PainKiller Jane #4 & Terminator 2 #6 & #7 - Dynamite Entertainment

Ok, I figured out where I made my mistake at. I feel really silly to, but . . it happens sometimes. I read, and reviewed PainKiller Jane #5, and I was seriously confused about the story. I tried to make the most I could of it, but really . . I was just lost. Well . . . come to find out . . I'm sure ya'll out there knew about it . . Jane crossed over with Terminator 2. I did not know that. Then, to make matters even worse . . somehow . . I'm not gonna blame my pull guy . . but somehow I missed PainKiller Jane #4. If I had gotten that issue . . I would've known to be on the lookout for the Terminator books, and then, when I read issue #5, I wouldn't have felt like I just walked in to something that I'd never read or looked at before. I really had no clue. But, luckily #$%^ works with me, and he helped me find the books that I had missed. Also luckily . . I got PainKiller Jane #4, because he only had 1 issue left. I mean, yes I have other resources, but . . it's so much better when I can get everything in one place. Especially, now . . with the price of gas. But I don't even want to get started on that. Anyways, to make a long story short, even though I've already read and review PKJ #5, this time I went ahead and read all 4 issues in one sitting. It's much easier to digest that way. I thought the story was interesting. See I'm an old-timer. Well . . not old . . oldish . . I guess. Anyways, I remember the first Terminator movie, and . . I loved it. Then the second one, I thought, was ok. After that, I never really got in to it that much. I'm not a big fan of time-travel stories. I haven't tried to hide that from anybody. But, I have to say, when the Sarah Connor Chronicles showed on Fox a few months ago . . I thought it was incredible . . and intense. I also enjoyed the PKJ drama that showed last year. Now this series? Well . . it was ok. It wasn't really a team-up . . in the traditional sense. It was actually more like . . well, thier stories overlapped for a brief while. It turns out Jane had, or has, a daughter, and she's part of John Connor's resistance. Now, where it gets a little sketchy is . . in the future they've found the facility where they're attempting to use time-travel to fight the resistance in the past. They arrive as a Terminator is being whisked back. There's a second one, a female, that's on the launch pad, but is still in process. They do what they can to stop it, but all

the succeed in is altering it's destination. It arrives in NYC, the other side of the country from the first, and 20 years later. Obviously it lands right on Jane's and Maureen's doorstep. The resistance decides that they have to follow it to make sure that it doesn't do anything to screw up the future, or . . the present, in their case. So they decide to send someone back. I'm not sure why they made the choice, but they send Vanessa . . Jane's future daughter. They have no information from this time period, so they don't really know anything about Jane. Then, again for some reason, the girl Terminator decides to change her mission. Somehow, while looking on the internet, she makes the connection between Vanessa, an obvious threat to the SkyNet program, and Jane. So now she's decided to take Jane out. Anyways, long story short, Vanessa hooks up with Jane and Maureen. She has a brief moment, with parents she hasn't seen in god knows how long. She then decides that she's going to activate the machine's self-destruct sequence, and does so taking out the machine as well as herself. Which leaves Jane and Maureen to contemplate the possibility that the girls story is true. And this is why I don't like time-travel stories. There's to much left to conjecture. There's no way to truly, neatly, wrap up a story, because even in resolution, there's still just to many possibilities, or "what ifs?" out there. That's not to say I didn't enjoy all the action and drama. I thought Jimmy Palmiotti did a good job of keeping the story interesting. And, as with most time-travel stories, he did his best to keep all the questions answered and the other possibilities to a minimum. But, as is also inevitable with these stories, I think they eventually get to the point where they get out of the writer's control, and then it's just damage control to try to come to an acceptable resolution. I don't know. Maybe I just sound jaded. It just seems to me that you can't really do a time-travel story without a little bit of sloppy writing. But as I said, I still enjoyed the book. And, I really think this Dynamite Entertainment is doing a fantastic job of bringing some alternative titles to the stands. It seems like every month I end up picking out more and more. Also, I think I forgot to mention the artwork of Nigel Raynor. It's ok. It's not flashy, or fantastic, but . . it gets the job done. He's got his own unique style, and . . it grows on you. I liked the cross-over, but I'll be glad to get back to plain ol' PainKiller Jane stories next month.

