Forever Knight was a CBS attempt to provide original drama broadcasting in the late night slot. This was, of course, before Letterman came along. After two seasons it was jettisoned and the USA network picked it up. USA retooled the show and ran it for just one more year for a total of three: Thus the Forever Knight Trilogy. The concept was quite intriguing. Knight would strongly emulate the popular Ann Rice universe of vampires, combining these gothic images and stories with a modern police drama. Each episode had a trademark dual storyline. One story would involve Knight’s seedy vampire past, while the second story would involve the current police case. The stories would blend on some common element like loyalty or Father’s Day. Filmed almost totally at night in Canada, the series had a distinct atmosphere assisted in no small part by the wonderful time-lapse photography and the cello-rich score of Fred Molin
Synopsis
Nick Knight (Davies) is a vampire “brought across in 1228” who now wishes to become mortal again. He attempts to “repay society for his sins” by catching murderers. His Sire La Croix (Bennett) will stop at nothing to keep Knight a creature of the night. His partner Schanke (Kapelos) is unaware of his condition.
Audio
The audio is typical TV quality remastered into an adequate Dolby Digital 2.0 track. The score knifes through with the necessary punch, and the dialogue is always easy to get. What more could you ask for in a 90’s TV show?
Video
Forever Knight is presented in its original broadcast 1.33:1 full frame format. The highly filmatic style of the show would have translated well in letterbox, but perhaps such a print was unavailable. The show is very dark, so shadows need to display well and for the most part they do.
Special Features
Not even a commentary track to be found.
Final Thoughts
Rick Springfield originated the Knight character in a TV film that was reshot word for word with most of the same cast, Geraint Wyn Davies the notable exception, as the pilot. Although I think Springfield did not bring the same depth and tortured-soul portrayal as Davies brought, it would have been nice to have included the original show. I’m going to catch some flack for that one. My advice is, grab this one while it’s still in print.
Let’s admit it. The premise is downright silly here, but the atmosphere is unprecedented in a TV drama. “Can you believe they put a guy like that in homicide?”
