Forever Knight

Forever Knight
intertitle
Format	Supernatural drama Police procedural
Created by	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	Canada
No. of seasons	3
No. of episodes	70 (List of episodes)
Production
Running time	44–48 minutes
Production company(s)	Glen Warren Productions Paragon Entertainment Corporation Tele München TriStar Television USA Network
Broadcast
Original channel	CBS
Audio format	Stereo
Original run	May 5, 1992 (1992-05-05) – May 17, 1996 (1996-05-17)

Forever Knight is a Canadian television series about Nick Knight, an 800-year-old vampire working as a police detective in modern day Toronto. Wracked with guilt for centuries of killing others, he seeks redemption by working as a homicide detective on the night shift while struggling to find a way to become human again. The series premiered on May 5, 1992 and concluded with the third season finale on May 17, 1996.

Cast

• Geraint Wyn Davies as Detective Nick Knight
• Nigel Bennett as Lucien LaCroix
• Deborah Duchêne as Janette DuCharme
• Catherine Disher as Natalie Lambert
• John Kapelos as Detective Donald Schanke (seasons 1 & 2)
• Gary Farmer as Captain Joe Stonetree (season 1)
• Natsuko Ohama as Captain Amanda Cohen (season 2)
• Ben Bass as Javier Vachon (season 3)
• Lisa Ryder as Detective Tracy Vetter (season 3)
• Blu Mankuma as Captain Joe Reese (season 3)
• Greg Kramer as Screed (season 3)

Plot

The series followed the adventures of Nick Knight, a Toronto cop working the graveyard shift with his partner Donald Schanke. Unbeknownst to most of his colleagues, Nick was actually Nicholas, an 800-year-old vampire (his human name was a pun based on his status as a literal knight in medieval France). Remorseful over centuries spent as a cold-hearted killer, Nicholas works as a cop and often ends up using his special abilities to bring criminals to justice. Nicholas explains his need to work on the night shift by claiming to have a skin disorder which requires him to stay out of sunlight. Refusing to feed from humans, he survives by drinking bottled animal blood, something that most vampires find repulsive. The only one who knows his true nature is his friend Natalie Lambert, a city medical examiner. Nick's ultimate dream is to find a way to become human once again, but his quest for redemption is complicated by the arrival in Toronto of fellow vampires LaCroix and Janette. LaCroix, who was born in the Roman Empire, and Janette were the ones who made Nick a vampire and were his companions for many centuries. Janette now runs a night club, while LaCroix works as a late-night talk radio host. While Janette is scornful, yet tolerant of Nicholas's new lifestyle, LaCroix actively attempts to seduce his protégé back to a more violent life. At the beginning of the third season, Detective Schanke is murdered and Nick is partnered with Tracy Vetter, a rookie detective who gets the assignment due to her father's high-ranking position in the police force. Tracy is never aware of Nick's true nature but finds herself increasingly attracted to Javier Vachon, a vampire who had been a conquistador in life. Although Nick continues to protect the "innocent" civilians, he finally gets tired of the life he lives. Nick is faced with the choice to either move on or attempt to recapture his humanity through a method that puts Natalie's life in the balance. At that point LaCroix appears and indicates the time to leave is near and he must either bring Natalie over or leave her to die. Nicholas decides that neither option is acceptable and then hands LaCroix a wooden stake. We do not see what LaCroix does except to hear LaCroix voice say "Nicholas" in stress and frustration and the scene pans out to the building where Nick lives...

The ending is left to the viewers' interpretation but the implication is that Nick dies with LaCroix's help, hoping to join Natalie in an afterlife.

Powers and abilities

Nick Knight, as well as several other vampire characters, demonstrated a number of superhuman abilities. As a vampire, Nick did not age throughout nearly 800 years of existence. In most cases he was invulnerable to harm from gunshot, blunt force trauma or blade. Vampires in the Forever Knight universe displayed also the powers of super strength and speed, enhanced senses, flight and a degree of hypnotism/mind control. However Nick's hypnotism did not always work, especially if the victim had physical evidence that proved opposite of what Nick would have them believe.

Production

The series originated as a 1989 CBS television movie, Nick Knight, with Rick Springfield playing the title character.^[1] 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 (using a pilot that had been re-shot with Davies).

Media

Novels

There have been three novels written based on the series:

• Susan Sizemore (1997). Forever Knight: A Stirring of Dust. Boulevard Books. ISBN 978-1-57297-238-4. 
• Susan M. Garrett (1997). Forever Knight: Intimations of Mortality. Boulevard Books. ISBN 978-1-57297-313-8. 
• Anne Hathaway Nayne (1997). Forever Knight: These Our Revels. Boulevard Books. ISBN 978-0-425-16491-4. 

Soundtracks

There have been two soundtrack CDs released that contain selections from the score. The first was released on 25 July 1996 and the second was released on 11 May 1999

DVD releases

Sony Pictures Home Entertainment has released the entire series on DVD in Region 1 (US only) in 3 volume sets.

Reception

Forever Knight was nominated for 13 Gemini Awards, and won once in 1996. It was also nominated for a Golden Reel Award in 1992, but did not win. It was ranked #23 on TV Guide's Top Cult Shows Ever in 2004,^[2] but was taken off the list in 2007.

References

1. ↑ Guiley, Rosemary; Macabre, J. B. (1994). The Complete Vampire Companion. p. 170. ISBN 978-0-671-85024-1 
2. ↑ May 30 – June 5, 2004 issue of TV Guide.

External links

• Forever Knight official site (Sci Fi Channel). Archived from the original on April 5, 2004.
• Forever Knight at allmovie
• Forever Knight at the Internet Movie Database
• Forever Knight at TV.com