"Painkiller Jane" - 4/20/07 [Text View]

dswallow

04-23-2007, 01:46 PM

I can't say the stories are worthy of critical acclaim, but then this is the SciFi channel, and for the most part that's par for the course. But the show has a decent premise and is interesting and enjoyable. The characters are developing. And there's still a lot of mystery surrounding everything. All in all, it's something I will continue watching.

With regards to this particular episode... I like it better than if there'd been some nefarious scheme afoot. In the world of weird, not everything is a conspiracy against society. In that sense, I think they did a very good job with the story.

Shakhari

04-23-2007, 01:46 PM

Did you watch this episode?

Yes. It sucked just like the pilot.

amallon

04-23-2007, 04:18 PM

I made it through the pilot and 30 mintutes of the second episode before deleting the SP in disgust. The writing and acting are total garbage.

zordude

04-23-2007, 07:00 PM

I don't mind it. It's a throwaway scifi show. I prefer it to having nothing to watch.

Z

FilmCritic3000

04-23-2007, 07:46 PM

I don't mind it. It's a throwaway scifi show. I prefer it to having nothing to watch.

Z

It's very, very popcorn, there's no doubt about it. I read an interview in which the producers were planning long story arcs for each season; the suits at SCI FI told them they wanted all stand-alone episodes. The budget constraints and Romanian locations do show. I'll stick with it for the time being. I don't have a Season Pass set.

ElJay

04-23-2007, 08:06 PM

The writing is too campy. Even a great actress couldn't make that narration convincing.

I might give the show one more chance.

By the way, what's with the brief shots in 2.39:1 aspect ratio? I thought it was a weird production error the first time I noticed them, but then they showed up again in a totally different scene. Is that to tell us the "powers" are in effect?

dswallow

04-23-2007, 08:19 PM

It's very, very popcorn, there's no doubt about it. I read an interview in which the producers were planning long story arcs for each season; the suits at SCI FI told them they wanted all stand-alone episodes. The budget constraints and Romanian locations do show. I'll stick with it for the time being. I don't have a Season Pass set.
http://www.comics2film.com/ProjectFrame.php?f_id=340

QUESTION: I know the series has been touted as having standalone episodes, but with a larger story arc, which I take it starts to pay off at the end of the season?

LOKEN: Yes, they're stand alone episodes. You wouldn't have to have seen episode 2 to be clued into episode 13, however there are definite overall story arc with characters and character relationships and bread crumbs of why I am the way I am. A couple steps forward, a couple steps back. There are going to be interesting things that happen to just pop up for certain reasons and we don't know why at the time, but we'll find out later. Some characters return. That sort of thing. So yeah there will definitely be an overall story line, but like I said, it's not necessary to have seen all of them to understand episode 13 or 15 or whatever.

FilmCritic3000

04-23-2007, 08:28 PM

crunch3k

04-24-2007, 11:34 AM

Barely made it through the pilot ep, so haven't been in a hurry to see ep2. I kind of felt the same way about Dresden at first and really started to like it near the end...Hoping PKJ will be the same way.

TAsunder

04-24-2007, 12:20 PM

I liked dresden from the first episode, and this show is really painful to watch. Might be the first show I actually delete after 3 episodes.

Rob Helmerichs

04-24-2007, 12:21 PM

I kind of felt the same way about Dresden at first and really started to like it near the end...Hoping PKJ will be the same way.
I...kinda doubt it.

Dresden is great stuff.

Painkiller Jane is watchable.

Barely.

Sirius Black

04-24-2007, 01:12 PM

I wish I could say otherwise, but I've not been able to make it from beginning to end on either the premiere or the episode after that. There is something wrong about that because Painkiller Supermodel isn't bad to look at. You'd think that would be enough.

allan

04-24-2007, 01:50 PM

I've concluded from the comments here, and from the Pilot, that the title means the VIEWER needs a painkiller to watch it. :)

TAsunder

04-24-2007, 02:03 PM

I've concluded from the comments here, and from the Pilot, that the title means the VIEWER needs a painkiller to watch it. :)

Didn't help, trust me.

thurston608

04-24-2007, 02:07 PM

i think you guys are being kind of harsh. i have been enjoying it so far. loken is smoking. cool sci fi show....i think you gotta give it some more time to develop. it's still new.

JimSpence

04-24-2007, 02:19 PM

I have an SP for this, but it isn't a show I watch right away. I just watched this episode last night. With many of the other shows still in repeats or have ended the season, I'll keep this around just to watch.

