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Nikita (TV series)
Encyclopedia
La Femme Nikita is a Canadian action
/drama
television series based on the French film Nikita by Luc Besson
. The series was co-produced by Jay Firestone
of Fireworks Entertainment
and Warner Brothers. It was adapted for television by Joel Surnow
. The series was first telecast in North America on the USA Network
cable channel on January 13, 1997, and ran for four and one-third television seasons—until March 2001. The series was also aired in Canada on the over-the-air CTV Television Network
. La Femme Nikita was the highest-rated drama on American basic cable during its first two seasons. It was also distributed in some other countries; and it continues to have a strong cult following, according to the definitive book on the series written by Christopher Heyn in 2006.
Point of No Return
, also released by Warner Bros.
), Nikita is a drug-addicted juvenile delinquent who was accused of killing a police officer in cold blood during an attempted robbery of a pharmacy. She is later arrested and sentenced to life in prison, upon which she was secretly drugged by the government, which fakes her suicide. Nikita is then "recruited" by a secret government organization and transformed into a highly skilled assassin who cannot be traced.
The television series differs from the film versions in one fundamental respect: Nikita (Peta Wilson
) is innocent. She is not a killer, nor a drug user, just a homeless young woman in the wrong place at the wrong time. Section One—an elite, top-secret counter-terrorism organization—sets Nikita up to be accused of murdering a police officer and sentenced to life in prison where she supposedly commits suicide and is brought into Section One. Because Nikita will be killed (or "cancelled") if she fails to comply, she is forced to carry out the organization's ruthless methods of fighting terrorism
, while attempting to keep her moral integrity intact. This personal struggle becomes the primary conflict of the series. A key scene in the two theatrical films involves Nikita's first assignment—to murder a VIP in a crowded restaurant. Although the Nikita of the television series eventually does become, by necessity, a ruthless killer, in the television version of this first mission she uses her ingenuity to avoid having to kill the VIP (whereas the film versions of the character complete the assignment).
Over time, Nikita's secretive and risky romantic involvement with her trainer, the mysterious Michael Samuelle (Roy Dupuis
), will become another source of conflict, and the series' most significant relationship. Just before the conclusion of the series, Nikita also learns the truth of why she was recruited into Section One.
as influenced by film noir
and neo-noir
. Since its inception, the series did not have a large enough budget to finance complex action sequences (as seen in later dramatic spy fiction
or spy thriller television series such as Alias or 24). Its creative team exhibited great ingenuity marshalling its modest resources, channelling their energies into the writing of episodes with more complex plot structures, fuller character development, and more substantial dialogue for the series' actors (all of which aspects are less costly than filming special effects in action sequences).
The autonomous nature of Section One allowed the writers of this series freedom to explore areas not usually associated with this genre on television. Nikita's voice-over in Season One establishes the Machiavellian motif of Section One. While founded as a counterterrorism organization (traditionally represented within fiction as good), Section One uses (as a standard) immoral means to achieve its objectives, while still citing efficiency and "service of the greater good" as justification for its actions. Its standardized implementation of draconian measures includes the use (upon both terrorist and innocent) of intimidation, torture ("The White Room"), murder ("cancellation"), assassination, abduction, suicide operatives ("abeyance" operatives), false imprisonment
, and terrorist cooperation. In one early episode, for example, in exchange for crucial information Section One hands a woman over to a sadist
knowing she will be carved up.
Unlike most organizations engaged in counterterrorism, Section One's key personnel work neither for monetary gain nor for "pure" ideological devotion; instead, since most of these operatives are purportedly reformed criminals (though their backgrounds are often ambiguous), they work out of fear of execution for substandard performance or disloyalty (fear of being "cancelled"). Such a dynamic based on fear fosters a bleak social environment in which there is little interaction among members (except regarding issues relating to work). This rather paranoid environment, combined with the futuristic hyper-realist
setting of the organization, the brutally real nature of counterterrorism, and Section One's particular mantra of efficiency, results in a dark, minimalist
ethos reflected or expressed in all aspects of the television series. Most particularly, this is present in its design of costumes and selection and original composition of music, as well as in aspects of dialogue, plot, themes, lighting, and acting modes and camera styles. Also notable are intriguing camera angles and frequent close-ups on actors' facial expressions, focusing especially, during pauses in dialogue or in reaction shots, on their eyes in long takes.
Owing to the harshness (both mental and physical) of the environment in which operatives have to perform, the writing tends not to romanticize
any potentially positive aspects of the organization or of most of the series' characters (excluding Nikita, Birkoff or Walter, and, at times, Michael at his most vulnerable). The series generally exudes a dark tone in keeping with the organizational philosophies, the counterterrorist (frequently dangerously violent) situations, and the requisite tactics used by operatives of Section One. Unlimited operational resources for missions coupled with human propensity to hide ulterior motives and individual personal moral relativism
lead to widespread intra- and interdepartmental infighting and recurrent secret alliances, backstabbing, blackmail and abuses of power between and among the characters, especially among those in the highest levels of power: Operations, Madeline, and George.
The series raises, explores, and offers fresh insights about ethical and moral
issues emerging from the paradoxical nature of a counterterrorism organization which resorts to terrorist methods to succeed in its own ostensibly altruistic goals, and the attendant dilemmas in which the generally unwilling operatives in such an organization find themselves. Nikita's unwavering belief in a kind of moral absolutism
(as opposed to Section One's prescribed philosophy of situational ethics) consistently and coherently motivates the underlying dramatic plot conflicts in the majority of the episodes.
Nikita (Peta Wilson
Falsely accused of killing a police officer, Nikita is sentenced to life in prison. Soon afterward, she is recruited into Section One when the organization fakes her suicide. As the only truly innocent recruit into Section, her compassion and sympathy constantly conflicts with the often ruthless orders she is given. After spending two years being trained by Michael, Nikita learns to use her beauty as a weapon and becomes an expert in martial arts and ordnance. Initially reluctant to kill (she uses creative measures to avoid having to commit a murder during her first mission), she eventually becomes more efficient at doing so. She is used in a wide variety of capacities, from "valentine operative" to assassin
, despite her moral qualms, but manages to hold on to her humanity while working for the organization. Eventually, she and Michael become romantically involved, a development that threatens not only their standing in Section One, but their very lives. Their relationship is seen as a threat by Operations and Madeline, and they use a mind-altering method on Nikita to rid her of all emotions. Michael manages to reverse the process, but Nikita's performance takes a more professional tone. In the 5th season Nikita discovers the real reason she was taken into Section — her father was Mr. Jones, the head of Center, the organization that controls Section. His plan was to make Nikita take over as head of Section One and eventually Center. In the series finale, he sacrifices himself in order to achieve these goals.
Michael (Roy Dupuis
Blank-faced, often emotionless and coldly efficient, Michael Samuelle is a former radical student activist whose protest group sparked the Paris Riots of 1984. Not long after being sent to prison, he is recruited into Section One and becomes one of their most successful and respected team leaders, and is a "Level 5" operative. A few years later, however, the apparent death of his wife, Simone — a fellow Section operative whom he married against the wishes of Operations and Madeline and who apparently sacrifices her life to exact revenge on her abductor for her years of imprisonment and torture (although she is revealed to still be alive early in the first season) — profoundly affects him, and he completely shuts down emotionally, becoming almost an automaton
. It is not until Nikita enters the organization that he begins to open up emotionally once again. Complicating their often difficult relationship is Michael's "blood cover" marriage to Elena Vacek, the daughter of a fearsome terrorist that Section One has pursued for decades. His son, Adam, is a product of that union. He is quite accurate with firearms, almost never missing a shot.
