Natalie Lambert
| Character | |
|---|---|
| Name: | Natalie Lambert |
| Occupation: | pathologist |
| Relationships: | Sydney (cat) Richard Lambert (brother, dead) Sara Lambert (sister-in-law) Amy Lambert (niece) Nana Tash (grandmother, dead) |
| Fandom: | Forever Knight |
| Other: |  portrays Natalie and Nick Knight, from Good Guys Wear Fangs #2 (1993), titled "Dreaming of Humanity", artist is Michele West |
| Click here for related articles on Fanlore. | |
Dr. Natalie Lambert is a fictional character that appeared in all three seasons of the television series, Forever Knight. The part was played by Catherine Disher. (In the original 1989 pilot for the series, the equivalent role, Dr. Jack Brittington, was played by Robert Harper.) Dr. Lambert is a forensic pathologist working for the Coroner's Office in Toronto. Her office is supposedly located in the actual Coroners Building on Grenville Street, with exterior scenes shot on location.
Character Evolution
The first episode of the series established not only Dr. Lambert's profession, but also her close relationship with Det. Nick Knight. Not only are the two obviously friends, but—unlike the other human characters—she is aware that he is a vampire. Indeed, she is engaged in ongoing research for a way to reverse his condition. Initially, her focus is on altering Nick's diet; and there are a number of short humorous "character scenes" in which she exhorts him to stop drinking blood, eat solid food, and try her latest artificial blood substitute, which he invariably loathes. After the first half of Season One, such scenes become less frequent, but more varied.
The series premiere also hinted strongly that Natalie is romantically interested in Nick; but initially she makes no attempt to pursue the attachment, deliberately staying "just friends". She frequently goes over to Nick's apartment—not just to check up on his treatment, but also to talk or watch movies. Through the course of the series, their interest in one another shifts overtly towards the romantic. However, not until the latter half of Season One, in the episode "Only the Lonely" did each of them openly admit—if only to themselves—that they were attracted; and, not until "Be My Valentine", well into Season Two, do they acknowledge to each other their mutual attraction. Their relationship proceeds in a snakes-and-ladders fashion thereafter. Indeed, to the end of the series, Nick never actually quite gets around to saying the actual word "love".
Character History
Only a little of Natalie's personal background was ever revealed. In "I Will Repay" in Season One, her younger brother, Richard, is murdered; and, in "Dead of Night" in Season Three, her grandmother's ghost prompts memories of some degree of abuse as a child. Many fans assume her parents are both dead; but this is not canon. Nor is there any information on where she grew up or attended medical school.
Fan Response
As a strong-minded woman with a successful professional career, Natalie Lambert is very popular with fans. There is some ambivalence about her emotional dependence on Nick: many fans support the Nick/Natalie pairing, while others feel that, in the long run, it would be better for her to accept that they have no future together. Quite a lot of futurefic therefore focuses on Natalie's life after Nick decides to move on—either mourning the loss of her one true love or finding a new life. There are also quite a number of "far future" stories in which he returns to Toronto when she is an old woman, or attends her funeral.
Having said that, there are some fans who feel that Natalie would make a remarkably good vampire—and not necessarily just as a solution to her romantic problems.
Fan fiction does not only focus on Natalie's romance with Nick. Her relationship with her colleagues, especially Grace Balthazar, is often explored. However, although she is often seen at work, fans typically lack the necessary background knowledge to be able to expand on either her career as a pathologist or her research into vampirism. For both, they tend to rely on elaborating the same stock scenes that were employed in the series.
Fans also occasionally create their own backstory for Natalie's childhood. When writing futurefic, they may include visits to her sister-in-law and niece, who are usually assumed to have left Toronto after Richard's death.
Yahoo!Groups & Fanlistings
- Forever Natalie (fanlisting)
- Natalie's Friends (Yahoo!Group)
- ForeverNat (Yahoo!Group, focused on Natalie's vampire potential)
Websites
- Natalie's Bed and Breakfast (FK Website Archive copy, Wayback Machine copy) — faction site
- ForeverNat.com (FK Website Archive copy, Wayback Machine copy)
Natalie-focused Factions
There are a number of groups within Forever Knight fandom who focus their interest on Natalie Lambert more than the other characters. These factions interact on mailing lists and groups, write fan fiction about Natalie, and play as groups in Forever Knight Wars.
The faction that first declared an affiliation with Natalie arose in the course of the first Forever Knight War, and eventually settled on the name NatPack. Although they nominally support the character in all aspects, their principal interest lies in Natalie as a professional woman, and as a human friend and maybe lover for Nick. For this reason, a minority who see darker aspects of Natalie—particularly those who feel she ought ultimately become a vampire—split to form their own fraction faction, the Dark NatPack (or DarkNatties), within which fans who definitely like to see her as a vampire formed the NatVampCamp. In addition, for a few years, a group of fans who, for one reason or another, were not allowed to join the NatPack formed their own separate faction, the MadNatters.
Given the canonical attraction between Nick and Natalie, it is not surprising that one of the earliest couple factions was the Nick and NatPack. Again, when their principal focus proved to involve a mortal Natalie, the Dark Nick and NatPack was created by those who prefer to see them together as vampires.
After "Be My Valentine" aired in Season Two, a number of fans were struck by the rapport between Natalie and LaCroix in an extended restaurant scene. Seeing the potential for romance, they created the Valentines to discuss and write about the Natalie/LaCroix pairing. By extension, the Unholy Trinity supports the Nick/Natalie/LaCroix threesome.
Other minor pairings involving Natalie include the Nanettes (Natalie/Janette), the Lonely Hearts (Natalie/Vachon), and the crackfic Unmentionables (Natalie/Screed). In addition, there are a small group of fans, the Nothers, who write crossover hetfic involving Natalie with characters from other fandoms.