Painkiller Jane #5 - Dynamite Entertainment

I liked this book. I like this character. The only problem I have with this particular issue, is now I'll have to get Terminator 2, #6 & #7, because it's a 4-part story that started last issue in this book, and then crossed over in to that one. What a pain in the butt. Ha-ha! I guess that's all just part of the collecting process. They do put a neat little twist on this particular story though. It appears that Jane has a descendant in the future, 2029, by the name of Vanessa Vasko. I assume it's her daughter because she has powers similar to Jane's. Also John sees her as a valuable asset to the resistance. Anyways, Jimmy Palmiotti wrote it, and Nigel Raynor does the art. It's ok. Not fantastic. Not overly flashy. But . . it's ok. The guy shows a lot of potential. And it's put together in the usual Panekiller Jane style. The only part I don't like is, I don't see what chance in hell Jane has up against one of these machines. It's kind of a David & Goliath situation. For real! But I liked the book.

PainKiller Jane - Episode 22 - Endgame : Season Finale - SciFi Network

Ok! I was bad. After watching this show all year, I missed the final episode. I think it was because it was the same week all the new shows started. And with Jane pretty low on my list of 45+ shows that I have TIVO'd, I think her's got bumped out. However, on the SciFi.com web site they have a synopsis of each episode. So hopefully they don't mind, but I borrowed their recap so that you wouldn't have to miss what happened at the end, because of my faux pas. So this is what they've said about the Season Finale. "Exhausted and looking forward after a busy visit to Budapest's NICO center, Jane & Co. pack for home. But there's a hitch in their travel plans: A killer lurks in the building, hell-bent on erasing the entire Neuro-hunter operation. Perfect. Right when they were ready for an uneventful season-ender. Andre first suspects a problem when he stops by the NICO director's office. The guy doesn't wish Andre bon voyage primarily because he's been shot dead. The murderer also kills the power for the facility triggering a security breach in the Red Sector, home to the sociopathic Neuros. Dr. Newman confides in Andre that her NICO predecessor conducted unauthorized tests which involved de-chipping some Neuro inmates. Fabulous. That explains why they find themselves in a prison riot where retribution-seeking inmates can shoot laser beams from their eyeballs. The team seeks refuge in the Blue Room, which has an ultrasonic field designed to neutralize Neuros. The power failure left Jane trapped in a remote section of the NICO facility, so she races to the safety of the Blue Room, a gang of crazed Neuros close behind. With Jane only a few feet from the Blue Room entrance, Riley shuts the door in her face. Andre and Connor threaten to kill him, but soon realize Riley made the right call. As he watched Jane approaching on the security camera, he noticed some red paint on her arm. Since the NICO director's office was painted red earlier that day, the paint splotch looks a lot like a smoking gun. Jane has demonstrated that she's a team player; problem is, she's siding with the evil psychotic team now. She glares at the security camera and says,"You'll all be dead soon enough." As the jailbreak ringleader, Jane has arranged to ship NICO's entire Neuro population back to the States. The team can't let that happen, so they cobble together some high-powered explosives to vaporize their former colleague. Dr. Newman suggests a less violent solution. She suspects Jane isn't acting of her own free will, and that she's been hypnotized. If they hit Jane's optic nerve with a high-frequency spectrum, it could break the grip of her Svengali. Andre thinks that's an interesting theory. But when he's in a showdown with Jane, he'd liked to be armed with more than a fancy flashlight, so he brings the explosives too. Fortunately, the high-frequency spectrum thingy works, and Jane snaps out of her destructive trance. She tells Andre how she tracked down Roberts, the founder of Vonotek and who's responsible for Neuros. He's also responsible for hypnotizing her. Since Roberts doesn't know Jane is no longer under his thumb, she's about to take on the dangerous role of double-agent. Says Andre: "We don't know how Roberts runs his organization, but we will." Apparently, Roberts has big plans. Back in his fancy corner office, he's strategizing with a Vonotek underling. In a few months, the company will start selling the benefits of "neurological enhancement"—in an energy bar. That's food for thought." Well they were a little more long winded than I would've been. But at least now you know how the season ended. It sounds like it's being set up for a second season. But, you never know when it comes to these things. It'll probably all depend upon fan response. And since mine is mostly negative, I don't think I'll be one of those responding. However, like I've said, the stories did actually get better towards the end. And by the last couple of episodes, I actually remembered everyone's name. So I guess we'll wait for next season to see what happens.