Operations (Eugene Robert Glazer
A Vietnam veteran
, former Lieutenant
Paul L. Wolfe was recruited into Section One against his will just before the fall of Saigon. A shrewd and driven man, Operations eventually topples the founder and head of Section One, Adrian, seizing control of the organization himself. While giving lip service to the aims of Section — the eradication of terrorists and the protection of the innocent — Operations uses Section One as his own power base, gaining considerable control over dictators in many regions of the globe. This lust for power brings him into direct conflict with George, head of Oversight, who on many levels despises him, and even Adrian returns from her forced retirement to mount an unsuccessful coup attempt against Operations. He is also distrustful of Nikita, and even attempts to kill her on a number of occasions, but is forced to grudgingly accept her success at completing Section missions. (The same is also true of his relationship to Michael, when he discovers his romantic involvement with Nikita.) He and Madeline make an effective partnership — including a brief romance. He is killed when he tries to rescue Michael's son from being kidnapped by the Collective, and later replaced by Nikita as the new Operations of Section One.
Madeline (Alberta Watson
As the executive strategist for Section One, Madeline is Operations's closest ally and confidante. The ultimate personification of Section One's ideals, she is cold and efficient in the execution of her duties, which often involve using torture
to extract information from captured terrorist subjects. A master manipulator, she knows the psyche
of each Section operative inside and out, and can push the right buttons to get what she wants from each one each time. This brings her into constant conflict with Nikita, whose independent spirit she grudgingly admires, but overall, views as a threat to her control within the organization. Madeline's "Type One Directive" against Michael's and Nikita's romantic partnership will kick off a chain of events that even Madeline is unable to predict, events that will force her to make a fateful choice that will have major repercussions on the future of Section One. She commits suicide at the end of season four.
Seymour Birkoff/Jason Crawford (Matthew Ferguson
Seymour Birkoff is Section One's resident genius, whose computer abilities are legendary, and who, as the head of Comm, supervises Section missions in progress. He and Walter are close friends despite their wide difference in age, and even Nikita is especially fond of him. Many years later, Birkoff learns he was one of two twin boys
born to a Section operative. The boys became the subject of a Section One psychological comparison, in which Birkoff was kept within Section One, while his brother Jason was adopted by the Crawford family outside the organization. This was due to a fateful flip of the coin by Walter, and when Birkoff discovers this, it permanently strains their relationship. Birkoff's new obsession with leaving Section One leads to the creation of an artificial intelligence
program to take his place, in order to create more downtime. Unfortunately, the AI becomes self-aware, and Birkoff sacrifices himself in order to stop it. Quinn replaces him as the head of Comm. His brother Jason is later recruited by Section One.
Walter (Don Francks
The oldest surviving operative in Section One, Walter is head of Munitions, responsible for creating new and necessary gadgets, tools and weapons for Section operatives to use on various missions. While initially sexually attracted to Nikita upon her arrival into Section, he ultimately becomes her loyal friend and confidante, even participating in a cover-up
to hide the ongoing romantic status of Nikita and Michael. His brief marriage to, and loss of, Belinda, an "abeyance operative" (one who is scheduled for elimination by Section One), is ample motivation for his willingness to do anything to get back at what he perceives to be Operations's cruelty. However, Operations continues to spare Walter's life, likely because of a long-standing relationship that began in Vietnam and may have included a period where Walter was his Section trainer, although this is merely speculation. Also, in the series finale, after Operations's death, Walter reveals to Quinn that he once saved Operations's life. Operations did not thank him, but also did not cancel him, even though he had many reasons to do so over the years. Walter states: "I guess in the end, we both came out about even".
Quinn (Cindy Dolenc
Katherine "Kate" Quinn is Seymour Birkoff's replacement as head of Comm, and is markedly different from her predecessor. Arrogant, sharp-tongued and distrustful of all men, she nevertheless is unflappable in the face of danger and manipulative of her superiors when necessary. Forced to work alongside newly recruited Jason Crawford, she shares a number of humorous exchanges when she becomes the focus of his romantic interests. However, her sights are set on Operations, and she apparently seeks to be the woman at his side in charge of Section One. She is later revealed to be working for Mr. Jones.
for its first two seasons. It had been "greenlighted" by the network's founder and "cable network pioneer" Kay Koplovitz and nurtured by former USA Network president Rod Perth, a "key player" in its development. But, after Barry Diller
assumed control of the network in April 1998, he replaced Perth with Stephen Chao
as network president. Heyn observed, "Although both Diller and Chao praised La Femme Nikita publicly, it soon became obvious that the series was no longer a priority. The non-stop publicity the series enjoyed under Perth began to dry up, and the only attention that La Femme Nikita received was the occasional promo spot, and even the frequency of those began to decline." During Nikita's third season, following Chao's "bizarre request that La Femme Nikita cast wrestlers in key terrorist roles as a way to cross-promote USA's broadcasts of the World Wrestling Federation
" despite evidence that the shows did not have compatible demographics, Chao also began retooling USA Network's successful "Sunday Night Heat" bloc of action dramas, which also included Pacific Blue
and Silk Stalkings
; he canceled Silk Stalkings and replaced it with a slate of new series that included The War Next Door
, G vs. E, Manhattan, Arizona and Cover Me
, all of which ultimately failed in the ratings and were also canceled. Consequently, La Femme Nikita tumbled in the ratings too, although the series still remained the top-rated drama on USA Network, even during its fourth season, when promotional advertisements for the series all but disappeared. Negotiations to continue Nikita for a fifth season and beyond failed owing to "disagreements between USA Network and Warner Bros. over La Femme Nikitas renewal terms[,] [which] spilled out publicly into the pages of [industry trade publications] Variety
and The Hollywood Reporter
."
to revive it. "Save LFN" was not the first successful fan campaign to use the internet to rally fans and renew a canceled series. "These kinds of efforts had resurrected canceled series before, beginning with the original Star Trek
on NBC
in 1968 all the way up to UPN
's Roswell
in 2000". However, "Save LFN" is notable for its size and inventiveness, including an "online renewal petition" which led to a full-page advertisement placed in The Hollywood Reporter that requested USA Network
and Warner Bros.
reconsider their decision. The campaign also amassed over 25,000 letters sent to both companies containing everything from dollar bills featuring images of co-star Roy Dupuis
to sunglasses (Nikita's signature accessory) to old TVs, VCRs, and remote controls . A group of organizers calling themselves "First Team", based on the term for the lead members of a mission used frequently in the series, coordinated most of these efforts through their Save LFN fansite
. As a result of these efforts, Stephen Chao announced in September 2000 that La Femme Nikita would return for a truncated fifth season of eight new episodes, which began airing in January 2001.
would develop a new TV pilot based loosely on the French film Nikita. The new show, which shares its name with the film, is executive-produced by McG
, with Peter Johnson and Craig Silverstein serving as executive producers and writers. It is a joint production with Warner Bros. Studios and Wonderland Productions
. On May 18, 2010, it was picked up to series.
box sets use the USA/international title, La Femme Nikita.
