Dark Knight (1992 Pilot)

Dark Knight
Broadcast Date	5 May 1992
Season	1
Broadcast Order	1st
Episode Number	2
Production Number	101
Writer	Barney Cohen & James D. Parriott
Director	Allan Kroeker
Navigation
Previous Story: Nick Knight Next Story: Dark Knight: The Second Chapter

“	I am what I am and I don't think Betty Ford takes Vampires.	”
	— Nick Knight, Dark Knight

Summary

While searching for a serial killer who drains his victims' blood, Nick Knight discovers that the Royal Ontario Museum is exhibiting a jade cup that may offer a chance to end his vampire curse. His temporary partner, Don Schanke, tracks down leads in the human world; but Nick believes that the murders may be the work of the man who made him a vampire almost 800 years ago.

Guest Cast

• Christine Reeves......Dr. Alyce Hunter
• Nikki deBoer......Jeannie
• George Buza......Doctor Dave
• Zack Ward......Topper
• Graham McPherson......Donald Fenner
• Jodi Pape......the reporter
• Philip Jarrett......Dedrick
• Helene Rousse......Nick's first victim
• Bryan Renfro......the crazed gunman
• Quyen Hua......the hostage
• Lila Yee......the woman who asks Nick's help
• Darren Andrea
• Billy Buttery
• Christopher Crumb
• Michael Gencher
• Roy Lewis
• Reg Dreger
• ......Harry (museum guard)
• ......Bobby (fast-food delivery man)
• ......the man handing out juice at the bloodmobile
• ......bouncer at the Raven
• ......kid who finds Topper's body

Longer Story Recap

Paris, 1228. Lacroix has just brought Nick across, at Janette's urging. Together, they teach him how to feed and other 'ways of the night'.

A museum guard appears to have been killed by a vampire during the theft of a ceremonial Mayan jade cup, which is believed to be one of a pair, although the museum only has one. Nick investigates the scene and we learn he can read ancient Mayan. He tells the curator, Dr. Alyce Hunter, that the first 4 glyphs on a panel he sees there match his alarm code. Shortly after, homeless people are turning up dead, apparently due to a vampire, and they all have type O blood. Captain Stonetree assigns Schanke as Nick's partner, part-time, even though Nick likes to work alone.

On returning home, Nick advises his young homeless friends, who he lets sleep in his garage, to stay off the streets at night, but they don't listen. Nick goes up to his loft and we find that he has what looks just like the missing cup!

Nat has begun her "medical approach" to make Nick mortal and he tries to comply with her program by cooking a potato-burger dish, but he burns it and spits out his first bite. Schanke has been eating raw garlic, on Myra's advice, and at a blood drive we learn he is type A. When Nick won't let him smoke in the Caddy, he admits he's addicted to cigarettes. As they drive, Nick hears, with his sensitive ears, a girl screaming in Chinatown and they stop to investigate. A psycho is holding a girl at gunpoint in a dark, upper floor apartment. Nick has Schanke talk and distract the guy while he flies up to the window and drags the guy out. Just as Schanke kicks the door open, Nick drops the guy in a dumpster so it will appear to Schanke the guy either jumped or fell. But the guy shoots Nick several times as Nick is flying back to subdue him.

Meanwhile, at the Museum, Dr. Hunter is reviewing her papers on the Mayan cup and its discovery, and she comes across a black and white photo of Nick on the original dig site. She knows the Mayans believed in vampires and that the pair of cups were a cure for it. Nick visits her and is very attracted to her. He kisses her and has to subdue an urge to bite her. Nick explains the holes in his leather jacket to her by saying it once belonged to a drug dealer who was shot while wearing it. Back at headquarters, Stonetree doesn't believe Schanke saw Nick pull the guy out the window.

Later, Nat comes to the loft where Nick is drinking blood and acting morbidly depressed and drunk, and she tells him in no uncertain terms why he has to stop doing this. She hears a message on his machine from Dr. Hunter and gets concerned. Nick tells her about kissing Alyce and then wanting to kill her. He also tells her about how he thinks Lacroix stole the cup and killed the guard just to keep Nick from getting it.

Another type-O homeless person is killed. Nick goes to the Raven and sees Janette for the first time in many years. She tells him she is in Toronto because it reminds her of Paris. She offers him a "drink" and when he says no, she says, "You are probably on duty!" She assures him Lacroix is not the one responsible for the type-O blood killings. As Nick drives away, we hear Lacroix on the radio, playing live, a violin piece that he has dedicated to "my friend Nicolas," and ends by saying, "The Nightcrawler is waiting for you."

To be continued in "Dark Knight, the Second Chapter."

Detailed Story Recap

Janette approaches the new vampire, Nicolas de Brabant.

In an ancient, candle filled room a beautiful, dark haired woman clothed in a thin gown approaches an unknown person. On-screen text tells the viewer the place and year: Paris, 1228. She greets the unknown man with affection, speaking in French, before she takes his offered hand and kisses him passionately.

