CW is making a pilot for remake of "La Femme Nikita"

[Bad Bishop]

The Nikita tv-show was objectively really terrible, but I still liked it, don't know why.

It was not terrible at all. I have read that it was the unspoken inspiration for Alias.

 

[Timby]

The Nikita tv-show was objectively really terrible, but I still liked it, don't know why.

It was not terrible at all. I have read that it was the unspoken inspiration for Alias.

You have your series mixed up. La Femme Nikita and its various double-agent / government subterfuge plots were a direct inspiration for 24, and producer Joel Surnow has confirmed this on multiple accounts.

Although Nikita was absolutely terrible, outside of the inexplicably charismatic presence of Eugene Robert Glazer.

 

[Roger Wilco]

I'm sorry, I didn't know the show had so many fans. Maybe my memories of it aren't accurate, I mostly remember it for the hot lead actress, the milfy boss, ridiculous action scenes and lots of faux-european posing.

 

[Bad Bishop]

It was not terrible at all. I have read that it was the unspoken inspiration for Alias.

You have your series mixed up. La Femme Nikita and its various double-agent / government subterfuge plots were a direct inspiration for 24, and producer Joel Surnow has confirmed this on multiple accounts.

Spare me your trademark pedantry. I merely said that Alias owes something to La Femme Nikita. I didn't deny the possible influence of Nikita on other series.

BTW, everyone knows that Nikita influenced 24. Key personnel like Robert Cochran and Jon Cassar worked on both programs. Apologies to your friend Joel Surnow.

 

[Marc]

The Nikita tv-show was objectively really terrible, but I still liked it, don't know why.
I hated the guy with the long chin though, whatever his name was.

Well if it's Michael (Nikita's on-again/off-again friend with benefits) then you're not along - the acting ability and charisma of a block of wood with that.

If it's the older guy Paul (Operations) well he's a bastard and you're supposed to hate him.

 

[Timby]

It was not terrible at all. I have read that it was the unspoken inspiration for Alias.

You have your series mixed up. La Femme Nikita and its various double-agent / government subterfuge plots were a direct inspiration for 24, and producer Joel Surnow has confirmed this on multiple accounts.

Spare me your trademark pedantry. I merely said that Alias owes something to La Femme Nikita. I didn't deny the possible influence of Nikita on other series.

BTW, everyone knows that Nikita influenced 24. Key personnel like Robert Cochran and Jon Cassar worked on both programs. Apologies to your friend Joel Surnow.

Spare me your condescension. What the heck is your problem?

 

[Bad Bishop]

My problem, Timby, is that you jumped in to lecture me on a very minor point. Try a more amiable or tempered approach next time. It's not necessary to play the expert every time.

 

[Roger Wilco]

Well if it's Michael (Nikita's on-again/off-again friend with benefits) then you're not along - the acting ability and charisma of a block of wood with that.

If it's the older guy Paul (Operations) well he's a bastard and you're supposed to hate him.

No, I meant the young guy, the old guy was cool.

 

[Joel_Kirk]

I guess Hollywood's unoriginality has reached the point of no return.

Indeed.

It almost feels like we've been stabbed in the hand; hopefully, it'll be good, so it won't be canceled.

 

[Teelie]

CW is quickly becoming a network of remakes. Seriously how many of their series are not just remakes but blatant remakes not even disguised as new or different? I'm not trashing the network exactly, they do have Supernatural which IMO is great, and they have Smallville, which I don't watch but somehow is still chugging along after a decade? Pretty impressive for a series I didn't think would last 3 or 4 seasons, regardless of quality.

 

[jefferiestubes8]

MI:3's Maggie Q in talks for title character

Maggie Q is in talks to play the title character in the CW's "Nikita" reboot

Hawaii-born Maggie Q made a name for herself as a Hong Kong action movie star before landing roles in "Mission: Impossible III" and "Live Free or Die Hard."

The casting of Maggie Q is particularly significant as it jumps off an iconic character historically portrayed as Caucasian, first by Anne Parillaud in Luc Besson's 1990 film, followed by Bridget Fonda in the 1993 redo "Point of No Return" and Peta Wilson in the 1997 USA Network series.

