Forever Knight

CBS (ended 1996)
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Show Summary

  • Ended
In 1992, CBS premiered Forever Knight, a stylish and sexy television series. An immediate cult sensation, the series chronicled the journeys of Nicholas Knight, an ancient vampire from the thirteenth century living in present-day Toronto, Canada''''(Nigel Bennett voice-over of theme music)''He was brought across in 1228. Preyed on humans for their blood. Now he wants to be mortal again. To repay society for his sins. To emerge from his world of darkness. From his endless ... forever night.''''After centuries of bloodshed, Nicholas Knight has forsaken immortality and is determined to reclaim his humanity. He now spends his nights as a homicide detective with his smug partner, Donald Schanke, fighting the city's most brutal crimes. Joining in Nicholas' quest is Dr. Natalie Lambert, a brilliant forensic scientist, who is inching closer to the cure for his supernatural condition. The master vampire Lucien LaCroix, however, will stop at nothing to ensure that Nicholas remains a vampire. In his darkest moments, Nicholas turns to the lovely vampire Janette, who offers him unconditional loyalty despite her prominent standing in the vampire underworld.moreless
8.8
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  • October 3, 2006 DVD Releases

    dvd_weekly_roundup.jpg C.S.I.: Crime Scene InvestigationThe Premiere Episodes, Season One Buy the DVD! More C.S.I.: Crime Scene Investigation Show Summary | Episode Guide | Forum MediumThe Complete Second Season Watch Video Clip Buy the DVD! More Medium Show Summary | Episode… more

  • Dark, edgy ... addictive.

    10
    "Perfect"
    I could start by saying that this is by no means the rum of the mill vampire show. It predates "Buffy" and shows a different side of the vampire, one we are more accustomed to from Anne Rice's novels.

    Nick Knight, homicide detective. A repenting vampire, seeking to repay society for his previous sins, a quest that gets him into trouble time and time again.

    Trouble arises not only from his vampiric sire, Lacroix, who would do anything to keep him in the fold, from his fellow vampire companion, Janette, but also from Dr. Natalie Lambert, department coroner, who is determined to help Nick become mortal again. In the process, feelings that amount to more than friendship arise between Nick and Natalie, but the vampire cop hesitates to act upon his love for fear of destroying that which he finds to be the most precious thing that she possess. Her mortality.

    The intricate relationships woven between the characters give the show its unique flavour. The dangers of exposure as a vampire through the work at the precinct next to his quirky, garlic eating human partner Don Schanke, a manipulative Lacroix and the beautiful Janette all serve to provide the show not only with a tension that brings you to the edge of your seat but also with a depth rarely found on TV nowadays.

    Expect to be lured into this exquisitely built world of action, forensics and crime solving, all with a vampiric touch, and hit with questions of morality, of right and wrong, but also with a special brand of humour and romantic moments to fuel your fantasy.
    moreless

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  • Would it be as good if made now?

    9.6
    "Superb"
    Ah, Forever Knight. There are so many things I like about this show that I find it hard to begin.

    1) Vampires. Always liked them but I usually (about 90%of the time)find vampire movies or TV shows unwatchable. And yes, throw stones if you, like I'll stand by what I say, that includes Buffy and Angel. The mere concept of vampires lends itself easily to ridicule (the bats, capes, ridiculous accents etc). It needs sensible writing and extremely good acting to make it work for me. That is where shows like Angel had their greatest handicap - good acting. Forever Knight had brilliant actors for the leading parts (some not so good ones for the guest or minor parts, I admit)and it mostly dealt not with supernatural topics aside from the premise of the show, but with core values of human life: love, death, guilt, acceptance. The question of what it means to be human. And it showed vampires as conflicted characters whereas in other shows/films they are rather flat caricatures.

    2) Low key. That was probably unintentional since the show was shot on an extremely tight budget. That's why I suspect we would have gotten all those spiffy special effects had there been more money. But I am glad that the show concentrated on other things and got rid of the cheesy flight scenes early on. I'm not a fan of FX because they easily take something away from the telling of the story.
    So the main focus in FK was on the characters and the acting and I think this is what makes it attractive even ten years after it was cancelled. 3) Acting, good acting, brilliant acting! 4)Audience. At least at the beginning FK seemed to have been taylored for a more mature audience. This changed with season 3 as the execs tried to gain the attention of young males (hence the neck of the week, the cute blonde sidekick etc)and this destroyed the show. It was still better than most other stuff I've seen. And this is also another reason why I don't like Angel/Buffy - they were written for teenagers.moreless

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  • Oh how I wish vampires could age!...

