Forever Knight

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Forever Knight

Screenshot from the opening credits of Forever Knight
Genre Drama
Creator(s) Barney Cohen
James D. Parriott
Starring Geraint Wyn Davies
Catherine Disher
Nigel Bennett
Ben Bass
Deborah Duchêne
Blu Mankuma
Natsuko Ohama
John Kapelos
Lisa Ryder
Gary Farmer
Country of origin Flag of Canada Canada
Flag of United States United States
No. of episodes 72 (List of episodes)
Production
Running time 60 minutes
Broadcast
Original channel CBS
Original run 1992 – 1996
Links
IMDb profile
TV.com summary

Forever Knight was a Canadian-German-American television series about Nick Knight, an 800-year-old vampire working as a detective in modern day Toronto. Nicholas is an unlikely vampire and an even less likely civil servant, seeking to repay society for his sins.

Contents

[edit] Origin

The series originated as a 1989 CBS television movie, Nick Knight, with Rick Springfield playing the title character. In 1992, CBS began broadcasting the series as part of its Crimetime After Primetime lineup, with a new name and with Geraint Wyn Davies now playing Nick Knight.

[edit] Synopsis

Nicholas de Brabant’s life is one of profound struggle. He is at constant odds with the nature of who he is (a monster, a natural predator), and his unending quest to be human again. His desires (both carnal and humanitarian) seem to equally get the best of him. Helping him achieve his mortality is Dr. Natalie Lambert (Catherine Disher), a medical examiner who accidentally discovers the truth about Nick and vows to help him. Through the series there evolves a budding (albeit forbidden for obvious reasons) romance between Nick and Natalie, constantly complicated by the presence of Nick’s vampire family who are never far from him.

The beautiful vampire Janette du Charme (Deborah Duchêne) is a very powerful influence over Nick, for they are not only bound by their very natures but by their master and their quite literal eternal love for one another. While Nick might love Natalie for her mortality and her tireless devotion to his cause, Nick loves Janette for their deep abiding history and almost preternatural bond. Janette is also a “safe” way for Nick to indulge his vampire urges.

The most powerful force in Nick’s life, however, is Lucien LaCroix (Nigel Bennett), the vampire master who brought both Nicholas and Janette across. Nick both hates and loves LaCroix, despising him for bringing him into a life of darkness but also bound by an unshakable loyalty to him. While Janette might be mildly amused by Nick’s desire to be human, LaCroix fosters no such tolerance. It is quite clear from the beginning that LaCroix also harbors a deep, obsessive love for Nick, providing a strong homoerotic element to their complicated relationship. LaCroix not only thwarts every attempt Nick makes to achieve his goal, he mocks his quest with cold derision. LaCroix wants nothing more than for Nick to leave the world of the living and unite with his “family” and especially him once more. This seems to be all the more apparent when Nick learns about who brought LaCroix across. LaCroix was a general in the Roman army, known as Lucius, and he lived in Pompeii. He returned from the war a hero, and had a bust created in his honour. Lucius was in love with a woman named Selene, who had a young pre-teen daughter named Divia (Kathryn Long), whom he embraced as his own daughter. While he was away, Divia became ill, and when he returned, she was better again. When Vesuvius was erupting, Divia, now a vampire, noticed that Lucius did not want to die, and she brought him across, saving his life.

Later on, the two travelled to Egypt where they found the tomb of her maker, Qa’Ra, an ancient vampire who lived before the pyramids were built. Lucius is told that Divia destroyed him because he thought that he controlled her. She tells Lucius that the only reasons for her becoming a vampire were because she was purely evil and because she was so young. She wanted to forge her own path and killed him. Wanting Lucius to make love to her, he decapitates her. In the third season, Divia returns with the intention of killing LaCroix for his betrayal, but she decides it more cruel to kill his friends (Vachon and Urs) instead by feeding off them. In a final act of cruelty, she decides to go after Nick, nearly killing him. When she last confronts LaCroix, she decides to kill him after all, but not before Nick shows up and stakes her.

Adding delightful comic relief and a refreshing counterpoint to Wyn Davies’ Knight, Nick’s season one and two partner Don Schanke (John Kapelos) is an outrageous, crude, yet charming character. Much of the success of Nick’s “mortal” development can be attributed to his annoying yet beloved “Schanke,” as Schanke’s happy-go-lucky, no-nonsense approach to life often shadows Nick’s permanent melancholy. It is important to note that Kapelos was the only actor from the pilot to carry over into the series.

In the third and final season, the character of Schanke was killed off and replaced with a female partner by the name of Tracy Vetter (Lisa Ryder). Ryder’s character was surprisingly multifaceted, for during the course of the season she herself discovers the truth about vampires and falls in love with a young vampire (Javier Vachon) played by Ben Bass; however, Tracy did not discover that Nick himself was a vampire until moments before her own violent death at the end of the series. Her final, slightly reproachful words to him were “You could’ve trusted me.”

[edit] Recurring Cast

Each season had its own special guest stars one time or another and a variety of recurring characters. Below is each season and who kept coming back in episodes in that season. Of course Nick Knight, Lucien LaCroix, and Natalie were in just about every episode, and Janette was in the first two seasons and one episode in season three.

Season One

Season Two

Season Three

[edit] History

While Forever Knight always had a devoted fanbase, it was more of a cult phenomenon than a commercial success. On several occasions its cancellation was announced only to be rescinded by protest campaigns from its fans. In another example of fan effort, Forever Knight is currently being released on DVD, with all three seasons in stores. While season one is a “no frills” release, season two boasts many extras in the form of commentaries, interview and featurette, much to the delight of FK’s fans. Season three also contains bonus previews and three music videos.

One unusual aspect of this show was that it was syndicated in several countries and many episodes were filmed with different length versions to accommodate local broadcasting schedules. In addition, some scenes featuring nudity were shown overseas but cut from the American and Canadian broadcasts.

After a summer run on CBS, the show lasted for three seasons in first-run syndication and was later re-run on the SciFi Channel.

There have been three novels written based on the series: A Stirring of Dust by Susan Sizemore, Intimations of Mortality by Susan Garrett, and These Our Revels by Anne Hathaway Nayne. Because of their scarcity, all three books are considered collector’s items.

The episode “Curiouser and Curiouser” was nominated for several Gemini Awards in the 1995-1996 ceremony, including Nigel Bennett’s winning performance for Best Supporting Actor.

Forever Knight was voted number 23 in TV Guide’s Top 25 Cult TV Shows of All Time special issue, May 2004.

[edit] Miscellaneous

The band Bell, Book, & Candle's version of the Forever Knight theme appears on the 1997 Cleopatra Records various artists compilation CD Vampire Themes.

[edit] Episode list

Main article: List of Forever Knight episodes

[edit] See also

[edit] External links

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