Product Description

In 1992 CBS premiered FOREVER KNIGHT a stylish and sexy television series. An immediate cult sensation the series chronicled the journeys of Nicholas Knight (Geraint Wyn Davies) an ancient vampire from the thirteenth century living in present-day Toronto. After centuries of sinful 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. As the stakes get higher and his path to redemption becomes burdened with temptations Nicholas valiantly sets out to conquer his curse night after night.System Requirements:Starring: Geraint Wyn Davies Catherine Disher Gary Farmer John Kapelos Directed By: Brad Turner Running Time: 1045 Min. Copyright Sony Pictures Home Entertainment 2005Format: DVD MOVIE Genre: TELEVISION/SERIES & SEQUELS Rating: NR UPC: 043396012912 Manufacturer No: 01291

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #16592 in DVD
• Brand: Sony
• Released on: 2003-10-21
• Rating: NR (Not Rated)
• Aspect ratio: 1.33:1
• Formats: Box set, Closed-captioned, Color, DVD-Video, Full Screen, NTSC
• Original language: English
• Number of discs: 5
• Dimensions: .90 pounds
• Running time: 1035 minutes

Amazon.com
The complete first season of the much-maligned supernatural television series Forever Knight makes its DVD debut in a five-disc set that should satiate its devoted fans and intrigue first-time viewers with its well-blended mix of horror and crime detection. Forever Knight first aired in 1989 as a two-hour TV-movie titled Nick Knight, starring Rick Springfield as a thirteen-century vampire who moonlighted as a police detective. Though the movie was not a hit for CBS, the network created a new two-part version of the pilot titled Forever Knight featuring Welsh actor Geraint Wyn Davies as the undead sleuth. The series was launched in May of that year as part of a late-night syndicated package called Crimetime After Primetime.

The first season outlined the series' essential storyline: Knight wanted to atone for his bloody past and regain his humanity, but was challenged by master vampire Lucien LaCroix (Nigel Bennett). Knight's partner in crime-solving was the smarmy Det. Schanke (John Kapelos), and scientist Natalie Lambert (Catherine Disher) aided Knight in his desire to become human and struggled with her attraction to him (which would endanger her in episode 16, "Only the Lonely"). Knight's adventures yielded a small but loyal following over its three-season run, which was constantly threatened with cancellation; a letter-writing campaign saved the program after CBS axed it in '93, but failed two years later, when Knight's adventures came to a permanent end.

Columbia-TriStar's DVD set compiles all 22 episodes of the first season (note: the series was presented in three different formats--a 40-minute version for American audiences, a 47-minute version for Canadian and Australian viewers, and a European version which contained nudity; the episodes compiled here are the Canadian versions save for the first episode, which has the American network running time). Hardcore fans may be disappointed by a lack of any extras aside from trailers for three vampire-themed Columbia features (including Tsui Hark's Vampire Hunters), but should be consoled by having the full debut season in one attractive package. --Paul Gaita

Customer Reviews

A good idea, poorly executed
"Forever Knight" has a really great concept: a centuries old vampire, Nick Knight (Geraint Wyn Davies) develops a conscience and decides that he wants to be mortal again and atone for all of his sins. While doing this, he works as a police detective in modern day Toronto and solves assorted crimes, both "natural" and supernatural. No, the similarities between this show and "Angel" didn't escape me, and before you can scream out "rip-off", I will just point out that "Forever Knight" came first. Besides, even though the concepts sound similar, after watching a few episodes of this series you will realize that the differences far outweigh the similarities.

Although I didn't dislike "Forever Knight" (I did watch every episode in this set), I didn't think it was a great show, either. The writers had some really great ideas (take, for example, an episode in which Knight joins an addicts anonymous group to try to deal with his addiction to blood), but unfortunately, most of them are either poorly executed or let down by bad acting and a low budget. The vampire effects in this show are so cheap that they are just plain laughable. The series also takes itself too seriously. There are moments of humour, and Knight's partner, Det. Schanke (John Kapelos), serves as a comic relief on the series, but most of the series, particularly the flash-backs to Knight's past, are more like something out of an Anne Rice novel than "Buffy".

Fans of this series should note that the pilot episode of this series (episodes 1 and 2 in this set) is, in fact, the second attempt at a pilot. The first attempt was made several years earlier with Rick Springfield in the lead, under the title "Nick Knight" and using an almost identical script. I saw "Nick Knight" before I saw "Forever Knight" and initially thought that Rick Springfield was the better of the two actors, but after 22 episodes of "Forever Knight", I found that Wyn Davies had grown on me.

Vampires at their best.
Ok, all you Vampire fans......you want a show that is full of action, adventure and just the right amount of humor? Well, you've found it!

Forever Knight is the BEST Vampire show around. It takes place in Toronto, and is about Nicholas (Nick) Knight, an 800 year old Vampire. He is now a cop, working the night shift, of course, who is trying to atone for his past, and find a way to becomse human.

He has the help of the coronor, Natalie Lambert, who is in love with him, and is always trying one thing or another to help him become mortal.

Theres also his partner Scankie, who doesn't know what he is.

Then there are 2 other Vampires in his life, Janette and LaCroix. Janette is the woman who seduced him and LaCroix brought him across (in 1228).

It is a fantastic show, full of great plots, subtle humor, and lots of emotional turmoul.

I really think you'll like it, and you can get the other 2 seasons here on Amazon too. I still need to get season three, but I have the first 2 and still pretty much remember the shows from the orignal series.

Knight. Nick Knight.
Before Angel - Complete Series Collector's Set, 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 shows are opened by a teaser, followed by parallel storylines that follow the current homicide investigation and are interspersed with flashbacks from Nick's vampiric past that have some similarity to the case at hand. 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. Anyone familiar with Toronto will instantly recognize street names and other locations. I spent many teenaged summers traipsing about Toronto for a week, so it felt like a homecoming of sorts.

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.