PainKiller Jane - Episode 21 - Reflections - SciFi Network

This is something we haven't seen this season yet . . . a love story. Well, except for Jane's love interest for a while there. But he turned out to be a hole. Or was that mole. So that one doesn't count. Anyways, McBride runs in to a neuro that he had captured, but not until after he fell in love with, Sarah. She has the ability to walk through walls. But now she's chipped and sedated and happy. Or is she. We then see he walk through a wall in to a govt. office to steal some stuff from a safe. But before she can leave she's confronted and she uses her powers to reach through a man's chest and pull out his heart. The part that bothers Sarah is that even though she can't remember doing that, she did dream about it. Anyways, long story short, she has a twin sister. They were separated when they were very young. Sarah never knew about it, but her sister did. So she's spent her whole life looking for her. Before McBride chipped her, she almost caught up to her. But then she disappeared. McBride sent her to NICO, and her sister never knew what happened. But now she's found her again. It appears that they've shared this dream thing their whole life. Unfortunately Sarah's dreams have always been nightmares because her sister is a psychopathic killer. To shorten things up again, they break free but our team catches up to them and they corner them in a church. Sarah knows that her sister will kill McBride, so to save him she attacks her and the mingling of both their powers, I guess, causes them to vaporize. The extent of Jane's abilities this episode was used when they were in the church and Sarah's sister knocks her about 20 feet off a scaffold. But don't get me started on that subject, because you all know I can be long winded about that. Suffice it to say, I hope they make some changes if they bring the show back next year. Overall I thought it was a decent episode. But I still have my usual complaints.

PaneKiller Jane #3 - Dynamite Entertainment

The problem I have with cross-over series . . . series that have crossed over to a different medium, be it TV, movie or animation . . . is that after seeing 22 episodes of this character on the Sci-Fi channel, as compared to the 2 or 3 issues that have come out during that time, I have a hard time reading the book without the characters from the TV series entering in to my imagination. And lets face it, when it comes to reading comics, it's all about imagination. Tell me when you read your favorite characters . . be it Batman, Superman, Cable or whomever . . that you don't imagine a certain voice or inflection to their personalities. Am I right? And since the comics are panel by panel, and you actually have to read the words, you have to imagine the action between the panels. Although most artists create a certain flow between panels, there's still some of that which is left to the imagination. And that's what makes comics fun. Opening your mind to new, and sometimes far-fetched ideas. I'm not saying that's gone. But, my own imagination has been influenced and often directed by watching the TV shows. So in essence it makes it, almost, not as much fun to read. But, I do like the character . . . so I'll try. It would also help, though, if this book would come out on a more regular basis. But hey, that's just me.

PainKiller Jane - Episode #20 - the Beast of Bolnar - SciFi Network

Ok, as far as Jane goes, we hit an all time low this episode. The extent of her injuries this episode, were from a cat that jumped on her and scratched her arm. Pleeeaase! I have to admit, I'm kind of getting in to the whole Neuro thing. Especially now since they're in Hungary and we're finding out all the low-down dirty stuff. I mean before they were just hunting them. Now they have to deal with them everyday. And, I think, they're all starting to realize that, despite whatever genetic anomaly they have, they're still human beings. And before they got to NICO, they were human beings that were used for experiments and thought of as less than human. Anyways, this beast of Bolnar this episode, is of course a Neuro. Nobody believes that at first. Or course we're in a part of the world whose culture goes back a 1000 years or more. So there's lots of superstition and folklore. But when push comes to shove, we're on a show that deals with Neuros, so, of course, the culprit was a Neuro. Actually it ended up being the son of one of the women that was brought here 10 years ago. So he's the first evidence that the Neuro gene can be inherited. That just changed the whole picture. They were going under the pretext before that these were genetic anomalies. But maybe, their parents had powers too, just hidden, or maybe latent. Either way, this is going to make a big change in the way they do their research. Anyways, long story short, this kid was adopted and ended up in an abusive home. So basically, with his powers, he created this creature to protect him, and to lash out at a world that he was angry with. So they got him out of the situation, and made the connection to his mother who was already at NICO. And of course Jane became kind of attached to him. Like I've said before. Overall, it was a pretty decent story. But . . . I want to see more Jane!!

