There is 1 message totaling 76 lines in this issue. Topics of the day: 1. Discussing "Dying to Know You" and history ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Date: Wed, 23 Oct 2013 16:55:54 -0400 From: Greer Watson <gwatson2@r.......> Subject: Discussing "Dying to Know You" and history It's been a while since I last posted any discussion of Forever Knight episodes. The last time, I was looking at "Dying to Know You" in terms of the paranormal. This time, I'd like to look at its flashback--or, more accurately, fans' analysis of the setting. Time and place, that's "setting" as I understand it. For some episodes, this is crystal clear. Sometimes, it's actually labelled on screen at the start of the historical scenes. In others, it's inherent in the story (as in "Unreality TV", with its flashback to the American Civil War). In other episodes, though, there are problematic elements that make dating difficult. Fans are naturally interested in *when* things happened in Nick's life; and this has led to two major (and very familiar) timelines being drawn up. One of them, on the First Unofficial FK Site, focused more on using costume to determine the probable date. The other, on Amy R.'s Bright Knight site, used external sources. Mostly, they agree. Occasionally, they don't. In the case of "Dying to Know You", though, the two timelines pretty well agree. The historical *date* is likely to be the 17th century, for Nick's friend Matthew is a Puritan, a religious sect of Protestant Christianity that flourished at that time; and the clothes the characters wear are consistent with that date. In addition, both timelines place events in the United States--or, more accurately, somewhere in one of the colonies that eventually became the States (for, of course, the American Revolution didn't take place until the 18th century). When I saw the episode, on the other hand, it did not occur to me that the New World colonies might be the location of the flashback. It seemed too early a period for Nick to have crossed the Atlantic. It would be a long way to fly into the unknown; and a sea voyage would require heavy depredation on the crew while limiting the places where he might hide. Ships back then were small and crowded. I assumed the flashback to have taken place in England. In making this assumption, I was undoubtedly influenced by the fact that I come from recent British immigrants, and grew up on stories of the Roundheads and Cavaliers. In kids' books, the Cavaliers were usually the heroes; but, in fact, my ancestors were mostly Parliamentarian supporters. At any rate, I knew that Puritans were numerous in England in the 17th century: I put the flashback somewhere in mid-century, around the time of the English Civil War and the Commonwealth. (If you're curious, you can read details in the Notes page to the "Puritans" article on the FK Wiki: http://foreverknight.wikia.com/wiki/Puritans ) No doubt, Gaylin and Amy had their own reasons for assuming that the inclusion of Puritans had to mean that the flashback was set in the American colonies. I wonder how often our own background affects our interpretations of the episodes. Greer gwatson2@r....... http://www.foreverknight.org/FK4/ ------------------------------ End of FORKNI-L Digest - 22 Oct 2013 to 23 Oct 2013 (#2013-162) ***************************************************************
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