La Femme Nikita

This show is one of the few that I attempt to regularly tune into each week. I'm not a die hard fan analyzing every sentence/glance/breath of every character, but I certainly enjoy the show. A person who says this show has poor acting or poor character/plot development is most likely disappointed by every TV series and not being fair to the genre. This show says more with a moment of silence than most shows say in an hour of dialog. It is impossible for a show that has run as long as this one to dot every "i" and cross every "t", of course there will be holes. But by and large the show remains true to itself and at the top of it's genre. The acting and action are appropriate, the plot works well enough to be create a suspension of disbelief and the character development is the best I've witnessed from any long term series.

Thank you for creating a thoroughly entertaining show, I will miss it greatly after this season.

It seems that one genre of film has rarely been successfully translated to tv: The spy film. Can't think of one off the top of my head--except the cartoons like Lancelot Link and Danger Mouse. I suppose in the sixties--Man From Uncle, Mission Impossible.

But here comes La Femme Nikita, a very stylish show, no question, with a certain ruthlessness about it that seems cold and dangerous. Everyone in it seems to adequately convey the sense of dangling over a precipice, waiting for the stark harsh powers to send them to their doom. But until then, they combat various and sundry international terrorists.

While the acting never really rises above adequate--the dialogue really doesn't allow it, the characterizations themselves are rather enjoyable. Megalomaniac Operations, icy Madelaine, zombie like Michael, etc. There's a certain menace that hangs in the air, as if even humanistic Nikita wouldn't hesitate to put a bullet in you were the situation to require it.

I'm not suprised this show draws a devoted following--probably some who put it in the same late nineties genre of women wandering around beating the hell out big bad men (see VIP, Xena, Buffy, etc) But it's rather a bit more than that, the plots are routinely more complex than most spy movies--the last few James Bond movies in particular, maybe they could donate a few writers to the cause in bringing some life in that series.

The endless maneuvering for advantage, the incredible withering amorality, the sudden violence ... and don't forget the clothes, all give this a pretty slick, sexy feel to it. Like a very shiny, glistening new gun--lethal, but undeniably attractive.

The TV series, "La Femme Nikita" is a spin-off of the fine early-90s French film, "Nikita". The first episode, although it deviates in many points, generally parallels the entire movie through the point where Nikita starts to perform missions.

However it does not try to look like the original, instead it has spun its own look that is every bit as captivating as the film, for a TV series. Peta Wilson who stars a Nikita is so perfect for the role she has created that it is impossible to imagine anyone else playing it now. She is all-in-one beautiful, sensitive, tough, loyal, in a superb acting job. I suspect the real Peta Wilson is not too far away from this character.

I find the series so captivating because of its mix of good and bad. "The Section" exists to foster good in the world, but any means justifies the end, and a lot of people, both innocent and crooked, get in the way and get "eliminated". However, Nikita and Michael both have consciences and in every episode there are ambiguous situations that their characters must deal with. You can't watch it and not ask what you would do in a similar situation. The dark tone of the show, the clandestine operations, the high-tech tracking and communications, the action - it all blends to pull you in and keep you in its grip, until the episode is over. Today, 01/01/01, USA network is running a "Nikita" marathon - 12 straight hours of the best episodes. Very compelling watching.

DEC2004 update: I am watching the DVDs for season one, very nice set.

This series is unique. Unlike the banal witty dialog in all of today's action series...this one was quite different and pleasing. Finely emotionally nuanced so that communication takes place by a glance or a turn of the head. This series is the antidote for all other series where everything is conveyed via dialog and nothing by character development. An organization dedicated to public good, but using evil techniques. Are its principals evil themselves or simply amoral? Characters have everything money can buy, but freedom or individual destiny. Nikita herself flourishes at Section, and is redeemed from a meaningless life on the streets..but is this redemption worth it? Does she lose herself or find herself? The moral contradictions alone are spellbinding. I recommend following director Joel Surnow's work for similar treatment of new series.

I loved this show and never missed an episode. I thought it was suspenseful and well written. I was fully involved in this program. It will be sorely missed.

I cannot understand why we don't even get re-runs. I think the acting was well done and the characters detailed. I think the relationship between Nikita and Michael was intense and riveting. I have seen repeated episodes of garbage shows on television and I do not understand why no network thinks this show is worth repeating. I was hoping they would make another movie perhaps letting us know what happened after wards. I guess the actors have moved on. I think the original movie was very good and think the television show was a testament to it.