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Forever Knight - A look back

© Tanya M. Blakeley

The original pilot episode for Forever Knight first aired on the 20th of August 1989 on CBS. It was called Nick Knight and starred Rick Springfield as Nick Knight. However, the two-hour movie didn't muster enough support to become a series. Then in May of '92, CBS decided to remake the pilot as a two-part episode entitled Forever Knight. This time the series got the support it needed. A new series was born and placed in the late night lineup. The series' run ended in 1996.

The first season of the show ran from May '92 to August of 93'. It was shortly after that that the show was temporarily taken off the lineup, as a result of the confusion surrounding David Letterman's move from NBC to CBS. CBS told fans that due to Letterman's move Forever Knight would be cancelled, however, afer a major letter writting campaign it returned on the 9th of November '93.

There were three different versions of the series shot during the first season. One version ran in the US and was only 40 minutes long, the second aired in Canada, Australia and Europe and was 147 minutes, the third version, of which there were only a hand full of episodes shot, was intended for audiences in Europe and contained scene of nudity. The shooting of the third version was halted at the request of main cast members.

The 'US' version, when compared with the second version was missing parts of the opening and closing credits, some flashbacks and some interaction scenes between the main characters.

For those who may not have heard of the series, Forever Knight chronicled the adventures of a 'Vampire' named Nick Knight (played by Geraint Wyn Davies). Knight was 'brought across in 1228. He, like all Vampires, preyed on human kind. But, after centuries of killing humans and taking their blood, he wanted to repent his sins and be mortal again. Living in modern society, Knight sought redemption and also to get rid of his 'blood lust'.

In his search for redemption, he joined the police force and served as a homicide detective working on a permanent assignment to the night shift. He was helped by his partner Tracey Vetter (played by Lisa Ryder), pathologist Dr. Natalie Lambert (portrayed by Catherine Disher), and Captain Joe Reese (played by Blue Mankuma).

Other cast members include Knight's former Vampire master LaCroix (played by Nigel Bennett), "Lost Boy" Vampire Vachon (played by Ben Bass), Don Schanke (portrayed by John Kapelos) in the first and second seasons, Knight's former lover Janette (portrayed by Deborah Duchene) in the first and second seasons and Captain Amanda Cohen (played by Natsuko Ohama) in the first and second seasons.

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