Question:
Do you think Tracy would have been accepted better if
she had been Nick's partner right from the start?

Jessica Murray

I think we wouldn't have had much choice but to accept Tracy if she'd been Nick's partner from "Dark Knight." But I also think if she had been, Natalie might have remained Dr. Jack from "Nick Knight." After all, changing the sexes of two major characters might have caused TPTB to blow an important blood vessel. That would have changed the entire dynamic of the show. Think of it: in "Only The Lonely" it would have been Nick and Jack teasing Tracy about computer dating. Scenes between Tracy and Stonetree, Tracy and Cohen. Jack filling out a questionaire on "what is a father?" Tracy waxing rhapsodic about souvlaki? Mispronouncing Janette's name? Almost being brought across in "For I Have Sinned"--and by whom? Would Alma have gone for her? Would we have seen Miklos earlier? Would Vachon have shown up two seasons before Black Buddha? Oh, well. The rest of the speculations are probably best left to the fanfic authors. But I would probably pay real money to read the Tracy version of "Close Call."

Navidia

I really can not say. I think that one of the reasons she wasn't so popular did deal with the fact that she was new. But I would have felt the same if she had been there the whole time. I think that the last season was a rude awakening when we lost half of the cast in the first episode (or around that time frame). The last season was thrown upon us with so many new faces that it was hard (at least for me) to adjust. I think that I might have disliked Tracy for fear that as soon as I liked her she would get killed off. I think that a lot of people felt that way.

Watcher

Maybe just a little - what with "time works wonders" and all. It also would help that it could start out just like it did with Schanke - based on comedic contrast. But I still think she would irritate viewers real soon (I mean, if even everyone's favorite Don at times got under the people's skin with his uncanny ability of being clueless - what would they say about the one who actually *dates* a vamp and can't tell when meeting another?) However, the greatest problem would be to make her a relative of the Captain or his protegee (otherwise no one would buy her as a Detective - even TPTB of the season three understood that much). And Tracy Vetter as a daughter, niece or whatever else of Captain Stonetree... Sorry. Doesn't figure. They would have to change more than one-person casting for this one.

Jessica Roop

I think she would have. Nick never really got a chance to know her and half the time he knew her she was still in shock from the whole "vampires exist" idea. I think the show would have been a lot different, as in the way Nick related to everything in general. I think she would have been a great character to develop.

K-A

Not if she whined all the time. I liked Tracy till the end then she just got on my nerves a little.

Chris

Well... My personal dislike for Tracy aside, yes, she would have been accepted better. The way she was introduced was not condusive of the audience wanting to "like" her. Let's face it. She was brought in during Black Budda, an episode that is really tragic, and here we have this perky blond thing seemingly unaffected by the tragedy that tears through the rest of the main characters. Besides that, I think that the writers and producers made quite an effort to make Schanke likeable, and to see him dead, and to see another take his place so rapidly, cheapened his death. How are we supposed to adjust to someone new, when we're still reeling from the death of an arguably beloved character. Again, her perkiness doesn't help matters much, for such a dark show doesn't lend itself well to someone of that nature. If we weren't constantly comparing Tracy to Schanke, then maybe we would have adjusted better. That still wouldn't change my dislike for her, but I can see that it might be lessened.

Wendy

Hi. This is one thought provoking question. I will begin by saying that I am a huge Forever Knight fan. That having been said, if Tracy *had* been Nick's partner from the beginning, I am not sure the series would have had as much charm as it previously had for seasons 1 and 2, and would have been just another partner/cop show with vampires. Allow me to elaborate. Part of FK's initial success, I feel, had as much to do with John Kapelos' wonderful portrayal of Donald Schanke (I admit to being an FOD) as it did with the vampire elements and GWD and Catherine Disher's portrayals of Nick and Natalie, not to mention Deborah Duchene and the fabulous Nigel Bennett. Schanke and Nick worked well together, and had a comfortable chemistry. Had Lisa Ryder's Tracy Vetter been the only partner, I do not feel the series could have achieved a blend of humor and pathos that the series had before third season. For me, I feel Tracy was too dull a character. Perhaps she was underdeveloped, but she had no chemistry with Nick. I feel chemistry is a key ingredient for any show to succeed. Sorry to any Perkulators out there. I just feel that, acting aside, that chemistry is invaluable. This is just my take on the situation.

