And I can hear you now. La Femme Nikita? What’s that doing so high on the list?
Well, it started with Alias (2001-2006), one of the earliest shows I reviewed. I loved that show and was very much into it, writing reviews as the episodes aired, when one of my readers wrote to me and said, if you like Alias, you’ll love La Femme Nikita. She was right.
Alias and La Femme Nikita are both dark, twisty spy dramas with a stunning female lead (Jennifer Garner, Peta Wilson). The big difference was that Alias was big network Los Angeles, and LFN was a low budget cable show filmed in Toronto for the USA Network. Also, LFN aired first (1997-2001), and it was more than obvious that Alias took notes, considering the similar characters and plotlines.
In 2006, I wrote a web magazine article entitled “Alias versus La Femme Nikita.” The web magazine is gone, but the article is still here on my site, and it pretty much says it all.
One major asset that LFN had, and Alias did not, was Roy Dupuis as a leading man. The producers of LFN went on to create 24, a show with many callbacks to LFN. There were rumors that they had initially intended 24 as an LFN spin off for Dupuis’ character Michael. I’m a huge fan of Dupuis’ work and as much as I like Kiefer Sutherland, I would have loved to see Dupuis in another long-running American series. However, I completely understand why he chose to remain in Canada and work in his own language.
A reminder here that this Top Twenty is all about the pageview numbers here on Doux Reviews. The reason why LFN is so high on the list and Alias isn't on it at all (almost made it, not quite) is the deep, abiding passion LFN fans have for their show, plus the fact that there are so few LFN sites remaining out there on the web to compete with me. Doux Reviews gets LFN hits pretty much every day, and it has for years.
Thank you, La Femme Nikita fans. I love you guys.
---
Billie Doux loves good television and spends way too much time writing about it.
I see this is available on the Roku Channel and Tubi. I'll have to check it out. I was hooked on the CW redo Nikita.
ReplyDeleteWow!! I was thinking about LFN before, but thought...it could never be top 4! It was a cult show, but not many people know about it now.
ReplyDeleteI remember though that the reviews Billie did on this show were excellent (well, all her reviews are) and even though I was a fan of the show at the time, I didn't follow it completely. Billie's reviews made me watch ALL of La Femme Nikita.
Congratulations Billie! I think this #4 spot really belongs to you.
Percysowner, I couldn't get into the new and rebooted Nikita, and I tried. There's something about the original La Femme Nikita that just spoke to me. Everyone's mileage varies, doesn't it?
ReplyDeleteTJ, my reviews made you watch all of La Femme Nikita? That just makes me feel so good. Thank you for that. :)
This is a show I watched back then... BECAUSE of this site actually! You were praising so much, I had to know what it was. Just loved it. And I never bothered to try Alias...
ReplyDeleteKayne really? If you have seen LFN you really need to check out Alias. I mean...really.
DeleteYeah, Billie's reviews of La Femme Nikita was such an important part of my TV viewing back then. And I am sure a lot of people found the show the same way.
Kayne, I did like Alias one heck of a lot, although it wasn't my favorite. Victor Garber was particularly terrific as SpyDad.
DeleteOoh, adding this one to the watchlist! I was a big fan of "Alias", and a more casual fan of "Nikita". (I even loved "Point of No Return".) I wasn't aware that there was an earlier series, so I'll have to check it out!
ReplyDeleteMothra, I think for a lot of people, LFN flew under the radar. Alias had a much bigger audience.
DeleteLooking for La Femme Nikita reviews online lead me to discover this great site.
ReplyDeleteI actually binged the Nikita remake's first two seasons back when that show was running and liked it so I then went and watched all of the original series and it blew me away with it's atmosphere and performances ; as well as it's tone and black and grey morality.
I've watched La Femme Nikita many times now and my love for the show has not diminished. I listen to the show's soundtrack and hearing its great music makes me want to watch the show all over again.
Highest possible recommendation for this show and Billie's great analysis.
Peter, that was lovely. Thank you so much.
DeleteThis IS a shocker. I remember this one, but I always feel like the only person who knew it existed.
ReplyDeleteI've never tried this, and I think I've put if off because I'm worried I won't love it the way everyone else does.
ReplyDeleteI was searching for LFN fansite for me to hang out, because I love this show deeply, and my search brought me here, I's so happy to have found your reviews @Billie, I can feel the love and passion for this show in all your reviews, and that's why I 'm here and decided to leave a comment, thank you for giving your own take on every episode, LFN it is and will be for me one of a kind type of show where everything was like a symphony, cast, crew, music, graphics, wardrobe, soundtracks, locations (even if fictional) it was all very thought out and perfection and why we still here after so many years.
ReplyDeletePersonally I could never watch another Nikita because for me Peta is Nikita and Roy is Michael, the chemistry was off the charts, every time they would look at each other they make love with their eyes, hot and sexy as hell and the show was great in terms of action and beauty, scenery, I loved the section sci fi type of set up.
I truly wish Roy had gone ahead and made 24, I know for sure they offered him a role on 24 @Billie, what I don't know if that was the lead character, but Joel Surnow did ask him. They did love him, JS mentioned on The Making of LFN that the first two episode nobody got the way Roy was feeling and acting as Michael, they said he moved too slow, his accent was off, but by the third episode they realized how right his way to portray Michael came through. Roy Dupuis is one of a kind, very few actors have a heart to go the distance to portray characters like he does and we see them differently, indeed there is a scene in Season e Third Party Ripoff when Michael said that "what is important to him is doing a job the best way he can" and I think this is very true about Roy Dupuis in real life. I truly regret the fact that he did not work more on these type of genre, or Last Chapter type of shows to enjoy more of his work in English language, I have selfishly missed him very much over the years, but I'm glad he has done the things he loves the most and be where he wished to be. Love you Roy. Just watched Brain Freeze he looks good for his age and he dubs his own voice for the English market, so hopefully he is gonna make more work for both markets
for us fans to enjoy.
As for Peta I have watched recently the Australian Tv series Troppo she is has a small part next to Thomas James and she looks great, very happy for her, hopefully they will return and she will be back too for a second season. Crossfingers🤞
@Larkin
DeleteYour comments are right on point! I feel the same way about the show, Roy and Peta! Best wishes to them now and thanks for the wonderful moments they gave us in LFN.
Billie thank you for the amazing site and opportunity for LFN fans to connect and share.
Larkin and Anonymous, thank you both so much. LFN is definitely special to a lot of us.
Delete