1) It's not a traditional CW series.
Whether you liked it or not, fans and critics alike could appreciate that Nikita is not a typical series like you'd find on the teen-oriented CW. It's darker, grittier and edgier. In fact, that was one of the big selling points of the series when it was promoted, so to hear that the network wants it to "lighten" makes me twitch at the apparent hypocrisy. The unique feel of the series was what interested so many people, myself included; I have no real interest in any of the other CW shows, but Nikita I felt might be different. Sure, it still lacks the edge of the original series, but I was grateful that it was reasonably dark and serious. The material warrants that it be so. There's some humor now and then, but this is a drama with heavy subject matter. I have no interest in watching, as the fans have already joked, a spy version of Gossip Girl. Trying to fit Nikita into the CW mold would obviously destroy what made it stand out in the first place.
Now, these are only my top ten favorite things about Nikita. I could probably put a few more on this list, and I know that fans will add some of their own, or disagree on some level, so please don't leave me snarky comments telling me I'm an idiot for leaving something off or adding something you dislike. The point is that there's obviously a fan base out there for Nikita, and I'm sure that each and every one of you can come up with a list of ten things you love about the show as it is - so why mess with success?
This is not an indictment of The CW. There are some people at the network that love the show as it is; I routinely have conversations with the show publicist about how the show continues to grow on me. Rather, I hope that this article shows how great Nikita has gotten, and why it deserves to be allowed to build on that success on its own terms.
In the process of covering this developing story, I went and read comments at some of the other websites that also have articles posted regarding it, and the majority of them were negative (even the one positive one I saw was more in the middle than anything else). Obviously, there are a lot of fans out there just as bewildered as I am. Many of them are upset. To which I can only say to you: comment. Make your voices heard. It might not change anything in the end, but people do read these articles, and then they'll be able to see that you love Nikita for what it is, and not what The CW wants it to be.
I'll see you next week when we discuss the all-new episode 1.06, "Resistance." (Remember, tonight is a rerun of the pilot.) Until then, Nikita fans, keep on supporting your show. It's more than worthy of the attention.
Want to show your love for the show? Or vent about this surprise development? Let me hear your thoughts in the comments below.
Man, I feel like a damned blog spammer saying this, but great article! You make me want to see Nikita all the more now. I watched a couple of episodes, and I KNOW it has potential, there's just so much stuff on tv right now, it's hard to settle on which three or four hour-longs I'm gonig to invest my time in this season. I can't even watch my longtime CW staples Smallville and Supernatural 'cause they're on Friday nights now and that's when I go out with my girlfriend. (And, you know, she trumps tv) I'm already catching several favorites on hulu, and shows I'd like to see are in direct conflict with shows she and I both want to see. So argh, the corporate schedule programmers are really sticking it to me this season.
Thank you! As far as catching the show, there were (not sure if there still are) Saturday reruns, and I know the CW's website does offer full episodes for online viewing. But I know how you feel – in three hours on a Monday night I have to cover four shows. Huge pain in the behind.
The writing needs a massive overhaul. Why are they pretending Alex arrived from Ukraine a few years ago when she speaks with a flawless American accent? Either she is American or she arrived in the U.S. as a very young child. It's simply not believable that she arrived a few years ago. This show suffers from too many plot holes and sloppy characterization.
The writers have come out and said the majority of her given backstory to Division is false. They're going to show us some of her real backstory later in the season. At least according to what came out of NY Comic Con.
This was a very interesting article to read. I have been watching since the first episode, but the fourth one was definitely one of its best. I'll keep watching and I can't wait to find out what's the deal with Michael, Jaden, Thom and Alex. How'd they get there? Thom, for instance. Every recruit has a bit of a dark past, while Thom is calm on the surface. What's his story?
Also, I love how you mentioned "Bones". I have been bearing with the show for over five years, until I finally gave up on it after the zillionth love interest. That, including the current overdosis of comedy and lack of drama made me realize that I do not love this show anymore.
But Nikita, however, is a show of which I think, has a lot of potential. There are mistakes here and there, of course, but it's the first season. There's time to learn.
And the mistakes are at least, the kind you can laugh at and not the kind that make you go, "oh god, they're ruining the show and are morons."