I think the show title is all wrong. Jane can still feel pain, she just heals quickly like the other hottie in another show. :)

zordude

04-24-2007, 04:58 PM

I think the show title is all wrong. Jane can still feel pain, she just heals quickly like the other hottie in another show. :)

Well it's not "Nopain Jane" it "Painkiller jane" which I still think is reasonable acurate. It means she has pain, but she makes it go away.

Also, if you want to make a comparison to Heroes then really the Heroes girl is "like" Jane, since Painkiller jane came out in 1995.

Wolverine has them all beat though :)

Z

thurston608

04-25-2007, 11:24 AM

well i think in general there is a lot of crossover in comics. in fact with any writing/movie/tv, you can find similarities within certain genres. i can be a fan of heroes and xmen and also dig painkiller jane. it is unique in it's own way. i really think it has a lot of potential.

Sirius Black

04-25-2007, 11:44 AM

Wolverine has them all beat though :)

Z

Only in the category of "who received their ability first". of course.

danterner

04-25-2007, 11:44 AM

The show is not going to win any awards, but I haven't deleted my SP just yet.

I found the acting of the person that plays Jane's neighbor to be horrible: her delivery really took me out of the moment.

There's one scene where Jane is walking down the street and there are a few people (maybe it was just one?) wearing gas masks. I liked that - a nice touch that implies yet-to-be-discussed world differences. Why the mask? Personal drug delivery system? Some environmental issue? Who knows. Probably it will never be explained, but it was still interesting to see.

Really hope this is not just going to be a freak-of-the-week show.

Church AV Guy

04-25-2007, 01:10 PM

This show seems like so many others that have been out recently, and not so recently. Ones that have been done better--at least so far. I still have the SP, but I'm not too optimistic. The genetic-mutant monster of the week thing has been done to death. From Heroes to Mutant-X, it has been done. I really hope it gets developed into something different soon.

Sirius Black

04-25-2007, 01:41 PM

The genetic-mutant monster of the week thing has been done to death. From Heroes to Mutant-X, it has been done.

Heroes hasn't had "Monster of the Week" disease at all from what I can remember. In fact, of all the shows that are serialized, Heroes is the most serialized of them all. Keep in mind that Law and Order has been going strong for 20 something years with the Case of the Week (a little brother to the Monster of the Week) and it seems to do just fine. I think in the case of this show, the acting and over all story (whatever that ends up being) will be what decides its fate.

Church AV Guy

04-25-2007, 02:23 PM

Okay, I was thinking more of the genetic mutant thing rather then the monster of the week thing about Heroes. Every mutation is different, resulting in a unique, but very useful characteristic or feature.

I agree with you that it's the acting and show's framework that will decides its fate.
I am hoping that the framework mutates into something a little more unique than what we have seen so far.

retrodog

04-25-2007, 06:46 PM

I keep forgetting to watch this show. Maybe it's a subconscious thing. ;)

thurston608

04-25-2007, 07:31 PM

nah retodog. it is solid. you should really try to check it out.

Fl_Gulfer

04-25-2007, 07:35 PM

It's something to watch since Dresden and BSG is off.

astrohip

04-29-2007, 02:51 PM

Just deleted the SP. I made it thru the first two episodes, hoping it would get better. But about halfway thru the latest, I just gave up. Deleted the episode & SP. TV watching has to be fun for me, and this show wasn't. It's hard to say why exactly, it just didn't click. And it was so d*mn dark. Visually, that is. I don't know if that was the future look they were going for, or some kinda SF thing or what, but the visual style turned me off. And the characters never gelled (sp?) properly. No flow between them.

I tried :(

super dave

04-29-2007, 03:37 PM

I watched the last one and deleted it and the SP, had enough, just can't take anymore. The stories were just beyond awful, and yes it is dark, hard to see and just didn't go anywhere.

atrac

04-29-2007, 06:49 PM

Honestly, Kristanna Loken is so beautiful that they could have a series with her doing nothing but watering grass and I'd be interested.

Mars Rocket

04-29-2007, 07:49 PM

I stopped watching early in the third episode when they started the computer techno-babble. The writing is poor so they try to fill the gaps with nonsense - it reminded me of one of the Mission: Impossible movies where they're talking about how high-tech some laptop is. They seem to forget that a large part of the audience is computer literate, so they just come off sounding ridiculous. Also, the main character keeps yammering on about how broken and messed up she is psychologically, but she exhibits no symptoms of being anything other than a bored upper-middle-class pretty girl.

