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Both Nick Knight and Forever Knight open with sequences that take place in the past.  In Forever Knight it is the very distant past�Paris in 1228 while in Nick Knight it is an archeological dig that occurs several months before the events in the pilot.
Nick Knight�s opening shot is that of the blazing hot sun�a nice use of symbolism for a movie about a vampire who worships the sun from afar. Workers toil in the heat, carefully sifting through sand in search of archeological relics while a worn vehicle rounds a bend to the site on a dusty unpaved road.

In contrast Forever Knight jumps right into vampire lore by showing us the first moments of our protagonist�s first moments of his new un-life in the candlelit catacombs underneath �the city of light.� A POV shot gazes across the room to spot a beautiful woman clothed in a gossamer gown standing in a far corner. She spots the protagonist and slowly walks toward him to greet him into his new existence.
Budgetary and location constraints could explain the inclusion of the archeological dig in Nick Knight and its absence in Forever Knight although it should be noted that the second draft of the Nick Knight script had yet to include this sequence.

Filmed in and around Los Angeles the short distance that allows for locations that could pass for a site in Guatemala is much more feasible than the location of Toronto in Forever Knight.  Also, Forever Knight�s very limited shooting budget per episode is quite well known and it would make very little sense for the producers to spend money on a sequence that�s on screen for at most 4 minutes.
However there are a few geographical missteps in the Nick Knight teaser that are glaringly obvious.

It is very clear in Nick Knight that the opening sequence was filmed in an area of Southern California.  The location is dry, dusty, and the aforementioned sun beats down heavily on the excavation team.

Yet the item found in the site is a Mayan jade cup.  The Mayan civilization once thrived in what is now Mexico�s Yucatan peninsula and present day Central America, right in the middle of a very large rainforest.  Perhaps this was a production oversight but it does prove to be bit on the distracting side.
A woman exits the vehicle that approached the site. Just moments before the workers had unearthed something from the ground and she is alerted to the discovery. Dressed in khaki shorts, a matching shirt and a hat Indian Jones would envy the woman runs into a group of gathered workers and makes her way to the source of everyone�s curiosity�an embedded cup in the sand.
Another nitpick about the sequence involves the unearthing of the cup itself.  It was found in what could best be described as a small sandbox.  There really was no site.  It�s clear that not much money was spent on creating the sequence.  Had it survived in the Forever Knight script the same inconsistencies would more than likely have been present as well.  Perhaps it was for the best that it was omitted from the Forever Knight script. Despite my issues with the sequence it does give the viewer the opportunity to see the character of the archeologist Alyce Hunter in her element.
In contrast to the bright and natural opening to Nick Knight is the first half to the Forever Knight teaser. The viewer and protagonist momentarily become one with the use of a point of view shot that is used to survey a room with �Many candles�bathing this large, stone room in a mysterious glow� Dark tapestries on the walls. Heavy 13th century furniture�an enormous arch, open to the night air and the ancient city far below.�
Image originally from Knight Watchman archive
The introduction of the teaser�s female presence is almost identical to the wording in the script. �In the arch is A WOMAN. Her nude figure thinly veiled in a light robe. Beautiful and pale in the light�hair and robe blowing in the breeze.�

The POV shot sees her and she walks towards the camera and reaches out her hand to �THE HANDSOME YOUNG MAN�he is tentative. Confused. But clearly in her power, as she leans over and kisses him.�

In the script the physical introduction of the third and final player of the teaser occurs slightly earlier then what the final product shows which was before the protagonist was revealed. At that point the script describes �A DARK FIGURE--emerges from the shadows. A man in a cloak. Long hair. Piercing, hypnotic eyes. Playing the violin.� Even though the script describes a man with long hair actor Nigel Bennett is not fitted with a wig for the scene. His physical presence alone is strong enough to convey the power the script demands.

The action of the woman leading the young man appears in the script. She �leads him to the edge of the window, where THE DARK MAN is waiting. Something very powerful about him. Stops playing the violin to tenderly run his hand across the young man�s cheek. Smiles.�

The use of music, the violin as a prop, and the DARK MAN as the musician are interesting choices for Forever Knight. The first entry in the script is a reference to music. �HEAR A VIOLIN playing an odd, haunting melody. Seductive. Dark. Something from another time.� The melody is very much like a siren�s call beckoning the fledgling vampire at a more subconscious level to awaken then the woman�s welcoming arms. It is also a memory marker of that night and the tune will forever be a reminder of those first moments. That is something that Forever Knight will reference as the events of the episode unfold

At several points the script alludes to the location in the teaser occurring high above the city. �THE CITY BEFORE THEM. It�s a smoky, firelit city made of straw and stone. Paris, 1228.� Seeing a rendition of the cosmopolitan city of Paris as it was in 1228 would have been a wonderful visual and a striking counterpoint with Forever Knight�s use of the modern Toronto skyline. However, this is where the filmed version differs from the script and why the final moments in the script�s teaser are absent from the filmed version.
�He places his arms around the young man and woman�and they topple like trees, OUT THE WINDOW. Head first. Falling�flying�toward the city below.�
Image originally from Knight Watchman archive
The teaser of Forever Knight also included an additional scene which will be discussed more in depth in the examination of ACT ONE.
NOTE: This page contains a screen capture from the Knight Watchman archive.
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