I've been re-watching one of my favourite TV shows, La Femme Nikita, lately. Watching it again, getting caught up in the greatest love story ever told and the unscrupulous actions of the "Section" has made me feel good; like listening to a good song or reading a good book.
I love the series because it doesn't conform to typical "spy-noir" genre conventions. Even though Section is an anti-terrorist organisation, they are above all other agencies like Interpol and the CIA and are able to work autonomously. This means they can pretty much make up their own rules and do whatever they want to their operatives. I love this take on it. These aren't muscle-bound buffoons (to borrow a phrase from Skeletor), they are intelligent criminals themselves (except Nikita, but you'd have to watch it to get it) all plucked from obscurity to serve Section.
There are so many things I love about this show. I think the writing is brilliant and the acting, at times questionable, is subtle. For example, Michael is brilliantly played by Roy Dupuis who manages to convey his inner most feelings, not with words, but with expressions and gestures. It's very clever. I'm curious to watch some of his movies, but I don't want to see him be anyone else. I want him to stay Michael forever.
Peta Wilson's (Nikita) acting leaves a lot to be desired, but she got better as the series progressed. When I first watched the show years ago, I used to cringe at some of the outfits they put her in, but now I think her outfits added to the show's quirkiness. It separates LFN from other spy shows - and it doesn't hurt that she's gorgeous to look at.
I hate love stories most of the time, but this one was so well done and out of the ordinary it's hard not to get caught up in it.
It's obvious from the start there's an attraction between Michael and Nikita and they play around with this a lot in the first season. It's not for a few episodes that anything happens between them, but when it does, it's electric. (I know, I cringed when I wrote that, too.) Michael and Nikita are undercover, posing as a couple to fool some guy who created some weird gas that kills people. They're guests at his house and he has some interesting perversions and wants Michael to watch as he screws Nikita. Micheal says no, but offers to let him watch while he and Nikita get it on.
So they go off to a room where there's a camera and it's all awkward, but as Nikita is instructed to dance for Micheal, Micheal sits out of camera range and lets loose a bomb, watching Nikita all the while. They get it on while they wait for the bomb to go off, Micheal says, "get ready" - a very loaded phrase - right before the explosion. It was hot that they had to get it on just to survive.
Then there was the time Nikita was captured and to bring her safely back into Section, Micheal had to beat her up to make it look like she was tortured otherwise Section would kill her. This scene was a testament to Roy Dupuis' phenomenal acting. His face showed how difficult it was for him to beat her up, but he didn't say anything. I found the whole thing incredibly romantic. Forget this flower and chocolate bullshit.
Another thing I loved about this show was all the unanswered questions. As infuriating as they are, it's a clever tactic on the writers' part to keep the viewer wondering and thinking until the next episode.
I also love the "world within a world" concept and all the "what ifs" it inspires.
Section was a law unto itself and its people weren't allowed to function within the "real world". The show explored the "what if" of having a relationship with someone outside Section, needless to say it didn't work, and the "what if" someone on the outside got a little too close to discovering the truth about Section.
I like True Blood for the same reason. How it functions in contemporary society but with a bunch of vampires and other "supes" skulking around. I love how they try and fight for vmpires to have equal rights, just like we do.
What ifs are awesome and I love spending time thinking about them.
What if we were able to bring the dead back to life? (not as vampires.) Would the population numbers be out of control? What would the criteria of being brought back to life be? Who would decide who stays dead? The opposite of euthanasia.
It makes me think about people who have themselves cryogenically frozen. I love the idea of going to sleep to be awoken in some distant future. What would things be like then? Will they ever be able to wake these frozen people up? But what happens to the soul? Does it get frozen, too? How can it if they're frozen after they die? If the soul is gone and they're unfrozen, does another soul jump right in or are they soulless zombie-people? I've blogged about this before, but it still has me thinking.
Do we even have souls?
I am doing an assignment at the moment that explores the "what if" of the world being a matriarchal society rather than a patriarchal one. Women can be cruel and ruthless, but would they be war-mongers? I am pretty sure motherhood and babies would be a celebrated role, moreso than status and power... but then again... How would women keep men in line? Would they still occupy the same traditional gender roles?
There was a thing going around a few weeks ago saying something like "what if deja vu is us dying and being respawnd like in a video game". That blew my mind, man.