Painkiller Jane - Episode #19 - What Lies Beneath - SciFi Network

Ok, same criticism as every episode . . . Jane . . the title character . . . was completely underutilized. However, I really did like the story. As far as the whole Neuro thing goes, we're starting to dig in to the mud a little bit. For a few episodes now, Jane has started having some doubts about what they're doing. Reilly's concerns came when it was his buddy the magician whom they had to apprehend. Now this episode, McBride is the one starting to wonder if they've been led astray. There's been a break-out at NICO. That's the holding facility where all the Neuro's are shipped to. It's in Hungary. Not sure what the significance is there. Anyways, they get to the place and find out that although there's been a break-out, they have no proof that the prisoners actually ever left. Ok. A little background. The building that NICO is in, used to be a prison. About 3 miles away is a Convent. Both buildings are about 400 years old. They are connected by an underground tunnel, but, right now, it's sealed at both ends. Long story short, the scientists and doctors at NICO are basically doing whatever they want to these Neuros. True . . some of them are psychopaths. But as our team has started to become aware, some of them are just people, with an extraordinary gift, trying to live their lives. But they're all being treated as criminals. When McBride becomes aware of the atrocities that are being committed against these people, he begins to empathize. So now they plan on sticking around for a while and try to clean up the operations. It really was a pretty decent story. The only time they use Jane is when one of the shape-shifters assumes her identity and they have to shoot them both to try to figure out which is which. So again . . that's my criticism. Like I said . . I think a few blogs earlier . . . they should just do a show called Neuro Hunters. Or something along those lines. Take Jane out of the equation and put her in a different show. I think the Neuro Hunter theme could sustain by itself. Then with Jane in her own show, we could get closer to what the character actually started out as . . . an anti-hero. But . . . that's just my opinion.

PainKiller Jane - Episode #18 - Jane 113 - SciFi Network

I'll give these guys credit where it's due. It seems like the stories are definitely improving. This episode is actually, pretty much all about Jane. Pardon me for not knowing all the characters names . . . they aren't all that interesting to me. Anyways, the guy that Jane saved in a previous episode . . you know . . the one that was dying and Jane chipped him with a blank. Anyways, as he was dying he told Jane there was more to her story than she knew. So he transferred some of his knowledge to her. She then learned that maybe her fall at Vanotech wasn't such an accident. The one guy she was following around there, on her first trip there, whom they thought was the Neuro, was actually a scientist whom in the confusion injected her with something. Apparently they were on to her from the moment she stepped through the door. And then the Neuro grabbed the other guy that was with her and shoved them both out the window. Long story short, we're led to believe that her powers were created and given to her there. She goes in to the building to try to find some answers but she's not in long before they're on to her. Riley then has to create a elevator malfunction, so Jane posing as one of the Maintenance staff, can get on one and sneak on to a hidden 113th floor. While there she steals a vial, and when the scientist comes in, hides so she can follow him again. This time he leads her to a cafe down the street where he has a meeting with . . . her boyfriend. Another twist. Apparently her boyfriend is a reporter and he's been investigating Vanotech. When he heard about her accident, he decided to try to get close to her. He takes her to meet the "Big Guy" at Vanotech. We don't know his name, but says he wants to rid the world of disease even if it means putting Vanotech out of business. Again, long story short, he hypnotizes her and the next thing we see is the two of them sitting in her apartment talking about the rest of her Neuro team as if they're having afternoon tea. The final shot of the episode is of the room at Vanoech where all the male test bodies were hanging. Her boyfriend is now one of those bodies. Like I said, I think the stories are getting better. I liked that this one was mostly about Jane. I think that the origin story was a bit hokey, but . . . I don't think we've seen the whole thing yet. I think there's even more going on here than we're privy to so far. But . . . I have to admit that I do think it's improving.