Each DVD boxed set features a solitary image of Peta Wilson on the cover, although the remainder of the La Femme Nikita cast is featured on the interior artwork. Only the covers for Season One and Season Five feature images of Wilson that were taken specifically as promotional photographs for use in advertising campaigns during those seasons. The DVD cover images for Seasons Two and Three once again feature promotional photographs used during Season One, while Season Four features a promotional photograph from advertisements for Season Two.
, released in June 1998, is still available on CD from TVT Records
. It features the title theme from composer Mark Snow
, as well as numerous songs heard during the first two seasons of the show from artists like Depeche Mode
and Afro Celt Sound System
. A "promotional release" in a limited run of 2000 CDs of Emmy-award winning composer Sean Callery
's selections from his orchestral score for Nikita was first made available by Callery during the Close Quarters Standby 4 fan convention
in May 2001.
released only one piece of merchandise — the soundtrack CD on TVT Records. Beyond that, there was nothing. This frustrated [former president of USA Network and key player in the series' development] Rod Perth to no end" (20). Heyn quotes Perth as saying: "'Warner Bros. never had an interest in this show ...'" (20). Nevertheless, Heyn reports, he himself "successfully brokered an official merchandising agreement between the Specialty Products division, a vendor in Toronto that already produced merchandise for the series' cast and crew, and the Sidekicks Society, the organizers of Close Quarters Standby 2", the second in a series of four La Femme Nikita fan conventions held in Toronto
in October 1999 (Heyn 20). Such items included jackets, T-shirts, coffee mugs, and keychains emblazoned with the series logo and the copyright notice "©1999, Warner Bros" below the logo (photograph in Heyn 21). "Because of a delivery mixup", Heyn's photo caption reads, "most of the coffee mugs and keychains never made it to the convention in time for sale", and, he adds, "the remaining boxes of jackets, T-shirts and coffee mugs sold out in less than an hour, leaving many empty-handed attendees frustrated and upset" (21). Moreover, Heyn observes, "That unfortunate outcome only validated Warner Bros.' reticence to merchandise La Femme Nikita on a larger scale. The studio lost money on the internet broadcast and made next to nothing from the limited merchandising deal, which echoed their attitude toward the series' financial construction" (Heyn 20).
In 2001, a computer game based on Nikita — featuring dialogue written by La Femme Nikita supervising producer Peter Lenkov
— was announced for the Xbox
system, but the project was later cancelled.
Action film
Action film is a film genre where one or more heroes is thrust into a series of challenges that require physical feats, extended fights and frenetic chases...
/drama
Dramatic programming
Dramatic programming in the UK, or television drama and television drama series in the US, is television program content that is scripted and fictional along the lines of √a traditional drama. This excludes, for example, sports television, television news, reality show and game shows, stand-up...
television series based on the French film Nikita by Luc Besson
Luc Besson
Luc Besson is a French film director, writer, and producer. He is the creator of EuropaCorp film company. He has been involved with over 50 films, spanning 26 years, as writer, director, and/or producer.-Early life:...
. The series was co-produced by Jay Firestone
Jay Firestone
Jay Firestone is a Gemini award-winning film and television producer.- Early career :Growing up in a suburb of Toronto, Ontario, Firestone was the third child of six born to Jewish parents Esther and Paul. He attended Hamilton's McMaster University, graduating in 1979 with a degree in commerce...
of Fireworks Entertainment
Fireworks Entertainment
Fireworks Entertainment was founded by Jay Firestone in 1996 to produce, distribute and finance television shows and feature films. Fireworks was acquired by Canwest Global in May 1998, and was later sold to ContentFilm, a British company, in April 2005...
and Warner Brothers. It was adapted for television by Joel Surnow
Joel Surnow
Joel Surnow is an American writer and producer best known for being the creator of the television series 24 and La Femme Nikita. He also produced the Fox News Channel The 1/2 Hour News Hour.-Biography:...
. The series was first telecast in North America on the USA Network
USA Network
USA Network is an American cable television channel launched in 1971. Once a minor player in basic cable, the network has steadily gained popularity because of breakout hits like Monk, Psych, Burn Notice, Royal Pains, Covert Affairs, White Collar, Monday Night RAW, Suits, and reruns of the various...
cable channel on January 13, 1997, and ran for four and one-third television seasons—until March 2001. The series was also aired in Canada on the over-the-air CTV Television Network
CTV television network
CTV Television Network is a Canadian English language television network and is owned by Bell Media. It is Canada's largest privately-owned network, and has consistently placed as Canada's top-rated network in total viewers and in key demographics since 2002, after several years trailing the rival...
. La Femme Nikita was the highest-rated drama on American basic cable during its first two seasons. It was also distributed in some other countries; and it continues to have a strong cult following, according to the definitive book on the series written by Christopher Heyn in 2006.
Comparison with the film
In the original Luc Besson film (and in the American remakeRemake
A remake is a piece of media based primarily on an earlier work of the same medium.-Film:The term "remake" is generally used in reference to a movie which uses an earlier movie as the main source material, rather than in reference to a second, later movie based on the same source...
Point of No Return
Point of No Return (film)
Point of No Return is a 1993 American action film directed by John Badham and starring Bridget Fonda. It is a remake of Luc Besson's 1990 film Nikita.-Plot:...
, also released by Warner Bros.
Warner Bros.
Warner Bros. Entertainment, Inc., also known as Warner Bros. Pictures or simply Warner Bros. , is an American producer of film and television entertainment.One of the major film studios, it is a subsidiary of Time Warner, with its headquarters in Burbank,...
), Nikita is a drug-addicted juvenile delinquent who was accused of killing a police officer in cold blood during an attempted robbery of a pharmacy. She is later arrested and sentenced to life in prison, upon which she was secretly drugged by the government, which fakes her suicide. Nikita is then "recruited" by a secret government organization and transformed into a highly skilled assassin who cannot be traced.
The television series differs from the film versions in one fundamental respect: Nikita (Peta Wilson
Peta Wilson
Peta Gia Wilson is an Australian actress and model. She is best known as Nikita in the television series La Femme Nikita.-Early life:...
) is innocent. She is not a killer, nor a drug user, just a homeless young woman in the wrong place at the wrong time. Section One—an elite, top-secret counter-terrorism organization—sets Nikita up to be accused of murdering a police officer and sentenced to life in prison where she supposedly commits suicide and is brought into Section One. Because Nikita will be killed (or "cancelled") if she fails to comply, she is forced to carry out the organization's ruthless methods of fighting terrorism
Terrorism
Terrorism is the systematic use of terror, especially as a means of coercion. In the international community, however, terrorism has no universally agreed, legally binding, criminal law definition...
, while attempting to keep her moral integrity intact. This personal struggle becomes the primary conflict of the series. A key scene in the two theatrical films involves Nikita's first assignment—to murder a VIP in a crowded restaurant. Although the Nikita of the television series eventually does become, by necessity, a ruthless killer, in the television version of this first mission she uses her ingenuity to avoid having to kill the VIP (whereas the film versions of the character complete the assignment).
Over time, Nikita's secretive and risky romantic involvement with her trainer, the mysterious Michael Samuelle (Roy Dupuis
Roy Dupuis
Roy Dupuis is a Canadian actor best known for his role as counterterrorism operative Michael Samuelle in the television series La Femme Nikita...
