[DVD] NICK NIGHT

NICK NIGHT (1989; IMDb) is a movie pilot that predates the long running television series FOREVER KNIGHT.  It is not a prequel because the first episodes of the TV series reprise all of the events of this movie.  However it is interesting to see a slightly different and early take on the same story.

Rick Springfield is a more conventional attractive lead, but lack some of the edge that Geraint Wyn Davies later bought to the part.  The filming of this fail pilot was also looser and sometimes introduced serious flaws. 

For example there a pivotal scene where Knight must choose whether to save the girl or save the ancient cup that might allow him mortal again.  In both version the villain holds the cup and the girl on a high walkway.  In this version the cup is dropped and hits the ground before Knight acts, essentially making nonsense of the dilemma.  In the Forever Knight version the villain drops the cup and Knight saves the girl before it hits the ground and shatters--making it clear that he had time to rescue one or the other.

There were really only two elements that I feel are more successful in NICK KNIGHT than in FOREVER KNIGHT.  One is the gimmick of Knight rigging up camera so her could watch the sun rise on dozens of televisions.  This seemed to sum up Knight's obsession with regaining mortality, on which the series hangs.  The pother is that the sidekick Det. Don Schanke (played by John Kapelos in both versions) has more of a threatening side to him that is lost in the buffoonish character he became in the series (perhaps necessary to have a long running character who never works out that his partner is a vampire).

On the whole this is a movie for FOREVER KNIGHT enthusiasts only, it completes the collection but adds relatively little to it.

Where is Buffy when you need her?

It is Friday the 13th and rabid vampire bats are atacking a village in Peru.

IN THE DARK Rob Grahan

IN THE DARK is well written but it messed with my head. It has four distinct sections. In the first we meet the vampire hero Georges but learn almost nothing about him. Although it was neutrally written the villains as black men using drugs and sexual prowess to, um, wipe out the white race made me really, really uncomfortable. When this was followed by a section where the male vampire seduces himself a lesbian girlfriend and confronts a lesbian villain--and what subsequently happens to her--well....

 

The third part is about Georges and his girlfriend Diane being reunited in more ways than one is more comfortable reading. Georges finally became more of a rounded character with vulnerabilities and character. In the final part they journey back to Diane's home and both characters and the relationship become three dimensional and their world and lifestyle are fleshed out, just in time for the book to end.

 

Frankly this book didn't do much for me. I felt like maybe the writer developed and matured during the writing and if there was a sequel it would hit the ground running with two fully rounded characters as well as a supporting cast of secondary character with potential (but who didn't do very much in this story). I would say this story is worth a look but the four sections are mismatched in genre and quality and some of the content in the earlier parts is politically incorrect to say the least.

Note: this title is now out of print

3/5

 

Other Reviews of IN THE DARK

• Bitten by Books [3/5]: "This book wasn’t quite for me, but I encourage others to read it and see if it is for you."
• Two Lips Reviews [4.5/5]: "Rob Graham’s style is smoothly enchanting and leads the reader like a moth to the flame."
• Romantic Observer [3/5]: "The first section seemingly doesn’t relate to the following three, which makes one wonder why it is there...."
• goodreads [3.5]

See also:

• Let Me Tell You a Story About Vampires: "I contacted Rob and he was not only willing, he was enthusiastic. As I was a fan of his vampire novel "In the Dark," I suggested a vampire romance novel--but a historical one."

Dick, Jane and the Vampires

I came across a blog post about this book by Nancy Knight, and it has gone right to the top of my 'to buiy' list. 

I mean, seriously, Dick and Jane and the Vampires.  Who could resist that?

I may have to wait a while though, Amazon reports it has not been released yet, 

Anne Rice, Atheist for Jesus

Well, not an atheist per se, but Anne Rice claims she is leaving Christianity. "“Today I quit being a Christian," she reportedly said.  Now I, personally, have had trouble taking Rice's theology very seriously ever since reading Memnoch the Devil, but her argument seems to go something like this: Christ=good, Church=bad.

Personally it seem to me, as something of an outsider, that if you grock Christ, you are a Christian, and the church (or churches) out there really don't have to have anything to do with it.  I suppose some members of some churches would disagree that you can get to Christ anyway but through them.  But I see no reason to resign the field and let them win that argument.

If indeed this is what Rice is doing--rather than making one more grab for that elusive limelight.

It's Twilight, Baby

So apparently people are calling their babies names out of Twilight.  I will admit this make me sad.  It makes me think of the idea that babies could be affected but what their mothers saw late in pregnancy, like if she was scared by a spotted pony the baby would have spotted skin. 

Biology doesn't work that way, but apparently psychology does.  Whatever you mother is impressed by just before your birth, that is the name you might get stuck with.

Bella, Cullen, Jasper, Alice and (oh my God) Emmett are sky-rocketing up the name popularity charts.  I suppose it could be worse.  It could be Renfield or Buffy.  Or if your mother was impressed by a Transformers story instead you could end up little baby Cliffjumper, Grimlock or Road Rebel instead.

Actually, if the choice was between Bella and Grimlock....