Here is a top 10 list of movie and TV shows making prominent use of light emitting diodes (LEDs) in their props. You will notice that most of these bring us back to the early 80s, which in my opinion is the golden age of the use of LEDs in movie props.

1. Knight Rider – Knight Industries Two Thousand (K.I.T.T. or KITT)

The fully customized Pontiac Firebird in the Knight Rider TV series is the first prop which comes to mind when we think about the use of LEDs in TV and movie props. The show also had a lot of lights in the trailer, where the car was serviced.

2. GhostBusters – Proton Pack, Ghost Trap, PKE Meter, ECTO googles, Slime Blower

The GhostBusters movies had so many lights in their props that they could fill a list of their own.  Still very much recognizable today, the Proton Pack  is part of our pop culture. It is one of the most sophisticated piece of movie props ever made while at the same time being very accessible, being assembled from household items and various hardware parts. The GhostBusters also had several other handheld props with lots of lights, and they also had some fixed props such as the Containment Unit which had interesting lights as well. Yes you are right, these were not all LEDs, in fact mostly incandescent bulbs but the fascination with LEDs extends to all sources of light.

3. Back to the Future – BTTF DeLorean Time Machine

The Back to the Future car is another fine example from the same era in which LEDs took a leading role in the movie. The Time Circuits would not have been the same without LED readouts. There was also the speedometer box tacked to the top of the dash, commonly known as the 88 Speedometer.

4. Battlestar Galactica – Cylon

The famous Cylon eye is another interesting piece of memorabilia which used lights on film and entered our pop culture. If the back and forth scanning motion reminds you of the Knight Rider front scanner, this is not a coincidence: Battlestar Galactica and Knight Rider have both been produced by Glen Larson. In fact Battlestar Galactica came first.

5. Star Trek – Phasers, Tricorders, Computers…

I know a lot of Trekkies would put Star Trek on top of any list. The only reason it is not on top of my list is that although they had tons of lights in handheld props, computers, consoles, spaceships, … these were almost all incandescent bulbs. It makes sense since the hugely popular series predates the commercial availability of LEDs. But still, Star Trek deserves to be on this list, keeping up with the spirit of the fascination for lights on film.

6. Blade Runner – Voight-Kampff VK test machine

Blade Runner, the cult science fiction movie with Harrison Ford, did not have as many LEDs as other movies of shows from this list but they did have some very special props. The Voight-Kampff VK test machine, used to detect replicants. That prop used some LED bar graphs previously seen only in the Knight Rider TV series.

7. James Bond – various gadgets and spy stuff

The James Bond movies always had super cool spy gadgets. In the Golden Eye movie, they made a magnetic explosive device with 6 sequencing LEDs.

8. Star Wars – R2-D2, Princess Leia Boushh helmet, light sabers

The cute little astromech droid has several lights all around. R2-D2 is another nice example of movie prop which made it into our pop culture, being instantly recognizable. There are also the many variants of light sabers. And then there are the less known props which do not get as much screen time, such as the Boushh helmet, worn by Princess Leia as a Bounty Hunter in Return of the Jedi.

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This list is not complete, and this is on purpose. I want your input to add to or remove from the list. What else should be on that list? What should be taken out? Your comments are welcome.