), will become another source of conflict, and the series' most significant relationship. Just before the conclusion of the series, Nikita also learns the truth of why she was recruited into Section One.
Style and presentation
Despite being advertised as an action-oriented series, the series' uniqueness primarily stems from its de-emphasis on action as such and greater reliance on well-crafted dialogue and complex plot structures more common to the genre of sophisticated spy-fiSpy-fi
-Definition and characteristics:It often uses a secret agent or superspy whose mission is a showcase of science fiction elements such as technology and ideas used for extortion, plots for world domination or world destruction, futuristic weapons, gadgets and fast vehicles that can travel on land,...
as influenced by film noir
Film noir
Film noir is a cinematic term used primarily to describe stylish Hollywood crime dramas, particularly those that emphasize cynical attitudes and sexual motivations. Hollywood's classic film noir period is generally regarded as extending from the early 1940s to the late 1950s...
and neo-noir
Neo-noir
Neo-noir is a style often seen in modern motion pictures and other forms that prominently utilize elements of film noir, but with updated themes, content, style, visual elements or media that were absent in films noir of the 1940s and 1950s.-History:The term Film Noir was coined by...
. Since its inception, the series did not have a large enough budget to finance complex action sequences (as seen in later dramatic spy fiction
Spy fiction
Spy fiction, literature concerning the forms of espionage, was a sub-genre derived from the novel during the nineteenth century, which then evolved into a discrete genre before the First World War , when governments established modern intelligence agencies in the early twentieth century...
or spy thriller television series such as Alias or 24). Its creative team exhibited great ingenuity marshalling its modest resources, channelling their energies into the writing of episodes with more complex plot structures, fuller character development, and more substantial dialogue for the series' actors (all of which aspects are less costly than filming special effects in action sequences).
The autonomous nature of Section One allowed the writers of this series freedom to explore areas not usually associated with this genre on television. Nikita's voice-over in Season One establishes the Machiavellian motif of Section One. While founded as a counterterrorism organization (traditionally represented within fiction as good), Section One uses (as a standard) immoral means to achieve its objectives, while still citing efficiency and "service of the greater good" as justification for its actions. Its standardized implementation of draconian measures includes the use (upon both terrorist and innocent) of intimidation, torture ("The White Room"), murder ("cancellation"), assassination, abduction, suicide operatives ("abeyance" operatives), false imprisonment
False imprisonment
False imprisonment is a restraint of a person in a bounded area without justification or consent. False imprisonment is a common-law felony and a tort. It applies to private as well as governmental detention...
, and terrorist cooperation. In one early episode, for example, in exchange for crucial information Section One hands a woman over to a sadist
Sadism and masochism
Sadomasochism broadly refers to the receiving of pleasure—often sexual—from acts involving the infliction or reception of pain or humiliation. The name originates from two authors on the subject, Marquis de Sade and Leopold von Sacher-Masoch...
knowing she will be carved up.
Unlike most organizations engaged in counterterrorism, Section One's key personnel work neither for monetary gain nor for "pure" ideological devotion; instead, since most of these operatives are purportedly reformed criminals (though their backgrounds are often ambiguous), they work out of fear of execution for substandard performance or disloyalty (fear of being "cancelled"). Such a dynamic based on fear fosters a bleak social environment in which there is little interaction among members (except regarding issues relating to work). This rather paranoid environment, combined with the futuristic hyper-realist
Realism (arts)
Realism in the visual arts and literature refers to the general attempt to depict subjects "in accordance with secular, empirical rules", as they are considered to exist in third person objective reality, without embellishment or interpretation...
setting of the organization, the brutally real nature of counterterrorism, and Section One's particular mantra of efficiency, results in a dark, minimalist
Minimalism
Minimalism describes movements in various forms of art and design, especially visual art and music, where the work is set out to expose the essence, essentials or identity of a subject through eliminating all non-essential forms, features or concepts...
ethos reflected or expressed in all aspects of the television series. Most particularly, this is present in its design of costumes and selection and original composition of music, as well as in aspects of dialogue, plot, themes, lighting, and acting modes and camera styles. Also notable are intriguing camera angles and frequent close-ups on actors' facial expressions, focusing especially, during pauses in dialogue or in reaction shots, on their eyes in long takes.
Owing to the harshness (both mental and physical) of the environment in which operatives have to perform, the writing tends not to romanticize
Romanticism
Romanticism was an artistic, literary and intellectual movement that originated in the second half of the 18th century in Europe, and gained strength in reaction to the Industrial Revolution...
any potentially positive aspects of the organization or of most of the series' characters (excluding Nikita, Birkoff or Walter, and, at times, Michael at his most vulnerable). The series generally exudes a dark tone in keeping with the organizational philosophies, the counterterrorist (frequently dangerously violent) situations, and the requisite tactics used by operatives of Section One. Unlimited operational resources for missions coupled with human propensity to hide ulterior motives and individual personal moral relativism
Moral relativism
Moral relativism may be any of several descriptive, meta-ethical, or normative positions. Each of them is concerned with the differences in moral judgments across different people and cultures:...
lead to widespread intra- and interdepartmental infighting and recurrent secret alliances, backstabbing, blackmail and abuses of power between and among the characters, especially among those in the highest levels of power: Operations, Madeline, and George.
The series raises, explores, and offers fresh insights about ethical and moral
Moral
A moral is a message conveyed or a lesson to be learned from a story or event. The moral may be left to the hearer, reader or viewer to determine for themselves, or may be explicitly encapsulated in a maxim...
issues emerging from the paradoxical nature of a counterterrorism organization which resorts to terrorist methods to succeed in its own ostensibly altruistic goals, and the attendant dilemmas in which the generally unwilling operatives in such an organization find themselves. Nikita's unwavering belief in a kind of moral absolutism
Moral absolutism
Moral absolutism is an ethical view that certain actions are absolutely right or wrong, regardless of other contexts such as their consequences or the intentions behind them. Thus stealing, for instance, might be considered to be always immoral, even if done to promote some other good , and even if...
(as opposed to Section One's prescribed philosophy of situational ethics) consistently and coherently motivates the underlying dramatic plot conflicts in the majority of the episodes.
Nikita (Peta WilsonPeta WilsonPeta Gia Wilson is an Australian actress and model. She is best known as Nikita in the television series La Femme Nikita.-Early life:...
)
Falsely accused of killing a police officer, Nikita is sentenced to life in prison. Soon afterward, she is recruited into Section One when the organization fakes her suicide. As the only truly innocent recruit into Section, her compassion and sympathy constantly conflicts with the often ruthless orders she is given. After spending two years being trained by Michael, Nikita learns to use her beauty as a weapon and becomes an expert in martial arts and ordnance. Initially reluctant to kill (she uses creative measures to avoid having to commit a murder during her first mission), she eventually becomes more efficient at doing so. She is used in a wide variety of capacities, from "valentine operative" to assassinAssassination
To carry out an assassination is "to murder by a sudden and/or secret attack, often for political reasons." Alternatively, assassination may be defined as "the act of deliberately killing someone, especially a public figure, usually for hire or for political reasons."An assassination may be...
