La Femme Nikita: The Complete First Season (6 Discs)

Longtime La Femme Nikita fans and newcomers alike will enjoy this six-disc boxed set, which compiles the syndicated television series' entire first season, and shows why it garnered a devoted audience throughout its five-season run (1997-2001): it's a fast-paced, action-packed mixture of sex appeal (thanks to the statuesque form of its star, Australian actress Peta Wilson) and intricately plotted espionage thrills. Producers Joel Surnow and Robert Cochran (who later created 24) hewed the series' framework closely to its inspiration--Luc Besson's 1990 theatrical feature of the same name--save for one change. Where the movie Nikita is a drug-addicted thug, Wilson's Nikita is a street-savvy homeless woman. The pilot, "Nikita" (on disc 1), details her introduction to the underground spy network known as Section One: facing a death sentence after a trumped-up murder charge, Nikita is approached by the mysterious Michael (Roy Dupuis), who offers her a new identity as an anti-terrorist operative. The subsequent 21 episodes in the set offer plenty of action and suspense, as well as a compelling character in Nikita, who struggles constantly with the deception and bloodshed that are unavoidable aspects of her assignments. The set concludes with a dramatic season finale, disc 6's "Mercy," which forces Nikita to deal with some hard truths about her future and her feelings for Michael.

If having the complete first season in one set doesn't please series fans, the supplemental features will surely satisfy even the iciest armchair operative. Disc 1 offers commentary by Surnow, Cochran, and director Jon Cassar on "Nikita" as well as commentary by Surnow for deleted scenes from several episodes (also on discs 2, 3, and 6); disc 6 features Surnow's comments on "Mercy," as well as "Section One Declassified: The Making of La Femme Nikita," which features interviews with the cast and creators. --Paul Gaita

All 22 episodes from the first season of the cult hit that inspired a genre are now available in a deluxe edition DVD collector's set loaded with special features. A beautiful young woman, falsely accused of a vicious crime is sentenced to a life in prison. In exchange for her freedom, she is forced to join "Section One"; the most covert of all anti-terrorist organizations...with them she is trained to be a seductive spy and lethal assassin.