Cool TV Shows That You Didn't Watch

Today, I open up the vaults and blow the dust off of a little show called La Femme Nikita. As I have had some time off recently, I have been watching the series in the afternoon and was reminded of how good it could be. Not every episode was a classic, but generally it was a well written and well acted show. And Roy Dupuis who played operative Michael is crazy hot, even with the mullet.

Based on the cult motion picture of the same name, and adapted for television by Joel Surnow who later created 24 with Nikita's executive consultant Robert Cochran, this sexy and stylish spy series ran from 1997 to 2001 on the USA network. Starring Peta Wilson as Nikita, the series involved a young woman framed for murder and given a choice: be sentenced to life imprisonment, or work for Section One, a clandestine anti-terrorism organization. Nikita chose life, soon discovering that she is just the latest pawn in Section's games.

Section One's agents worked for neither monetary gain nor for "pure" ideological devotion; instead, since most of these operatives are purportedly reformed criminals (though their backgrounds are often ambiguous), they work out of fear of execution (referred to as being "canceled") for substandard performance or disloyalty.

The series generally had a darker tone and explored the ethical and moral issues related to the means by which a counter-terrorist organisation resorts to terrorist methods to succeed in its own goals, and the affects this has on the generally unwilling operatives. Many of these themes would surface again in 24.

The series' uniqueness primarily stems from its de-emphasis on action as such and greater reliance on well-crafted dialogue and complex plot structures. Since its inception, the series did not have a large enough budget to finance complex action sequences, instead the focus of the show was on writing episodes with more complex plot structures, fuller character development, and more substantial dialogue.

All five seasons of La Femme Nikita are currently available on DVD and if you're a fan of the genre, give it a look.