I definitely want to know more about the recruits. At least for me, compared to Michael, Nikita, Percy and Amanda, they're all relatively underdeveloped. I don't care about them yet because I don't know them yet. So I'd rather see them get storylines and scenes than have some new characters come in and take time away from them. To me, they're the weak point of the show right now and they deserve the attention. I don't want the show to get overloaded with characters and then everyone suffers (I think of those shows with like a dozen regulars and cringe).
""And the mistakes are at least, the kind you can laugh at and not the kind that make you go, "oh god, they're ruining the show and are morons."" SO AGREE WITH YOU BRITTANY.
PLUS ALL SHOWS AND MOVIES MAKE MISTAKES, SOME JUST MAKE BIG MISTAKE AND SOME JUST MAKE SMALL ONE.
BRITTANY, I ALSO AGREE ABOUT THE NIKITA AND MICHAEL RELATIONSHIP. I ALSO CANT WAIT TO SEE WHAT HAPPENED IN THE PAST BETWEEN THEM AND WHAT IS GOING TO HAPPEN IN THE FUTURE. " As long as their interactions continue to be written well and don’t turn either of them into lovesick puppies, the dynamic between these two – whatever it is – is going to remain interesting to watch. There’s no need to introduce anyone to complicate or muddle it " AND I ALSO AGREE WITH U ON MICHAEL AND PERCY RELATIONSHIP AND I ALSO AGREE ON REASON # 2 ABOUT SHANE WEST.
THE WRITERS ARE DEFENITLY HINTING THAT SOMETHING HAPPENED BETWEEN MICHAEL AND NIKITA:
THE FIRST EPISODE ON THE FIRST MISSION FLASHBACK MICHAEL SUPPOSEDILY SHOT NIKITA AND LATER ON IN THE EPISODE AT THE GOVERNMENT FOUDATION OR WHATEVER MICHAEL SAID " I WARNED U NOT TO GET EMOTIONALLY ATTACHED" AND NIKITA SAID "YOU MEAN THE WAY U DID WITH ME" AND MICHAEL MADE THAT FACE, SO PRECIOUS.
THE FOURTH EPISODE WITH THE FLASHBACK OF NIKTA AND MICHAEL FIGHTING IT LOOKED LIKE HE WANTED TO KISS HER AND ALSO WHEN NIKITA SAID HE IS SUCH A TEASE HE SMILED AND THEN HE CHANGED HIS EXPRESSION LIKE HE REMEMBERD THAT HE IS NOT SUPPOSE TO SMILE OR WHATEVER.
THEN IN THE FIFTH EPISODE WHEN NIKITA, MICHAEL AND PERCY WAS ON THE PHONE AND PERCY SAID " NIKITA UR EARS MUST BE BURNING, I WAS JUST TALKING ABOUT YOU WITH UR BOYFRIEND HERE" AND MICHAEL MADE THAT FACE WHEN PERCY SAID BOYFRIEND.
I JUST LOVE THIS SHOW, EVERYTHING ABOUT IT. I LOVE THE PLOT (FLASHBACKS, FIGHTING AND EVERYTHING) I ALSO LIKE BIRKOFF, I LOVE ALL THE CHARACTERS AND ACTOR/ACTRESSES.
CW NEEDS TO LEAVE NIKITA ALONE, THEY DONT NEED TO CHANGE UP/TWEAK ANYTHING!
I agree with everything you have said. But, i'm still hoping that Bones does improve. They have some episodes which are quite good and then the next one would be boring. But i've been watching since the beginning so i'm not going to give up on them yet.
My main issue with the CW is the fact that they're tring to make Nikita appeal to a younger audience. I'm 17 and i sure as hell don't want Nikita to change. There are way too many shows these days that are for teenagers and most of them are rubbish. I admit i watch some of them just because they are mind numbingly over the top and just fun to watch if you don't feel like something serious (i.e. Gossip girl and 90210) but that doesn't mean they are good. I watch them knowing they are bad. There are very few shows that i watch that i know are good and interesting. We need more shows like Nikita and House so, CW, don't turn Nikita into another part of the boring pop culture. I've had enough of girls fighting over guys. And i'm a girl!
And, another thing, i love Michael and Nikita's relationship (and especially Shane West, hey what can i say: i am a teenage girl!) but i have a bad feeling they're going to ruin it with Alex. Let Alex have Thom because i don't really care about them two.