The pending hire of Maggie Q in "Nikita," from WBTV and McG's Wonderland, would mark the highest-profile series role for an Asian actress on a broadcast drama series and the highest-profile CW minority casting in the network's four-year history.

Feb 18, 2010,
http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/hr/content_display/news/e3i6baa5818ddcc27e1b81a9e9bd73162fe

 

[FreezeC77]

Wow. I had little interest in this remake until reading that today. Maggie Q? Just wow. That's so unlike the CW. I would have been less shocked to hear Hillary Duff was going to play Nikita than I am hearing Maggie Q.

I really hope the pilot is picked up.

 

[Nick Ryder]

Maggie Q... hmm... I think maybe I would give the show a chance then. Nothing says action better than an Asian chick who can kick ass.

 

[jefferiestubes8]

3 principle actors cast

Maggie Q plays the old Nikita, the one who's gone rogue and is on the run.

Lyndsy Fonseca (How I Met Your Mother) plays the new Nikita, a 19-year-old who's sentenced to 25 years in a federal penitentiary, then recruited by a secret government agency to hunt down Q's character.

You know her from her daughter character on "How I Met Your Mother" (34 episodes, 2005-2010).

Melinda Clarke plays Amanda, an operative

you remember Melinda Clarke from her character Lady Heather the professional dominatrix who gets Gil Grissom all hot under the collar(5 episodes, 2001-2008 "CSI: Crime Scene Investigation" )

Aaron Stanford (aka Pyro [from X-Men 2 & 3]) plays Birkhoff, a computer specialist

http://io9.com/5491698/maggie-q-isn...ter-all-plus-doctor-whos-new-tardis-described

 

[wamdue]

so there are 3 Nikitas? the first Peta Wilson Nikita, Maggie Q, and now Lyndsy Fonseca

this sounds alot like the recent Bionic Woman series.

I see Melinda Clarke as Madeline, not a new character.

 

[Pilot Ace]

This is getting weird.

"Nikita" wasn't even the character's codename, it was "Josephine."

I am expecting much less of this the more I hear about it. Hopefully it's just the news sources getting confused rather than the production.

 

[DevilEyes]

Re: 3 principle actors cast

Maggie Q plays the old Nikita, the one who's gone rogue and is on the run.

Lyndsy Fonseca (How I Met Your Mother) plays the new Nikita, a 19-year-old who's sentenced to 25 years in a federal penitentiary, then recruited by a secret government agency to hunt down Q's character.

You know her from her daughter character on "How I Met Your Mother" (34 episodes, 2005-2010).

Melinda Clarke plays Amanda, an operative

you remember Melinda Clarke from her character Lady Heather the professional dominatrix who gets Gil Grissom all hot under the collar(5 episodes, 2001-2008 "CSI: Crime Scene Investigation" )

Aaron Stanford (aka Pyro [from X-Men 2 & 3]) plays Birkhoff, a computer specialist

http://io9.com/5491698/maggie-q-isn...ter-all-plus-doctor-whos-new-tardis-described

So I guessed it right that Aaron Stanford plays Birkoff. I bet that "Amanda" will be a Madeline-like character. The IMDB page lists Shane West as Michael, which I can't wrap my head around.

But what about Operations and Walter? The actors listed at IMDB are all too young. Or did they just decide to ditch all older characters?

The Nikita tv-show was objectively really terrible, but I still liked it, don't know why.

It was not terrible at all. I have read that it was the unspoken inspiration for Alias.

You have your series mixed up. La Femme Nikita and its various double-agent / government subterfuge plots were a direct inspiration for 24, and producer Joel Surnow has confirmed this on multiple accounts.

Although Nikita was absolutely terrible, outside of the inexplicably charismatic presence of Eugene Robert Glazer.

Uh, you don't think Nikita was an influence on Alias? I mean, there are no similarities, say...

