Knight Rider, the iconic 1980s television series starring David Hasselhoff, is back – although without much of a bang.
The original series had Hasselhoff playing Michael Knight: an undercover detective who is saved from the brink of death to fight crime. Michael is given a new identity and equipped with high-tech equipment for his detective work.
However, the real star of the show was Knight’s car KITT (Knight Industries Two Thousand). The car was equipped with artificial intelligence, a missile defense system, as well as an “alpha circuit” option that allows the car to drive automatically. The mix of sci-fi technology and “Lone Ranger” style vigilante justice was a massive hit, and it’s now being presented in a 2008 series to appeal to a new generation.
Unremarkably, to a generation (myself included) that has grown up on a steady diet of Facebook, iPods, and HDTV, the novelty of a super futuristic car that talks isn’t really that exciting anymore. Despite this, the car is the focal point of the action, and it can’t help but come across as tiresome and contrived.
The show has a heavy emphasis on action, with the usual doses of (cheesy) romance and drama thrown in for good measure. The role of the protagonist is reprised by Justin Brueing as Michael Traceur, the estranged son of Michael Knight, and features Val Kilmer as the voice of KITT.
The show opens introducing Michael, and his ‘friend’ and fellow investigator Sarah Graiman, played by Deanna Russo. As expected, both protagonists have the quintessential chiseled good looks, and it makes you wonder if Knight Rider is just another transparent superficial drama, or if being a supermodel is a prerequisite for the job.
The plot thickens when Michael is poisoned, and must find an antidote to cure the potentially lethal virus. To do so, he takes part in what may or may not be an assassination, and finds himself in many sticky situations along the way. Luckily, he has his godly vehicle that can withstand bazooka missiles, dodge car crashes, and all but single handedly save the protagonist's life on more than one occasion.
Ultimately, the car is the show's only saving grace. It is admittedly fun to watch the car transform into “attack mode”, where it can unleash its flamethrower or rockets at will, or into “turbo mode”, which allows the car to go fully airborne.
Unfortunatly KITT is pretty much all Knight Rider has going for it. The characters are shallow, and the romance scenes cringe worthy. The plotlines are recycled, and fancy explosions just aren’t enough to keep the attention of this generation’s youth.
There are some really corny moments in this program that completely dismiss the prospect of me taking it seriously – one that springs to mind is when Michael hopelessly professes his love to his significant other seconds before flatlining. You can’t really get anymore unoriginal than that. If Dark Knight hopes to appeal to a new demographic, it needs to bring something fresh to the table, because we’ve all seen the same James Bond style action scenes a thousand times over.
Friday, October 24, 2008
Thursday, October 23, 2008
Monday, October 13, 2008
TIAF (Unfinished)
The Toronto International Art Fair celebrated its largest event to date last Monday, although some critics have expressed mixed opinions on its commercial success.
The annual fair, in its ninth year, is the largest of its kind in Canada and among the largest in North America. It takes place at the Metro Convention Centre, and is backed by several large corporate sponsors, including The Royal Bank of Canada, The Globe & Mail, and Pioneer.
Sarah Close, a spokeswoman for TIAF, says the event organizers were pleased with the steady growth of the event, but are still mindful of its grass roots.
“We’re always thinking about growing and expanding, but at the same time we want to maintain a level of intimacy,” Close said. “Our main goal is to be an international player among the art fairs.”
This year, TIAF eclipsed its previous mark of 15,000 visitors and boasts of over $15 million in sales, as well as more than 100 galleries from 14 countries.
Despite the public interest in the fair, some art critics such as Wayne Baerwaldt, director and head curator of The Power Plant, an art gallery in Toronto, have questioned the commercial motivations.
“I don’t see why it has to be lead by a commercial sector,” Baerwaldt said. “There are other art fairs, which in my opinion play a greater role in shaping art history, that are not lead by commercial interests.”
He said he feels that massive art fairs compromise the true value of the work.
“I think it’s a skewing of values and beliefs in contemporary art,” Baerwaldt said.
Even with the criticism, some supporters, like exhibitor Brian Torner, co-director of Lausberg Contemporary art gallery, says the fair will continue to grow regardless.
“It’s become more international, it’s received more media attention and public interest,” Torner said. “We don’t have a very dense landscape of art fairs in Canada…I only see a fair like this growing.”
The annual fair, in its ninth year, is the largest of its kind in Canada and among the largest in North America. It takes place at the Metro Convention Centre, and is backed by several large corporate sponsors, including The Royal Bank of Canada, The Globe & Mail, and Pioneer.
Sarah Close, a spokeswoman for TIAF, says the event organizers were pleased with the steady growth of the event, but are still mindful of its grass roots.
“We’re always thinking about growing and expanding, but at the same time we want to maintain a level of intimacy,” Close said. “Our main goal is to be an international player among the art fairs.”
This year, TIAF eclipsed its previous mark of 15,000 visitors and boasts of over $15 million in sales, as well as more than 100 galleries from 14 countries.
Despite the public interest in the fair, some art critics such as Wayne Baerwaldt, director and head curator of The Power Plant, an art gallery in Toronto, have questioned the commercial motivations.
“I don’t see why it has to be lead by a commercial sector,” Baerwaldt said. “There are other art fairs, which in my opinion play a greater role in shaping art history, that are not lead by commercial interests.”
He said he feels that massive art fairs compromise the true value of the work.
“I think it’s a skewing of values and beliefs in contemporary art,” Baerwaldt said.
Even with the criticism, some supporters, like exhibitor Brian Torner, co-director of Lausberg Contemporary art gallery, says the fair will continue to grow regardless.
“It’s become more international, it’s received more media attention and public interest,” Torner said. “We don’t have a very dense landscape of art fairs in Canada…I only see a fair like this growing.”
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