DVD REVIEW

La Femme Nikita - The Complete First Season  (1997)

Starring: Peta Wilson, Roy Dupuis, Don Franks, Matthew Ferguson, Eugene Robert Glazer, Alberta Watson

Rating: NR

Studio: Warner Bros.

Release Date: 7.08.03

Review Posted: 7.14.03

Spoilers: None

Reviewed by Dennis Landmann

Enclosed in 22-episode detail is information about Section One, the deep-cover organization whose mission is to stop the terrorists who elude other ops agencies. Mistakes are not an option for the operatives of this clandestine group - even for a novice agent named Nikita. Peta Wilson (The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen) portrays Nikita, framed for murder but given a way out by becoming a Section One operative codenamed Josephine. She's dressed to kill, trained to survive, and a new fashion in action.

The first season of La Femme Nikita premiered on the USA network in 1997, some seven years after the original Nikita directed by Luc Besson. The French import also inspired a 1994 remake with Bridget Fonda playing the troubled heroine Nikita. Responsible for the five-year series are 24 co-creators Robert Cochran and Joel Surnow, who are credited as creative consultant and executive consultant, respectively, as well as Jay Firestone (executive producer) and Jamie Paul Rock (producer). La Femme Nikita takes inspiration from Luc Besson’s film, but ultimately goes down a different road—Nikita stays with the secret organization and takes part in weekly secret operations against the enemies of the free world (to put it lightly). The show is generally clever and shows signs of originality.

The first ten minutes of the premiere episode "Nikita" deals with the introduction and training of the troubled girl-turned-agent. The episode assumes viewers are already familiar with the story, which is a good thing. It also incorporates a few memorable scenes from the original film, such as the dinner take-out which covers for Nikita’s first mission. The rest of the episode then plays out its first mission-against-terrorist plot of the week, if you know what I mean. Every week there is a new mission, and most of them fair well. Some story plots lack intensity, but generally each episode is clever, and features some exciting and well-executed action.

Peta Wilson plays Nikita, taking over the reigns of French actress Anne Parillaud and Fonda. She brings her own looks, charms, and vulnerabilities to the role. Her performance is what holds the show together—and sometimes she even likes to break off into an accent, but maybe it’s just me noticing it (though she is from Australia originally). Backing up Peta Wilson is the Section One team, most prominently is Roy Dupuis playing Michael, her mentor and section leader. Dupuis replaces the Tcheky Karyo character from the Luc Besson film and overall he does a pretty good job; he’s flexible and adapts to all kinds of situations. Rounding out Section One is Birkoff (Matthew Ferguson), the resident computer whiz, Walter (Don Francks), the gadget provider, Operations (Eugene Robert Glazer), the man behind the whole show, also known as Paul Wolfe, and Madeline (Alberta Watson), psychology and interrogations specialist.

For a basic cable show La Femme Nikita offers more than meets the eye. Even though the limited budget shows, the creative team makes sure each character and subplot progresses, as well as creating some well-executed action pieces. On the other hand, the show breaks into music mode too often, most evident when Nikita picks up the phone and hears her code name "Josephine." [Cue Sean Callery’s music.] The music is generally very good, but talk about music overkill. Also, Mark Snow’s theme song is disappointing. Known for scoring the X-Files series, here his opening and closing theme sounds recycled and simply too weak. The credit sequence looks a little weak as well.

Despite those minor faults, La Femme Nikita holds up as a generally clever and exciting show. With Peta Wilson as a relatively strong lead, the show’s first season proves to be more than just basic cable television. The second season is something to look forward to, and perhaps it will also show some basic improvement. All in all, La Femme Nikita is a pretty decent show.

Here is a breakdown of all 22 first season episodes as they are spaced out on six dual-layer discs

Warner Bros. presents La Femme Nikita in the show's original 1.33:1 fullscreen aspect ratio. Colors look accurate, vivid, and crisp, though some appear a little too soft. Color detail is fine and mostly accurate. No compression artifacts or pixelation occurs as all 22 episodes are nicely spread out over 6 dual-layer discs. Edge enhancement is also not visible, although shimmering appears in some instances. Also, dark tones and black levels are a little inconsistent. Overall, La Femme Nikita looks very decent.

Warner Bros. presents La Femme Nikita in English 2.0 Dolby Surround Sound. For a TV show this transfer is pretty decent. It gets the essence of the show across just fine, with some good punch in the soundtrack. Dialog scenes are clear and easy to understand. Sound effects come across fairly well from the front speakers. Sean Callery’s music plays out quite nicely in this transfer, even though there is a little bit too much of it. This is a pretty decent audio presentation altogether, but La Femme Nikita could’ve benefited from a 5.1 track no doubt.

Commentaries – Joel Surnow, Robert Cochran, and Jon Cassar provide commentary on the first episode called "Nikita." They engage in some interesting conversations as they talk about the show’s casting, budget, and locations, but also touch on the story of the show. The second audio commentary is for the season finale entitled "Mercy." Here Joel Surnow continues talk about the show and wraps up some things about the first season. All in all, these two commentaries are perfectly decent.

Section One Declassified: The Making of La Femme Nikita (12 mins) – This documentary addresses quite a few things in a relatively short amount of time. It includes information about the show’s character and casting, backed up by interviews with cast and crew. Again, this making-of is a little short, but it makes for a pretty good extra.

9 Cancelled Scenes – These come with optional commentary by Joel Surnow and are spread across discs 1, 2, 3, and 6. As Surnow explains, most of the scenes—which are all presented in standard full-frame—are not in the show because of timing issues, yet they provide some additional subplots, such as Nikita spending time with her friend next door. They all vary in length; one goes on for over three minutes. Surnow’s comments here are sparse, but then again you don’t have to listen to them.

The boxed set arrives in fairly durable packaging. It's one whole set with three back-to-back, hard plastic cases that folds back and forth. The DVD cover is a little unexciting; yes, Peta Wilson looks sexy, but the purple background is too weak and simple.

You can select to view the episodes with optional English, French, and Spanish subtitles. The DVD’s menus are not animated. Each episode runs approximately 44 minutes and is organized into 6 chapters.

 

Overall

The first season of La Femme Nikita is pretty decent. Despite lacking intensity, episodes are generally clever and feature exciting action scenes. Warner Bros. presents the show in pretty decent video and audio transfers. With a decent set of special features, La Femme Nikita comes recommended. Fans of the show might find the list price of $99.95 worth it, though it’s a high price. Newcomers, and fans alike, might want to hold off and seek out the set for retail price only (it is available for $69.95 in some places).

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