    10
    "Perfect"
    ...then they could bring back these wonderful series that were canceled well before their time.
    Forever Knight hooked me on the genre. This was a really well done story, again with a cast that gelled and played off each other with exciting and suspenseful performances.
    I like that is survived for three years against the odds too, because its three seasons were not back-to-back: there were breaks in between but it just would not die, and for good reason.
    I loved Geraint Wyn Davies as "Nick Knight" and he does still does guest appearances on TV here in Canada (latest, "Murdoch Mysteries") as well as stage in Stratford Ont. Nigel Bennett was deliciously chilling as "Lacroix", and its nice to see him in a steady role on Canada's "Border". Deborah Duchene was the perfect "middle vamp" between the two main characters; "Janette" was just cool as ice as a character.
    Must pull out these DVD's this weekend and have myself a marathon, and wish on a star for some other network(s) with vision!moreless

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    3 0
  • For your information Nick Knight works the police beat in Toronto. Not Montreal.

    9.5
    "Superb"
    I very much enjoy "Forever Knight" and all the characters have a good grasp on the series. My favorite character in the series is "Lucien La Croix" played by "Nigel Bennett". The thing that is very annoying to me is that when there is a serious vampire series that is brought to television the broadcasting companies axes it. But when a silly or unrealistic series like "Buffy The Vampire Slayer" "Angel" or such they keep going on and on and on. But shows like "Forever Knight" "Moonlight" and "Kindred: The Embraced" that portray vampires in a serious role they get terminated. I hate that.moreless

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    0 1
  • Detective Nick Knight prowls the streets of Montreal late at night to protect the peace and stop things from going bump in the night. Unfortunately he is one of those things being a Vampire himself. He is trying to repay society for his mortal sins.moreless

    9.0
    "Superb"
    This show that came out in the early 90's was brilliant in the way it dealt with what had been a very poorly handle subject on TV in the past. This is a show that was before Buffy and before many of the more modern vampire tales like Moonlight that was clever, well written, and well acted. In a way Moonlight was sort of a offshoot of this show in a lot of ways with a lot more production value and money thrown at it. The makeup and effects were good for their time and the overall feel of the show was solid.

    If I had any criticism it would be that the lighting was a little dark, but considering the subject matter I won't hold that against them.

    This series is a classic and can be watched over and over again. I think I have gone back and seen it on VHS (need to buy the DVD's) a few times since it was first on. The cast was great especially Detective Donald Schanke played by character actor John Kapelos, Dr, Natalie Lambert Nick's human love interest played by Catherine Disher, and of course Detective Nick Knight played by Geraint Wyn Davies. Of special note was Lucien LaCroix played by Nigel Bennett who played both Nick's friend and his nemesis depending on the circumstance. I always loved his voice over and the music at the beginning of the episodes.

    From a budgetary standpoint you got the feeling they cut costs here and there at times, but the acting was excellent and the scripts pretty good in general. The show dealt with a vampire and humans in a world where vampires didn't exist from the humans standpoint, but the main female character and later Nick's 3rd season partner Tracy Vetter played by Lisa Ryder were aware of vampires existence. Sort of similar to Moonlight in that sense, but Nick's a Police Detective with an "aversion to sunlight illness" and Mick was a Private Investigator so he didn't have to explain himself.

    Overall I would recommend this show as one to pick up and view from the very start. I think you will be pleased and surprised by the show in general and enjoy it.

    Thanks for reading...moreless

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    0 0

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Replies
  • What a terrible ending
    That ranks up there as one of the worst series finales I've ever seen. Terrible.
    08/31/10
    7
    Reply
  • Forever Knight inspiration
    Without a show like this the vampire culture may not have been as good as it's been. We've seen shows like Angel and Moonlight whi...
    03/14/10
    2
    Reply
  • Schanke
    Love him or loathe 'im, he was a good cop at heart. Share your love, hate, or love-hate right here!
    11/21/09
    13
    Reply
  • "Moonlight" this fall on CBS
    Hey, "FK" fans, check this out... MOONLIGHT, from prolific movie producer Joel Silver ("The Matrix," Trilogy), is about Mick St. ...
    01/19/09
    12
    Reply
  • Angel
    I am a huge fan of vampires, and Angel has been my favorite show since it originally aired. so I've heard that Angel 'used' so...
    06/13/08
    15
    Reply
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Categories

Action & Adventure, Drama, Fantasy, Horror, Suspense

Themes

Altruistic Behavior, Characters With Double Lives, Characters With Hidden Agendas, Flashbacks, Good Vs. Evil