Natasha & The Wildman

I, Natasha, think that the main reason Tracy wasn't readily accepted was because it meant the passing of Schanke. Most of us were upset at all the changes made in third season. Even though third season was the first season I saw, after seeing first and second, well, there's no comparison. Third season had too many changes. If Tracy had been there from the start, she probably would have been readily accepted as a part of the FK family. Of course, then TPTB probably would have gotten rid of her then... The wildman ponders which would be more "Tasty" to a FK vampfan; a "strong willed goddess", or a "highly opinionated" walrus? I was brought accross to FK during the third season. My impression of Nick & Tracy's partnership was that they complimented and supported each other in a very positive way. Upon being introduced to the yesteryear partnership of Nick and Schanke the wildman experienced "deja vu" of the odd couple. Both scenerios were O.K. with me, AS LONG AS I GET MY FOREVER KNIGHT FIX!!!

Katherine

No, I don't think so. The problem was too many changes all at once. If they would've introduced new characters gradually, and if they had been better-developed, they probably would've worked out a lot better. And they shouldn't have killed off Screed or Vachon! They did a lot more character development of them than Tracy or Urs.

Danielle Goldstein

No, she's just too perky.

Mary

Not really. It would have been too bizarre for Nick's first partner to be a relative rookie, not to mention the commissioner's daughter. Against the background of his partnership with Schanke, the assignment did make some sense. I wish they had simply added Tracy's demographically-correct character to the mix instead of killing off Schank, but obviously the budget--or the imagination--couldn't support that.

Reva

If Tracy had been Nick's partner from the beginning then I don't think the series would have been accepted as much. The partnership between Nick and Schanke gave so much to the series. The humour offset the serious nature of Nick's conflict. I think it would have been a very different show if she had been Nick's partner from the start.

Sami Swan Thompson

Not really. Lisa R. was great when she was guest starring in a different role, but the character of Tracy just didn't fit into the series. The awkward casting sometimes made Nick appear repressed and humorless -- not nearly as much fun as in the first season. John Kapelos brought Schanke to life as the best possible choice for Nick's partner. Tracy was definitely destined to be the third man on the landing party.

Karen

Good question. My answer is no. She just wasn't a strong enough character in the story. The writers gave Schanke more brains than Tracy and I felt oftentimes she was a liablility to Nick. She couldn't even pull "good-cop, bad-cop" off. Don't get me wrong, sometimes I did find myself liking her, but I think her character was all wrong for the show. One fleeting thought: they could have used one of those self absorbed, super cops with Nick. I wonder how the tension would have been then.

Marie

I don't know if she'd be accepted, but they would have had more time to develop her character and let us get to "know" her better. One season of "knowing" her wasn't enough for us. Even if she was brought in at the very begining, not everyone would have accepted her anyway. I myself liked Schanke better than Tracy, but that is mostly because we saw more of Schanke and knew more about him than Tracy. One season was too short to squeeze in a whole background for Tracy. We had two seasons to learn about Schanke, and we still don't know everything about him. This just shows that we need more seasons of FK to get to know more about everyone. Anyone care to add to this or talk about this with me, email me privately at: [email protected]

The Doc

I definitely think Tracy would have been better accepted had she been Nick's original partner, but I don't think she would have ever claimed Schanke's huge popularity. Let's face it, at times Tracy was more than a little annoying!

Katherine

I don't think so. She had many faults other than just having the bad luck of replacing Schanke. Tracy was such a crude attempt at changing the show's demographics that it wasn't even funny. She was the perky, twenty-something blond that appeals, supposedly, to males, but that wasn't enough. She had several intelligence lapses, such as the time she hid behind oil drums for cover from gun fire in Night in Question. Or the several times that she went somewhere without backup. Not to mention the fact that she never recognized Nick for what he was. Sure, Schanke missed many of the same clues as she did, but she KNEW vampires existed! She saw them everywhere, except right in front of her face. In Schanke's world, vampires didn't exist, so to think that your partner was one was riduculous. She insinuated that Natalie didn't know what she was doing once or twice. Also, her being the commissioner's daughter didn't help. This fact, combined with her innate stupidity, led the viewers to believe that her Daddy helped her up the ladder, which he did. She didn't deserve to be where she was, and we would have never accepted anything different.

Barb Erickson

Of course Tracy would be more accepted if she had been Nick's partner from the beginning. After all, *she* would be the character we'd all grown to love, not someone viewed as an usurper. Her character would probably be vastly different in temperament as well (maybe more "Nat"-like.) I suspect her "perkiness" was a result of TPTB trying to create a character who wouldn't be a carbon copy of Schanke. I also suspect that if Tracy had been Nick's partner from the beginning, *she* would have been Nick's love interest. There would be no Natalie. His coroner friend would have been Jack, the character from the original "Nick Knight." Geez, guess that would make us N&NPackers "Nick and Tracepackers" or "Vamp and Perkulators" or "Perkaknighties" or something! Auugggh! ;) Barb Erickson <who's ducking and running for cover!>

Melinda Cadarette

It's very hard to say but I think that Schanke bonded better with Nick than Tracy. You also have to remember that Schanke and Nick are both men and would probably interact much more smoothly. I think Tracy needs a boost of good humour like Schanke. It's just a sin that they let John Kapelos go!

