Nikita: "Pilot" - Sept. 9 on The CW - Grading & Discussion

[FPAlpha]

Gave it an Average

The show hasn't much going for it.. yes, Maggie Q is hot as hell, we get it. No need to hit us over the head each time you get the chance to show her half-naked

So far i'm unimpressed.. we've all seen the elements of the show a thousand times and we've all seen the characters elsewhere (the nerd, the field leader who's got a secret crush on the main character, the "inhumane" henchman etc) and the show doesn't introduce anything new or even interesting to begin with.

It's nice that they want to explore what happens after Nikita leaves the company and the twist at the end was ok but i'll give them another 2 or 3 episodes before bailing if they don't improve fast.

 

[DarKush]

I didn't see a thread for the second episode, so I decided to post my review here. I didn't see the end but from what I saw of the show I thought it was all right. The action was fluid without being graphic/gory, the story and villains were interesting enough.

Once again, Maggie Q was hot, but I think she plays Nikita a bit too cool. I still don't quite 'get' her, perhaps I'm not supposed to. I didn't get why she rescued Alex only to put her in harm's way by having her infiltrate Division. Also, don't get why Alex would do that. I can see why Nikita wants them destroyed, but not Alex, it's not personal for her...from what I saw of the show. (I mean, its personal now, but before she was recruited, what's the reason to do this.) Also, the selection doesn't make Nikita sympathetic, it makes her appear a bit cold and manipulative, from what I saw. A show like this would work better if Nikita was sympathetic and empathetic. Sure she did wrong in the past and once she left Division she's going to do right. Perhaps its not realistic, but I don't see her recruitment of Alex as a 'right' decision. Does it make her better than Division? Not necessarily in my book now. Gray areas are fine, but this show didn't strike me as wanting to go that deep. Right now, I'm rooting for Nikita because I like Maggie Q, not because I like Nikita. I don't dislike her, I just haven't connected with her.

I also still am having trouble with how the show is structured. Nikita should be more front and center. Using Alex as a point-of-view character pretty much makes this Alex's story with Nikita as her kickass backup/savior. The comparisons to Spike's short-lived Blade the TV series are growing. Though I think Maggie's Nikita was far more kickass than Kirk Jones's Blade, at the start of his series. I also think that Nikita so far handles the mentor angle between Nikita and Alex better than Blade and Krista was depicted.

 

[Christopher]

I don't think I'll be watching anymore, despite how much I enjoy watching Maggie Q. A show whose protagonist is an assassin just offends my sensibilities too much. At least the pilot implied (or rather I inferred from it) that she'd somewhat renounced her old ways and was only using lethal force in self-defense, but here she was specifically targeting someone for assassination, and I can't accept that in a protagonist no matter how eeevilll the guy was.

Besides, we didn't get to see Maggie in red even once. The pilot really played up her glamour and sex appeal, which was nice compensation for the violent stuff I didn't like, but here they seem to have gone in the opposite direction. I mean, she still looks great in blue jeans, but it's not the same.

Also, yeah, the plots are pretty contrived, like the coincidence of Alex just happening to be the one picked to be the guy's "escort." Though on the other hand, she is just about the hottest one there, so maybe it's not so coincidental.

The main problem I'm seeing structurally is that Nikita is so much on her own. There are too many scenes where she's by herself and has nobody to play off of. That's awkward.

And could Division have been more of a cartoon-evil organization than it was here? Getting buddy-buddy with a war criminal, trying to obtain the wherewithal to build their own nuclear bomb, and casually forcing their recruits into prostitution while they're at it? I'm surprised we didn't see Percy taking time out to steal candy from a baby. I mean, what's the motivation to it all besides being evil for its own sake? It makes me think this show isn't going to have a lot of depth or complexity.

One thing in particular I found implausible was a fairly common trope of poorly done sniper scenes -- the sniper having a perfect shot and not taking it, delaying inexplicably. I mean, heck, she had a perfect shot lined up and then the guy closed a flimsy set of blinds behind which his silhouette was still clearly visible, and she didn't take the shot? She wasted time putting on an infrared scope that she shouldn't have needed at all? She had plenty of time to fire as he was closing the blinds, and I can't believe an assassin as skilled and experienced as she's supposed to be would be thrown off by something that minor. Totally unbelievable and contrived.