, despite her moral qualms, but manages to hold on to her humanity while working for the organization. Eventually, she and Michael become romantically involved, a development that threatens not only their standing in Section One, but their very lives. Their relationship is seen as a threat by Operations and Madeline, and they use a mind-altering method on Nikita to rid her of all emotions. Michael manages to reverse the process, but Nikita's performance takes a more professional tone. In the 5th season Nikita discovers the real reason she was taken into Section — her father was Mr. Jones, the head of Center, the organization that controls Section. His plan was to make Nikita take over as head of Section One and eventually Center. In the series finale, he sacrifices himself in order to achieve these goals.
Michael (Roy DupuisRoy DupuisRoy Dupuis is a Canadian actor best known for his role as counterterrorism operative Michael Samuelle in the television series La Femme Nikita...
)
- Main cast: Seasons 1–4
- Special guest star: Season 5
Blank-faced, often emotionless and coldly efficient, Michael Samuelle is a former radical student activist whose protest group sparked the Paris Riots of 1984. Not long after being sent to prison, he is recruited into Section One and becomes one of their most successful and respected team leaders, and is a "Level 5" operative. A few years later, however, the apparent death of his wife, Simone — a fellow Section operative whom he married against the wishes of Operations and Madeline and who apparently sacrifices her life to exact revenge on her abductor for her years of imprisonment and torture (although she is revealed to still be alive early in the first season) — profoundly affects him, and he completely shuts down emotionally, becoming almost an automaton
Automaton
An automaton is a self-operating machine. The word is sometimes used to describe a robot, more specifically an autonomous robot. An alternative spelling, now obsolete, is automation.-Etymology:...
. It is not until Nikita enters the organization that he begins to open up emotionally once again. Complicating their often difficult relationship is Michael's "blood cover" marriage to Elena Vacek, the daughter of a fearsome terrorist that Section One has pursued for decades. His son, Adam, is a product of that union. He is quite accurate with firearms, almost never missing a shot.
Operations (Eugene Robert GlazerEugene Robert GlazerEugene Robert Glazer is an American actor best known for his portrayal of "Operations" on the TV show La Femme Nikita. Glazer was raised in Brooklyn, New York, and worked at a variety of jobs before moving to Los Angeles in the 1970s to pursue his acting career...
)
A Vietnam veteranVietnam veteran
Vietnam veteran is a phrase used to describe someone who served in the armed forces of participating countries during the Vietnam War.The term has been used to describe veterans who were in the armed forces of South Vietnam, the United States armed forces, and countries allied to them, whether or...
, former Lieutenant
Lieutenant
A lieutenant is a junior commissioned officer in many nations' armed forces. Typically, the rank of lieutenant in naval usage, while still a junior officer rank, is senior to the army rank...
Paul L. Wolfe was recruited into Section One against his will just before the fall of Saigon. A shrewd and driven man, Operations eventually topples the founder and head of Section One, Adrian, seizing control of the organization himself. While giving lip service to the aims of Section — the eradication of terrorists and the protection of the innocent — Operations uses Section One as his own power base, gaining considerable control over dictators in many regions of the globe. This lust for power brings him into direct conflict with George, head of Oversight, who on many levels despises him, and even Adrian returns from her forced retirement to mount an unsuccessful coup attempt against Operations. He is also distrustful of Nikita, and even attempts to kill her on a number of occasions, but is forced to grudgingly accept her success at completing Section missions. (The same is also true of his relationship to Michael, when he discovers his romantic involvement with Nikita.) He and Madeline make an effective partnership — including a brief romance. He is killed when he tries to rescue Michael's son from being kidnapped by the Collective, and later replaced by Nikita as the new Operations of Section One.
Madeline (Alberta WatsonAlberta WatsonFaith Susan Alberta Watson , known professionally as Alberta Watson, is a Canadian movie and television series actress.-Early life:...
)
- Main cast: Seasons 1–4
- Special guest star: Season 5
As the executive strategist for Section One, Madeline is Operations's closest ally and confidante. The ultimate personification of Section One's ideals, she is cold and efficient in the execution of her duties, which often involve using torture
Torture
Torture is the act of inflicting severe pain as a means of punishment, revenge, forcing information or a confession, or simply as an act of cruelty. Throughout history, torture has often been used as a method of political re-education, interrogation, punishment, and coercion...
to extract information from captured terrorist subjects. A master manipulator, she knows the psyche
Psyche (psychology)
The word psyche has a long history of use in psychology and philosophy, dating back to ancient times, and has been one of the fundamental concepts for understanding human nature from a scientific point of view. The English word soul is sometimes used synonymously, especially in older...
of each Section operative inside and out, and can push the right buttons to get what she wants from each one each time. This brings her into constant conflict with Nikita, whose independent spirit she grudgingly admires, but overall, views as a threat to her control within the organization. Madeline's "Type One Directive" against Michael's and Nikita's romantic partnership will kick off a chain of events that even Madeline is unable to predict, events that will force her to make a fateful choice that will have major repercussions on the future of Section One. She commits suicide at the end of season four.
Seymour Birkoff/Jason Crawford (Matthew FergusonMatthew FergusonMatthew Ferguson is an actor born on 3 April 1973 in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. He graduated from the Claude Watson School for the Performing Arts.-Performances:...
)
- Main cast: Seasons 1–4
- Special guest star: Season 5
Seymour Birkoff is Section One's resident genius, whose computer abilities are legendary, and who, as the head of Comm, supervises Section missions in progress. He and Walter are close friends despite their wide difference in age, and even Nikita is especially fond of him. Many years later, Birkoff learns he was one of two twin boys
TWINS
Two Wide-Angle Imaging Neutral-Atom Spectrometers are a pair of NASA instruments aboard two United States National Reconnaissance Office satellites in Molniya orbits. TWINS was designed to provide stereo images of the Earth's ring current. The first instrument, TWINS-1, was launched aboard USA-184...
born to a Section operative. The boys became the subject of a Section One psychological comparison, in which Birkoff was kept within Section One, while his brother Jason was adopted by the Crawford family outside the organization. This was due to a fateful flip of the coin by Walter, and when Birkoff discovers this, it permanently strains their relationship. Birkoff's new obsession with leaving Section One leads to the creation of an artificial intelligence
Artificial intelligence
Artificial intelligence is the intelligence of machines and the branch of computer science that aims to create it. AI textbooks define the field as "the study and design of intelligent agents" where an intelligent agent is a system that perceives its environment and takes actions that maximize its...
program to take his place, in order to create more downtime. Unfortunately, the AI becomes self-aware, and Birkoff sacrifices himself in order to stop it. Quinn replaces him as the head of Comm. His brother Jason is later recruited by Section One.
Walter (Don FrancksDon FrancksDonald Harvey Francks or Iron Buffalo is a Canadian actor, vocalist and jazz musician.- Life and work :Francks was born in Vancouver, British Columbia. He is a drummer, poet, native nations champion, motorcyclist, author and peace activist...
