DVD review: FOREVER KNIGHT TRILOGY PART 1
CAST: Geraint Wyn Davies (Detective Nick Knight), Nigel Bennet (LaCroix), Catherine Disher (Dr. Natalie Lambert),
Deborah Duchene (Janette), John Kapelos (Detective Donald Schanke), and Gary Farmer (Captain Stonetree)
DVD set- 5 discs, 1046 minutes, 22 episodes and 3 trailers
I have had a special fondness for FOREVER KNIGHT since I first saw the show as part of CRIMETIME AFTER PRIMETIME (on my
local CBS station). I was thrilled to see new episodes in syndication and dismayed when USA cancelled the third season (and
left me with no way to see most of the rest of the 3rd season besides the last 2 episodes my uncle taped for me). I did catch
some of the 3rd season episodes I missed (except for two) last year.
When the show was cancelled, I bought all three FOREVER KNIGHT novels and both volumes of the TV soundtrack CD. This is
a show that amazed me. FOREVER KNIGHT was about a vampire's quest to become human again as he worked as a detective (as Nick
Knight) on the night shift in Toronto. Of course, LaCroix (the one who made Nick into a vampire) want Nick to give up his
quest and will stop at nothing to make sure Nick remains a vampire. Dr. Natalie Lambert knows Nick is a vampire
and tries to cure him (and torture him with various drinks Nick doesn't like). One of the best things about
the show are the stories told in flashbacks from other parts of Nick's life as a 800 year old vampire.
DISC ONE: The first episode, DARK KNIGHT, is the edited US version (about 42 minutes long). By the Crimetime After Primetime
logo in front of it, it looks like they used the CBS transmission master instead of the uncut episode which aired in Canada.
All other episodes on the set appear to be the uncut versions which run anywhere between 47 1/2 and 48 minutes. The funniest
scene on the first disc has to be the confession booth scene between Nick and Schanke in the episode, "For I Have Sinned".
Since there are five episodes on the disc, the episodes look like high quality VHS with some fuzziness in some scenes.
There are some slight artifacts in the video on episode 5. There are three trailers on the disc.
DISC TWO: The two best episodes on the disc are "Cherry Blossoms" and "Dying To Know You". "Dying To Know You" is an interesting
episode even though the execution at the end of teh episode could have better and the should have left out the last scene.
"I Will Repay" has to be the weakest episode of the season. Again, the episodes look like high qaulity VHS due to five episodes
on a disc. So the picture sometimes is fuzzy like ona VHS tape and I didn't spot any picture errors (artifacts).
DISC THREE: The video quality is better since there are only 4 episodes to the disc. Some of the best episodes of the season
are on this disc with "Dead Issue" being the least favorite (and weakest) episode on this disc and "Dying For Fame" being
one of my favorite episodes of the season.
"Father Figure" is the first episode to be directed by a member of the main cast, Gary Farmer. Geraint
Wyn Davies would direct some episodes in season 2 and 3.
DISC FOUR: "Unreality TV" is a good episode while "Only The Lonely" shows how Natalie first met Nick, and "Feeding The
Beast" has a guest starring role played by Carrie-Ann Moss (who would go on to star in The Matrix trilogy years later).
One scene in "Feeding The Beast" does have me wondering whether Nick is hallucinating LaCroix or if LaCroix showed up to
take advantage of Nick at one of his weaker moments.
DISC FIVE: Season one ends on a high note with four great episodes and a nice surprise at the end of "Love You To Death".
"Love You To Death" has the song Black Rose which is redone to be White Rose.
ANALYSIS: The sound on the DVD set is great. For future sets, it is best to have a maximum of 4 episodes to a disc for
the best video quality. The titles bleed during the title credit sequence of each episode. The video may not be that bad,
but I hope they do a little more remastering work to provide the best picture quality possible.
Also I would like to see commentary tracks for season 2 and 3, and they need to dig up the infamous Forever Knight blooper
reel. The big mistake on the release was having the edited US version of Dark Knight while the rest of the
episodes are uncut. Episode menus are good, but I wish each episode had a scene selection feature menu.
I don't like the fold-out cardbord case. The clear plastic cases glued to the cardbord can crack. I wish they would have
went with 2-3 plastic hardcases that contained the DVDs instead and have that in the slipcase.
FINAL VERDICT: If you're a fan of Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Angel, this may be something to check out. If you're a fan
of FOREVER KNIGHT, this set is a must-have. Hopefully, Columbia Tristar does a better job next time and include some
extras. I'm happy the series finally is coming out on DVD. It may be good, but the next DVD
set needs to be great.
this review is (c) 2003 David Blackwell. reprint of this article is forbidden without permision from the author of this
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