Forever Knight

Forever Knight
Title Card for "Forever Knight"
Genre Horror
Crime drama
Mystery
Created by Barney Cohen
James D. Parriott
Starring Geraint Wyn Davies
Catherine Disher
Nigel Bennett
Ben Bass
Deborah Duchêne
Blu Mankuma
John Kapelos
Lisa Ryder
Gary Farmer
Country of origin Canada
Original language(s) English
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
(1995-1996)
(season 3)
Distributor Columbia Pictures Television Distribution
(1994-1995)
(season 2)
Columbia TriStar Television Distribution
(1995-1996)
(season 3)
Sony Pictures Television
Release
Original network CBS
Audio format Stereo
Original release 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, Ontario. 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.

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 is actually Nicholas, an 800-year-old vampire (his human name was reference to his status as a literal knight in medieval France). Remorseful over centuries spent as a vampiric 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, photodermatitis, 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 human who knows his true nature is his friend Natalie Lambert, a city medical examiner who doesn't like Nicholas using his special powers as she believes it increases his need for blood.

Nick's ultimate dream is to find a way to become human once again, but his quest for redemption is complicated by the arrival of fellow vampires Lucien LaCroix and Janette DuCharme. Lucien LaCroix, who was a general in the early Roman Empire, and who was turned into a vampire by his daughter Divia as Pompeii erupted in 79AD, originally made Nick a vampire in 1228. Janette was also 'brought across' by LaCroix, before he brought Nick across. They were Nick's companions for many centuries until he left them, seeking redemption and a way to reclaim his lost humanity. 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.

During the series, Nick had two partners. For the first two seasons it is Don Schanke. At the beginning of the third season, Detective Schanke dies in an airplane explosion caused by a bomber, and Nick is assigned a new partner, Tracy Vetter, a rookie detective who gets the assignment due to her father's high-ranking position in the police force. Tracy finds herself increasingly attracted to Javier Vachon, also a new character, who is a vampire who had been a conquistador in life. Nick and Vachon know about each other, and Tracy knows about Vachon being a vampire, but she never knows Nick is also a vampire. 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 hands LaCroix a wooden stake. We do not see what LaCroix does, but we hear him say "Damn you, Nicholas" in stress and frustration, and the scene cuts out to the building where Nick lives and a shot of the sun rising. 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.

Cast

Production

Development

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).

Vampire powers

Nick Knight, as well as several other vampire characters, demonstrates a number of superhuman abilities. As a vampire, Nick has not aged throughout nearly 800 years of existence. In most cases he is invulnerable to harm from gunshot, blunt force trauma, or blade. Vampires in the Forever Knight universe also display the powers of super strength and speed, enhanced senses, flight and a degree of hypnotism/mind control. However, Nick's hypnotism does not always work, especially if the victim has physical evidence that proved opposite to what Nick would have them believe. Vampires in the Forever Knight universe are not reanimated corpses as their heart beats a few times every ten minutes, as is stated in one episode. None of the vampires turn into such things as bats, wolves, mist or fog.

Two episodes reveal that vampirism in the Forever Knight universe is to some degree a psychosomatic condition. Although vampires suffer the standard aversion to garlic and combust in the presence of holy objects or sunlight, vampires that have forgotten what they are due to suffering a physical or mental trauma are completely unaffected by these things.

Episodes

The series aired on CBS from 5 May 1992 to 17 May 1996, broadcasting three seasons and a total of 70 episodes. Reruns were also seen in syndication during the mid-to-late 90s.

Home media

Sony Pictures Home Entertainment has released the entire series on DVD in Region 1 (US only) in 3 volume sets. Madman Entertainment released the entire series in Region 4 (Australia), in the same format.

Season One
Set Details Notes
  • 22 Episodes
  • 5-Disc Set (North America) / 6-Disc Set (Germany)
  • 1035 minutes
  • 1.33:1 Aspect Ratio
  • Subtitles: varies by region
  • English (Dolby Digital 2 0 Surround)
  • The North American and German releases contain different edits of the episodes. The German episodes are longer and not censored. This is also how the show was originally broadcast in the respective regions.
  • The German release is in two parts, each containing 3 discs.
Release Dates
North America Germany United Kingdom Australia
21 October 2003 19 February 2010 N/A 1 July 2015[2]
Season Two
Set Details Notes
  • 26 Episodes
  • 6-Disc Set
  • 1148 minutes
  • 1.33:1 Aspect Ratio
  • Subtitles: English
  • English (Dolby Digital 2 0 Surround)
  • The German release is in two parts, each containing 3 discs.
  • Commentaries
    • "Killer Instinct" by James D. Parriott and Geraint Wyn Davies
    • "Curiouser & Curiouser" by Nigel Bennett
    • "A More Permanent Hell" by Nigel Bennett
    • "Blood Money" by James D. Parriott and Geraint Wyn Davies
Release Dates
North America Germany United Kingdom Australia
4 January 2005 27 May 2011 N/A 2 September 2015
Season Three
Set Details Notes
  • 22 Episodes
  • 5-Disc Set
  • 969 minutes
  • 1.33:1 Aspect Ratio
  • Subtitles: English, Spanish and French
  • English (Dolby Digital 2 0 Surround)
  • Music videos:
    • Black Rose
    • The Hunger
    • Touch the Night
Release Dates
North America Germany United Kingdom Australia
3 October 2006 N/A N/A 14 October 2015

In other 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

Reception

Awards

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,[3] but was taken off the list in 2007.

Year Award Category/Recipient Result
1992 Golden Reel Award Best Sound Editing - Television Episodic - Effects & Foley
  • Kevin Howard
 Nominated
1993 Gemini Award Best Sound in a Dramatic Program or Series Nominated
Best Photography in a Dramatic Program or Series
  • Albert J. Dunk
 Nominated
Best Performance by an Actor in a Continuing Leading Dramatic Role Nominated
Best Performance by a Supporting Actor Nominated
Best Direction in a Dramatic Program or Mini-Series Nominated
1994 Gemini Award Best Photography in a Dramatic Program or Series
  • Albert J. Dunk
 Nominated
Best Performance by an Actress in a Continuing Leading Dramatic Role Nominated
Best Dramatic Series Nominated
1996 Gemini Award Best Performance by an Actress in a Supporting Role in a Dramatic Program or Mini-Series Nominated
Best Performance by an Actress in a Continuing Leading Dramatic Role Nominated
Best Performance by an Actor in a Continuing Leading Dramatic Role Nominated
Best Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role in a Dramatic Series Won
1997 Gemini Award Best Original Music Score for a Dramatic Series Nominated
Best Dramatic Series Nominated

See also

References

  1. ↑ Guiley, Rosemary; Macabre, J. B. (1994). The Complete Vampire Companion. p. 170. ISBN 978-0-671-85024-1.
  2. ↑ "Forever Knight Australian DVD listings". Retrieved June 20, 2016.
  3. ↑ May 30 – June 5, 2004 issue of TV Guide.
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