Nouns of the FK Universe

[brightknightie]

The big project on Bright Knight over the past year has been developing the Character Directory (People of the FK Universe) and Stuff List (Places and Things of the FK Universe).

Both lists amuse me greatly, but if I have a pet of the two, it's the Stuff List.  The Character Directory shines a spotlight on cool tidbits, such as that "David" is the most common name in FK (seven uses), that Officer Lipinksi is a recurring character (three episodes), and that the anchorman who appears in "Spin Doctor" and "Only the Lonely" is named Steve Tate and so could easily be related to talk show host Jerry Tate (of "My Boyfriend is a Vampire").  But the Stuff Lists wraps me warmly in an FK so tangible, so vivid, that it's as if I've walked off screen and into a larger universe.  Surely the Kitten Club magazine in "Love You to Death" is related to the Kitten Channel that airs Foxy Boxing in "Hunters"?  The list of fictional companies reveals a story equipped with a yellow pages of canonical services.  And Azure is hardly the only restaurant in FK's fictional Toronto -- would you prefer to eat at Artie's with Schanke for the garlic special, perhaps, or Trattoria Roma with Don and Myra, Buckstar's with Tracy, Machelio's with the mob boss, or even Pizza Palace, where Natalie did not spend her twenty-eighth birthday?  What about the Cherry Street Restaurant diner or the Hog Heaven bar?  All completely canonical.  It's so neat!

Yes, I am easily amused.  :-)  I began both lists in August of 2006, taking notes one episode at a time from "Dark Knight" forward.  I slowed and temporarily stalled in third season, I'm afraid, but I'll pick up the pace again soon.  Once I've finished the series, I have a few episodes to go back and double-check (due to notes that I didn't always transcribe soon enough to remember the meaning of my own scribbled marginalia ~g~).

Comments

[gaslightgallows]

There aren't enough words in the English language to enumerate how giddy the news of this list makes me. *bounces around uncontrollably*

[brightknightie.livejournal.com]

I'm delighted you like them! Thanks for telling me. I hope the FK Nouns Lists are fun for some people besides me, and might be useful for lining fanfiction with the canon references I love to read. :-)

[greerwatson.livejournal.com]

I love the "stuff" list too! One thing you might consider, though, is marking those that are real (i.e. exist in the real Toronto) from those that are purely fictional.

For example, Co-op Cabs and Humber Nurseries are real.

This is one of the things that makes the Toronto of Forever Knight so fascinating to watch for someone who lives there: real places and things are always being snuck in. On the other hand, someone from elsewhere could easily make the mistake of assuming that everything on your list is equally imaginary, and write accordingly.

[brightknightie.livejournal.com]

>"One thing you might consider, though, is marking those that are real (i.e. exist in the real Toronto) from those that are purely fictional."

You're absolutely right. That's an excellent and important idea! Thank you very much. I will implement it this weekend, adding a column to distinguish fictional from real -- and unconfirmed. I should be able to include a link to a site or reference for anything that is real, too, which would also be handy for a fanfiction writer.

I'm a west-coaster, and I'm afraid I don't have much knowledge of Toronto outside television shows and news items. May I ask, would you be interested in identifying additional places and things that FK portrayed as they really are? I mostly know of real things that FK cast as fictional things (the Fluid Lounge as Janette's Raven, Casa Loma as Francesca's castle).

Hmmmm. Another possibility would be to delete the real things, and keep only the purely fictional ones. Or to add all the real things, including those we might presume everyone would recognize... something to think on: what gives the most value to the user?

Again, thank you!

[greerwatson.livejournal.com]

Keeping only the truly fictional things presents its own problems, though.

I think people (like you) who don't know Toronto will need to have as full a list as possible, with the distinction made, of course. Otherwise, they'll simply spot omissions, and probably will just think that your list is incomplete.

With a full list, though, someone wanting to write an FK story can check and see which things were real, which weren't. And write accordingly. Putting "real-real" things into your story would add Toronto verisimilitude. Putting FK things in the story would add a different type of verisimilitude.

Of course, for the person who uses your list to avoid FKisms in a story set in another fandom—well, LaCroix no doubt has a special fate in store for them. But that's a use, too.

And yes, of course, I'd be glad to help.

[greerwatson.livejournal.com]

So, from a combination of "off the top of my head" and googling to check, here's what I have:

Co-op Cabs are real, and do indeed have that gold and red livery. (They must have hired one for the episode.)

However, you missed Beck Taxis, which appear in both "Spin Doctor" and "A Fate Worse than Death". These have a natty livery in turquoise green and bright orange.

There is a Queen's Quay, but it is not a mill. They've cleverly taken the name and applied it to the location, which I think was the Distillery District. Of course, the use of a legitimate name just adds to the apparent verisimilitude.

Scarborough Grace Hospital is real, as is St. Joseph's Health Centre, though the other hospitals are imaginary.

There is no "Hotel Selby"—but there is the Clarion Hotel and Suites Selby, which probably provided the name.

There is no "Windsor Arms Motel", but there is certainly a Windsor Arms Hotel.

Allan Gardens is very real indeed. So is the Toronto Islands Park. And are you sure of the spelling of your "Hyde Park"? Because, although we don't have one of those (though Britain does), we do have High Park.

There are plenty of civic centres, since before amalgamation we had five boroughs and one city (or five cities and one borough, depending on how you were counting). I think the one you want here is actually Etobicoke Civic Centre.

The Coroner's Building is so real that the address is right! The exterior scenes were filmed on location.

I've no idea if there's a police station in the Castle Frank area, and if so what Division it is. (It is certainly not a "precinct".) However, Castle Frank is a legitimate district downtown, with a subway station and high school of that name.

Millhaven Penitentiary is sadly very real. And although Oakridge is more properly known as the Mental Health Centre at Penetanguishene, that is undoubtedly what they are referring to. (The more so since you can find it by googling "Oak Ridge asylum"!)

The Factory Theatre is real.

Please note the proper Canadian spelling of words like "theatre" and "centre".

Hope this helps.

[greerwatson.livejournal.com]

Oh, and Humber Nurseries, of course, which is out near the airport. I've been there: it has a marvellous selection of perennials.

And let's never forget the CN Tower!

[greerwatson.livejournal.com]

Oh, I should add that, although their reference to "Oakridge" undoubtedly refers to the real place, their scene-setting exterior shot was actually filmed elsewhere.

The same thing happened with St Patrick's Station (in "The Black Buddha, Part Two"). That is the name of a real subway station on the University Line, located downtown at Dundas and University—and thus quite appropriate for the story. However, for filming, they actually used a completely different location.

A matter of practicality, no doubt. Money, permits, etc.