Painkiller Jane - Episode 17 - Playback - SciFi Network

This was actually a pretty good story. It was set up like a Groundhog Day type of thing. Except it was a neuro, big surprise, that could rewind the day. As long as he did it in the same day. So anyways, this guy, and his mother, are after this Chinese Ambassador, for some reason. We never really do find out the reason why. Anyways, he knows where this Ambassador will be at a certain time. So he's set up in a lone-gunman type thing and is attempting to do the job. The problem is, Jane and her team keep showing up to thwart him. So what he's started doing is video-taping the surrounding activities, and is testing to see if there's anything he can change that will help him achieve his goals. When the job goes bad, he does this electrifying thing, and bounces himself back to 6:15 in the morning. He then starts going through his plans, and attempts to do it all over again. The first time in, Jane is blown to bits by a bomb booby-trapped on the steps leading up to him. But the biker guy gets up there to stop him. The next time, as she's going up the steps Jane remembers that something happened the first time. So she's the one that gets up there to stop him. Basically what happens is each time he bounces back, Jane remembers a little more of the adventure. One time she jumps through the portal with him. And in his apartment he shoots her several times. She lets him think that she's dead. That time he ends up killing the Ambassador. So now they have to make him want to jump back. So to accomplish that, they shoot his mother. When he bounce back, Jane's ready for him and she chips him. And then she has to explain to everybody else what happened because they don't remember anything. The stories are much improved, but I still have the same complaints I've had since the beginning of this series. I don't see this problem being fixed. And it's really aggravating me. But there's probably only about 4 more episodes left in the season, so . . . . I'll watch . . . and comment.

Painkiller Jane #2 - Dynamite Entertainment

I really like this book, and this character. My problem now? I think I've been jaded by the TV series. The preview issue, and issue #1 were great. This one? Left me feeling kind of dry. I was waiting for something to happen . . . . but it never did. While I was reading this one, I kept thinking about it in reference to the TV series. To me, it kind of seemed like the kind of story they do there. No real action. A bad guy/girl, who basically seduces Jane and the doctor, and then turns it around on them. Big surprise there. But it may be that she made a mistake and came after the wrong person. So next issue, will she team up with Jane, or just go on her merry way? And in the preview issue when she talks about never getting tattoo's because they won't stick to her, why then does she have one on her ass? As far as the art work, by Lee Moder, I thought it was good. Jane, and this mystery woman both looked very sexy when they needed to. But again . . . no action! I thought this was an action book? Also it didn't seem like it was a full size comic. I could be wrong, but it seemed like it was less than the standard 22 pages. I just think if we're not going to put as much story into these books, and they're going to make us wait so long between issue, than the story needs to be of a better caliber, or at least enough to keep our interest until the next issue. By the time the next issue comes out, I'll have no idea what's going on. But, it's still early in the series, so I'll give it a little while to see if it gets better.

Painkiller Jane - Episode 16 - Thanks for the Memories - SciFi Network

This episode was like a "Greatest Hits" of the season. We start out with Jane coming home from a mission. Her boyfriend meets her at the door . . . but . . . he doesn't know who she is. Jane thinks he's just yanking her, but then a little girl inside calls him daddy, and asks when mommy's coming home. So her next stop, of course, is to go back to the train station. But, she finds it abandoned. Well, all except for Ben, the train guy, but he doesn't know who she is. Then she get a call from her boss, can't remember his name, saying that the teams been compromised, they're all being hunted down, and she's probably next. Before the line goes dead, she hears a lot of gun-fire in the background. Then for some reason Simon flashes in her head. He's the neuro that took away Riley's computer skills, so he could basically hold the team hostage. Jane was supposed to "chip" him at the end of the episode, but she couldn't do it. Especially when she found out he was dying. Anyways, she goes to him because if she is killed, no one will know what their teams mission was, or what they accomplished. So she wants him to take her memories and put them someplace safe. This is when we get in to the "greatest hits" part. Long story short, whoever it is that's hunting her down ends up at Simon's house. They escape through a secret tunnel, and go back to Jane's apartment. She figures since they've already been there, they'll probably assume that she won't come back. All the while all this stuff is going on, they keep flashing back to previous episodes. Finally she gets a phone-call from her boyfriend. I guess he's part of the group that hunting them down. He wants her to meet him at the train station. She finds him in the medical car. He subdues her, and begins to operate, or experiment, or just torture her. Don't really know what he's trying to accomplish. But she starts screaming, and wakes up out of her dream. Man! Talk about a cop out. I hate it when stories end like this. We find out that the doctor had sedated her, to run some tests, and she had been out for a couple of hours. She, goes out in to the station to find everyone alive and working. She's happy. Confused! But happy. Go ahead and add this to my list of what I already don't like about this series. I don't want to get in to all of it again. If you're not sure what I'm talking about . . . check my other blogs. This story was a serious let down. We had all this drama and intrigue built up . . . . only to have a cop out ending. "Worst . . episode . . ever!", as our comic guy from the Simpsons would say. Not much more I can say beyond that.