Heck, I'm even complaining about the execution of the parts of the show I don't want to see (such as, err, executions). Just as well I'm not going to watch anymore. Too bad -- I do like watching Maggie Q.

 

[Guy Gardener]

Birkoff just out geeked everyone from everything ever.

To finish a very serious conversation about how they have to blow up their base of operation to mask all the out of control shit they've been up to for the last couple weeks, Seymour says "Nuke the entire site from orbit. It's the only way to be sure."

 

[Forbin]

This is still on too?!!?

 

[Guy Gardener]

Season three is rapping up. It's fantastic, and been renewed for season 4.

 

[Agent Richard07]

This show has completely slipped off my radar.

 

[Australis]

I don't understand why we need a ther version of this story, and so soon. Seems odd to me.

 

[Dream]

Why did you bump this dead topic, Guy? Should have just started a new topic if you wanted talk so much.

 

[Takeru]

I don't understand why we need a ther version of this story, and so soon. Seems odd to me.

It's different from the other versions because it starts years after Nikita escaped, so it's not really the same story, it's a loose continuation. It's also very good, I hope it gets a fourth season.

 

[Christopher]

I don't understand why we need a ther version of this story, and so soon.

"Soon?" The previous series ended in 2001.

 

[intrinsical]

All I will say is this show has gotten very soapy.

 

[Guy Gardener]

Why did you bump this dead topic, Guy? Should have just started a new topic if you wanted talk so much.

Sometimes it feels like I start ALL the threads in this forum.

I'm either going to get into trouble for starting too many threads or for bringing back too many zombies.... Besides, the sticky "clearly" says "please consolidate threads".

I'm amazed that a new Nikita thread didn't pop up when Dr Phlox from Enterprise got cast as a very interesting bad bad guy who kept everyone on their toes.

Yes, the ongoing series is fantastically soapy.

 

[Caliburn24]

Nikita is good right now, but it is always a much stronger show during the last four or five episodes of each season. And it looks like season three will be the same way.

Overall(so far) I think season three has definitely been the weakest season of the show, with a first half that was a snooze fest. I almost stopped watching. But the last few episodes have been quite good. Despite the ongoing structural weakness of Amanda being a weak villain with weak motivations.

 

[Guy Gardener]

You mean just because Amanda hasn't revealed that she's Nikita's mommy yet?

 

[Australis]

I don't understand why we need a ther version of this story, and so soon.

"Soon?" The previous series ended in 2001.

Hmm, doesn't seem that long ago. Maybe it was on Australian TV longer than that (as in seasons held iover, a topic for another thread), or something. And 9 years, now that all types of TV recycle episodes, doesn't seem so long. But hey, continuation, that's fine.

 

[Forbin]

Yeah, when you get to be my age, "10 or 12 years ago" is pretty much the same in your head as "just a couple of years ago."

Anyhoo, I was a HUGE fan of the Peta Wilson series. I had a hard time getting into the remake, and it fell off my radar too. Can't watch everything, I always say!

 

[Takeru]

Anyhoo, I was a HUGE fan of the Peta Wilson series. I had a hard time getting into the remake, and it fell off my radar too. Can't watch everything, I always say!

Alberta Watson appears at the end of season 1 and has a recurring role in season 2, if you need an incentive to give the show another chance.

 

[Forbin]

THAT's cool.

 

[Photoman15]

I like that they're doing something a little different here instead of completely rehashing the Peta Wilson version.

Thank God. I did NOT like the Wilson Nikita-Lite version. Oh, poor Nikita was innocent. That's not how the original went, nor the US remake (Point of No Return).

No, in the Bridget Fonda remake, she blew away someone in cold blood who tried to help her.

Been a while since I've seen it but I thought she was framed or it was an accident or something. Damn faulty memory...

In PoNR, she was a drug addict who was with the gang robbing one of the gang members fathers' drug store. She was sitting on the floor and a cop came over and asked her if she was okay and she pulled a gun and blew him away. She was a nasty bitch when being booked, at trial and at the beginning of training.

This version, imho is a continuation of Point of No Return. She gets out at the end of PoNR. But with her boyfriend. It seems in this version, he was "cleaned". But they did take some things (like Birkoff) from the LFN abomination.