)
The oldest surviving operative in Section One, Walter is head of Munitions, responsible for creating new and necessary gadgets, tools and weapons for Section operatives to use on various missions. While initially sexually attracted to Nikita upon her arrival into Section, he ultimately becomes her loyal friend and confidante, even participating in a cover-upCover-up
A cover-up is an attempt, whether successful or not, to conceal evidence of wrong-doing, error, incompetence or other embarrassing information...
to hide the ongoing romantic status of Nikita and Michael. His brief marriage to, and loss of, Belinda, an "abeyance operative" (one who is scheduled for elimination by Section One), is ample motivation for his willingness to do anything to get back at what he perceives to be Operations's cruelty. However, Operations continues to spare Walter's life, likely because of a long-standing relationship that began in Vietnam and may have included a period where Walter was his Section trainer, although this is merely speculation. Also, in the series finale, after Operations's death, Walter reveals to Quinn that he once saved Operations's life. Operations did not thank him, but also did not cancel him, even though he had many reasons to do so over the years. Walter states: "I guess in the end, we both came out about even".
Quinn (Cindy DolencCindy DolencCindy Corrine Dolenc is a Canadian actress. She is best known for appearing in the television series La Femme Nikita as Kate Quinn....
)
- Main cast: Season 5
- Recurring: Season 4
Katherine "Kate" Quinn is Seymour Birkoff's replacement as head of Comm, and is markedly different from her predecessor. Arrogant, sharp-tongued and distrustful of all men, she nevertheless is unflappable in the face of danger and manipulative of her superiors when necessary. Forced to work alongside newly recruited Jason Crawford, she shares a number of humorous exchanges when she becomes the focus of his romantic interests. However, her sights are set on Operations, and she apparently seeks to be the woman at his side in charge of Section One. She is later revealed to be working for Mr. Jones.
Recurring guest stars
Actors who appeared in three episodes or more- Carlo RotaCarlo RotaCarlo Rota is a British-born Canadian actor, best known to Canadian audiences for his role on Little Mosque on the Prairie and to international audiences for starring on the FOX series 24.-Early life:...
as Mick Schtoppel (seasons 1–4) / "Mr. Jones" (seasons 4–5 ) / Reginald "Martin" Henderson (Season 5), a flashy, worldly informant, later revealed to be "Mr. Jones", the head of "Center", an organization above Oversight that directs all Sections. Later, Mr. Jones is revealed to be another cover identity. Henderson is exposed as an actor working for Center as a decoy for the real Mr. Jones. - Lindsay Collins as "Devo" One aka Elizabeth (seasons 1–5)
- Josh Holliday as "Devo" Two aka Henry (seasons 3–5) (In seasons 1–2, "Devo" Two was portrayed by various uncredited extras.)
- Tara SloneTara SloneTara Slone is a Canadian rock vocalist.Born in Montreal, Quebec, and raised in Nova Scotia, Slone began pursuing classical voice training at the age of 12 with the goal of becoming an opera singer. At the age of 18, she attended Concordia University to pursue a degree in music...
as Gail (seasons 1–2), Section operative and Birkoff's girlfriend. - Anais GranofskyAnais GranofskyAnais Granofsky is a Canadian actress, screenwriter, producer and director. She is best known for portraying Lucy Fernandez in the Degrassi Junior High and Degrassi High series.-Early life and career:...
as Carla (seasons 1–2), Nikita's neighbor, later revealed to be an operative for Adrian. - Bruce PayneBruce PayneBruce Martyn Payne is an award winning English character actor and producer and was a member of the 1980's Brit Pack. Although he is best known for his villainous roles, Bruce Payne has played characters across the spectrum...
as Jurgen (season 2), a ruthless, brutal high-ranked operative. - Siân PhillipsSiân PhillipsJane Elizabeth Ailwên "Siân" Phillips, CBE, is a Welsh actress.-Early life:Phillips was born in Gwaun-Cae-Gurwen, Neath Port Talbot, Wales, the daughter of Sally , a teacher, and David Phillips, a steelworker-turned-policeman...
as Adrian (seasons 2, 4), the "Mother" of Section One, who was deposed in a coup orchestrated by Paul and Madeline and seeks to destroy the Section to prevent it from taking over the world. - David HemblenDavid HemblenDavid Hemblen is an English-born actor who frequently works in Canadian film, television and theater. He was a mainstay on the television series Earth: Final Conflict, playing Jonathan Doors, and played recurring roles in A Nero Wolfe Mystery and La Femme Nikita . He voiced Magneto on the popular...
as George (seasons 3–4), the head of "Oversight", former lover of Adrian and enemy of Operations. - Lawrence BayneLawrence BayneLawrence Bayne is a Canadian actor, born November 11, 1960 in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. He has appeared in various movies and television series, both live action and animated, and also sings/writes with his band The Lawrence Bayne Issue....
as Davenport (seasons 3–4), a Section One operative loyal to Operations. - Kris LemcheKris Lemche-Early life:Lemche was born in Brampton, Ontario to a schoolteacher mother and a father who was the proprietor of a heating business. Lemche attended the Mayfield School of Arts...
as Greg Hillinger (seasons 2–4), Birkoff's rival in Section One, later revealed to be a mole for Oversight. - Stephen Shellen as Marco O'Brien (seasons 1, 5), a former police officer who becomes Michael's replacement.
- Samia ShoaibSamia ShoaibSamia Shoaib is an actress, filmmaker, and writer. She was born in Pakistan and raised in England. She moved to the United States where she studied English and Theater at the University of California and George Washington University. She studied acting at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Arts in London...
as Elena (seasons 3–4), Michael's wife and daughter of a terrorist. - Evan Caravela as Adam (seasons 3–5), Michael's son with Elena.
- Kira ClavellKira ClavellKira Clavell is a Canadian actress based out of Vancouver, British Columbia and Toronto, Ontario. She attended the University of Manitoba in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada....
as Jasmine Kwong (seasons 4–5), recruit turned Section operative. - Edward WoodwardEdward WoodwardEdward Albert Arthur Woodward, OBE was an English stage and screen actor and singer. After graduating from the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art , Woodward began his career on stage, and throughout his career he appeared in productions in both the West End in London and on Broadway in New York...
as Mr. Jones aka Philip, codename 'Flavius' (season 5), the true head of "Centre" and Nikita's father. - Polly ShannonPolly ShannonPolly Shannon is a Canadian actress.She is best known for her portrayal of Margaret Trudeau in the 2002 miniseries Trudeau, a film about the late Prime Minister of Canada Pierre Trudeau.Brioux, Bill . , Canadian Online ExplorerShannon was born in Kingston, Ontario, and raised in Aylmer, Quebec...
as Michelle (season 5), Mr. Jones's mysterious secretary. - Kassandra Marr as Kyria (season 5), the spy.
- Conrad CoatesConrad CoatesConrad Coates is a Canadian actor. He has primarily been cast as bit parts, but has carried supporting character roles in several television series, including Dresden Files, Kyle XY, The Zack Files, Le Femme Nikita, and These Arms of Mine. He appeared in Degrassi: The Next Generation as Jimmy...
as Haled (season 5), the Collective's second in command. - Aidan DevineAidan DevineAidan Devine is a Canadian film actor. He was born in England and immigrated with his family to Canada at the age of 15. He studied at Dawson College's Dome Theatre in Montreal, Quebec and began his acting career in Montreal. He would later relocate to Toronto. His 1993 breakout role came in...
as Graff (season 5), the leader of the Collective.