Anyway, that was just the straw that broke the camel's back. The camel had been heavily overloaded by bad dialog, one-dimensional characters, and a stupid plot basis (did they really need to invent Neuros to find a villain to write against?), so I stopped watching before it made me lose any more of my own neurons, and canceled the SP.

It makes me long for Cleopatra 2525. At least it had more than one pretty girl to look at.

mick66

04-29-2007, 11:53 PM

Keep in mind that Law and Order has been going strong for 20 something years with the Case of the Week

20 something years? I don't think so.

dswallow

04-30-2007, 12:11 AM

20 something years? I don't think so.
Law & Order, 17 years
Law & Order: Criminal Intent, 6 years
Law & Order: Special Victims Unit, 8 years
Law & Order: Trial by Jury, 1 year

Technically, you might call it 32 years of Law & Order.

astrohip

04-30-2007, 12:04 PM

I stopped watching early in the third episode when they started the computer techno-babble.
+1. That's exactly where I said "Nuff", and deleted the episode & the SP. It was painful to listen to, and as I mentioned a few posts earlier, above all else TV must be entertaining.

Honestly, Kristanna Loken is so beautiful that they could have a series with her doing nothing but watering grass and I'd be interested.
I'm a healthy, 51 yr old hetero, but not even KL can keep me watching this. And it was filmed so darkly that half the time I couldn't even figure out who's who. Try watching a show like Ugly Betty, a beautifully filmed HD show, with cleavage & legs coming out the kazoo. That turns a funny but average telenovela into "must see TV" ;)

thurston608

04-30-2007, 04:01 PM

i still think you guys are being a bit harsh. loken does look amazing in this, but beyond that it is a cool scifi concept and i am enjoying it thus far. i can see it getting better as they have more time to develop the plot and characters.

Bai Shen

04-30-2007, 04:07 PM

I was talking to one of the local comic shop owners about this recently. He said that the comic creators hated the movie, and the only reason they did the series is because they had full control.

Haven't seen either yet, so I dunno what to make of it.

dswallow

04-30-2007, 04:08 PM

Bai Shen

04-30-2007, 04:30 PM

There was a movie?

Yeah, the one Sci-Fi did last year.

Mars Rocket

04-30-2007, 05:21 PM

It's ironic they said that, because (as I've said before) I actually think the movie was better than the series. It may not have been true to the comic, but at least it wasn't written as stupidly.

ZeoTiVo

04-30-2007, 06:10 PM

Also, the main character keeps yammering on about how broken and messed up she is psychologically, but she exhibits no symptoms of being anything other than a bored upper-middle-class pretty girl.

Anyway, that was just the straw that broke the camel's back. The camel had been heavily overloaded by bad dialog, one-dimensional characters, and a stupid plot basis (did they really need to invent Neuros to find a villain to write against?), so I stopped watching before it made me lose any more of my own neurons, and canceled the SP.

It makes me long for Cleopatra 2525. At least it had more than one pretty girl to look at.
well she has a special ability and is involved in a group that can not even disclose itself to the Presidential security detail. That kind of distorts your view of what makes you happy, while not totally making you a sociopath either. Plenty of people go around with that voice in their head - nice to see it being used in such a laid back approach.

I liked that it was just a kid playing with toy soldiers, that was refreshing for once in this world of people suddenly acquiring some awesome power. Some people are not going to use it for world domination o save the world heroics - just wanna have some fun.,

but then yes Cleopatra 2525 - perfect analogy. Goofy set up, obvious popcorn campiness - not going to attract the best writers but it is just a fun show to watch just for the fun of it. Main reason I put in a big enough hard drive to not have to worry about space constraints :)

Rob Helmerichs

04-30-2007, 06:59 PM

It should be interesting to see what happens when Jimmy Palmiotti, one of the guys who co-created the comic book, writes an episode of the series ("Legion," 1x12)...

thurston608

05-01-2007, 06:22 PM

It should be interesting to see what happens when Jimmy Palmiotti, one of the guys who co-created the comic book, writes an episode of the series ("Legion," 1x12)...

yea, that should be great. i like how this series is so faithful to the original comic and with the one of the creators of the comic writing an episode i look forward to seeing how he adapts it to tv when he gets the chance to actually write it.