Hi! I've watched all incarnations of Nikita, though I'll admit to not seeing much of the Canadian series (lack of opportunity + bit of a disappointment on the overall design of the show (I prefer an empty stage over poor production design; father's an architect)), but I do remember enjoying most of the cast. Though I remember Roy Dupuis from a French-Canadian series he did about a female doctor way back, I wasn't all that keen on his Michael (though, if i were to watch every episode that might change). I did like Tchéky Karyo's Bob… and apparently Shane West is aiming for a balance of the two (can't really remember Gabriel Byrne's take, but it's probably pretty close to Karyo's). And I've really liked West in earlier stuff he's done, so I was baffled as to all the negativity. He's *lovely*.
Supernatural is the only other show I'm interested in on the CW, so I can't really comment on the culture, but I like Nikita just the way it is. I even might prefer this Birkhoff to Birkoff from LFN (though, can't I have both?) Amanda is not Madeline, but on the other hand, I can't recall whether Moreau's Amande was as empty (have to rewatch, mmmm…. Jean-Hugues Anglade…).
You know, I really miss Matthew Ferguson (LFN's Birkoff). I remember looking him up a few years back and being surprised that he had essentially stopped acting. That was a real shame, because he was so good. At least Alberta Watson (Madeline) and Eugene Robert Glazer (Operations) turned up on 24. Though, unfortunately, not in the same scene. Or even season, I believe.
But yeah, I'll freely admit, Shane's version of Michael has grown on me by leaps and bounds. I still appreciate Roy's take, but I can't hate on Shane the way some are.
Matthew Ferguson's performance as Seymour Birkoff was to my recollection simply exquisite. He's actually the main reason I'm thinking of going back to LFN. Never saw much of 24, sorry.
I'm glad to hear it. As you wrote in your re-review, there are lots of subtleties to his performance (for instance the sheen to his eyes and the way he can't help staring at her while standing close to her and Percy in the pilot) and I personally have always felt drawn to such actors. Much as Jason Dohring's subtle performance in the pilot of Veronica Mars was my focus point.
Matthew was my favorite on the original series. Heck, he essentially played two characters at the end there without missing a beat. And you might like 24 – it's created by the same producers. It bombs out in the last year, but it's one of my favorite series.
Yeah, it took me time and some research to get what Shane was trying to do. I had only heard of him before this show (I hadn't even seen him in anything) so I wasn't at all familiar with his acting style. I had to go and find a few of his movies and study, and then I started to understand a lot better. He's really doing a lot with what isn't there, so if you don't pay attention, you miss it. I really enjoy that.
Nice article, Brittany and I couldn't agree with you more. I'm just in the crush stage of my relationship with Nikita. I'm just hoping the CW's tweaking doesn't keep me from falling completely in love.
Thank you! I couldn't agree with you more. I've finally come around to appreciating the show as is and would hate to see it go downhill now that I'm onboard.
Don't change anything, CW! I love it as it is. Lightening it and adding a love interest will only ruin it.
My thoughts exactly.
I could not agree more.. the one thing Maggie Q insisted on during Comic Con in SD is that the network has never done anything like this before. So why mess it up when its already perfect the way it is. C'mon CW you invested in the show so that you can have a variety in your shows… why turn it into Gossip Girl 2.0? There is so much more to cover this season and this tweak is quite ridiculous, I hope they don't go through this change cause they will definitely lose fans… despite being a HUGE Maggie Q fan, if this change happens, I won't tune in to see them waste her talent..
That's the Catch 22. They liked it because it was different, promoted it for its being different, and now they want to fit it into the CW mold? I don't get that.
Maggie is great. I loved her in Live Free or Die Hard, and even in the hilariously horrible Gen-Y Cops with Paul Rudd.
I really hope that they don't go through with this "tweak" ( like that'll happen ) It'a a good show and you're right; it's just now finding it's stride so, why mess with it's momentum? I am a huge fan of The Office and I miss watching that so that I can watch Nikita.. that.. says a lot. The CW isn't normally my t.v. station of choice.
haha I thought I was the only one who saw Gen-Y cops… I think I have most of the movies that Maggie has been in.. have you seen The Trouble Makers? that was hilariously horrible, gotta love it.
