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'Nikita' Premiere Review
by Maureen Ryan, posted Sep 9th 2010 9:15AM
What it's about: A rogue assassin tries to exact vengeance on her former employers. When it airs: 'Nikita' debuts 9PM ET Thursday on the CW.
Sometimes we want television to offer profound and moving insights into the human condition.
And sometimes we just want to see an attractive woman kicking guys in the head.
Thank you, 'Nikita.'
Sure, there are seemingly dozens of shows about intelligence operatives these days, and this new version of 'Nikita' is just another iteration of the story that's been told before in a couple of films and in the USA Network series 'La Femme Nikita.' But when it comes to espionage stories or action-adventure in general, originality isn't as crucial as a good execution of the basics, and in that regard, the first hour of 'Nikita' delivers.
Will it keep doing so in future? Of course that's impossible to know, but the pilot sets up the kind of sturdy mythology and aggrieved relationships that seem to have a lot of week-to-week potential.
Even if 'Nikita' has elements of shows you've seen before (possibly on the USA Network), it helps that the CW show's star, Maggie Q, has real charisma and presence; she invests Nikita's drive to bring down the secretive Division with potent energy. You have to believe that Nikita would devote her life to wreaking vengeance on the people she views as her former captors, and you also have to buy her as a butt-kicking, gun-toting action heroine who also looks great in a cocktail gown. Maggie Q makes all those things look easy.
We learn in the pilot how Division, a spy-for-hire operation, breaks down and molds its operatives (and yes, that process does involve martial arts. Who'd have guessed?). Lyndsy Fonseca plays Alex, a wary new girl that Division "recruited" in its usual involuntary way; she soon meets Thom (Ashton Holmes) and Jaden (Tiffany Hines), neither of whom embraces the newbie, but Division's not an embracing kind of place. Shane West plays Michael, Nikita's former handler, but his role and presence are rather bland. Xander Berkeley and Melinda Clarke, on the other hand, are quite delightful; he's always great at giving nuance to demanding men who are impossible to hate, and she's terrific at playing duplicitous characters who can be charming, sexy and sympathetic all at once. Berkeley's character, Percy, is Division's tough boss, and he's as obsessed with catching Nikita as she is with destroying his career. Clarke's character, Amanda, psychologically and sartorially molds the recruits into slick, efficient badasses.
If it sounds like this show is a much less challenging version of 'Dollhouse,' well, that's pretty much what 'Nikita' is (there are some lamentable holes in the plot of the pilot). In any case, the shows have different goals. At its best, 'Dollhouse' was an intellectually and emotionally nuanced exploration of memory and identity, whereas with 'Nikita,' you can turn off your brain and watch the fireworks.
Watch it if you loved: 'Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles,' 'Buffy,' 'Alias,' 'Xena: Warrior Princess' or any other any show in which a strong female lead brandished fists of fury.
Be aware that: I never saw 'La Femme Nikita' so I can't opine on how the CW show compares. If you were a fan of the USA Network drama and you watch 'Nikita,' you're welcome to leave your impressions of the new show in the comment area.
Follow @MoRyan on Twitter.
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