Subject: SPOILER: Black Buddha Part 1
From: leerecord@aol.com (LeeRecord)

"Black Buddha Part 1"
Episode: 3-01
Paragon Entertainment Corporation
Dome Productions and Another Large Production, Date: 09/08/95
Sony Pictures Ent; Columbia Tri-Star Television Distribution
Executive Producers: James D. Parriott and Jon Slan
Exec Story Editor: Michael Sadowski
Writer: James D. Parriott
Director: Geraint Wyn Davies

Promo: Episode 3-01  "Black Buddha P1"   (1st Run)
:30 sec
Narrator -"On the season Premiere of Forever Knight, some will live --
some will die! Others will be reborn! And one man will face the decision
of a lifetime! But, is time running out? -Forever Knight-"

Promo:
:10 sec
Narrator -"Some will live -- some will die, on the explosive season
premiere! -Forever Knight-

- There's a lot of stuff getting blown up!  --Booooom!
- Schanke and Cohen are taking a prisoner, that was caught by Nick and
  suspected of being a lone bomber, to Edmonton-Alberta.
- Nick has a dream about a woman he was with on the doomed Titanic. --Nice
  Buddha!
- Nick is getting impatient with his slow progress back to mortality. Nat
  tells him that it's only been 4 years; an eye blink to Nick.
- The substitute, soon to be regular, police chief, wants Nick to work
with
  the daughter of a police commissioner.  --Daddy's little girl.
- Nick and Tracy, the daughter, drive near the airport; where they see a
  plane explode and crash!
- They are the first at the crash site and they find a small baby that has
  survived the crash. Tracy takes care of the baby. Nick finds Schanke's
  plane ticket!
- Nick has a flashback to the Titanic and a woman who gives him a Black
  Buddha, which may grant him his wish of mortality. All he has to do, is
  make her an immortal.  --The Buddha has a curse, of course!
- Tracy sees a victim blink his eyes.  --He didn't look like a cow!
- The guilt sets in, again, as Nick thinks the Buddha's curse has caused
  the plane crash and the loss of his friends.  --More than in Curiouser.
- Nick and Reese, the new chief, suspect that the prisoner had a partner
  that wanted him dead.
- Tracy and Nick go to the morgue, set up for the crash victims, where
  Natalie tells them what she knows. There are two missing women and a
  man named Valdez.  --I think that's Spanish for moose!
- Valdez shows up, looking for parts, and is spotted by Tracy.  --Ooops!
- Nick gets hell from Nat for believing the Buddha has caused the crash
and
  Natalie is the wish that it granted him. Natalie doesn't like that Nick
  thinks the black Buddha is working it's magic through her.  --Smack him!
- Javier Vachon, having pulled himself together, is driving with Tracy in
  her car. He tries to hypnotize her into taking him to the Salvation Army
  for some clothes and then to her home to clean up. She isn't fazed by
his
  attempt at hypnotizing her. She is really tough or he is really bad at
  mind control.
- LaCroix tries to convince Nick that he should dump his guilt and get out
  of town like Janette has. He has bought the Raven and has strippers on
  Friday nights.  --Sex is back!
- Meanwhile Tracy doesn't seem too concerned about this strange new friend
  that she helped, in spite of not being hypnotized.
- Nick hears a clue on the ATC tape; the sound of a music box.
- After falling deeper into lonely vampire depression, Nick does as
LaCroix
  suggested; he resigns.  --Say it isn't so, Nick!
- Tracy finds out where Vachon lives. In a castle on a hill. --Okay, an
old
  condemned church. Kind of Gothic, though.
- Nat gives Nick heck for planing on leaving without telling her. --She is
  not in a good mood.  --Nice pink outfit, Nat!
- Will Nick really retire and fly away?
- Will Tracy find Vachon in his church (church!)?
- Will Nick unload the black Buddha?
- Will the bomber strike again and again and again?
* They did fix the spelling of Parriott in the end credits.

Guest Star(s): Tamara Gorski as Claire Gibson and Stuart Hughes as Vudu


Review: **** J.P. has done a very good job of introducing the new
characters, not to mention writing a darn good thriller; and this was only
part 1. We loose a couple of old friends and gain a few new ones in this
season's opener. There is a lot going on in this story; here are some of
the high points.

Nick's new partner, Tracy Vetter (Lisa Ryder), is the daughter of a police
commissioner that the new police chief, Captain Reese (Blu Mankuma), wants
Nick to work with. (Okay, she doesn't drive a Corvette!)  Cpt. Reese
admits that he is in the sucking-up-business to get ahead. In a left
handed way, he does come off as the comic relief; but he is no buffoon.

Nick, being a friend of Cpt. Reese, agrees to take her under his wing
(Hmmmm). Tracy and Nick go on patrol and she talks about her father and
how she doesn't want treated differently (only when it comes in handy).
Nick drives out near the airport, where he knows his friends are about to
depart. Tracy and Nick see a plane explode and crash. They are first on
the scene and Nick finds out that it was the plane with Cohen and Schanke.

The best thing about the story is the way many incidents are used to
develop the new characters. For instance, the plane crash causes an
instant bonding of Nick and Tracy.

Nick believes a black Buddha has a curse that caused the crash. His
obsession with the Buddha gets Natalie's ire up. Everyone has wanted her
to really give him what for; and she does, a few times, in part 1.

Javier Vachon (Ben Bass), has become the curiosity of Tracy, who saw him
come back to life. That would make me curious! She has a very nonchalant
attitude toward this strange man that she watched heal before her eyes.
When he tries to hypnotize her, she isn't even fazed. Her curiosity,
causes her to do what he wanted and after he cleans up, at her apartment,
he almost goes for the neck, but he controls himself and leaves. Tracy
finds out where he lives and tracks him down. She runs into a vampire that
is looking for Vachon. He almost kills her, but Vachon shows up in the
nick of time (nick!). Vachon realizes that he is not going to be able to
control her at all. I believe we are going to have a Javier and Tracy
relationship that's similar to Nick and Natalie's. As far as Nick and
Tracy, it looks as though we are in for the brother and sister act. Some
people already think that that is all we have between Nick and Natalie,
but I have never believed so.

LaCroix has bought the Raven and yes, it's strip night every Friday. "Sex
is back, Nicholas!" Fortunately, not much was made of it; just a guy and a
gal dancing in the background. LaCroix tells Nicholas that Janette has
moved on and doesn't want him to try and find her. He says that their
paths will cross again as they have in the past. He also suggests that
Nicholas dispose of his baggage of guilt and move on too. Because of
Nick's depression and guilt, over the death of his friends, he resigns
from the police force and prepares to leave.

That pretty much covers part 1. The only thing I don't quite understand is
why LaCroix, all of a sudden, wants Janette and Nick to take a hike. Is he
going through some sort of vampire change of life. Maybe they get hot
flashes every 100 years or so.

I think most of you will like this story; and the new characters. Vachon
is the only character that hasn't been developed, yet. I guess we'll find
out more about him in part 2. He has a sort of Gothic feel about him. He
is a young smart-ass, too! Is it possible to be Gothic and a smart-ass?
Maybe it was just the old church, where he lives, that's Gothic. What the
heck is Gothic? I'm sorry I brought it up.

Galaxy 4, Ch 13     (Mon 03:00 EAT)

-- Lee
   leerecord@aol.com

   "I guess I just expected more from you, Nick!"  -Natalie