Movie:
Disc:
An ultra-secret spy agency that only employs good-looking people in the
latest and most trendy outfits!
Yup, we're referring to the now defunct mid-1990s TV show La Femme Nikita,
vaguely based on the French movie Nikita. You probably know the basic plot
outline: a statuesque blonde (played here by Peta Wilson) is wrongfully
accused of a brutal murder she didn't commit. A top secret very hush hush
high-tech spy agency simply called Section makes her disappear so that
she can become a highly trained assassin for them.
Only problem is that since she never committed the murder she was accused
of, she doesn't exactly fit the killer instinct type personality profile
that Section requires of her and to finally complicate matters she falls in
love with an emotionally constipated fellow operative named Michael.
Not exactly a sci-fi show, it did appeal to fans of the genre because it
regularly featured SF devices such as remote controlled cars, virtual
reality chambers, mind control procedures and so forth. This fourth season
was to be its last, but after fans put up a row, the original cast and
creators were reunited for a fifth season that ran only eight episodes.
Those eight episodes however aren't included on this box set which is
peculiar since it makes no sense bringing out another box set for so few
episodes.
If you're a newbie then Season Four isn't the place to start: it picks up
where a Season Three cliff-hanger left off, with Nikita being brainwashed
into a cold and emotionless killer by the two shady operatives running
Section. "At least that's her excuse, but what's his?" I complained to my
wife of actor Roy Dupuis's stilted minimalist performance as her boyfriend,
Michael. "He's intense," she argued. Poker-faced however doesn't even
begin to describe Dupois's emotionless demeanor . . .
THE DISCS: Episodes are presented in the original full screen aspect
ratio in which it was broadcast. Sound is decent, but the image does have
occasional grain, no doubt because of the show's source video recordings.
WORTH IT? To be honest I could never get past the off-putting
stiffness of the show's leads (Dupois wasn't the only offender) and won't
count myself as being amongst the show's many fans.
RECOMMENDATION: Newbies should check out Season One. Fans will no
doubt ignore this review and buy the set in any case.