LaCroix playing music

The music from a lone string instrument can be heard in the background. The woman leads the man towards the source of the music and the room's third occupant, who also greets the man warmly. After a declaration of thirst the man is led away by the musician with the promise of a kill.

the Royal Ontario Museum

Police sirens wail in a modern city as an unknown being flies through the nighttime sky. The exterior of a large museum looms below. Inside a night patrolman makes his rounds amongst the exhibits. Now inside, the unknown being, silently stalks the security guard. A glass display case with a dark, carved cup comes into the foreground and the unknown being breaks the glass, alerting the guard. He turns around in surprise—and is attacked.

Detective Nick Knight arrives at the scene of the museum murder and is immediately surrounded by a throng of reporters.

Schanke shows the police photographer how it should be done.

He's chagrined when a reporter refers to the death of the security guard as a "vampire murder". Nick tries to tear himself away but the reporter is persistent. Turning to her, he tells her to "Go home." Slightly mesmerized, she agrees to his suggestion and Nick makes his escape with a uniformed cop.

Detective Don Schanke has already arrived at the scene and he's critiquing a police photographer's methods. Schanke berates Nick for showing up late and what he sees as Nick's inability to solve a string of murders in which almost all the blood in the victims is missing.

Dr Alyce Hunter's sketch of the jade cup

Taking control of the investigation Nick questions the assistant curator, Dr. Alyce Hunter, who discovered the body. Nick expresses interest in the subject of the exhibit where the murder occurred and Alyce is impressed with his so-called "amateur" knowledge. The discussion turns to the alleged curse that accompanies the source of the exhibit's artifacts. Nick inquires as to whether the jade cup that was stolen from the display was from the same archaeological site. Alyce confirms that it was. The cup was extremely rare and used to drink the blood of sacrificial victims.

Nick sips gingerly at Natalie's blood substitute

Dr. Natalie Lambert, prepares a cup of an unknown green substance while Nick lingers behind her. She hands the cup to Nick and instructs him to drink. He manages one sip before he promptly spits it out into a nearby sink. After Natalie speaks negatively about that, Nick drinks one sip of the substance. Natalie reminds Nick that what she gives him is good for him. No longer wanting to be the object of scrutiny Nick reminds Natalie about the body of the museum guard that lies on her autopsy bay.

Natalie informs him that the cause of death was similar to the previous victims. However, this victim had two small puncture wounds in his neck. Natalie asks if it's something she should be concerned about. Nick doesn't answer her.

At the police station Captain Joe Stonetree explains to Nick his and the mayor's concerns about the investigation. There are four bloodless bodies and still no substantial leads. Nick's common link of the victims being homeless went out the window with the security guard murder. The vampire angle the media is using isn't helping things either. Nick doesn't like

Nick's new partner will be Schanke, like it or not.

the sound of where things are going. Stonetree reminds him that he's been doing Nick a lot of favors. Nick claimed an allergy to the sun so he was allowed to only work nights. He also asked to work alone and against his better judgment Stonetree agreed. However, the severity and scrutiny on the case will not allow Stonetree to have the investigation stop at sunrise. Nick will be assigned a temporary parter—and it will be Schanke. Nick is not amused.

On his way home Nick stops to talk to a homeless trio he's befriended, teenagers Jeannie and Topper and the much older Dr. Dave. Nick brought them some cheeseburgers and extends another invitation for them to sleep in his garage. He still feels strongly about his theory that the killer will target only the homeless. They thank him for the offer but they decline once again.

Nick drives his 1962 Cadillac to a warehouse he's converted into a loft. Inside are numerous half finished canvases and an assortment of art supplies. He reaches for a remote control that instantly lowers metal shutters over the windows to keep out the rising sun.

Nick opens his refrigerator to reveal several unmarked wine bottles. He reaches for the nearest one and carries it to the fireplace where a cup awaits. Nick fills the cup and takes a quick drink. The cup he's holding is similar to the jade cup that was stolen from the museum. Nick refills and takes another drink. Upon lowering the cup some red liquid clings to his lower lip. He's drinking blood.

In the candle filled room in 1228 France, LaCroix carries an unconscious woman and lays her before a transfixed Nicolas de Brabant. Both LaCroix and Janette encourage Nicolas to take the woman's life and feed his growing hunger. Upon sinking his fangs into the young woman's neck Nick awakens in the present day from the memory of his first vampiric kill. The sun has set and night has fallen. Nick's answering machine plays messages from Alyce Hunter and Natalie as he traverses his living room picking up stray bottles. Alyce invites him to visit her at the museum and Natalie playfully cajoles Nick to eat real food. Nick halfheartedly tries a piece of hamburger meat before unceremoniously spitting it into a wastebasket.

At the police station Schanke completes his donation of at a citywide blood drive. He and Donald Fenner, one of the technicians, converse about the universal blood type—O. Upon Nick's approach Schanke gives him a sample of his garlic filled breath in jest, which promptly causes Nick to double over in revulsion.

Later that evening Nick and Schanke are out patrolling the city, getting to know each other, and discussing the case. Schanke rags on Nick for not driving a regular car. To that Nick responds that his choice in cars has to do with trunk space, which the 1962 Cadillac has more of than any other car made in the last 30 years. Schanke's thoughts on the case are interrupted when Nick's heightened sensory abilities detect a hostage situation nearby.

