in a world of criminals who operate above the law,” as the show’s opening credits state. But in the pseudo-dystopian future of Knight Rider 2000, the “innocent, the helpless, the powerless” are victimized by the poor policy decisions of government officials who are more worried about the welfare of criminals than the everyday citizen.