Thursday, September 09, 2010

Nikita or Yet Another Re-Make Done Too Soon

From 1997 through 2001 a show known as "Nikitia" in Canada or "La Femme Nikita" in the USA aired. That show starred some great actors. Peta Wilson as Nikita, Roy Dupuis as Michael, Don Franks as Walter, Eugene Robert Glazer as Operations, Matthew Ferguson as Birkoff and Alberta Watson as Madeline (for the rest of the cast list visit here). Tonight across the same two nations another show called Nikita began airing (CW Network in the US, A-Channel in Canada).

First some bias and observation about the original TV show. Yes, I am aware there was a movie that the show is based on. I have not seen that movie, although recently I have been debating watching it. I am an avid fan of the TV show. In fact I currently am finishing up the final season of the show. For a time TheWB.com had the show streaming on their website. It has since been taken down in favor of the new show. Lucky for me, I have Netflix and am able to finish the series out on DVD (I was not happy when I found out the original had been pulled in favor of the new). To me, and other fans I've noticed comments from, Peta Wilson is Nikita and always will be. I think I can safely add Roy Dupuis as Michael and Matthew Ferguson as Birkoff to that list as well. The new show, however, isn't terrible.

The new Nikita, played by Maggie Q (of Mission Impossible III and Live Free or Die Hard), leaves something to be desired for me. First off, Nikita is a blond, not a brunette. Second, she's at very least European, if not North American, not Asian. I have no problem with Asians, I just have an image of who should play the role. Maggie Q, doesn't fit that image. She's a great actor, just not for the part. The fact that Michael and Nikita are not involved (at least at this point) is a major flaw in this new show. That is what the original show as based on. Without their relationship the original would not have survived. Another blow to the new show, at least as far as original show fans should be concerned is two fold. First, there is no Section anymore. It's now Division. I guess same idea different name? Why not keep the original, you kept names like Nikita, Michael and Birkoff, why change the name of the covert agency they work for? Second, the show is now clearly based in the United States (despite being filmed in Toronto, Ontario as was the original show). I believe this creates a problem. Whereas before, Section One's actual location was never revealed (although in my opinion show clues placed it somewhere in Europe, possibly France), it is now clear where the target is. This could possibly be a part of the story not yet revealed but I doubt it. To me this just makes the new shows creators and producers seem a bit too ethnocentric, which is a disappointment to the franchise more than to the viewer. My biggest problem will never be addressed, however.

Why is Nikita not in Division? She is apparently a rogue agent. According to the new show, she escaped 3 years ago. The rest of the back story is the same, but this part is different from the original show. Now, if you haven't seen the original show, let me tell you the end. Nikita is still in Section, the final scene has her running the place. Where did she escape, if you go back to sometime in Season 3 I believe, there is a pilot program where she is let out of Section for a time. Could this be the so called "escape" that the new show refers too? I hope not as that would dramatically change the original show timeline. One more note, Nikita (original show) never loved, was proposed to, or even saw anyone named Daniel (as far as I can remember and tell from the quick episode guide searches I just completed). She lived alone and had several neighbors that were her friends when she wasn't inside Section. Her cover wasn't much ("between jobs and working on stuff"). Now she's supposed to be a consultant of some kind. As one final thought, before I wrap up this fairly long rant. The original show ended in 2001. It's not even 10 years later and some network executives thought a remake would be a good idea? I guess if it works for 90210 why not try it with Nikita eh?

Is it a good show? I think time will tell the most. As one of the people on twitter put it tonight "this one doesn't know what it is yet." I agree. The original show was good from the start. This one looks like it will need some time. All in all, if you're looking for a good action show, I don't think you can go wrong with Nikita (either the Original or the New). No star rating on this but I am going to keep my eyes on it over the next few months. To find out more about the original show go to this fan site or IMDB.com. The new Nikita airs Thursday's at 9 ET/PT on The CW network in the US and A-Channel in Canada. As always, comments are appreciated and moderated. Thank you for reading.

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