Alias features
- a young and hot kickass spy heroine who is also sensitive and moral (Sydney Bristow)
- her handsome handler/love interest, with whom she has an on-off relationship (Michael Vaughn)
- a weary, emotionally distant veteran agent who has a very complex relationship with the heroine, and seems to manipulate her and care about her at the same time (Jack Bristow)
- heroine's ruthless, manipulative, villainous boss, who's suffered some family tragedies of his own, which allows him to show other sides to his character (Sloane)
- heroine's mother - a gorgeous and sexy mature ice-queen/dragon-lady agent (Irina)
- heroine's best friend (Will)
- a computer nerd (Marshall)

while Nikita featured:
- a young and hot kickass spy heroine who is also sensitive and moral (Nikita)
- her handsome handler/love interest, with whom she has an on-off relationship (Michael)
- a weary, emotionally distant veteran agent who has a very complex relationship with the heroine, and seems to manipulate her and care about her at the same time (also Michael)
- heroine's ruthless, manipulative, villainous boss, who's suffered some family tragedies of his own, which allows him to show other sides to his character (Operations)
- heroine's mentor - a gorgeous and sexy mature ice-queen/dragon-lady agent (Madeline)
- heroine's best friend (Walter)
- a computer nerd (Birkoff)


In addition, in season 5 of Nikita, we find out that the reason why the heroine has really been drafted into the spy organization is

Spoiler: Nikita S5

her father arranged it!

That sounds familiar...

And I think Nikita was subjectively and objectively better than Alias. Of course, if you're looking for realism, the stories of Nikita didn't really make sense, but neither did the stories on Alias or 24.

The Nikita tv-show was objectively really terrible, but I still liked it, don't know why.
I hated the guy with the long chin though, whatever his name was.

Well if it's Michael (Nikita's on-again/off-again friend with benefits) then you're not along - the acting ability and charisma of a block of wood with that.

I can't disagree more. Michael was very compelling and charismatic in his cold, enigmatic way - unless you expect flamboyant OTT behavior from a character whose main traits are restaint and emotional unavailability. Comparing Nikita with Alias, one of the reasons I prefer the former is because both of the lead characters (Nikita and Michael) were far more interesting and the actors had a much stronger presence than Sydney and Vaughn, who I could never really care about because they were just dull. Good thing for Alias that they had Jack, Sloane, and the awesome Irina Derevko in particular, to make up for that.

 

[jefferiestubes8]

CW' "Nikita" series greenlit

the official synopsis, which sounds a bit like the Bionic Woman reboot crossed with Alias:

NIKITA
When she was a deeply troubled teenager, Nikita was rescued from death row by a secret U.S. agency known only as Division, who faked her execution and told her she was being given a second chance to start a new life and serve her country. What they didn't tell her was that she was being trained as a spy and assassin. Ultimately, Nikita was betrayed and her dreams shattered by the only people she thought she could trust. Now, after three years in hiding, Nikita is seeking retribution and making it clear to her former bosses that she will stop at nothing to expose and destroy their covert operation. For the time being, however, Division continues to recruit and train other young people, erasing all evidence of their former lives and turning them into cold and efficient killers. One of these new recruits, Alex, is just beginning to understand what lies ahead for her and why the legendary Nikita made the desperate decision to run.

It will air on Thursdays at 9PM

first trailer sneek peek Youtube 1:50 length video


io9 article Nikita


CW unveils fall schedule

 

[Pilot Ace]

It's strange they changed the name of Section One.

I don't really understand what this show is yet, it seems like it's half re-imagining and half sequel.

 

[scotpens]

The Nikita tv-show was objectively really terrible, but I still liked it, don't know why.

Your objectivity reeks of subjectivity.

La Femme Nikita had good writing, involving storylines, three-dimensional characters, lots of relationship drama for the ladies, and plenty of high-tech gadgets, shooting, fighting, killing, and shit gettin' blowed up for the guys. Not to mention the gorgeous and unbelievably sexy Peta Wilson. What's not to like?

It's strange they changed the name of Section One.

Possibly for legal reasons, although if they're using concepts and character names from the original show, you wonder why they can't use the same fictional government agency as well. Maybe it's something like Kevin McClory being given the rights to the Blofeld character and SPECTRE.

Nothing says action better than an Asian chick who can kick ass.

Asian chicks who can kick ass are just so damn HOT!