Ratings success
La Femme Nikita was the number-one drama on basic cable channel USA NetworkUSA Network
USA Network is an American cable television channel launched in 1971. Once a minor player in basic cable, the network has steadily gained popularity because of breakout hits like Monk, Psych, Burn Notice, Royal Pains, Covert Affairs, White Collar, Monday Night RAW, Suits, and reruns of the various...
for its first two seasons. It had been "greenlighted" by the network's founder and "cable network pioneer" Kay Koplovitz and nurtured by former USA Network president Rod Perth, a "key player" in its development. But, after Barry Diller
Barry Diller
Barry Charles Diller is the Chairman and Senior Executive of IAC/InterActiveCorp and the media executive responsible for the creation of Fox Broadcasting Company and USA Broadcasting.-Early life:...
assumed control of the network in April 1998, he replaced Perth with Stephen Chao
Stephen Chao
Stephen Chao is an American web entrepreneur and media industry executive. He has worked as the President of Fox Television, an independent television producer, President of USA Network, and co-founder of instructional video website WonderHowTo.com...
as network president. Heyn observed, "Although both Diller and Chao praised La Femme Nikita publicly, it soon became obvious that the series was no longer a priority. The non-stop publicity the series enjoyed under Perth began to dry up, and the only attention that La Femme Nikita received was the occasional promo spot, and even the frequency of those began to decline." During Nikita's third season, following Chao's "bizarre request that La Femme Nikita cast wrestlers in key terrorist roles as a way to cross-promote USA's broadcasts of the World Wrestling Federation
World Wrestling Entertainment
World Wrestling Entertainment, Inc. is an American publicly traded, privately controlled entertainment company dealing primarily in professional wrestling, with major revenue sources also coming from film, music, product licensing, and direct product sales...
" despite evidence that the shows did not have compatible demographics, Chao also began retooling USA Network's successful "Sunday Night Heat" bloc of action dramas, which also included Pacific Blue
Pacific Blue (TV series)
Pacific Blue is an American crime drama series about a team of police officers with the Santa Monica Police Department who patrolled its beaches on bicycles. The show ran for five seasons on the USA Network, from March 2, 1996 to April 9, 2000, with a total of one hundred and one episodes...
and Silk Stalkings
Silk Stalkings
Silk Stalkings is a TV crime drama originally shown on CBS in 1991 as part of the network's late-night Crimetime After Primetime programming package, and rebroadcast on the USA Network. After CBS ended the Crimetime experiment in 1993, the series ran exclusively on USA until its finale in the...
; he canceled Silk Stalkings and replaced it with a slate of new series that included The War Next Door
The War Next Door
The War Next Door is a short-lived American television series with only 13 episodes, created by Will McRobb and Chris Viscardi. The show had a dark and cartoonish humor, as one of the two main characters dies at the end of each show, only to reappear alive the following episode as if nothing had...
, G vs. E, Manhattan, Arizona and Cover Me
Cover Me: Based on the True Life of an FBI Family
Cover Me: Based on the True Life of an FBI Family is an American television series which ran from March 5, 2000 to March 24, 2001 on the USA Network.-Premise:...
, all of which ultimately failed in the ratings and were also canceled. Consequently, La Femme Nikita tumbled in the ratings too, although the series still remained the top-rated drama on USA Network, even during its fourth season, when promotional advertisements for the series all but disappeared. Negotiations to continue Nikita for a fifth season and beyond failed owing to "disagreements between USA Network and Warner Bros. over La Femme Nikitas renewal terms[,] [which] spilled out publicly into the pages of [industry trade publications] Variety
Variety (magazine)
Variety is an American weekly entertainment-trade magazine founded in New York City, New York, in 1905 by Sime Silverman. With the rise of the importance of the motion-picture industry, Daily Variety, a daily edition based in Los Angeles, California, was founded by Silverman in 1933. In 1998, the...
and The Hollywood Reporter
The Hollywood Reporter
Formerly a daily trade magazine, The Hollywood Reporter re-launched in late 2010 as a unique hybrid publication serving the entertainment industry and a consumer audience...
."
"Save LFN"
Following the series' cancellation in 2000, its dedicated viewers mounted an extensive fan campaignInternet petition
An Internet petition is a form of petition posted on a website. Visitors to the website in question can add their email addresses or names, and after enough "signatures" have been collected, the resulting letter may be delivered to the subject of the petition, usually via e-mail.-Pros and cons:The...
to revive it. "Save LFN" was not the first successful fan campaign to use the internet to rally fans and renew a canceled series. "These kinds of efforts had resurrected canceled series before, beginning with the original Star Trek
Star Trek: The Original Series
Star Trek is an American science fiction television series created by Gene Roddenberry, produced by Desilu Productions . Star Trek was telecast on NBC from September 8, 1966, through June 3, 1969...
on NBC
NBC
The National Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network and former radio network headquartered in the GE Building in New York City's Rockefeller Center with additional major offices near Los Angeles and in Chicago...
in 1968 all the way up to UPN
UPN
United Paramount Network was a television network that was broadcast in over 200 markets in the United States from 1995 to 2006. UPN was originally owned by Viacom/Paramount and Chris-Craft Industries, the former of which, through the Paramount Television Group, produced most of the network's...
's Roswell
Roswell (TV series)
Roswell is an American science fiction television series developed, produced, and co-written by Jason Katims. The series debuted on October 6, 1999 on The WB and moved to UPN for the third season. The last episode aired May 14, 2002...
in 2000". However, "Save LFN" is notable for its size and inventiveness, including an "online renewal petition" which led to a full-page advertisement placed in The Hollywood Reporter that requested USA Network
USA Network
USA Network is an American cable television channel launched in 1971. Once a minor player in basic cable, the network has steadily gained popularity because of breakout hits like Monk, Psych, Burn Notice, Royal Pains, Covert Affairs, White Collar, Monday Night RAW, Suits, and reruns of the various...
and Warner Bros.
Warner Bros.
Warner Bros. Entertainment, Inc., also known as Warner Bros. Pictures or simply Warner Bros. , is an American producer of film and television entertainment.One of the major film studios, it is a subsidiary of Time Warner, with its headquarters in Burbank,...
reconsider their decision. The campaign also amassed over 25,000 letters sent to both companies containing everything from dollar bills featuring images of co-star Roy Dupuis
Roy Dupuis
Roy Dupuis is a Canadian actor best known for his role as counterterrorism operative Michael Samuelle in the television series La Femme Nikita...
to sunglasses (Nikita's signature accessory) to old TVs, VCRs, and remote controls . A group of organizers calling themselves "First Team", based on the term for the lead members of a mission used frequently in the series, coordinated most of these efforts through their Save LFN fansite
Fansite
A fansite, fan site, or fanpage is a website created and maintained by a fan or devotee interested in a celebrity, thing, or a particular cultural phenomenon...
. As a result of these efforts, Stephen Chao announced in September 2000 that La Femme Nikita would return for a truncated fifth season of eight new episodes, which began airing in January 2001.
New CW series
On January 28, 2010, it was reported that The CW Television NetworkThe CW Television Network
The CW Television Network is a television network in the United States launched at the beginning of the 2006–2007 television season. It is a joint venture between CBS Corporation, the former owners of United Paramount Network , and Time Warner's Warner Bros., former majority owner of The WB...
would develop a new TV pilot based loosely on the French film Nikita. The new show, which shares its name with the film, is executive-produced by McG
McG
Joseph McGinty Nichol , better known as McG, is an American director and producer of film and television, as well as a former record producer....
