For the ninth day of my (now reduced to 12)
Advent column looking at my favourite characters of 2014, I turn my attention
to the cancelled CW series Nikita’s two
main characters, the titular star Nikita (Maggie Q) and Alex (Lyndsy Fonseca).
Once again, the rules for this column:
"As you’ve probably noticed from above,
this is a new blog series dedicated to showcasing my favourite characters from
2014. I will draw from a wide variety of sources but the conditions are simple
– I have to have either first encountered that character in 2014, (or a
different iteration of that character in 2014, for example, If I were to use,
Steven Moffat’s Sherlock Holmes, I would be allowed to as even though I
discovered the character before the year of me writing the Advent list, I did
not discover Moffat’s take on the character until 2014. Of course, I watched
BBC’s Sherlock before 2014, but that’s just a standard example). I
can also refer to groups of characters, for example, on a variation of a list
last year, I used the Clone Club from Orphan Black, and the main cast
from Stargate Atlantis. This will be used multiple times this year
when talking about TV show characters – as they are generally better as an
ensemble piece as opposed to an individual group.
And also, as is evident from the first
character that I have used this year, Raylan Givens, I am allowed to pick
characters from previous years as long as I have discovered them in this year.
By discovered, that obviously means I have to have watched the first episode of
the TV series in 2014, or alternatively, I am also allowed to include
characters who I have become more attached to in this year that I weren’t
necessarily so keen on before, for example, If a character did something
awesome this year to raise their game and turn him or her into a new fan
favourite than these characters would be allowed to be included."
The CW is a network with a bit of a
reputation in America for being largely teen orientated and not much else, but
over the past few years they have been stepping up both quality and talent and
producing some excellent series that fail to disappoint. More recently we’ve
had The Flash, Arrow, The 100 and The Originals, all of which have been
awesome shows, but there’s also been the likes of Nikita and Supernatural going
further back, and one of those two series I finally got around to checking out
this year, and even though I am only six episodes in at this point, I’m in love
with it. It doesn’t deal with the standard CW tropes of love triangles
(although there was one previously hinted at and there could eventually be one –
this is the CW after all), and focuses on the spy action making it perfect for
fans of James Bond and Jason Bourne who perhaps want a female lead star in a
spy thriller.
And the lead characters certainly don’t disappoint.
Maggie Q’s Nikita is a fantastic lead and really delivers as the titular series
star, as a renegade who has turned against a group called “Division”, an elite
mercenary secret organization that previously worked for the Government before
going rogue. Division now wants Nikita dead, but Nikita not only is doing her
best to foil the operations of the organization, she also has a mole in the
inside, in the form of a former drug-addict teenager named Alex. So far at
least, Alex has successfully maintained her cover and both characters have been
working together incredibly well, allowing us to explore the interior of
Division through Alex’s fellow group of new recruits, as well as explore what life is like on the run
from Division and follow Nikita’s quest to bring them down.
There hasn’t been a bad episode of Nikita so far out of the six I’ve seen.
They’re all tense, action packed and incredibly strong. Standing at four
seasons (three seasons at over 20 hour long episodes each and Season 4 at a
reduced 6 episodes) the show itself is great. It’s well directed and has a fantastic
high concept storyline. If you’re looking for a show with some good well
developed female protagonists, then you can’t go far wrong with Nikita. The CW seems to be particularly
good with this sort of thing as well – I’d also point you in the direction of The 100 as another good example of a
show with some good female lead characters who continue to grow and develop
over the course of the season.
Inspired by La Femme Nikita, the 1997 TV series, the show borrows the same
characters’ names but you don’t have to be familiar with the original to enjoy
what’s going on, because I certainly haven’t seen it. It’s just been great to
see how newcomer friendly Nikita was,
and with the past of the characters being explored in the flashbacks (something
that is again, a CW trope – The Originals,
Arrow and The Flash all use this method
of narrative and I’m fairly sure that The
Vampire Diaries does as well), it really fleshes it out well and provides
some much needed depth. There’s a clear difference in the characters so you can
see how much they have progressed over time as well, proving that Nikita can handle the action and character
development pretty well indeed.
So yeah, basically, if you’re not familiar
with this show already then I strongly encourage you to go and watch it ASAP.
It’s smart, compelling, unpredictable and engaging. If you like a good spy
drama then you won’t want to miss it.
·
Day 6: The All New X-Factor (Peter
David’s All New X-Factor)
·
Day 7: Bluebird & Spoiler (Batman Eternal)
·
Day 8: Korra (The Legend of Korra)
·
Day 9: Nikita & Alex (Nikita)
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