Popular Culture Review Vol. 14, No. 1, February 2003 | Page 115

F o r e v e r K n ig h t

and

T he In visib le M an

111

over his bride’s death pursues him wherever he goes. And even though he apolo
gizes to the ghost of Alyssa, he can never make amends for the crime he has
commited against his oh-so-trusting beloved. As Starlog writer Peter Bloch-Hansen
notes, a vampire like Nick Knight will never be able to enjoy a happy, “fairy tale”
heroic lifestyle, so long as the curse hangs heavily over his head (55-56).
The fatalistic finale, “Last Knight,” has Nick turning on the only one who has
been working on a cure over the past few years to save him, namely the wise
woman scientist. Dr. Natalie Lambert (Catherine Disher). Even after eight centu
ries, Nick still cannot control his bestial side and allows the addiction to consume
him, at the expense of taking the life of another friend/lover. The only way he can
be released from this forlorn existence is by being staked in the chest by his men
tor, LaCroix. Although the “father” expresses an unwillingness to do this to his
“son,” he finally relents and grants Nick his wish to end his agonizing immortality.
Definitely, Forever K night\ cursed hero has numerous flaws and imperfections
contained within his nature. Yet, the hero also has a noble aspiration to be some
thing better than he currently is. Perhaps Nick Knight truly reached what he al
ways wanted: namely, humanity through the death of his vampiric self.
Upon first inspection. The Invisible Man bears little resemblance to the vam
pire series. Small-time crook and unlikely hero, Darien Fawkes (played tongue-incheek by Vincent Ventresca), is part of a secret government experiment designed
to create an invisible agent who can infiltrate any terrorist situation and defuse it.
Implanted with a gland at the base of his skull, Darien, through sheer will, can
cause it to release a hormonal-like substance referred to as Quicksilver that can
bend light and ultimately make him undetectable for brief or more extended peri
ods of time. As with most scientific advances, however, there is a negative sideeffect to secreting too much Quicksilver in his system; the hormone acts as a “ce
rebral inhibitor,” degrading Darien’s higher brain functions and allowing his more
primal impulses to take over. Starlog critic Ian Spelling explains that Darien can
not remain invisible for too long or he “runs the risk of going mad and turning evil.
He requires a steady stream of counteragent shots by his government handlers |to
keep himself sane and alive]” (74). So as the pilot story line unfolds, we see an
other type of cursed hero who has acquired a gift that he does not want and who
eventually undertakes a quest to rid himself of the affliction, making his journey
distinctly different from those of traditional fairy tale heroes.
Like Nick’s bloodlust, once the “Quicksilver Madness” possesses Darien, he
cannot help himself and soon gives in to his violent and aggressive shadow side.
Even his eyes turn a bloody red, similar to a vampiric metamorphosis. The series’
opener has him savagely turning on his ex-girlfriend, Casey (Rebecca Chambers).
A follow-up teleplay entitled “Tiresias” also depicts Darien throttling his new se
cret-agent partner, Bobby Hobbes (Paul Ben-Victor), under the influence of the