fredd12
I'm re-watching this in 2018, and I like it even better the second time around. Be warned, this is not a binge-able serial; at least not at the beginning: it's standalone episodes plus an arc with plenty of repetition and reminders. The second episode concerns raising the dead, and thereby throws the pure fantasy premise to the wind, positively setting the comic book/action/superhero tone. Consequently much silliness can be forgiven: their headquarters is in an abandoned subway station, and one of the crack Fed team is a retired subway Engineer. What? I do though love Riley's wall of computers and terminals, this being the first time I'd seen anything like that in 2007. The personal drama is kept to a minimum; the plot of the episodes is driven by the premise of the weeks's case. The wrap-up in the last few episodes seems hurried, as if the writers planned another season initially. It does get easier to binge as the arc picks up,I even see why it got cancelled, It wasn't exactly ahead of is time. I suspect that many folks in 2007 were beginning to expect more drama, more serial. I love that trend myself, but so what? This is old school TV set in the 90s future. Everyone has cellphones; people on the street have cameras in their cellphones, but the team members, who are in nearly constant touch with access to impossible technology, don't actually carry cameras, just flip phones. Flip phones were cool. I actually find it refreshing, that there's no talk of the Iraq War and no military presence, unlike say the move Painkiller Jane. This is not historical fiction, but rather timeless fun.With all those caveats, as far as comic book/action/superhero shows go, this is the best! Kristanna Loken is a big, strong, very tall and beautiful woman, perfectly cast as a hard-as-nails DEA agent-PLUS. She kicks ass in the fight scenes (when she's not getting shot - she does get shot a lot). All the babes in fact look like they work out, even the bimbos. The score by John Sereda is superlative and sets the mood very well. Fights, guns, beautiful women, intense score, crazy sci-fi premises: love it!
balkaster
Unlike another user who said the pilot was bad but the series "just keeps getting better", I found the pilot to be pretty good for a Scifi Channel pilot, but the series failed to build upon that base and instead churned out the same formula week after week. The multi-episode arc involving Jane's investigation of the source of her abilities was introduced about three episodes too late and was really the only thing that could have saved this. But by that point in the run, people had already given up on the show. And you have to admit that, following on the heels of the success of Heroes -- which also features a hot blonde with amazing healing ability -- PKJ really needed to hit the ground running, rather than stumbling and jogging in place. A competent show with interesting locations, decent acting, but only average scripts and thin characters, it really didn't have much of a chance.
chrichtonsworld
After a very good and exciting pilot episode this series took a very deep dive! I don't know what happened but the pilot episode somehow doesn't connect with the later episodes I have seen! The fact that Painkiller Jane can heal quickly and even recover from death is an interesting subject! But to my regret this ability isn't used to my satisfaction! I haven't read the comics but surely the comics have more interesting stories than the ones they have shown! From what I have read on wikipedia Painkiller Jane (from the comics) is a skilled fighter,master of undefined martial arts and a master marksman! Combined with her special ability she is virtually indestructible! Apart from the pilot episode nothing of this is shown! In the show Painkiller Jane is more of an detective solving crimes! Another detective show,give me a break! The show is so boring that it becomes unbearable to watch! Kristina Loken is a beautiful woman and certainly is an important reason to watch the show! But that isn't enough to keep me interested! If the stories would be more exciting and if she would use her special ability more than for me it would be more interesting to watch the show!
Liberty Pratt
It's become a habit at this point for SciFi Channel to produce awful shows.Even with the great Eureka making the sole exception, one at this point equated SciFi Series with poor film-making and acting.Painkiller Jane does not disappoint those low expectations.Kristana Loken is the best actress of a group of actors that must have been cast from Amateur Hour at the local theater, which is to say that she rises to the level of being merely inadequate and uninspired.Worse, the "filmmaking" is up (or is it down) to SciFi's exceedingly low standards set by the awful Battlestar Galacitica (aka Shakystar Crapotica for those in the know). The camera just shakes meaninglessly for an hour in what apparently passes for direction with SciFi Channel executives.The photography is really awful and not something you'd want to see again.Overall, another must-miss for a channel that is has been wasting precious resources in badly-made shows nobody wants to see for the past few years.Very sad.
