Forever Knight: Nick's Origin & Powers Explained | Screen Rant
Forever Knight was TV's original hit vampire detective series, and its protagonist, Nick Knight, one of TV's first repentant bloodsuckers. Vampires have a long history on TV, dating back to the long-running soap opera Dark Shadows, and continuing in present day via shows like The CW's Legacies and Netflix's recent adaptation of Dracula. One odd sub-genre that's emerged though is the vampire detective drama, featuring a reformed member of the undead trying to do good as a cop.
The show to start the vampire detective trend was Forever Knight, a true cult hit. Debuting on CBS in 1992, Forever Knight was never a huge ratings smash, but its fanbase was extremely loyal, following it when it jumped into syndication for season 2, then moved again to the USA Network for season 3. While it's unusual for a show to move outlets that much, it also points to Forever Knight's popularity, as every time one platform would cancel it, another would swoop in and retrieve it.
The success of Forever Knight would lead to shows like Angel, Blood Ties, and Moonlight, among other similar "supernatural entity becomes a cop" projects. At the center of the series' story is Detective Nick Knight, a centuries-old vampire who regrets all the lives he's taken and wants to make amends.
The vampire presently known as Nick Knight was once a medieval knight named Nicholas de Brabant, before being turned into a bloodsucker - or as the series calls it, "brought across" - in 1228 by a much older monster named Lucien LaCroix, whose conversion dates all the way back to 79 AD. Nick was seduced into LaCroix's clutches by another vampire named Janette DuCharme, who he had also sired. Nick spent centuries living with his newfound vampire family, killing for food along the way, but never quite completely losing touch with his human qualities of empathy and compassion, as much as he might have wanted to. Now, in the present day of Forever Knight, Nick does his best to lead an honest life, but does still employ his vampiric abilities to bring evildoers to justice.
Speaking of those vampire abilities, Nick's powers include superhuman strength and speed, flight, enhanced senses, and near invulnerability. When he does take damage, Nick possesses a formidable healing factor. Perhaps his coolest offensive weapon is the ability to hypnotize people, rendering them vulnerable to suggestion, and sometimes compelling them to reveal secrets. There are certain people in Forever Knight not susceptible to this, however. Like most vampires, Nick will die if exposed to sunlight for too long, has an issue with garlic, and a revulsion to religious symbols. Nick doesn't sleep in a coffin though, and can't shapeshift into a bat or a wolf like Dracula. Outside of doing good and saving lives, Nick's main goal is to find a way to become mortal again, with the assistance of his doctor friend Natalie.