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October 25, 2008:
Before Angel, before Moonlight, before Blood Ties, there was Forever Knight, a Canadian vampire detective thriller that ran from 1992-1996. Shown on CBS and the Sci-Fi Channel in the US, Forever Knight has a large cult following that helped to finally petition for the series' complete release on DVD by running full-page ads in trade magazines and through e-mail and letter writing campaigns.
Forever Knight is the journey of Nick Knight (Geraint Wyn Davies), a 700-year-old French vampire who seeks to atone for his sins through public service. In his latest reincarnation, he's a Toronto homicide detective working the night shift. Paired with Detective Don Schanke (John Kapelos), Nick investigates some of the most brutal Toronto homicides, including drive-by shootings (this was ten years before Toronto's gangs made international headlines for innocent bystanders killed in gang warfare in public places), death by arson, and serial killers. The cases contain a good deal of procedural elements related to the coroner, Dr. Natalie Lambert (Catherine Disher), the only mortal to know of Nick's vampirism.
Nick's former vamp flame Janette (Deborah Duchenne) runs the vampire/Goth bar The Raven, and Nick goes to Janette for clues on cases, as well as the occasional solace. Nick and Natalie search desperately for a scientific cure to regain mortality, even as Nick's controlling vampire master Lucien LaCroix (Nigel Bennett) tightens his grasp on his happy little vampire "family."
The original pilot was aired in 1989 and starred Rick Springfield as Nick. The only carryover to the current cast was John Kapelos as Schanke. Nick Knight was reshot as the two-part series pilot Dark Knight.
First-season standouts include Last Act, Dance By The Light of the Moon, Feeding the Beast, in which Nick publicly faces his addiction (although he doesn't specify that "the bottle" contains cow's blood!), Spin Doctor (Nick on trial in 1954 Chicago for suspected Communist ties), and For I Have Sinned (Nick must face his fear and loathing of churches and religious symbols).
Video quality looks dark and grainy, though that may be because the series was shot on videotape and at night / in dark locations. I felt like Columbia could have spent more time cleaning it up for as long as fans had to wait for the first-season set. Also, 0 stars for 0 extras, minus a couple of trailers for other Columbia Tristar supernatural flicks. No commentaries, no bloopers, nothing. Disappointing, as the original retail value of the box was $80.
The writing is generally good, and care is taken with period costuming, speech styles, and set dressing. For a low budget, the cast and crew did a great job capturing the atmosphere of various historical periods, and of modern-day Toronto. Some of the foreign language dialogue is obviously subpar (except for Deborah Duchenne, who is a French speaker), as are some of the "foreign" accents.
This may be the only TV show I know of that's shot in Toronto out of hundreds a year that actually portrays Toronto in all its former glory -- there are gratuitous shots of the now-defunct Sam the Record Man on Yonge Street with its spinning neon discs, the CN Tower, Skydome, and other landmarks. Although it's shameful about the lack of extras and that the video quality wasn't cleaned up more, it's great to have Nick Knight back in the fold once more.
I Also Recommend: Forever Knight - Trilogy Part 2.
What took so long?by Anonymous
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May 14, 2004:
I am glad that the first season came out on DVD. I just cannot wait until the remaining seasons come out on DVD as well. I was thrilled to receive this DVD set as a Christmas gift in 2003. I have really enjoyed watching the show's first season. I didn't see the first few seasons, but I watched most of the show's last season in 1995/1996. I am just glad to see how all of the show started out and progressed through the first season. This is a GREAT DVD set to buy for yourself or others.
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