Painkiller Jane (TV series)
Painkiller Jane is an American-Canadian science fiction and action television series based on the comic book character of the same name. Airing on the Sci Fi Channel in the US starting April 13, 2007 and Global in Canada, it starred Kristanna Loken as the title character. On August 15, 2007, it was canceled after one season of 22 episodes.[1][2]
| Painkiller Jane | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Based on | Painkiller Jane by Jimmy Palmiotti Joe Quesada |
| Developed by | Gil Grant |
| Starring | Kristanna Loken Alaina Huffman Rob Stewart Stephen Lobo Noah Danby Melanie Papalia Sean Owen Roberts Nathaniel Deveaux |
| Composers | John Sereda Mike Thomas |
| Country of origin | Canada United States |
| No. of episodes | 22 (list of episodes) |
| Production | |
| Running time | 44 minutes |
| Release | |
| Original network | Global (Canada) Sci Fi Channel (USA) |
| Original release | April 13 – September 21, 2007 |
| External links | |
| Website | |
Plot
The series stars Loken as Jane Vasco.[3] She begins as a DEA agent, where in the course of her work she encounters Andre McBride (Rob Stewart), who is the leader of a team of agents working for an unspecified government agency. The team is based in a disused subway station named Deckard Street. She is forced to join the team after she probes too far into their operations. It is then revealed that the team's mission is to identify and neutralize "neurological aberrants" ("neuros") – human mutants with supernormal mental powers. Dialogue in the pilot states there are dozens of variations, and the reasons neuros use their abilities vary. It is then theorized that the aberrations interfere with the brain's ability to distinguish right from wrong.
During the pilot episode, Vasco discovers that she has superhuman abilities – supernormal regenerative powers bordering on invulnerability. This is realized when she is pushed through a forty-story window and falls to her apparent death, only to later revive and recover completely. However, she still feels the pain of her injuries before they heal. The team's doctor, Seth Carpenter, identifies her abilities as not like those of the neuros they track, but "something else".
Cast
- Kristanna Loken as Jane Vasco – the show's protagonist.
- Rob Stewart as Andre McBride – the leader of the special team.
- Stephen Lobo as Dr. Seth Carpenter – a doctor/scientist working with the team.
- Noah Danby as Connor King – the "muscles" of the team; a field operative with a short fuse.
- Sean Owen Roberts as Riley Jensen – a computer and communication technology specialist working for the team.
- Nathaniel Deveaux as Joe Waterman – former subway caretaker working for the team.
- Alaina Huffman as Maureen Bowers – Jane's best friend and former DEA partner.
Episodes
| No. | Title | Directed by | Written by | Neuro power | Original air date | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | "Pilot" | Nick Copus | Gil Grant | Neuro 1: Illusions Neuro 2: Mind Control | April 13, 2007 | |
| With the help of a new covert government unit, Jane Vasco must track down and contain the spread of "Neuros", genetically altered humans with special and extraordinary powers. | ||||||
| 2 | "Toy Soldiers" | Michael Robison | Lawrence Hertzog | Reanimation | April 20, 2007 | |
| A break-in at an ammo dump reveals a seemingly unstoppable thief, leading the team to investigate a Neuro plot possibly tied to a presidential visit. | ||||||
| 3 | "Piece of Mind" | Michael Robison | Charles Heit | Memory Manipulation | April 27, 2007 | |
| Experts suffer from strange cases of selective amnesia, prompting the team to search for a Neuro who can manipulate peoples' memories. | ||||||
| 4 | "Catch Me If You Can" | Farhad Mann | Lisa Klink | Precognition | May 4, 2007 | |
| A Neuro with an ability to see into the future sends an eerie message to Jane warning her of an arrest that will go wrong, costing the lives of three people on her team. | ||||||
| 5 | "Nothing to Fear but Fear Itself" | Matthew Hastings | Lawrence Hertzog | Telepathy | May 11, 2007 | |
| The team must speculate on why a particular safe house drives its inhabitants insane by showing them their worst fears. | ||||||
| 6 | "Breakdown" | William Waring | Lisa Klink | Mental Projection | May 18, 2007 | |
| Jane and Maureen interview a number of patients who have been admitted to a psychiatric facility for the same unusual and terrifying nightmare. | ||||||
| 7 | "Higher Court" | Matthew Hastings | Gillian Horvath | Illusions | June 1, 2007 | |
| Maureen is enjoying a rare romantic night out with an old friend when the evening suddenly goes very wrong. | ||||||
| 8 | "Friendly Fire" | David Tennant | Gillian Horvath | Shapeshifting | June 8, 2007 | |
| Jane awakens in hospital to find that she has murdered Riley, but appearances can be deceiving. | ||||||
| 9 | "Trial by Fire" | J. B. Sugar | Lawrence Hertzog | Fire Manipulation | June 15, 2007 | |
| Connor is arrested and charged with arson and murder during a hunt for a Neuro the team believes is responsible for a string of house fires. | ||||||
| 10 | "Portraits of Lauren Gray" | Peter DeLuise | Robert Gilmer | Immortality through Psychic Vampirism | June 22, 2007 | |
