La Femme Nikita
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Torchwood
*May contain Season 2 spoilers*
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1. Short Description
**For those who do not know much about La Femme Nikita. The television series was made by Warner Bros and filmed in Canada. It's dark, and it really does make the viewer think. Sometimes the ending is quite hard to pick and there is always something else going on under the surface. The series was based on Luc Besson's French film of the same name.**
Section One is part of a secret organisation that only terrorists and other secret organisations know about. Dedicated to saving the world from terrorists, but sometimes it is difficult to distinguish the difference between the good guys and the bad guys.
Humour is scarce in Section, although Walter is known to come out with some very funny one-liners.
Walter |
1. Short Description
**For those who do not know much about Torchwood. The show is a spin-off from Doctor Who and there are some cross-over episodes in both series, as well as references to Doctor Who in this comparison. The episodes can be quite dark, and the show is not as light-hearted as Doctor Who. It does contain nudity, swearing and scenes of a sexual nature so it is far more adult in nature.**
Torchwood is a secret organisation that a lot of people know about - they (including the police) think it is special ops. Dedicated to monitoring the rift in space and time, and saving the world from aliens.
It's a serious job but there is always room for humour. Some of the best one-liners have come out of the mouth of Ianto.
Ianto |
2. Recruitment
Nikita was a young woman who was living on the streets when she was sent to prison for a crime she did not commit. That was where she 'died', and that was when she was 'recruited' into Section One. Most of the main characters seem to have entered Section One in a very similar manner, apart from Birkoff who was born in Section.
Nikita's first day at work. |
2. Recruitment
Gwen Cooper was a policewoman in Cardiff and first came across Torchwood on a rainy night during a murder investigation. Gwen tracked them down and spent some time with the team but Jack gave her retcon, an amnesia pill. Sketches from the murder investigation triggered flashbacks and Gwen regained her memory when confronted by Suzie, Jack's second-in-charge. Suzie had been the murderer, and when she took her own life, Jack offered Gwen her job.
Suzie's last day, Gwen's first day. |
3.The Boss - Operations
A particularly devious and manipulative man. Operations gets what he wants, when he wants it...most of the time. He isn't above 'cancelling' operatives if they don't perform to his expectations, or if they question his motives. His favourite modus operandi is to send them out on missions that they have no chance of surviving. Operations does not like Nikita, or the emotional relationship that has formed between her and Michael, so he is always trying to get rid of her through various devious ways and means.
Operations |
3.The Boss - Jack Harkness
A charismatic bi-sexual ex con-man from the future.
Jack Harkness, Time Agent, first appeared in season 1 of the 'new' Doctor Who episodes. He then went on to become head of Torchwood 3 in Cardiff. Jack is hard and tough when he needs to be, but he comes across sometimes as quite vulnerable. People are attracted by his wit and charm. He is not afraid to let a team-member know that he isn't pleased with them, but he is also just as quick to show that he cares.
Captain Jack Harkness
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4.The Second-in-Charge - Madeline
Slightly softer at the beginning of the series, Madeline becomes more devious and manipulative as time goes on. She is fairly cold, psychologically manipulative, and likes to get into people's heads. That is what makes her a good profiler. Madeline and Operations do have a bit of a 'thing' going on here and there during the series but it appears to be more for tactical reasons than anything else. Almost everything in Section One is tactical.
Towards the end of the series, it becomes obvious that perhaps Operations did have feelings for Madeline.
Madeline
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4.The Second-in-Charge - Gwen Cooper
Compassionate, loyal, emotional. Gwen is in a relationship on the 'outside', but has a short fling with fellow team-member Owen early in the series. She is the only member of the Torchwood team to be in a long-term relationship, and marries Rhys in season 2. Gwen and Jack do have chemistry, quite a lot in fact, but nothing has happened between them so far.
Who knows what will happen in the future? We'll just have to wait and see.
*Personal Opinion*
From what I have seen so far, Gwen and Jack are really attracted to each but Gwen loves Rhys and feels safe with him. Jack can't keep his eyes off Gwen, but he does keep his hands off. Jack occupies his hands (and whatever else) with team-member/personal assistant Ianto.
Suzie
Gwen |
5.The Hero - Michael
When is a hero not a hero? When he's Michael.
He's quiet, very sexy, and very dangerous. What you see is definitely not what you get with Michael. He's very good at keeping secrets, and can change from your best friend to your worst enemy in the blink of an eye. That's what makes him so good at his job. Operations and Madeline trust him to a degree, more than they trust anybody else in Section but they could cancel him without a second thought if they feel he is a threat in any way. Unfortunately for them, Michael is quite good at counter-manipulating the manipulators. Michael's only vulnerabilities are his son, the product of a blood cover marriage to the daughter of a terrorist, and his feelings for Nikita. Michael also enjoys going commando.
Michael |
5.The Hero - Jack
Jack is the man who cannot die. He's been shot, stabbed, electrocuted, thrown off a building, and he keeps coming back. He's from somewhere in the future, and has travelled backwards and forwards through space and time. Jack is now the boss of the Torchwood branch in Cardiff, and it only took him 100 years to go from employee to employer. Unlike the London branch, Jack is a staunch supporter of the Doctor and knows him well. The London branch views the Doctor as an undesirable alien, but Jack knows him as an ally and a friend so he is not a fan of the London branch and runs Cardiff Torchwood as a separate entity. He can be stubborn as a mule, but he is loyal to the team and he cares deeply for all of them. That's what makes him so good at his job.
