Forever Knight: The Trilogy, Part Three

I haven't seen the previous two seasons of this three-season Canadian series that ran sporadically between 1992-96, but I was instantly hooked on this final batch of 22 episodes. In fact, it's easy to see why, more than a decade after it last aired in syndication, this vampire crime drama continues to inspire its cultish followers to make websites, write fan fiction, and generally worship at its supernatural feet. Nick Knight (Geraint Wyn Davies) is a Toronto cop faced with the usual array of modern urban felonies—drugs, rape, and murder—along with his own demons...in this case, rather more literally than the typical angst-ridden TV cop. See, Knight is an 800-year-old vampire trying to atone for the genuine evil he's committed in the past, but the lure of the dark side is frequently too tempting. The very great pleasures of watching this dark and bitter series derive from following Knight's battle with himself, including his relationship with the mortal police pathologist Dr. Natalie Lambert (Catherine Disher), who loves Nick deeply, but he refuses to bring her into his vampiric life of torment and eternal guilt. Forever Knight's complex, fantastical stories manage to explore serious issues of life and love without ever once stepping over the line into ridiculousness or self-parody. DVD extras include three music videos. Highly recommended. (M. Johanson)