Spotlight on Fandoms: Forever Knight
[[Posting for drlambert since LJ is being a pain for her.]]
The 1990s were primetime for the cult classics of television, "The X-Files" and "Highlander" among them. One that often gets overlooked is the vampire show that paved the way for others to follow suit with more hair gel. The name of the series -- "Forever Knight."
The Premise
Brought across in 1228, Nicholas de Brabant spent the better part of 800 years chowing down on humans; he enjoyed the hunt, and enjoyed the kill. In the latter part of his infinite existence, however, his conscience reasserted itself. He now struggles to "repay society for his sins." This self-imposed debt repayment plan has taken several forms. The most recent attempts -- beginning in 1960s Chicago -- involve being a cop.
Flash forward to the early 1990s, and you find a Detective Nick Knight -- who looks remarkably like dear Nicholas de Brabant -- serving as a homicide cop in Toronto. "Forever Knight" follows Nick and his friends through their various cases and crises.
The Show
It started out with Rick Springfield. No, really. Someone, somewhere, decided that the soap opera star-singer of "Jesse's Girl" was perfect for the role of the emo angsty, guilt-ridden Nick Knight. The two-hour movie -- "Nick Knight" -- aired on CBS in 1989. It wasn't terribly impressive to me, but it wasn't bad. Those who are really curious can actually find this one on DVD out there. Really.
Three years later and a bit of recasting later, "Forever Knight" joined the CBS Crimetime After Primetime line up. Welsh actor Geraint Wyn Davies took the lead as Nick. From that point, the show led a rocky life: CBS announced its cancellation. A diligent fan effort kept it alive. Finally, it was picked up for the third season by USA Networks, the same channel that, at the time, was airing the equally "racy" "Silk Stalkings." This final season won mixed reviews from fans, and ended as producers Barney Cohen and James Parriot attempted to move on to an Anne Rice vampire series -- or so that was the rumor. Most of us know how well that ended. [Not that we're bitter. Nope.]
Key Players
The supporting cast seemed to shift as frequently as the show switched times and networks. So, rather than list every supporting character since season 1, I'll simply introduce those characters it's important to know. If you need any further character info, you can jump over to LoftWorks, where Jasmine has a pretty good work up of the character dynamics from season to season. You could also hop over to Wiki.
Nick Knight. The title character, Nick started out life as the eldest son of a noble father. When he ran afoul of the locals while acting as errand boy to Lord Carrag, he was dispatched to serve in the Holy Land. The experience changed him; he became more cynical and worldly. It was during his time overseas that he met the beautiful vampire Janette du Charme...the woman who would orchestrate his coming across.
After about 700 years of the carefree, well-fed life of a vampire, something in Nick changed. Suddenly, it wasn't so cool to be undead, and he wanted to undo the choice he'd made. But as he sought a cure, he also felt the need to make amends to society for the centuries of killing, burning, and pillaging. The result? He eventually made his way to Toronto, working as a homocide detective. On the night shift, of course.
Natalie Lambert. At 28 years old, Nat Lambert was one of the youngest coroners in the province -- and likely the country. We are given the impression that she had little life outside of her school work, pushing hard to answer the questions of the universe. So, on her 28th birthday, when a supposedly-charred man sat up on her lab table, looking none the worse for wear, her curiosity was immediate piqued. She spent the next three-plus years attempting to "cure" Nick, and acted as his human inspiration.
Detective Don Schanke. Loud, obnoxious, but loveable, Don Schanke was everything that a cop-sidekick of the early 1990s should be. He loved souvlaki, sometimes smelled of garlic, and was always trying to find a way to have a poker party with the boys without his wife, Myra, pitching a hissy. Ironically, he was also the only character -- aside from Nick himself -- to survive the purge from Rick Springfield to Geraint Wyn Davies.