I'm glad you brought up The Office, because I'm so conflicted on that next week – Timothy Olyphant is guest-starring! But I'll have to DVR it because I always put the shows I cover first.
I have not seen that one. But I own Gen Y-Cops for the sheer hilarity of Paul Rudd's bad dye job.
Thank you for writing this. The CW needs to leave Nikita alone. Both my husband and I can watch it and enjoy it. Let the show find its stride this season. It's off to a great start.
It is, and I can't wait to see where it goes next, if it's allowed to keep its course.
CW, TEENAGERS ARE WATCHING NIKITA EESPECIALLY FEMALE TENNAGERS!
PLEASE LEEEEAAAAVVVEEE NIKITA ALONE!!!!!!! IF YOU DONT YOUR GOING TO RUIN IT AND LOSE FANS/VEIWERS! VAMPIRE DIARIES AND NIKITA ARE UR TOP SHOWS, SO STOP BEING GREEDY WITH NIKITA, ITS NOT LIKE NIKITA IS UR FIFTH BEST SHOW, NIKITA IS UR SECOND BEST.
So stupid… this show is perfect the way it is. It doesn't need any "tweaking."
You know what's funny? Nearly 99% of the people that DISLIKE this "tweak," are in the 18 – 34 demographic. I'm in that demographic, and this show is AMAZING just the way it is. It has a solid storyline, solid action sequences, and a great cast at that.
The CW wants to "tweak" it to add drama and humor to the show? For what? It already has both of those things. The drama is there – it just doesn't consume the show like all of the other CW shows do. The humor is there – it's just more of a dark-tone-like humor, than a kid-tone-like humor. And show always stay like that.
The USA TV series "La Femme Nikita" (1997 – 2001) with Peta Wilson, was a HUGE disappointment. It was a decent series, but it took away from the original film "La Femme Nikita" (1990) with Anne Paraulldi, and the American remake "Point of No Return" (1993), with Bridget Fonda. Those films were true ACTION/THRILLER films – with a tad bit of drama. The original series was a DRAMA. And the so-called action was lame. So many people loved it… but it sucked. It was in the spy genre… but yet, there was so much drama than anything else.
This new "Nikita," with Maggie Q, is AMAZING. Not only did they choose the right actress for the lead role (thank you God for not giving the role to Peta), the producers and writers of the show are staying loyal to the films. AS THEY SHOULD BE. This new "Nikita" is being done right. Don't screw it up just because you want it to make it like all of your other shows on the network. We have plenty of dramas, we don't need anymore.
Maggie Q is an amazing actress! She can kick-butt, and act. She does her own stunts… and performs well at that! This is Maggie Q's genre. And personally, if it turns into a drama, I think that would be a slap in the face to her and her acting career.
Honestly, out of all 4 Nikita's – both films, and both series – this new "Nikita" with Maggie Q is the BEST. PLEASE, I BEG OF YOU, DON'T RUIN THE ONLY GREAT SHOW IN THE SPY GENRE!!!
It sounds like you're driven by a strong dislike of the original series, almost as much as your enjoyment of this one. I'd caution you that a lot of us who love this "Nikita" are also big fans of the original "La Femme Nikita," myself included – which you yourself acknowledge.
As I said in response to your previous comment – you're sort of making my argument for me, though. You say that a spy series must be action-oriented and not a drama. That's putting an expectation on the show because of its genre. CW is putting an expectation on the show because of the network that it airs on. There's no reason that "Nikita" needs to be judged. It is a series with great action, dramatic tension, strong character development and, as you mentioned, dark humor. Why it needs to change to fit one person's (or network's) idea of what is right is beyond me.
If they make changes and make the tone of Nikita 'lighter' than it will become just another crap american show, full of cheesiness and bullshit, the reason i enjoy this show is because of the issues it covers and the meaningful core within it. Why does there have to be a love interest? why does if have to be funny? if you want comedy go and watch something like chuck or family guy, dont pick on a show that isnt built to be funny. My God! it irritates me so much that there always has to be some sort of cheesy aspect to American tv! Its a wonderful show and if its numbers they want their not going to get it by changing the program
Amen. I'd love to see a show that isn't already conceived with the expectation of a love interest. Those seem to be few and far between anymore.