Painkiller Jane - Episode 15 - the Healer - SciFi Network

My TIVO really seems to be messing up. I'm not sure if it's that, or my satellite connection. I have DirecTV, and for some reason the SciFi channel, along with USA and HBO, are getting spotty feeds. When you're trying to watch it, you see a lot of the digital mapping. This usually happens when there's a big storm. It affects the signal from the satellite. But for some reason on these 3 channels it happens all the time. But I really don't think it's my dish pointing, because if I watch those shows on the upstairs receiver, they come out fine. But, I don't have TIVO up there, so I'm kinda' used to being able to fast-forward through commercials. The shows seem really long without it. Anyways, what I'm trying to say her is that I didn't get to watch this episode. The feed was so messed up that the parts I could watch, were few and far between. So I couldn't really get the gist of what the story was. It usually replays 2 or 3 times, but by the time I found out I couldn't watch it, I had already missed those. So here's what I'm going to do, I'm going to leave this post like this, and then, if they show reruns later, I'll watch it, and then put down my thoughts on the story. It's not really that big of a deal, but I personally don't like to leave things undone. So if it shows, I'll be back. In the meantime . . . . sorry!

PainkillerJane - Episode 14 - The Amazing Howie - SciFi Channel

Again, I'd have to say that the story for this episode was a little better. Not great. But such an improvement over the first couple. This one focused mainly on Riley. He's the resident tech-geek. He's trying to join a magic club, on his own time. And he sees an illusion that would just be impossible. Unless the illusionist was a neuro. He bumbles all over himself trying to get some information on the guy. But he's about as subtle as . . . I don't know what. But he's not. Long story short, the guy turns out to be a neuro, obviously. But when they bring him in, Riley starts feeling guilty about taking away the guys happiness. He wasn't a criminal. He wasn't hurting anybody. All he was trying to do was entertain with illusions of magic. So Riley basically electrocutes him, to shut off his chip. They almost get caught, but of course he gets away. That's the second one. I think Jane let that guy go that was in the old house. He had stolen the painting that hung there when he was a kid. Jane felt sorry for him, because he was dying anyways, so I don't think she chipped him. We never found out for sure. But that's my feeling on it. We also found out this episode . . . which they've been hinting at for the last few . . . that Jane is actually getting smarter. The resident doctor thinks that when normal peoples neural patterns die off after time in their brain, that maybe Jane's don't. He doesn't know for sure. But that's his best guess. Anyways, decent story. I'm still miffed that the don't utilize the title character better. But, I'm going to quit fighting it. I guess they never will. I'll just think of it as the "Neuro" show, and . . . . oh yeah . . . Jane's in it too.

PainkillerJane - Episode 13 - The League - SciFi Channel

Like I said last time, I think the stories are starting to improve. We start out with what we think are Neuro's committing some crimes. We have a telekinetic one, and an invisible one. But 2 things surprise them. First when they go to apprehend them, they end up dead. Second, when they analyze them, they find out they're not Neuros. Long story short, the perps were all friends in High School. And one of them actually was a Neuro. He couldn't do anything special himself. But. . . he could give other people the ability to do things. That was his power. But as they drifted apart, he still kept tabs on them, only to find out they weren't using their powers to do good things as they had originally proposed. It seems that the powers were changing their personalities. So, not knowing how to stop them, the one that gave them their powers decides to take them out. That's the only way he can think of to end the cycle of violence. The problem ends up being that the one he gave the power of persuasion, is now a Congress-woman. She's going to be a little harder to get to. But Jane ends up coming up with a plan. Before she chips the guy, she has him give her the same persuasion powers. But amped up a little bit. They do end up getting the Congress-woman. But while they're performing tests on her, she kills herself. I guess Jane had him give her the powers, because unlike all the others who developed brain tumors from them, her body would heal itself before then. So she wouldn't get the tumor, but she also probably wouldn't keep the powers. A better story. But still underutilized the title character. They also make a reference during the show to Dynamite comics. You know. The publisher of . . . . Painkiller Jane. Anyways, I actually liked this episode. However, the other part . . . read my previous blogs . . . still aggravates me.