Wayne VanEtten

I was unaware that the fan base had a problem with accepting the character of Tracey Vetter. I think Lisa Ryder's interpretation of the character was excellent and she brought to the show a different set of dynamics; instead of the humorous elements of Don Schanke. The character of Tracey also provided a better artistic vehicle for addressing the social ills of our modern society, which Forever Knight's creative staff did so well. So excuse me for being long winded, but to answer your question: YES, Tracey probably would have been accepted better if she had been Nick Knight's original partner. Interesting, but I believe John Kapelos was the only cast member to join the series, and also appear in the movie "Nick Knight" (with Rick Springfield as Nick).

Amanda

Probably, because there would be no one to compare her to. Personally I don't think anyone could have adequatly replaced Schanke.

Rebe

As I started watching the show with the third season, I accepted her quite well. I enjoyed her slight accent. If she had started with the first season, other people would have considered her the "real" thing as I do.

Arletta Asbury

Yes, she suffered in the comparison with Don. Also the extra time would have allowed her character to develop more than was done in one season. However, I don't think that she would ever have been as well loved as our lovable Donut Don. :)

Sami Swan Thompson

Nope. The character of Tracy didn't work in the series. Schanke fit well because: (a) he was comic relief {what a name!}; (b) he was normal in appearance, rather than glamorous/exotic; (c) of all of the characters, he was the one who could change the most. Tracy was too young, too vacant, too blonde, and too damn perky. Lisa R. was wasted in the part. Besides, Tracy-Nick interactions sometimes made Nick appear repressed and stern -- a questionable character development. If Tracy had been Nick's first partner, I don't know if there would have been a second season.

Margie

Tracy might have been accepted better, but speaking just for myself, I don't think I would have considered Forever Knight to be quite as brilliant a show as I think it is, if we had never had Schanke, but had only had Tracy.

Wilma

Tracy would have been accepted better if she had been Nick's only partner. I feel that the whole third season was darker than the first two. The third season needed some of the joking around and more of the human/vampire reactions of the 1st and 2nd seasons. Maybe the mistake was not Tracy but the subplot that Tracy knew about vampires. Alot could have been done with Tracy. I found her hard to accept mainly because she replaced Schanke. You can't dump two characters in a series and not expect to get some reaction.

SunShine

Well.. I think we'd still tease her about the perkyness... but without being able to compare her to Schanke, we might believe that "she's a good cop" <g> J/k By the way....

Jackie

I guess I never looked at the idea of Tracy ever being someone who would have worked out from the start. Although if they had had her in the beginning (along with Vashon) they could have developed the characters better than they did (I believe that Vashon got a raw deal... he was a great character that could have been very useful to the show). But the idea of Forever Knight without Schanke is like strawberries without whipped cream... or vampires without blood... whichever suits your taste more. Schanke was the perfect opposite of Nick. He was comedic, which helped lighten moments. He could look at things, through things, and never see what was really there. His run ins with Alma, with LaCroix, with Janette, and with Nick in his vamped out stage should have told him long before the second season that something was different with Nick than just an allergy to the sun. That's what made him so perfect for the show. I don't think Tracy could have given the chemistry that Schanke did with Nick.

Sharon Bauman

No, I don't think Tracy would have been accepted better if she had been Nick's partner from the beginning. The writers did not develop her as a strong detective, but rather as one riding on the coat-tails of her father. Yes, she had her good cop moments, but for the most part, she either was quite oblivious to the obvious, more interested in acting on her own, or putting others in danger by her actions. She also whined a lot - which got on my nerves. She couldn't make decisions half the time either. This was, of course, the writers' fault. However, with Natalie and Janette in the picture as strong female leads for Nick, he needed a male partner to balance things. I think Lisa R. did a good job of portraying Tracy, given the material she had to work with, but the third season was a hodge-podge of story lines - some good, some lousy. Lisa had to take over John Kapalos' part after two seasons, and that was too drastic a change. If the Tracy character had been introduced gradually - say, in Season Two and carried over to Season Three, she might have fit in better, but it didn't work well the way it was done.

David Duprey

Personally, I have always liked Detective Don Schanke best.