Tracy Vetter. The replacement for Don Schanke, she was blonde, blue-eyed, and the commissioner's daughter. This last little bit left her with something of a chip on her shoulder; she was constantly trying to prove herself more than just "the commissioner's daughter." Tracy had her own dealings with the vampire community, however, in the form of a vampire named Javier Vachon. Like Natalie, she found herself drawn to the mysterious vampire. She never found out, however, about Nick's "secret life."
Lucien LaCroix. We know more about the life of LaCroix after key second and third season episodes such as "A More Permanent Hell" and "Ashes to Ashes." In these episodes, we learn LaCroix was once Lucius, a Roman general of some note. He had a mistress -- if not a wife -- and a daughter. It was his daughter, Divia, who brought him across as Vesuvius erupted near by. He is the devil on Nick's shoulder, a constant reminder of the 700 years Nick is attempting to atone for.
Janette du Charme. The unmarriable daughter of a nobleman, Janette was sold off to the highest bidder. This eventually landed her in a house of ill-repute, where she was beaten and abused. LaCroix, however, saw a spark of nobility in her and brought her across. He empowered her to take revenge on the man who was running her destiny. She would eventually bring a young Nicholas de Brabant to LaCroix, to be brought across. She and Nick remained a couple "longer than the Medicis." Throughout the series, they often rekindle this flame when the mood strikes.
Grace Balthazar. Possibly Natalie's closest friend, co-worker, and co-conspirator. She is seen in the series, frequently pushing Natalie into the outside world...and trying to push her into the arms of "that Detective Knight."
So I Should Watch This...Why?
Honestly? The detective formula with a twist of the supernatural is somewhat predictable, but almost always fun, and the casting isn't bad either. Geraint Wyn Davies is a classically trained actor, who chews scenery beautifully as an angsting vampire; Nigel Bennett plays a wonderfully menacing Lucien LaCroix, making you love him and hate him equally. The supporting cast -- Cat Disher as Natalie included -- do well with what they are provided, making it almost an ensemble show.
In the end, with all cheap, goofy FX aside, it's really one of the most fun vampire shows out there, paving the way for such shows as "Angel" and "Buffy."
[Questions? Comments?]
The 1990s were primetime for the cult classics of television, "The X-Files" and "Highlander" among them. One that often gets overlooked is the vampire show that paved the way for others to follow suit with more hair gel. The name of the series -- "Forever Knight."
The Premise
Brought across in 1228, Nicholas de Brabant spent the better part of 800 years chowing down on humans; he enjoyed the hunt, and enjoyed the kill. In the latter part of his infinite existence, however, his conscience reasserted itself. He now struggles to "repay society for his sins." This self-imposed debt repayment plan has taken several forms. The most recent attempts -- beginning in 1960s Chicago -- involve being a cop.
Flash forward to the early 1990s, and you find a Detective Nick Knight -- who looks remarkably like dear Nicholas de Brabant -- serving as a homicide cop in Toronto. "Forever Knight" follows Nick and his friends through their various cases and crises.
The Show
It started out with Rick Springfield. No, really. Someone, somewhere, decided that the soap opera star-singer of "Jesse's Girl" was perfect for the role of the emo angsty, guilt-ridden Nick Knight. The two-hour movie -- "Nick Knight" -- aired on CBS in 1989. It wasn't terribly impressive to me, but it wasn't bad. Those who are really curious can actually find this one on DVD out there. Really.
Three years later and a bit of recasting later, "Forever Knight" joined the CBS Crimetime After Primetime line up. Welsh actor Geraint Wyn Davies took the lead as Nick. From that point, the show led a rocky life: CBS announced its cancellation. A diligent fan effort kept it alive. Finally, it was picked up for the third season by USA Networks, the same channel that, at the time, was airing the equally "racy" "Silk Stalkings." This final season won mixed reviews from fans, and ended as producers Barney Cohen and James Parriot attempted to move on to an Anne Rice vampire series -- or so that was the rumor. Most of us know how well that ended. [Not that we're bitter. Nope.]