| Jane and Maureen go undercover at a fashion show to find out the culprit behind rapidly aging young women. | ||||||
| 11 | "Ghost in the Machine" | Brent Clackson | Gillian Horvath | Neuro 1: Sonic Scream Neuro 2: Technopathy | June 29, 2007 | |
| Connor suffers a series of unfortunate events, believing it to be coincidental, until the team learns that members of Connor's former police squad have been dying of unusual causes. | ||||||
| 12 | "Something Nasty in the Neighborhood" | Michael Robison | Lawrence Hertzog | Mind Control | July 6, 2007 | |
| Jane and Connor go undercover as a married couple to investigate disappearances in a suburban community. | ||||||
| 13 | "The League" | Paul Ziller | Jimmy Palmiotti | Neuro: Power Bestowal Franky: Telekinesis Pat: Invisibility Vivian: Persuasion Alvin: Confusion | July 13, 2007 | |
| A Neuro takes matters into his own hands when his friends abuse the powers he has given them. | ||||||
| 14 | "The Amazing Howie" | Matthew Hastings | Lisa Klink | Magical Powers | July 20, 2007 | |
| Howie is a magician who can miraculously perform the impossible, which prompts Riley to begin an investigation into possible Neuro activity. | ||||||
| 15 | "The Healer" | Michael Robison | Story by : Frank Lupo Teleplay by : Charles Holland | Neuro 1: Invisibility Neuro 2: Paralysis Neuro 3: Energy Manipulation | July 27, 2007 | |
| Sabotage hinders Jane's efforts to catch a Neuro, she becomes suspicious of a faith healer that she has been visiting. | ||||||
| 16 | "Thanks for the Memories" | Michael Robison | Charles Heit | Memory Manipulation | August 3, 2007 | |
| Believing her team to be dead, Jane takes refuge with a Neuro leading to a trip down memory lane. | ||||||
| 17 | "Playback" | Matthew Hastings | Frank Cardea & George Schenck | Time Travel | August 17, 2007 | |
| The team encounters a Neuro who can reset time to the beginning of the day. | ||||||
| 18 | "Jane 113" | Peter DeLuise | Lawrence Hertzog | Accelerated Healing | August 24, 2007 | |
| Jane discovers the disturbing truth about her abilities while searching for a Neuro who escaped the team. | ||||||
| 19 | "What Lies Beneath" | Matthew Hastings | Mike Goldberg | Shapeshifting & Accelerated Healing | August 31, 2007 | |
| The team heads overseas to NICO when several Neuros escape, only to discover things at NICO are not in proper order. | ||||||
| 20 | "The Beast of Bolnar" | Farhad Mann | Charles Holland | Mental Projection | September 7, 2007 | |
| Connor is attacked by a mythical beast in the small town near NICO, and the team must determine if it really is a monster, or a Neuro at work. | ||||||
| 21 | "Reflections" | Matthew Hastings | Matthew Carpenter | Phasing | September 14, 2007 | |
| Andre struggles to maintain objectivity when it appears one of the Neuros at NICO, whom he once dated, has managed to sneak in and out of the facility to murder two men. | ||||||
| 22 | "Endgame" | Farhad Mann | Gil Grant | Neuro 1: Paralysis Neuro 2: Disintegration Neuro 3: Fire Manipulation Neuro 4: Illusions | September 21, 2007 | |
| A major emergency at NICO results in the facility's most dangerous Neuros breaking out, but the unlikely leader of their operation gives the team the greatest shock. | ||||||
Production
The TV series received a 22-episode production order after the 2005 Painkiller Jane TV-movie yielded positive results. The film differed significantly from the original comic's storyline; the TV series, in turn, discarded the film's back-story and started afresh. According to story creator Jimmy Palmiotti, the new series was "closer to the original concept we came up with in the comic".[4] Executive producer Gil Grant has said the new series is "partly true" to the original comic, but will still differ to some extent.[5]
The series credits include several people in the role of producer. Most are credited only for a few episodes. This includes Loken (the star), who is credited as co-executive producer for several episodes.[6]
The TV series was filmed at Insight Film Studios in Maple Ridge, British Columbia, Canada[7] and various locations around the Lower Mainland of British Columbia. The final four episodes were filmed and set in Budapest, Hungary.[8]
References
- "Painkiller Jane: Sci-Fi Cancels Kristanna Loken Series". TVSeriesFinale.com. Archived from the original on 2007-09-03. Retrieved 2007-08-15.
- Sci Fi sees 'Jane' run out Archived 2007-09-30 at the Wayback Machine, August 15, 2007, The Hollywood Reporter
- In the comic, Jane's last name is "Vasko", but the TV series uses "Vasco".
- "SCI FI PICKS UP PAINKILLER JANE AS SERIES". newsarama.com. Archived from the original on 2006-08-18. Retrieved 2006-07-14.
- "Executive Producer Grants Talks Painkiller Jane". Comics2Films fan Feed. Archived from the original on 2007-05-18. Retrieved 2007-04-17.
- "Full cast and crew for "Painkiller Jane"". IMDB. Archived from the original on 2007-10-22. Retrieved 2007-04-17.
- "Insight Film Studio Production Information". Insight Film Website. Archived from the original on 2007-05-28. Retrieved 2007-04-14.
- "Kristanna Loken Interview". Comic Book Resources. Retrieved 2007-04-11.