Pajiba

I'll give it 5 or 6 episodes and then we'll see. I feel compelled to watch anything with a female action heroine. I can't help it, call it misguided feminism, or just generally finding girls with guns hot, but as a kid who grew up fantasising about being James Bond, I need something to feed that fantasy. I need Evelyn Salt, Sydney Bristow, Sarah Connor, etc. to kick an unbelievable amount of ass while I clap gleefully. So I'll cross my fingers and hope that this will be less of a Bionic Woman and more of Alias.

After mercilessly shooting, crippling (and raping?) Babs Gordon, I never thought I'd say this, but Joker and I are on the same page.

Also, Bridget Fonda was in a movie based on Nikita. It was called Point of No Return. Oh, and the Peta Wilson starring La Femme Nikita lasted on USA for like 4 seasons. Hardly a failure. I've never even seen one iteration of this story and I knew that. So. Yeah.

I suppose I am all alone with my Shane West lust. That is just fine with me. I can lick him like the no need to talk lolipop he is. I dearly loved the old show, but will watch this as I have nothing better to do. Plus I want ALL her outfits. And her weapons too.

Brief nitpicky note: the crappy Bridget Fonda version was a movie, Point of No Return, not a show.

And, as the New York Times pointed out, this is basically a fifth incarnation -- Alias spun off Nikita's premise.

I liked this pilot okay (not as much as I liked the Peta Wilson show) but my favorite Nikita moment of all time has to be from the original movie, where she stabs the interrogating detective with a pen and yells, "NIKITAAAAAAAAA!" Classic.

Loved the series on USA network with Peta Wilson and Roy Dupuis. The chemistry between the two was fantastic and the show was so dark and edgy. I'd rather watch those episodes on DVD.

Of course, this leads me around full circle to say, as much as I loved the Peta Wilson-era Nikita, Roy Dupuis had about as much acting range as a plank of wood*. But, man, was he pretty. Man-pretty, even. Those eyelashes!

*For the record, I understand that he's a very prolific actor in ye olde French-Canadian circles, and possibly quite a good one. But his character on that show was just so ridiculously unemotive, I used to call it "acting as still life."

Oh La Femme Nikita: you always manage to make me delurk. Hear hear to the love for the original series and calling out Dustin on his mistake: four seasons and a successful campaign to resurrect the show for a fifth does not a failure make. By that criteria, some of Pajiba (and my!) favorite shows (Veronica Mars, Freaks and Geeks, Arrested Development, the list goes on) are failures. Granted, Dustin didn't explain his criteria--so how bout it, Rowles? By what measure did you judge LFN a failure?

I'm with Kristi: Peta Wilson and Roy Dupuis had the best chemistry of any couple on any show I can remember. They basically didn't even have to write dialogue for them most of the time, because they could communicate whatever was going on in their relationship through meaningful glances (aided by the stellar trip hop / industrial sountrack).

And Savage Cats, awesomely enough, your post is not the first time someone has written that precise sentiment: my comment on AV Club's review of the pilot was much the same (and also pointed out that Roy Dupuis pulled off sexy badass IN SPITE OF a mullet.)

In short, I will stick to my DVD's. Partly because the mere idea of Shane West as Michael makes me giggle endlessly, but mostly because Peta Wilson could snap Maggie Q like a twig. I don't care how many action movies she's been in--her legs are the width of my forearm.

It's hard to watch Nikita with that butterface Maggiq Q in the roles. Especially when they previous series had Peta Wilson. I think I would rather download the old series again

That and this Shane west guy looks like he can get beaten up by a kitten. The old Michael was so much more menacing

And don't get em started on the fact that they put some fucking eye candy Melinda Clrke instead of giving Dear Deadly Madeline

This is a perfect example of the problem with "mainstream" reviewers when they waddle into an area they know nothing about, like science ficiton: their ignorance on topic undercuts their review. I agree with what the reviewer writes but it is undercut by his lazy research.

La Femme Nikita: Kick ass Movie by Luc Beson (sp?) with the iconic opening scene of a group of thugs walking through the streets dragging a dead body. Also had the wonderful Character of the Cleaner which has always followed the remakes and has never been properly repeated (Harvy K's version was cringe-worthy)

Point of No return: Inept American Remake. Sucked massively and should be destroyed at all costs.

Alias: Rip-off TV show (Crator's actual pitch as told on NPR's Fresh Air: what if Felicity became a secret agent?)

La Femme Nikita: Canadian series based on show, 5 seasons - Not a failure as it lasted 5 seasons. Longer than some of the lame-o shows loved around here.

Nikita: 2010 series that I hope dies fast. It is on the CW, will become a teen drama and have all the excitement and thrills of Gossip Girl. A CW answer to Covert Affairs which is a lame derivative of Alias wich was a rip-off of La Femme Nikita...(round and down the toilet bowl we go!)

And before anyone brings it up. Burn Notice is closer to a Rip off of a La Carre character than this little swirl of nonsense.

Mr. Rowles, you should have done an extensive research before you said that La Femme Nikita-1997 Canadian TV series is a failure! You should have seen how UNITED the fans are(including other fans from around the world) to bring back LFN. Then, came "Alias", a copy-cat, a rip-off from LFN! The words used, storyline were taken from LFN.

Now, Nikita-2010, CW made a big mistake of resurrecting this show. I concur with you this is a B TV show. It lacks the chemistry among the actors, edginess, and the acting of actors. The ensemble of LFN-1997, Canadian TV series did the BEST PERFORMANCE. For me Peta Wilson is THE NIKITA while Roy Dupuis is THE MICHAEL. I have nothing against Maggie Q but the role of Nikita is not for her.

Between the new Nikita and Covert Affairs, I'll choose the latter without second thought.

Bravesjade said all I wanted to say and way more eloquently than I ever could so, thumbs up, and please marry me.

I enjoy the commentary on this website, it really gives it that community feel!