Painkiller Jane

It took me about 5 episodes to realize what was wrong with painkiller jane: nothing matters, nobody cares. every episode is just 40 minutes of watching a beautiful but somewhat dull kristanna loken solve a case involving -of course- some kind of a neuro. and the action isn't all that great either. what makes it bad is that there is almost no character building. there is no emotional depth. none of the team members matter to us. even jane won't really reveal much of herself, so why should we care? as an example: in one episode janes partner gets shot. there is of course a funeral (because there has to be) but one episode later its like she never even existed. nobody seemed to miss her, nobody mentiones her. thats just how shallow painkiller jane is. and its too bad, because there are some good episodes that show us how P.J. could have been.

It is a shame because I wanted to. The premise, while not necessarily great, did intrigue me, and oddly enough there were some interesting ideas that if explored well would've come off very nicely. Unfortunately, as much as I wanted to like it and saw all the episodes to give it a chance, I couldn't get into it. The idea was intriguing, I did like the strong leader character that Rob Stewart played and he played it well and for a show that would end after 22 or so episodes it did end on a good note rather than on an abrupt or cliffhanger one. However, I found myself not caring much from the filming, even within the genre the settings were colourless and drab and the photography lacked focus all too often. The music was generic and didn't add all that much to the show or to any exciting moments, while the writing constantly feels rushed through and trite. The story lines didn't compel me much, there were weaker episodes than others agreed(though that is true of a lot of shows), but for what promise the pilot did have nothing really takes off from it. There were some good ideas here, but sadly they are not expanded upon enough. The pacing was often dull for me. The characters, even with the clichés, did seem as though they did have potential if given a chance, however I never found myself properly caring for them and their motivations and they did feel like props. Apart from Stewart, the actors never looked as though they were connecting with their characters and came across as bland. I am including the lead Kristiana Loken here too, a gorgeous woman playing a grittier sort of character but an actress that would work better in a (softer) supporting role than a lead. Overall, I gave Painkiller Jane a chance and never found myself involved with it. Although the 2005 TV movie had a lot of problems I did find myself preferring it over the series. 3/10 Bethany Cox

I watched Painkiller Jane from the premiere onwards, but stopped watching once Psych came onto USA during the same time slot. Painkiller Jane isn't the best show by far, yet I would still call it one of my favorites on today. If you want sci-fi that doesn't make you think a lot yet still has reasonably interesting characters (Riley and Conner being two of my favorites on the show), then PKJ is for you. I'm glad Sci-Fi at least gave it a full season--it's a shame about the possible cancellation, because I think the cast could have grown into their roles and improvement dramatically with a second season.

Overall, I think the show is fine if you don't come into it with high expectations. Take it for what it is: an hour escape from reality. It's not meant to be Pulitzer Prize-winning material, but just a development of an old comic book idea. For all intents and purposes, PKJ provides a entertaining hour full of action.

Unlike another user who said the pilot was bad but the series "just keeps getting better", I found the pilot to be pretty good for a Scifi Channel pilot, but the series failed to build upon that base and instead churned out the same formula week after week. The multi-episode arc involving Jane's investigation of the source of her abilities was introduced about three episodes too late and was really the only thing that could have saved this. But by that point in the run, people had already given up on the show. And you have to admit that, following on the heels of the success of Heroes -- which also features a hot blonde with amazing healing ability -- PKJ really needed to hit the ground running, rather than stumbling and jogging in place. A competent show with interesting locations, decent acting, but only average scripts and thin characters, it really didn't have much of a chance.

The main critique against this show seems to be that it's too much like 'Heroes', which is a fair enough critique --- but also ignores the fact that 'Heroes' is an incredibly standard formula show (albeit a really good one). I would not base my review of 'Lost' off of Gilligan's Island. And so, Painkiller Jane should be seen in it's own right, and when this is done, it's a pretty satisfying show.

I never read the comic book is based on, and had almost no expectations going into it. But the show definitely builds on itself, and despite a fair number of gratuitous 'Jane getting shot up' scenes, it's a good way to waste a weekend. The show feels truncated, since it didn't get picked up for another season, and that's a disappointment. But some of the writing is impressively good, and the dynamics of the team (and their dialogue) tends to get better and better as the show goes along. There are weak episodes in the mix, but altogether, if you're looking for some series to quickly digest, this works.

Given the low budget and the miniscule fan base this show received, this show is a little gem amid the static.