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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 1992 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. The series was originally 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 American versions). Extras include trailers for three
vampire-themed Columbia features (including Vampire Hunters) Based
on notes by Paul Gaita Episode Guide:
| 1 | Dark Knight |
5 May 1992 | | Someone is killing a number
of homeless people and draining their blood. Then a museum guard is killed the
same way and a special artifact is stolen, a Mayan cup that Nick believes can
help him become mortal again. Nick suspects that his old mentor Lacroix is in
town and behind the murders. |
| | 2 | Dark Knight: Second
Chapter | 6 May 1992 | | Forced
into a partnership with the unbearable Detective Schanke, Nick has to face both
LaCroix and the Homeless Killer while trying to protect his friends. |
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3 | For I Have Sinned | 12 May 1992 |
| Another serial killer, this time preying on
young women who all attend the same church. In order to catch him, Nick must try
to overcome his fear and loathing of the Church and its symbols. Meanwhile, flashbacks
to 15th Century France show Nick's encounter with a young peasant girl doomed
to become a martyr when her claims that God spoke to her result in the Church
branding her as a heretic and condemning her to burn at the stake. Nick offers
her his version of immortality, but she refuses in favor of her own belief in
life after death. |
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| 4 | Last Act |
19 May 1992 | | A young woman dies, and
all evidence points to suicide. Nick, however, has a gut feeling that it was murder,
but seems unable to prove it. Added to his stack of unsolved crimes, it makes
Nick question his own feelings of self-worth, especially after hearing about another,
real suicide: that of one of his "old friends". Nick must search through
his memories of their relationship of centuries past to determine why she killed
herself, and why he shouldn't. |
| | 5 | Dance by the Light
of the Moon | 26 May 1992 |
| A beautiful young woman is able to exert an almost supernatural
control over men, driving them to commit criminal acts for her amusement. Nick
manages to catch up with her, but will his own powers help prevent him from also
falling under her spell? |
| | 6 | Dying to Know You
| 9 June 1992 | | The
wife and daughter of a well-known philanthropist are kidnapped and held for ransom,
and psychic Denise Fort is brought in help Nick and Schanke with the case. Her
powers are genuine, and therein lies the problem: she keeps picking up flashes
of Nick's "other life", and Nick feels torn about whether or not to
reveal himself to her, since she thinks it's a sign that she's having a breakdown.
Nick's recollections of a similar situation in Puritan New England make him determined
that Denise won't share th e fate of his mortal friend from that time. |
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7 | False Witness | 4 August 1992 |
| Nick's feelings of responsibility for the death
of a man he was supposed to protect in a "sting" operation causes him
to lie about actually seeing the murderer pull the trigger. In addition to the
problem of having to appear in court to testify in broad daylight, Nick's desire
to see justice done struggles with his conscience. He calls up memories of an
incident from the past in which a woman lies in court, condemning to death a man
Nick knows to be innocent, since he saw his fellow vampire Janette commit the
crime. |
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| 8 | Cherry Blossoms | 11
August 1992 | | A woman targetted in a
mob hit in Chinatown escapes, but in critical condition. Nick must find her before
the mobsters do, but he gets no help or trust from an ancient acupuncturist who
is hiding and caring for the victim, and who recognizes Nick as the monster who
killed his mother 75 years ago. |
| | 9 | I Will
Repay | 15 September 1992 |
| Natalie's brother Richard is shot at the police station. When
it's apparent he's going to die, Natalie urges a reluctant Nick to bring Richard
over as he did a leper centuries ago. Is this a second chance for Richard and
his family, or will history repeat itself? |
| | 10 | Dead
Air | 22 September 1992 | | Someone's
calling CTOK radio's on-air psychiatrist and murdering women on the air. Dr. Noble
comes to Nick's aid -- to Stonetree's dismay -- while Schanke searches through
psychiatric records. Noble thinks the killer is acting out a murderous fantasy
-- one that may involve her. |
| | 11 | Hunters | 29
September 1992 | | Schanke's old partner
is gunned down in the street. The bad guys make it clear Don is next. Jeanette
lets Nick hide Schanke at The Raven because his predicament reminds them of when
Nick, Jeanette, and Lacroix were hunted- only this time it appears to be an inside
job. |
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| 12 | Dead Issue | 6 October
1992 | | Inspector Tony Fiore's wife confesses
to shooting her lover in self-defense. Case closed? |
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13 | Father Figure | 13 October 1992 |
| A man is killed in an apparent mob hit. While
the investigation is underway, the only witness, a young girl named Lisa, is left
in Nick's protective custody. This duty reminds Nick of a boy he and his Old Friends
cared for in World War II England and the ramifications of his immortality and
sterility. |
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| 14 | Spin Doctor | 27
October 1992 | | A journalist covering
the mayoral election is electrocuted in his hotel room. Later his girlfriend is
found dead too. It appears one of the candidates may be involved in a sex scandal.
Can Nick find out who committed these murders without engaging in a witchhunt?
Dirty politics and mudslinging gets Nick thinking about when he was Professor
Nicholas Girard (Chicago, 1954) -- and on trial before the HUAC on charges of
being a Communist. |
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| 15 | Dying for Fame | 10
November 1992 | | Pop star Rebecca has
a new hit video in which she kills off her fans. When a fan's body is found in
her hotel room is it life imitating art or just another imitator? |
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16 | Only the Lonely | 17 November 1992 |
| It's Natalie's birthday again, which gets her
and Nick thinking about another one of her birthdays- the day they met. Now she's
met someone else- and Nick's jealousy is showing. Meanwhile a killer is murdering
his dates. |
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| 17 | Unreality TV | 24
November 1992 | | Being the subject of
a COPS-like television show reminds Nick of his first exposure to the camera during
the US Civil War. Will modern technology finally reveal the vampires' secret?
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| 18 | Feeding the Beast | 1
December 1992 | | Nick goes undercover
to investigate the murders of members of The Twelve Steps, a support group for
addicts. Can his sponsor help him with his addiction, or is she out to kill him
too? |
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| 19 | If Looks Could Kill | 9
February 1993 | | Nick investigates three
woman who are member of the Spa Experience. They're all young, beautiful, and
have murderous tendencies, but do they share something more than skin deep? |
| |
20 | Fatal Mistake | 16 February 1993 |
| The investigation into Stonetree's recent shooting
of a perp is keeping him up nights. Meanwhile Nick confronts a ghost of his own
-- one that's about 300 years older. |
| | 21 | 1966 | 23
February 1993 | | During a hostage situation
at the police station, Nick recalls his life in East Berlin (as the American Nick
Thomas), where he helped another family in crisis while they helped him search
for the Abarat, an ancient book of miracles that may contain a cure for vampirism.
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| 22 | Love You to Death | 2
March 1993 | | After a model missing for
four months is found dead under mysterious circumstances, another model disappears
who bears a striking a resemblance to a dancer Nick fell for a long time ago |
| - Starring:
Geraint Wyn Davies
- Studio: Columbia Tristar Hom
- Encoding: Disc
are Region Specific (Read more about DVD formats.)
- Format:
Full-screen format
- Color, Closed-captioned, Box set
- Studio: Warner
Home Video
- DVD Release Date: October 21, 2003
- Five discs
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