Product Description In this sexy and suspenseful series, NIKITA has gone rogue. Division is an ultra-secret government agency whose operatives are recruited young people with severed ties to family, friends and society. Trained to be invisible assassins, no one ever leaves Division -- except the charming and deadly Nikita, who has managed to escape, making it her mission to undermine the now-corrupt organization. A force to be reckoned with, the rogue Nikita taunts Division, staying on their radar, but always one step ahead. Yet as determined as Nikita is to bring down her former agency, there are those just as determined to stop her, including Division's newest recruit Alex, a beautiful young woman who seems destined to replace Nikita as their next top operative. .com In Nikita, the CW Network has developed another resounding hit on its roster of solid dramatic series that do a nice job of grabbing viewers from a variety of demographics. With season two starting in late September 2011, this slick package of the 22 episodes of season one is a great way of diving into a show that's among the best looking, most tightly produced, and intensely cinematic on the small screen. The title and the premise both come from the 1990 French feature film and early style-setter from writer-director Luc Besson, La Femme Nikita. The character of Nikita was a beautiful, troubled young criminal who was essentially abducted from prison and inducted into covert intelligence to become a sleeper assassin used at the will and the whim of the government. There was an American remake in 1993, Point of No Return, starring Bridget Fonda, then a TV adaptation in 1997 that used the original French title and ran for just over four seasons on the USA Network. This reworking maintains the basic premise of a black ops organization that has largely gone rogue from US government control, with the title character of a dangerous, sexy assassin having escaped its clutches and gone rogue herself. After six years as its most expert operative, this Nikita (Maggie Q, who is very dangerous and very sexy) uses all her training and black ops wiles to destroy the unit known only as Division. Division is run from a high-tech bunker by the evil, calculating Percy (a steely-eyed Xander Berkeley) as a kind of top-secret consulting firm for the high-paying interests of those in need of murder, protection, or other sundry cleanup or coverup services. It employs a stable of young, buffed, highly trained male and female "recruits" who, like Nikita, have been plucked from prison and indentured to lives dedicated to Division's devious details. But the pilot episode reveals that Division's latest recruit, Alex (Lyndsy Fonseca), is Nikita's mole, and she runs Alex from the outside, getting intel on Division's nefarious operations in her effort to bring it all down. The depth of Nikita's (and Alex's) malice toward Division is revealed over the course of the season, along with her ambivalence toward Percy's lieutenant, Michael (Shane West). Their cat-and-mouse includes a fair amount of personal heat within the missions that Nikita tries to disrupt, especially the one that becomes Division's top priority: eliminate Nikita. Michael has his own mixed feelings for his former protégé, and even as the intrigue among Michael, Nikita, Alex, and the other assorted characters both within and without Division becomes more elaborate, it's clear that there's a lot of gray for everyone. Except Percy, that is, who remains deliciously black throughout. The final episodes set up a suspenseful scenario of character maneuvering, compromised loyalties, and convoluted conspiracies that bodes very well for a new season. Every installment of Nikita is paced and plotted like a mini thriller, with production values and heavily styled good looks to match. As series creator Craig Silverstein and many other behind-the-scenes contributors confirm in the extensive supplemental materials, incredible attention is given to the details of art direction, design, wardrobe, cinematography, scoring, etc. in order to make what are essentially mini action movies. And action is definitely a key word. There is gunplay aplenty, with a level of physical violence that's about as powerful as anything on TV these days. But all of it is expertly staged and carefully motivated to serve the needs of brainy, quick-witted scripts. Maggie Q certainly has the background chops to bring integrity and authenticity to her smooth martial arts moves; that's really her chopping and shooting up there. She is eminently appealing not only for her beauty and grace, but also her soulful stare. Silverstein admits that the CW Network was looking for a shoehorn series to capture not just action fans, and they all thought the Nikita brand could be adapted into a version of something like Alias. It makes sense with all the secret agent stuff going on and with Maggie Q making herself a rousing antidote for Jennifer Garner fans. But she's also uniquely Nikita as she guides an exciting show that gives equal weight to brain and brawn with a precise combination of restraint and exuberance. --Ted Fry
S**N
Nikita Season 1--Goregous, With A Subtle, Complicated Storyline
Since he created the storyline back in 1990, the Luc Besson story of the young woman being converted into an assasin has had four treatments--Besson's own "La Femme Nikita", the Bridget Fonda vehicle known alternately as "The Assassin" and "The Point Of No Return" in 1992, the USA Network series of the late 1990s that starred Peta Wilson, and "Alias", which drew from the "Nikita" storyline in its five-year run. Warner Brothers has loved the storyline, which is why it now gets its third treatment, this time on the CW.I mentioned "Alias" in the opening paragraph because, as the Jennifer Garner series drew from the "Nikita" legend, this version of the "Nikita" tale draws both from "Alias" and its television predecessor. One could see this version drawing from the Peta Wilson series as sort of a continuation of the story it started back in the day, but the core motivation of this Nikita--to destroy the rogue black ops unit; "Division" in this piece because of the murder of her lover--draws from Sydney Bristow's desire to destroy SD6 in "Alias"; with the protagonists even having their deceased lovers both named Daniel.This iteration of "Nikita" also follows "Alias" much more in terms of action--with 20/20 hindsight, "LFN" seems a precursor in terms of style and posing to "The Matrix".Of course, what really makes this version of the Nikita story take off...is Margaret Denise Quigley.If I start off by saying that Maggie Q is