The phrase "Neck of the Week" is sometimes used jokingly by Forever Knight fans to refer, in a somewhat disparaging fashion, to guest characters who are romanced by Nick Knight in the course of the episode, but then killed off at the end of the story. This practice is common in episodic series television. It allows to introduce a romantic subplot for the hero, while at the same time enabling them to return to the status quo at the end of the story. Some of these characters, having been drained, then become vampires at the end of the story; but none recurs in subsequent episodes.