Imagine my surprise when I checked out the video aisle at Sam’s Club the other day and found amid the box sets of Bonanza, Wagon Train, and Saved By the Bell the complete run of La Femme Nikta. AMAZON wants $165.99 (list price $409.98) for the complete series. Sam’s Club is asking a mere $15.88 per season. So, for around $80 I’m now the proud owner of 27 DVDs of this cool spy series. Action, explosions, gunplay, and spies who look like super-models. How can you resist?
I can. Resist, that is. You have to draw a line somewhere.
I couldn’t resist, Jeff. Plus the economy needs more stimulation.
Seen the new series on the CW? Based on only one episode, I liked it at least as much as this one.
I like Maggie Q in the latest incarnation of NIKITA, Evan. But this Canadian series has its attractions.
Wow, 27 DVDs. Where will you find the time to watch them? This isn’t a series I saw, but my DVD purchasing has pretty much stopped. We barely watch the ones that come from Netflix, let alone the ones we own but haven’t watched. That’s a great price, though. You’re one hell of a shopper.
It was dumb luck that I was in Sam’s Club when I found these LA FEMME NIKTA sets, Rick. I was driving around running a bunch of errands and, as so frequently happens at this age, I needed to find a Men’s Room. Sam’s Club was close so I stopped there. Then, I wandered around and found this bargain. Totally unexpected!
I saw the first episode of the new one and based only on the very last scene, would I come back. That was the only thing that made it different from a million other shows.
I’m watching the current version of NIKITA on the CW, Patti. You would think that with NIKTA’s production values, it would be on CBS, NBC, ABC, or FOX instead of a fringe network.
Harder than it used to be to tell the difference. A few well-mounted shows can keep you going, I guess.
You used to be able to tell a low-budget cable show because of the cheap sets and crude special effects, Patti. But NIKITA looks professional in the scenery department and has nice explosions, too.
George, sorry about the Bills game yesterday.
Most Bills fans have abandoned the team, Drongo. After 10 years of losing teams, the best outcome now is for the Bills to go 1-15 and draft a Real Quarterback, something they haven’t had since Jim Kelly retired.
The Niners seem to have the same problems.
And the Cowboys and a few other NFL teams, Rick. The League wants a level playing field: no super teams, no dynasties, no fun.
I’m on my way! Great price!
Great price is right, Paul! The LA FEMME NIKTA sets might also be available on the Sam’s Club web site. I haven’t checked.
The CW isn’t Too much more fringy than the other commercial nets…it just doesn’t try as hard. I see that MyNetworkTV is willing to put up the scratch to offer BURN NOTICE on broadcast…wonder how many other cable series it’ll snatch up, and will they do business for MNT, which is certainly a lot fringier than CW or even Ion on a good week.
Oh…you’re under the impression the CW is a cable channel? Nope, it’s a broadcast network. Though I don’t think cable and satellite have started losing too many customers yet, even with the advent of the various little broadcast nets, such as Retro TV and This TV (both of those concentrating on older material, as you might guess from the former’s name, at least) joining with their elder competitors (from MNT on back).
Thanks for correcting my misimpression that the CW was a cable channel, Todd. More and more of my students only watch programs like NIKTA on the Internet. They don’t watch TV anymore.
The CW was formed several years ago when CBS/Paramount’s UPN and Time Warner’s the WB were merged (a C from CBS and a W from WB), which left a number of stations without a network for a few days, until the Murdoch folks, who owned a lot of unnetworked stations, decided to launch MNT…a rather underperforming entity, but, again, we’ll see if BURN NOTICE will do something interesting for them. (MNT began its existence with two American telemovelas in English, one slightly more interesting than the other, but that experiment quickly died…their biggest hit at the moment is wrasslin’).
I gave up BURN NOTICE after the second season, Todd. The story arc seemed to be going nowhere. And I disliked the mother and the brother. Intensely. I enjoyed the cast and maybe I’ll try BURN NOTICE again if someone (like you) gives it a good review in its next incarnation on MNT.
Oh, I suspect it’ll be repeats of the USA channel episodes…and I was annyoed, as well, by how little and poorly they wrote for Shannon Gless’s character (the brother was rather a nonentity, by me). But I was able to let a season or so to get by me, despite finding the series usually pleasant…if I see an uptick, I will definitely let you know.
I think you’re referring to Sharon Gless as the mother, Todd. I found her character annoying. I have no problem with Gless, herself. The brother spoiled every episode he was in.