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Superpowers, that's what we all wish to have isn't it? Flying, laser beams, super-strength, etc. It'd be cool to have one of those powers, and in the case of Painkiller Jane, a woman has the ability to regenerate.

Painkiller Jane is a TV series that recently started airing in the US on 13th April 2007, it is based on the graphic novel of the same title. The entire show revolves around Jane Vasco, who is forced into working for an unspecified government agency whose mission is to identify and neutralise "neuros" - human mutants with special powers. However, Jane has the amazing ability as well to regenerate from any wound, be it gun wounds, knife wounds, or anything else, she has the ability to fully recover from them. However, she still feels the pain the wound causes, hence the name of the show. (Though it is strange that she can still feel pain when she's supposed to be the "pain-killer")

Sounds exciting thus far doesn't it? What could go wrong with a mutant tracking down other mutants? Well, everything else it turns out. The biggest problem with this TV series is that it looks like the set was put together by a bunch for teenagers for their school project. It looks EXACTLY like a home video, yes that's how bad it is. You can actually tell it's a set, too obvious for comfort. Then there are the special effects. This show obviously had a very low budget, since they couldn't be bothered with proper special effects at times. Sure, her regeneration looks cool, but other than that, everything is bad. I mean even the gun shots look REALLY fake. Then there's the inexplicable behaviours of the characters. In the pilot episode, the villain just stands there waiting to get shot by Jane who's groaning in pain as she gets hit by a couple of obviously fake bullets. Most of the actors and actresses are able to act to a certain extent though I guess, though Jane's groans of pain and facial expression when she's in pain could do with some improvement. However, given the proper storyline and setting, I'm sure these actors would have been able to deliver. Unfortunately they got stuck with Painkiller Jane.

The general plot is nothing new, just one person with superpowers. Even Heroes, whose season finale recently broadcasted, had more than a dozen of superpowered characters, one of which can also regenerate just like Jane can. However, the special effects applied on her look a lot better than those used on Jane. Jane automatically heals from gun wounds, and the show doesn't even bother to show the wounds close up as they heal. However, Claire on the other hand (Jane's counterpart in Heroes) forces broken bones back into place, shoves protruding bones back into her body, closes herself up when she gets cut open on an autopsy table after she "dies", etc. Essentially, Jane Vasco's ability to heal isn't anything new in the first place, and the show doesn't even bother to glorify the powers of their only "good" human mutant.

All in all, I'm quite surprised that a show like this actually got approval for broadcasting. While the show hasn't been around for very long, I can safely say that there isn't going to be a season 2, and viewership rates are going to continue dropping. This is really a TV series that everyone should stay away from. If you want to see amazing superpowers, you should have watched Heroes when you had the chance...

In short:
Pros: 1 super-powered "cop"
Cons: Home video style, mediocre acting, bad special effects, lousy plot, etc. (The list just goes on)

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