Jack
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6.The Heroine - Nikita
Nikita's induction into Section One is far from voluntary and she finds it difficult to cope with the demands of being an operative. She is not a killer as she tries to tell them time and time again, but she soon finds out that her life has basically become a 'kill or be killed' situation. She has no other choice and has to adjust whether she likes it or not.
There is absolutely no job security in Section and Nikita is made well aware of that early on as Operations makes it quite clear that he does not trust her and he does not approve of the growing relationship between her and Michael. At times, Michael seems to be Nikita's only lifeline but she can never be sure whether he truly feels something for her or whether he is following orders.
Operations and Madeline know that Michael is Nikita's weakness and they're quite prepared to use him to try to get to her. They see a partnership between Michael and Nikita as being a huge threat to their own positions in Section so they do whatever they can to try to keep that from happening. Nikita is compassionate, emotional, and in love with a fellow operative. This puts her in a very dangerous position.
Nikita
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6.The Heroine - Gwen
Gwen becomes quite obsessed with Torchwood from the first moment that she sees the team use some sort of glove to bring a dead man back to life. When the murder investigation and Torchwood become intertwined, policewoman Gwen is offered the job left vacant by the newly deceased Suzie.
Gwen jumps at the chance to do something different and exciting without realising just how much strain this would put on her relationship with Rhys. Life becomes a juggling act and as far as Rhys is concerned, Gwen has been promoted to special ops. The need for secrecy becomes clear to him when he inadvertently becomes involved in a case. This is a blessing as Gwen no longer has to think of plausible explanations for her late nights and long working hours.
Gwen's brief fling with team-member Owen is purely physical and a result of extreme stress as she is settling in to her new job. There is definitely something going on beneath the surface between Gwen and Jack. I hesitate to call it love, so I'll stick with deep respect and admiration for each other despite their disagreements.
Gwen is compassionate and emotional. This makes her good at her job, but also puts her in a lot of dangerous situations.
Gwen
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7.Relationships
Serious relationships between Section One operatives is a huge no-no. Relationships outside Section One are frowned upon, except when the relationship is a necessary part of a mission: Michael's marriage to Elena for example. Nikita's relationship with Gray had to end when it became clear that she was struggling to cope with both 'lives'.
Nikita and Gray
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7.Relationships
Where to begin? Gwen is the only team member to have a relationship outside Torchwood. It has been difficult to manage both, maintaining secrecy at first, but she has managed. Jack and Ianto are involved but how serious it is remains to be seen. Owen has been in love but he seems to be more the love'em and leave'em type. He has had a number of flings. Tosh is obviously in love with Owen but he keeps brushing her off.
Gwen and Rhys
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8.Vehicles
The operatives like to drive around in very conspicuous dark vans full of high-tech equipment.
The big side door is very handy when they need to grab someone and get back in quickly.
Section One Mission Van |
8.Vehicles
The Torchwood team likes to drive around in a conspicuous black van with the word 'Torchwood' engraved on it. The Torchwood van contains high-tech equipment in the back that folds out when needed.
Torchwood Van
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9.Technology
Section One makes very good use of technology. There are computers all over the place. The operatives are equipped with tracking devices, small explosive devices that look like stick-on air-freshers, spectacles with built-in cameras, and undetectable comm. devices. The briefing room has a very handy pop-up holographic type screen for viewing the profiles of terrorists. The white room chair has been used extensively for interrogations, and comes with various attachments like straps to hold them in and electrodes to attach to their heads and various other parts.
Birkoff is the IT expert, Walter handles munitions, Madeline and the torture twins handle the white room and the white room chair.
Birkoff and Michael
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9.Technology
Computers, tracking devices, mobile phones. There is some use of alien technology but that is frowned upon by Jack as it can sometimes do more harm than good. The team also makes use of the traffic cam networks and security cams. Not quite as high-tech as La Femme Nikita but they manage very well with what they have. There's no white room in the Hub but they do have cells to house the bad guys/aliens. There is a very fancy lift which is basically a slab of concrete pavement that goes up and down to take them in and out of the Hub. Masking technology is used to keep them invisible to the outside world until they actually step off the slab.
Tosh is the IT whiz, Jack keeps an eye on the alien technology.
Tosh
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10.Retirement
Section One operatives don't retire. They don't have very many options, when their time is up it's up. A lot of operatives are killed in action. Operatives who are psychologically unstable or don't perform as they should become abeyance operatives. Next step - cancellation. Cancellation can occur in Section, most likely during a visit from Madeline or the torture twins or during a suicide mission.
Older operatives who have performed well and who are not listed for cancellation go to The Farm. The Farm is a mysterious place, and nobody knows what it is like until they get there. It mustn't be too bad because Walter is pretty cranky about being recalled to Section by Nikita in the late stages of the series.
Section Retirement
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10.Retirement
No retirement plan for Torchwood. Most Torchwood employees appear to be killed on duty. Then they get frozen and stored in the morgue with past employees.
Jack has died and come back to life in almost every episode. He has been through the whole 'freeze and store' process at least once.
Two team members are lost in Season 2. Unfortunately, they do not have Jack's special talent.
Torchwood Retirement
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