This is a Webpage. Forever Knight is the property of and copyrighted by Sony/Tristar.

Tracy Vetter. It's an upbeat name for an upbeat kind o' gal. She was one of the finest homicide detectives at the Ninety-Sixth precinct of Toronto's Metro Police force, though often underrated. But, hey - Tracy had some pretty big shoes to fill when she became Detective Nicholas Knight's partner in the Third season of the television show Forever Knight. She certainly had very little in common with Nick's former partner, Donald Schanke. No one would ever find Detective Vetter munching on a souvlaki over her latest case at the morgue.

Tracy faced many challenges over that season, and the purpose of this webpage is to celebrate those events: The Good, The Bad, And The Perky.

You may ask, "What is good about Tracy?" She does have her share of detractors, and some consider her a brainless twit. I think this is short-sighted, superficial sort of judgment. The following is a list of reasons why I like and admire Tracy Vetter, complete with visual and audio aides.

She is a woman working in a male-dominated field. Furthermore, she's just been promoted to Detective status and has a new job in Homicide, no less. She's under pressure to learn the ropes of her new job: which forms to use in the never-ending paperwork, understanding the abilities and limitations of all of her co-workers as well as her own, and knowing which questions to ask and how to ask them appropriately.

Tracy replaced Nick Knight's well-loved, trusted and talented partner, Donald Schanke, when he was killed in a plane bombing. That is a difficult and awkward situation for anyone to find themselves in. To make matters worse, she is under above-average scrutiny because her father is a Police Commissioner. Any mistakes, and any commendable work Tracy does becomes overshadowed by thoughts of nepotism. Tracy constantly fights this stereotype, and her main weapon is her streak of independence. This is my favorite Tracy character trait, the one that gets her into the most trouble, and in the end, it is her fatal flaw. I can't help but like her when she says, "If I impress my father, it'll be because of something that I've done. Thank you." (You can download this .wav here. It's about 45K) She wants her admiration the old-fashioned way - when she earns it.

So Tracy Vetter has her inexperience, her sex, the ghost of Don Schanke, and the specter of her father all stacked against her. Does she throw her hands in the air and give up? No Way!!!

Instead, she rolls with the punches, like in
My Boyfriend Is A Vampire, when Nick
mercilessly teases her about joining the studio
audience of a TV talk-fest,The Jerry Show,
and Captain Reese doesn't act much better.


Here's a little sample exchange among the three of them.

When I use the term 'bad,' I'm not referring to criticism of Tracy. I'm talking about tragedy. I'm speaking of trauma - the kind of things you hope to never experience - perils that you wouldn't wish on your dentist, no matter how many root canals you're scheduled for next week. Tracy had bad times, there's no two ways around it. Let's discuss, shall we?

Tracy is haunted. The episode Dead Of Night brings to light ghosts from several character's pasts. We learn that, as a child, Tracy witnessed her friend Susan struck to death by a train. This isn't the sort of event that shapes a person into a shallow twit. On the contrary, I think it instilled in Tracy some of the same issues of self-doubt and guilt that are so poignant in the character of Nick Knight.

Susan's death must have lingered in the back of Tracy's mind over the years for it to actually become a visible entity during Dead Of Night. Tracy is plagued with remorse that she didn't act, that she did nothing to rescue her friend, to the point that it threatens her own life. This situation can be projected into the ordinary. How often are people confronted with an issue where they regret their past actions? Tracy blames herself for causing another individual harm, and has the capacity to come to terms with the event, as well as forgive herself. That ability strikes me as well-adjusted, especially considering the other dysfunctional and supernatural issues in Tracy's personal life.

In addition to fighting the stigma of nepotism, the episode Avenging Angel reveals that Tracy grew up in a less-than-perfect family. While at times, other characters and her real-life critics seem to regard Tracy as a spoiled, Daddy's-little-girl princess, it becomes apparent through the scenes with her mother that Tracy's home life resembled a battlefield more than a fairytale castle. Her mother is an alchoholic, her father is an overbearing philanderer, and Tracy is caught in the middle. I think she can be considered a successful adult, despite the pressures of her upbringing. We're not given any signs that Tracy abuses alchohol, and she's a Generation X'er with her own car, apartment, doing well in her chosen career. Not too shabby, in my opinion.

Of course, Tracy's career had its own sublimely horrible moments. It must have been difficult for Tracy when Nick was shot in the head during Night In Question, and she was the only witness. One minute at the hospital her partner is pronounced dead, the next he's alive, but with amnesia. That's emotional upheaval.

Then there's Trophy Girl. Tracy is drugged and imprisoned by a serial killer a few nights after the first time she is required to kill someone in the line of duty. Tracy is forced to fight for her own survival, and she crawls her way to the finale with her finger on the trigger. Tracy may be blonde, but she is a tough blonde.

Finally, we reach the roughest part of Tracy's season on Forever Knight, her personal life. Mad bombers picking her up at coffee bars, college buddies with multiple sclerosis, and old friends who turn out to be crooked cops aside, it all boils down to one person: Vachon.

Was Tracy in love with him? Well, she was bawling over him at her desk the night after they met. Like Natalie said, Vachon definitely had Tracy in his spell, and, like Natalie, not only must Tracy deal with the normal problems inherent to a relationship there's that irritating mortal/vampire obstacle, too. It ends terribly, it ends abruptly, with Tracy forced to stake Vachon, then she is left alone with her grief. We are also given the impression that LaCroix later alters Tracy's memory, making her believe that Vachon has simply moved on and left Toronto. Would Tracy really feel less cheated, if that were the case? I don't think the change reduced Tracy's pain. She's still the one left behind, still believing she has no one in which to safely confide. I'm all teary just thinking about it. Poor Tracy.

Yeah, yeah...I know I haven't gotten to the perky parts yet, and I will eventually...Let your mind wander and guess what they are, 'kay?

If you're a Tracy fan, then you must stop by The Perkulators Home Page!!! You'll be glad you dropped in!! :)

Take me back to the Why I Love Forever Knight Page!

Don't some of those addicts roam around nearby? Let me check out the Nunkies Anonymous Homepage! I hear they've really got it bad for that LaCroix person...

This page was last scrubbed and polished on April 2, 1998.
Kewl! good, bad, and/or perky people have visited this site since 11/15/97!
Want to send mail to the Perky Redhead responsible for building this site? Press the address to send messages to: br1035@ix.netcom.com