The USA network took over the Forever Knight series for its third year. In a way, you could say they saved the show from cancellation, but they also killed it. In keeping with the nework’s M.O. of the time, it was believed the series wasn’t accessible enough. The obvious grab for the younger audience appeared in the likes of the Andy Garcia clone Ben Bass as the Vachon. Lovable partner Schanke was killed off along with the previous season’s captain. Nick was given a female partner in the likes of sci-fi veteran Li…a Ryder as spoiled daddy’s girl Vetter. La Croix and Janette took much smaller roles, and the whole thing smelled more like a soap opera. Fortunately the new network didn’t play with the traditional double story aspect that made the show unique. The atmosphere pretty much remained intact. Now Nick’s partner is aware of vampires, but not that Nick is one of them, which is far more unbelievable. The sexy element was ratcheted up a bit to try to increase the ratings. All of these elements failed to bring in new viewers, and Nick Knight was finally laid to rest with most of the cast in May of 1995.
Video
Forever Knight is presented in its original broadcast 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. Still, there’s a lot of grain here, and black levels are too inconsistent. There is no evidence that any print cleanup was attempted. This is as good as it’s going to get, however.
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?
Special Features
Three very boring music videos is a bit of an insult to the fans who supported this show.
Final Thoughts
I’m sure the networks consider us lucky to have the episodes at all. It took over three years to bring us the full three seasons. The DVD releases took longer than the original run of the show. I can’t tell you how disappointed I am that there are no extras here. For years I’ve heard of a great gag reel floating around in the Forever Knight world. It seems like all of those who participated avoid the credit like the plague. I recently rewatched the original pilot which stared Rick Springfield as Knight. The episode was reshot frame by frame when the part was recast. It made me have a greater appreciation for Geraint Wyn Davies. I have a friend who strongly disagrees, but Springfield was lame in the part. Davies seems to have also put the role far behind him. I guess “He wants to be mortal again”.
Special Features List
- Three Music Videos