Anyway, La Femme Nikita is awesome and I'm going to be sad when I finish it.
I love the series because it doesn't conform to typical "spy-noir" genre conventions. Even though Section is an anti-terrorist organisation, they are above all other agencies like Interpol and the CIA and are able to work autonomously. This means they can pretty much make up their own rules and do whatever they want to their operatives. I love this take on it. These aren't muscle-bound buffoons (to borrow a phrase from Skeletor), they are intelligent criminals themselves (except Nikita, but you'd have to watch it to get it) all plucked from obscurity to serve Section.
There are so many things I love about this show. I think the writing is brilliant and the acting, at times questionable, is subtle. For example, Michael is brilliantly played by Roy Dupuis who manages to convey his inner most feelings, not with words, but with expressions and gestures. It's very clever. I'm curious to watch some of his movies, but I don't want to see him be anyone else. I want him to stay Michael forever.
Peta Wilson's (Nikita) acting leaves a lot to be desired, but she got better as the series progressed. When I first watched the show years ago, I used to cringe at some of the outfits they put her in, but now I think her outfits added to the show's quirkiness. It separates LFN from other spy shows - and it doesn't hurt that she's gorgeous to look at.
I hate love stories most of the time, but this one was so well done and out of the ordinary it's hard not to get caught up in it.
It's obvious from the start there's an attraction between Michael and Nikita and they play around with this a lot in the first season. It's not for a few episodes that anything happens between them, but when it does, it's electric. (I know, I cringed when I wrote that, too.) Michael and Nikita are undercover, posing as a couple to fool some guy who created some weird gas that kills people. They're guests at his house and he has some interesting perversions and wants Michael to watch as he screws Nikita. Micheal says no, but offers to let him watch while he and Nikita get it on.
So they go off to a room where there's a camera and it's all awkward, but as Nikita is instructed to dance for Micheal, Micheal sits out of camera range and lets loose a bomb, watching Nikita all the while. They get it on while they wait for the bomb to go off, Micheal says, "get ready" - a very loaded phrase - right before the explosion. It was hot that they had to get it on just to survive.
Then there was the time Nikita was captured and to bring her safely back into Section, Micheal had to beat her up to make it look like she was tortured otherwise Section would kill her. This scene was a testament to Roy Dupuis' phenomenal acting. His face showed how difficult it was for him to beat her up, but he didn't say anything. I found the whole thing incredibly romantic. Forget this flower and chocolate bullshit.
Another thing I loved about this show was all the unanswered questions. As infuriating as they are, it's a clever tactic on the writers' part to keep the viewer wondering and thinking until the next episode.
I also love the "world within a world" concept and all the "what ifs" it inspires.
Section was a law unto itself and its people weren't allowed to function within the "real world". The show explored the "what if" of having a relationship with someone outside Section, needless to say it didn't work, and the "what if" someone on the outside got a little too close to discovering the truth about Section.
I like True Blood for the same reason. How it functions in contemporary society but with a bunch of vampires and other "supes" skulking around. I love how they try and fight for vmpires to have equal rights, just like we do.
What ifs are awesome and I love spending time thinking about them.
What if we were able to bring the dead back to life? (not as vampires.) Would the population numbers be out of control? What would the criteria of being brought back to life be? Who would decide who stays dead? The opposite of euthanasia.
It makes me think about people who have themselves cryogenically frozen. I love the idea of going to sleep to be awoken in some distant future. What would things be like then? Will they ever be able to wake these frozen people up? But what happens to the soul? Does it get frozen, too? How can it if they're frozen after they die? If the soul is gone and they're unfrozen, does another soul jump right in or are they soulless zombie-people? I've blogged about this before, but it still has me thinking.
Do we even have souls?
I am doing an assignment at the moment that explores the "what if" of the world being a matriarchal society rather than a patriarchal one. Women can be cruel and ruthless, but would they be war-mongers? I am pretty sure motherhood and babies would be a celebrated role, moreso than status and power... but then again... How would women keep men in line? Would they still occupy the same traditional gender roles?
There was a thing going around a few weeks ago saying something like "what if deja vu is us dying and being respawnd like in a video game". That blew my mind, man.
Anyway, La Femme Nikita is awesome and I'm going to be sad when I finish it.