An unstable and armed man is holding a young Chinese woman hostage in an apartment building. Nick and Schanke are the first police officers to arrive and they quickly make their way up the building.

Nick flies to the rescue.

Nick shows Alyce how the armour has been misassembled.

Berated by Natalie for drinking blood, Nick retorts, "I don't think Betty Ford takes vampires."

the Bloodmobile

Vampire Lore

This episode uses the term "Dorian Grey Syndrome" to refer to a common characteristic of many fictional vampires (most pertinently those in Forever Knight): i.e., they get older in years, but not in looks. The term references Oscar Wilde's 1890 novel, The Picture of Dorian Gray. It should be noted, though, that Wilde's titular character is not a vampire, but maintains his handsome, youthful appearance by the magical transferance of the effects of dissipation and moral corruption to an oil painting of himself which he keeps in a locked room.

Fan Fiction

• "Split Loyalties" by PJ1228
• "Shift" by Greer Watson

Discussion

• "Rewatch: S1E01 "Dark Knight" (May 5, 1992)" - discussion and analysis on Brightknightie's Dreamwidth journal, 7 February 2016
• "Live on the Air - Dark Knight Part I"[1] - synopsis and discussion on Nicholas_Lucien's Dreamwidth journal, 7 July 2018

Quotes

• SCHANKE: "Can you believe they put a guy like this in Homicide? Falls apart when he sees a little salsa picante."

• NATALIE: "Here drink this."
  NICK: "What is it?"
  NATALIE: "Grasshopper buns, eye of newt. What the hell do you care? Just drink it!"

• NATALIE: "Have you ever noticed how you can take a simple little thing like—oh, say, drinking tea—and turn it into a gigantic theatrical production?"

• NATALIE: "How's your tan coming?"
  NICK: "Well I'm up to about ten minutes on the sunbed."
  NATALIE: "Oh, a regular George Hamilton."

• LACROIX: "Mortals die. Does it really matter how or when?"

• STONETREE: "Look, I've been doing you a lot of favors. You tell me you're allergic to sunlight so I put you on the night shift. Then you want to work alone. My instincts are kicking me in the face but I say 'OK let him work alone'. But I am not going to stop this investigation when the sun comes up."

• SCHANKE: "You know why don't you drive a nice, clean city car? A regular beater. I mean we all know you're Joe Cool but I think—"
  NICK: "Trunk space."
  SCHANKE: "Trunk space?"
  NICK: "The 1962 Cadillac has more trunk space than any other car made in the last thirty years.
  SCHANKE: "Trunk space...I knew that."

• NATALIE: "Is this the same guy that came to me begging to help him change so he could see the sunrise?"
  NICK: Screw the sunrise. Give me the bottle."

• NATALIE: "Everything that can help you regain your mortality is wasted when you drink this stuff. It is the blood that keeps you from coming over."
  NICK: "I am what I am; and I don't think Betty Ford takes vampires."

• JANETTE: "Wasn't it Chicago before?"
  NICK: "It was time to move on."
  JANETTE: "Oh yes, the Dorian Gray syndrome."
  NICK: "Although if I knew they were going to install lights in Wrigley Field...."
  JANETTE: "I hate baseball. Slow games make eternity seem so much longer."

• JANETTE: "What is your name this time, hmm? Nicky something?"

• LACROIX:(on radio) "Three weeks in this town and I still haven't seen my old friend. This next song is dedicated to you Nicholas, my brother, my child...the Nightcrawler's waiting for you."

Notes

Behind the Scenes

• The German title for this episode is "Schwarze Sonne" ("Black Sun").
• This is one of the rare episodes in which a significant portion of the action takes place in daytime without Nick. According to Michael Levine, "The original intention was to follow Nick's partner, Schanke, in the daytime, and Nick would come out at night. But that never happened. We ended up always shooting at night. It was a bit taxing on your mind."

Canadian Content

• When Schanke drives north from the hospital, Nick's car is filmed driving up Queen's Park Crescent East. Later, when he has the accident, the car was filmed driving south on Avenue Road.

Americanisms

• The three homeless people befriended by Nick make money by selling their blood to a blood bank through a bloodmobile. This is a plot holdover from the first pilot, "Nick Knight", which was set in Los Angeles. However, the Forever Knight series is set in Toronto. Both the American and Canadian blood service centers rely entirely on voluntary donations. Non-profit donation centers run by the American Red Cross are the most prevalent blood and blood plasma donation centers in the United States. They do not, however, pay for blood. When blood or blood plasma is paid for in the United States, it is typically being collected by for-profit organizations run by medical and drug companies and is invariably used for research, not immediate life-saving measures.

See also

• Dark Knight screenshots
• Dark Knight (flashback)

External Links

• discussion of Dark Knight between twinsarein and brightknightie on DW (January 2016)
• Live on the Air - In-depth on Altun Kinal and the Mayan Cups by Nicholas_Lucien - essay on archaeological digs of Mayan ruins, Altun Kinal, and the Mayan cup