PainkillerJane - Episode 12 - Something Nasty in the Neighborhood - SciFi Channel

I have to admit, this episode has a pretty good story. I don't know if it was right for this series. But it was a decent story. Same complaint as always, the under utilization of the title character. Isn't there a law against that or something. Anyways, Jane does have to use her powers this episode because there's this Neuro that's brainwashed this whole town. She finds out that when she is subjected to pain, as she does this episode by burning her hand on the stove, it has a tendency to help to clear her head. In effect, clearing out the cobwebs. The biggest part of this story though, is that in the process of their investigation, Maurene, "MO", gets shot and killed. This really upsets Jane. As we've seen from her origin story, when her mother died, she doesn't take loss well. But I have a feeling this is going to cement her more with her team. When she lost her mom, she had no one. Now . . . her team is her family. I don't know. Like I said, it was a decent story . . . I just with they would showcase Jane more. Like I've said in previous blogs, I understand the approach their taken. Hell I even like the idea of the team and the Neuros. My problem is that this is not who Jane is. This series is supposed to be based on the comic books, but this is not the same Jane as the comics. So why call it this. They could've developed their own character, and probably paid a lot less for the royalties. It doesn't make sense to me. But then . . . I guess that's not my job.

PainkillerJane - Episode 11 - Ghost in the Machine - SciFi Channel

I got the same ole complaints as I've had every episode of this series. So let me just sum it all up and say . . . . it sucks! The series stinks! The concept is lame! The stories are terrible! So why do I keep watching it? Because I started it for this, and I'm going to see it through. Plus I'm kind of wondering if it's ever going to come to the point that they realize the course they're on is flawed, and maybe they'll decide to shift gears. How was Jane killed this episode? She was hit by a train. And we really don't know how hard. So, for all we know, she could've just been knocked over. That's what it looked like when she got up. It looked as if she had just gotten the wind knocked out of her. For real. Call this show what it really is . . . Neuro Chasers. Or maybe . . . Law & Order: Neuro Division. Or maybe CSI: Decker St. Station. Or better yet . . . call it what it is . . . . crap in a can. I can't wait for Eureka to start again. Maybe by then, this one will wrap itself up. Why is it that no one, and I seriously mean no one, can translate a comic book to the small screen. On the movies . . . they come out fine. On the TV . . . . forget about it! Save yourself the time, or the space on your DVR, and if you come across this show while your surfing, just pretend you didn't see it and move on. You'll feel better about it in the morning.

PainkillerJane - Episode 10 - Portraits of Lauren Gray - SciFi Channel

Ok . . . I'll admit that this story was better than some of the rest. I still think that Jane is underutilized . . . but she was in this story more. But I do want to say that right before this episode, I watched an episode of Dr. Who, and I liked that show better. Just to put it out there. Anyways this one was about a neuro that basically stole the life force from her victims. When she was younger she was a fashion model. So she wanted to keep her youth. Well . . somewhere along the line she realized that with a kiss, she could steal the life essence from other people. One became two which became more which became an obsession. Or . . maybe an addiction. Anyways when she realized she didn't have to get old . . . why should she let herself? Then one day Jane pops up on her runway. She takes her essence, but then she watches Jane bounce back. So she thinks Jane is her fountain of youth. The team splits up, to check out their obvious suspects, and of course Jane gets the right one. I think her name was Wanda. So when Jane delivers herself to Wanda's doorstep, she can't pass up the opportunity. Wanda drugs her, and chains her to the bed. What's the use of having a fountain of youth, unless you can tap in to it whenever you want? Well Jane learns a little bit about her powers this episode. She learns that she can slow down or even stop the healing process if she concentrates hard enough. Which she does, convincing Wanda that this time she took to much and Jane isn't going to heal. So if she's of no use to her, then she's just going to have to dispose of her. During that process Jane heals herself, becoming her youthful self again, and knocks her out. For some reason this time they take Wanda back to the subway station to run tests on her. During the ordeal, Wanda told Jane that when she took people's life force, she also got a little of them in the process. Little quirks. Like smoking, candy addiction, headaches, etc.. Well as the doctor is testing her, we find out that what she got from Jane, was all the wounds that she had received but healed. However on her, obviously, they're not going to heal. So basically her whole body starts going through this trauma, 'cause Jane's been shot or cut everywhere, and it sends her in to shock, which kills her. Like I said . . . a better story . . . but still lacking the involvement of it's leading character. Well . . . maybe not so much the involvement of the character as the involvement of her abilities. So if I gave all the other episodes a D or an F, this one would have to be a C. Maybe C+. But I don't want to be to generous.

