The two Nikitas.

[the_grynne]

If you're in the US, apparently you can watch all 5 seasons (96 episodes) of USA Network's La Femme Nikita here at the WB website. Anyone who's seen the emotionally wrenching final two seasons of LFN will recognise the disconnect between the way the series ended and the new Nikita being developed by CW (details on that here and here), and yet there

Comments

[rhienelleth]

The more I think about this, the more unhappy I get at the prospect of what it's going to be. Honestly, the CW's track record with shows does not give me a lot of confidence, and I really don't see how a network that has built itself largely on teen dramas can pull of a show with the complexity and twists and turns that LFN had. Not to mention the complicated relationship between Nikita and Michael

[the_grynne]

I do sort of wonder if what they're going to do is something like this: the show is done through new recruit Alex's eyes, with the story of the previous Nikita slowly unraveling as she discovers it via the other characters' emotional connections to the woman who got out of Section. The real Nikita should be gone, gone, gone, but we all know she can't leave Michael behind, so she's still around, a ghost that Alex never quite sees (until she does, of course), helping Alex succeed on occasion - maybe even saving Michael's life, you know, when he messes up because he caught a glimpse of her.

I agree that this looks like the way it's going to go. And my issue with it is precisely what you stated: it leaves Nikita the mystery in the show with her name on it! I would be much happier if it went like this (borrow your words):

I do sort of wonder if what they're going to do is something like this: the show is done through new recruit Alex's eyes, with the story of the infamous Michael slowly unraveling as she discovers it via the other

[rhienelleth]

Hee! :D

I've been surfing around, reading bits here and there, and while I know they're not releasing much in the way of description yet, and what is being said is to be taken with a grain of salt, it almost seems like Maggi Q will be the show's front runner:

"In this version, Nikita goes rogue and a new assassin is trained to replace her." ~ The hollywood Reporter

"The CW pilot's premise of a new Nikita being trained to replace the original one after she goes rogue gave creator Craig Silverstein an opportunity to break the stereotype, and he wrote the lead as "beautiful and exotic." ~ Reuters

They keep referring to Maggie as the lead in all of these news things. If she's gone rogue...is it possible that the show actually will focus on Nikita, and instead of getting out and getting away, her focus is on taking down Section? She's actively working to make their missions fail, without getting Michael killed. And maybe Michael and his new protege are ordered to hunt her down and retrieve her?

Hmmm.

[the_grynne]

I've read both reports that call Maggie Q the "recruit", and ones that give that role to Fonseca's Alex.

The thing is, the whole concept of the "newcomer" has POV character built into it, so whoever plays this new recruit will almost certainly be the story's "lead". We'll spend the most screentime with her, as she undergoes training and learns more about the world she's now in. They can't have a rogue Nikita as the focus because the show would be entering on her story in media res - without context or history for her motivations. That sort of thing might work in a (non-traditional) film script, but not in a TV series.

chill folks

[anonymous]

As someone who's read the script to the new NIKITA, I can assure you that you're overacting to the few snippets of information out there. First off, The CW show has nothing to do with the USA Network one. It's a complete re-imaging - just like how Sci Fi's "Battlestar Galactica" had similar names and concepts to the 1970s series but was an entirely different animal.

Yes, The CW version has a Nikita and a Michael but they aren't intended to be the same characters. Here they have a history but they've since moved on to other people. Alex isn't Nikita's romantic rival for Michael's affections, she's something else entirely. And you won't see it coming.

Re: chill folks

[the_grynne]

If it is anything like BSG I would indeed be relieved, but given my low expectations for CW, and the high standard set by the original, at best I am a little less angry.

Thanks for filling in some of the gaps, though.

And you won't see it coming.

Is she in any way genetically related to "Amanda" or Operations?

Re: chill folks

[rhienelleth]

Interesting! Thank you from dropping in and commenting. Really and truly. :) I actually already assumed it would be a re-imagining, because I didn't see how it could work as a continuation or anything like. That being said, the comments regarding Michael and Nikita's relationship I'm not sure what to think about, since Nikita's relationship with her handler has been a central point in every incarnation of her. If these characters are meant to be nothing like the USA show's version from which their names were lifted, why lift the names at all? Michael and Birkoff could easily have been called something else, and we wouldn't be drawing quite as many parallels

Re: chill folks

[anonymous]

>> If these characters are meant to be nothing like the USA show's version from which their names were lifted, why lift the names at all?

Many people asked this very same question about BSG as well.

>> One thing that might be reassuring is an answer to this question: will Maggie Q's character be the actual lead in the show, or will Alex?

Maybe this will help, here's the number of lines each of these characters has in the pilot:

Jaden (another new recruit): 15
Thom (another new recruit): 25
Amanda: 25
Birkhoff: 35
Percy (head of "Division"): 35
Alex: 35
Michael: 60
Nikita: 80