, with Peter Johnson and Craig Silverstein serving as executive producers and writers. It is a joint production with Warner Bros. Studios and Wonderland Productions
Wonderland Sound and Vision
Wonderland Sound and Vision is the production company of producers McG and Stephanie Savage. They are responsible for producing The O.C. and Supernatural as well as Chuck. Wonderland also co-produced all of McG's films since Charlie's Angels: Full Throttle.-History:McG and Stephanie Savage formed...
. On May 18, 2010, it was picked up to series.
DVD releases
The DVDDVD
A DVD is an optical disc storage media format, invented and developed by Philips, Sony, Toshiba, and Panasonic in 1995. DVDs offer higher storage capacity than Compact Discs while having the same dimensions....
box sets use the USA/international title, La Femme Nikita.
Each DVD boxed set features a solitary image of Peta Wilson on the cover, although the remainder of the La Femme Nikita cast is featured on the interior artwork. Only the covers for Season One and Season Five feature images of Wilson that were taken specifically as promotional photographs for use in advertising campaigns during those seasons. The DVD cover images for Seasons Two and Three once again feature promotional photographs used during Season One, while Season Four features a promotional photograph from advertisements for Season Two.
|
|||||||||||
- Season Two was originally scheduled for release on July 20, 2004, but Warner Bros.Warner Bros.Warner Bros. Entertainment, Inc., also known as Warner Bros. Pictures or simply Warner Bros. , is an American producer of film and television entertainment.One of the major film studios, it is a subsidiary of Time Warner, with its headquarters in Burbank,...
was unable to license the song "Loaded Gun" by Hednoize, featured in the episode "Off Profile." (Some websites have claimed that the song in question was from GarbageGarbage (band)Garbage are an alternative rock band formed in Madison, Wisconsin in 1994. The group consists of Scottish singer Shirley Manson and American musicians Duke Erikson , Steve Marker and Butch Vig . All four members are involved in songwriting and production...
, but that is incorrect.) This was eventually resolved by replacing the song with another piece of music. A small number of Season Two box sets were distributed and sold in 2004 with "Loaded Gun" before it was withdrawn from store shelves and internet sales sites, and these sets are considered collectors' items.
Soundtracks
An official soundtrackLa Femme Nikita: Music from the Television Series
La Femme Nikita Original Soundtrack is the soundtrack album series for the television series.-Track listing:# Mark Snow - "Main Title"# Enigma - "Beyond the Invisible"# Mono - "Silicone"# Depeche Mode - "The Love Thieves"...
, released in June 1998, is still available on CD from TVT Records
TVT Records
TVT Records was an independent US record label founded by Steve Gottlieb. Over the course of its 25 year history the label released some 25 Gold, Platinum and Multi-platinum releases. Its roster included Nine Inch Nails, Ja Rule, Lil Jon, Underworld, The KLF, Sevendust, Brian Jonestown Massacre and...
. It features the title theme from composer Mark Snow
Mark Snow
Mark Snow is an American composer for film and television.Born in New York, he grew up in Brooklyn, graduating from the High School of Music and Art and, afterwards, the Juilliard School of Music...
, as well as numerous songs heard during the first two seasons of the show from artists like Depeche Mode
Depeche Mode
Depeche Mode are an English electronic music band formed in 1980 in Basildon, Essex. The group's original line-up consisted of Dave Gahan , Martin Gore , Andy Fletcher and Vince Clarke...
and Afro Celt Sound System
Afro Celt Sound System
The Afro Celt Sound System is a musical group which fuses modern electronic dance rhythms with traditional Irish and West African music...
. A "promotional release" in a limited run of 2000 CDs of Emmy-award winning composer Sean Callery
Sean Callery
Sean Callery is an film and television composer best known as the composer for the action/drama 24, a TV series for which he also composed three full soundtracks. The first soundtrack, containing music from the first three seasons was released on December 7, 2004...
's selections from his orchestral score for Nikita was first made available by Callery during the Close Quarters Standby 4 fan convention
Fan convention
A fan convention, or con , is an event in which fans of a particular film, television series, comic book, actor, or an entire genre of entertainment such as science fiction or anime and manga, gather to participate and hold programs and other events, and to meet experts, famous personalities, and...
in May 2001.
Series merchandise
According to Christopher Heyn, "To many long-time viewers, La Femme Nikita had always been a natural for merchandising. Besides the usual array of T-shirts, jackets, coffee mugs, posters and other trinkets, the action content of the series lends itself perfectly to the development of video games, comic books, toys and action figures. Yet, during the entire run of the series, Warner Bros.Warner Bros.
Warner Bros. Entertainment, Inc., also known as Warner Bros. Pictures or simply Warner Bros. , is an American producer of film and television entertainment.One of the major film studios, it is a subsidiary of Time Warner, with its headquarters in Burbank,...
released only one piece of merchandise — the soundtrack CD on TVT Records. Beyond that, there was nothing. This frustrated [former president of USA Network and key player in the series' development] Rod Perth to no end" (20). Heyn quotes Perth as saying: "'Warner Bros. never had an interest in this show ...'" (20). Nevertheless, Heyn reports, he himself "successfully brokered an official merchandising agreement between the Specialty Products division, a vendor in Toronto that already produced merchandise for the series' cast and crew, and the Sidekicks Society, the organizers of Close Quarters Standby 2", the second in a series of four La Femme Nikita fan conventions held in Toronto
Toronto
Toronto is the provincial capital of Ontario and the largest city in Canada. It is located in Southern Ontario on the northwestern shore of Lake Ontario. A relatively modern city, Toronto's history dates back to the late-18th century, when its land was first purchased by the British monarchy from...
in October 1999 (Heyn 20). Such items included jackets, T-shirts, coffee mugs, and keychains emblazoned with the series logo and the copyright notice "©1999, Warner Bros" below the logo (photograph in Heyn 21). "Because of a delivery mixup", Heyn's photo caption reads, "most of the coffee mugs and keychains never made it to the convention in time for sale", and, he adds, "the remaining boxes of jackets, T-shirts and coffee mugs sold out in less than an hour, leaving many empty-handed attendees frustrated and upset" (21). Moreover, Heyn observes, "That unfortunate outcome only validated Warner Bros.' reticence to merchandise La Femme Nikita on a larger scale. The studio lost money on the internet broadcast and made next to nothing from the limited merchandising deal, which echoed their attitude toward the series' financial construction" (Heyn 20).
In 2001, a computer game based on Nikita — featuring dialogue written by La Femme Nikita supervising producer Peter Lenkov
Peter Lenkov
Peter M. Lenkov is a TV and film writer and producer as well as being an occasional writer of comic books. Lenkov was born in Montreal, Canada where he attended both McGill and Concordia University. He is married to ex-model/actress Audie England...
— was announced for the Xbox
Xbox
The Xbox is a sixth-generation video game console manufactured by Microsoft. It was released on November 15, 2001 in North America, February 22, 2002 in Japan, and March 14, 2002 in Australia and Europe and is the predecessor to the Xbox 360. It was Microsoft's first foray into the gaming console...
system, but the project was later cancelled.
External links
- Warner Bros. Studios La Femme Nikita (DVD) – Production company official website for the DVD box sets of the television series.
- La Femme Nikita episodes on TheWB (US Only)