gorgeous, here's the reaction I would expect--"You got THAT right...""Oh, really??!? I didn't notice...""Well, DUH..."The fact that Maggie brings the action chops along with her beauty--she's a younger version of the great Michelle Yeoh in many ways--cannot be dismissed when this series is discussed. She knows what she's doing in the action sequences, which adds to the watchability of the episodes.The supporting cast is very good. Shane West's Michael is surly, mean, and a professional; stuck between his duty to Division and his attraction to Nikita. Melinda Clarke's Amanda--the psychological operations specialist--is handled well, Clarke bringing some of her iciness and control from her "Lady Heather" character from "CSI" to Amanda. Aaron Sanford's Birkoff is much more fun and snarky than Matthew Ferguson's take on the character from the USA series. Because so much of this series happens within the training areas of Division, the two students--Ashton Holmes' hard-charging Thom and Tiffany Hines' unstable Jaden--are key in the season. There cannot be enough said about Xander Berkeley's Percy, other than to call him "Arvin Sloane on steroids". There is NO pretense of loyalty with Percy, and the snarl that Berkeley gives to him is done without quarter.This leads me to the key performance and character of the first season--Lyndsy Fonseca, and her turn as Nikita's friend/student/mole within Division, Alex. Many of us know Fonseca as the nerdgasm from "Hot Tub Time Machine" or "Kick-Ass", obviously lighter fare. The addition of Alex, and getting her placed within Division, initially starts off as an added part of Nikita's attempt to destroy the organization, but as the season goes on, we realize that there is more here--specifically, WHY Nikita chose Alex, and who Alex is, and her own relation to the sordid history of Division--especially Nikita's own past within Division. In many ways, Alex's story becomes more intriguing to the season than what we consider the primary story. It is an interesting and far more complicated load that Fonseca has ever had to carry, and Lyndsy pulls it off very well.Season 1 is very much an establishment of the two storylines and draws the lines in this battle--Nikita wanting Michael to help her bring down Division and his wavering between loyalty to Division and aiding Nikita, Nikita's loose group of people aiding her--the rogue "Guardian" Owen (Devon Sawa), the low-level CIA analyst Ryan Fletcher (Noah Bean)...and Percy's designated hitman, the "Cleaner" only known as Roan (Rob Stewart, considerably cleaned up and toned down from his "Sweating Bullets" days).The guest turns here don't have a lot of big names--there is Ray Park's turn as a Guardian in "Into The Box", and seeing the long-time martial-arts artist and actor ply his craft here is a treat. But the interesting casting comes in the season finale, "Pandora", which upsets the apple cart in setting up the storyline for Season Two. The veteran actor Harris Yulin portrays a member of "Oversight"--which controls (supposedly) Division--but more interesting is the casting of Alberta Watson to play another member of Oversight, Madeline. For those who remember the cast of "La Femme Nikita" from the USA Network, Watson played the director of psychological ops in the Peta Wilson-led series...and yes, her character was named "Madeline". One wonders if Danny Cannon and Craig Silverstein will play on this connection as the series continues.This take on the "Nikita" story is much more action driven, certainly closer to its "Alias" cousin in that regard than any of the true "Nikita" predecessors. Maggie Q and Lyndsy Fonseca make it easy on the eyes to watch, but having McG directing the action--and Maggie's considerable skill in the action sequences--makes this series a kick. Add in the subtle complications of the storyline, and the CW has a winner.Highly recommended.
D**H
Action Packed!
Must watch. Watched all 4 Seasons. Twists and Turns.
J**M
Could be the Flagship Show for the CW Network
If you are a die hard fan of the Original La Fem Nikita Film then the two American Re-MakesLater the TV SeriesYou'll be both Surprised and Amazed what a great new take on the Nikita mythology this is!It's Fresh and SmartI was turned off Cause they seemed to have Marked it so wrong IMOTrying to sell Sexuality over the deep StoryThe CW isn't the only one to do this USA's Covert Affairs and Fairly Legal also were poorly Marked just on sex appealIt's not fair to the 3 Stars of each show (Cause they all bring lots to the table)Regardless I watched the pilot and it's One of the best Prime time Shows in a long time!Maggie Q and Shane West Lead a True Perfect 5 Star CastLyndsy Fonseca (Alex) is a great Findshe can hold her own side by side with Maggie QXander Berkeley (Percy) is awesome as the guy you love to hate!the story is very much different then the Previous tv ShowI guess you could compare it to Frank Miller's Dark Knight Graphic NovelYou are watching the second half of Nikita's Life after she escape DivisionIt takes various twists and turns (It 's more like a Day time Soap Opera Cause the story all fits together seamlesslyYou have to watch every episode in orderThe goal to the 1st Season is to Set up a Much bigger Season IISeason II has been great so far!Former teen heartthrob Devon Sawa has made a number of appearances and he was also wonderfully castedas the Former Cleaner for Division who has also gone RogueThe HQ of each episode is incrediblefrom the fight scenes, Stuff Blowing up! all the extras they castIt's like a mini movie each episodeI'd think at some point they will bring Peta Wilson in as a guest starIt's by far the Best Adult Drama on The CW In many ways it doesn't fit on there Station)But, I'm glad they picked it up and hope they stick with it for a few years and keep the quality comingI highly recommend this Action/Drama it will not Disappoint anyone who loves and misses Great tv(Which is a few and far between at this point and timeCheck it out you will not be sorry 10/10
P**L
Well worth the watch!! Ahead of its time!
This was a great series!! I didn't even know about it before deciding to watch the first episode of the first-year series. I soon found myself hooked! I ended up heavy-binging all of those episodes, then year 2, then year 3 then year 4, wishing there were more. Maggie Q is an amazing lead for this series and all actors/actresses are excellent! I've binged Reacher and also Wheel of Time, and another series, but Nikita has more depth, story line, and ups/downs, leaving you craving the next episode. Now I'm watching anything with Maggie Q in it!!
Trustpilot
4 days ago
1 week ago