Key Players
The supporting cast seemed to shift as frequently as the show switched times and networks. So, rather than list every supporting character since season 1, I'll simply introduce those characters it's important to know. If you need any further character info, you can jump over to LoftWorks, where Jasmine has a pretty good work up of the character dynamics from season to season. You could also hop over to Wiki.
Nick Knight. The title character, Nick started out life as the eldest son of a noble father. When he ran afoul of the locals while acting as errand boy to Lord Carrag, he was dispatched to serve in the Holy Land. The experience changed him; he became more cynical and worldly. It was during his time overseas that he met the beautiful vampire Janette du Charme...the woman who would orchestrate his coming across.
After about 700 years of the carefree, well-fed life of a vampire, something in Nick changed. Suddenly, it wasn't so cool to be undead, and he wanted to undo the choice he'd made. But as he sought a cure, he also felt the need to make amends to society for the centuries of killing, burning, and pillaging. The result? He eventually made his way to Toronto, working as a homocide detective. On the night shift, of course.
Natalie Lambert. At 28 years old, Nat Lambert was one of the youngest coroners in the province -- and likely the country. We are given the impression that she had little life outside of her school work, pushing hard to answer the questions of the universe. So, on her 28th birthday, when a supposedly-charred man sat up on her lab table, looking none the worse for wear, her curiosity was immediate piqued. She spent the next three-plus years attempting to "cure" Nick, and acted as his human inspiration.
Detective Don Schanke. Loud, obnoxious, but loveable, Don Schanke was everything that a cop-sidekick of the early 1990s should be. He loved souvlaki, sometimes smelled of garlic, and was always trying to find a way to have a poker party with the boys without his wife, Myra, pitching a hissy. Ironically, he was also the only character -- aside from Nick himself -- to survive the purge from Rick Springfield to Geraint Wyn Davies.
Tracy Vetter. The replacement for Don Schanke, she was blonde, blue-eyed, and the commissioner's daughter. This last little bit left her with something of a chip on her shoulder; she was constantly trying to prove herself more than just "the commissioner's daughter." Tracy had her own dealings with the vampire community, however, in the form of a vampire named Javier Vachon. Like Natalie, she found herself drawn to the mysterious vampire. She never found out, however, about Nick's "secret life."
Lucien LaCroix. We know more about the life of LaCroix after key second and third season episodes such as "A More Permanent Hell" and "Ashes to Ashes." In these episodes, we learn LaCroix was once Lucius, a Roman general of some note. He had a mistress -- if not a wife -- and a daughter. It was his daughter, Divia, who brought him across as Vesuvius erupted near by. He is the devil on Nick's shoulder, a constant reminder of the 700 years Nick is attempting to atone for.
Janette du Charme. The unmarriable daughter of a nobleman, Janette was sold off to the highest bidder. This eventually landed her in a house of ill-repute, where she was beaten and abused. LaCroix, however, saw a spark of nobility in her and brought her across. He empowered her to take revenge on the man who was running her destiny. She would eventually bring a young Nicholas de Brabant to LaCroix, to be brought across. She and Nick remained a couple "longer than the Medicis." Throughout the series, they often rekindle this flame when the mood strikes.
Grace Balthazar. Possibly Natalie's closest friend, co-worker, and co-conspirator. She is seen in the series, frequently pushing Natalie into the outside world...and trying to push her into the arms of "that Detective Knight."
So I Should Watch This...Why?
Honestly? The detective formula with a twist of the supernatural is somewhat predictable, but almost always fun, and the casting isn't bad either. Geraint Wyn Davies is a classically trained actor, who chews scenery beautifully as an angsting vampire; Nigel Bennett plays a wonderfully menacing Lucien LaCroix, making you love him and hate him equally. The supporting cast -- Cat Disher as Natalie included -- do well with what they are provided, making it almost an ensemble show.
In the end, with all cheap, goofy FX aside, it's really one of the most fun vampire shows out there, paving the way for such shows as "Angel" and "Buffy."
[Questions? Comments?]