PainkillerJane - #0 & #1 - Dynamite Entertainment

I enjoyed these books much more than the TV series. If you're reading this, then take a glance at my reviews of the shows. And when you take the cost of my satelite TV monthly, and divide it by the number of shows I watch in the summer, this form of entertainment probably cost me less also. Anyways, #0 was a prequel, or actually intro into the new series, with the new creative team. It's good to see Jimmy Palmiotti and Joe Quesada back on the title. Although it would've been nice to see Joe on pencils. But . . if we got everything we wished for . . . we wouldn't need the internet. My only complaint about issue #1 was that there was a lot of dialogue. But I understand that with this incarnation, so close on the heels of the new TV series, there's going to be a lot of new readers. And they need to be brought up to speed. When that happens, its a little frustrating to us long time fans, but it's a necessary evil of the form. I guess. Anyways, #0 was all action. Like I said, it was meant as a teaser to draw us in. Or new people in. Whatever? And issue #1 exploded out of that issue, literally. The reason I don't like the TV show is because in it Jane is just a supporting character. I know! You're saying to yourself, "How can that be? It's the PaneKiller Jane show!". And I agree with you. But apparently they want to play down her abilities a bit and focus more on her police and detective work. Which to me is the wrong choice. But hey, I still got the books. If I want to see Jane die, and come back, I got my wish with issue #1. She dies, I think, 3 times in this issue alone. This is exactly the type of story I was hoping for with the TV series. But hey, at least I got it here. Both issues are great. I'm not a huge Lee Moder fan, but, I have to admit, I like his style in these books. Maybe he's diggin' these books a bit more, or maybe he's trying something a little different, or maybe he's got a different inker . . . I don't know. But I will say that I found these books to be very . . . visually appealing. Of course it didn't hurt that Jane was half naked through the whole issue. But hey, Lee drew that. So . . . it got my attention. I tried not to get sucked in to the whole multiple cover thing. I think this one came out with 4 or 5 different regular covers, and then there was still an incentive cover. I don't know. This still seems like a marketing ploy to me. But then, I'm cynical sometimes. So anyways, I just picked out the cover I liked the best, and came home and enjoyed the book. Dynamite is really trying to be a viable alternative to the big 2. 3 if you count Image. But since I buy like 2 Image books, they don't seem that big to me. Anyways, this is the first title that they've published though that I've actually been interested in the character. Well, there will be 2 when the Boys come out. I can't wait. But, I've seen a lot of good reviews about their other titles. They just aren't my cup of tea. But hopefully with their talent pool, some pretty amazing characters, and hopefully a good vision and business plan, they'll be able to take a good foothold in today's market. They seem to be doing ok so far. We'll just have to wait and see if they have the staying power though. So far, it looks like they're on the right track.

PainkillerJane - Episode 9 - Trial by Fire - SciFi Channel

This was actually not a half bad story. All the hype and drama about one of their team members actually being a pyromaniac had me going for a second there. Then about 10 minutes in to it I thought, forget about what they say is going on. And look at what is actually happening. Forget about the whole government angle. It's all smoke. And forget about the whole mess about worrying about the guys previous record and what his cell-mate is going to say. That's all smoke. Think about what we do know. The fires were all in blue houses, 2 story, easy access to freeway. And . . . oh yeah . . . a garage that faces the alley. Well . . . all except the last house. In which our guy was caught. And, after which, there were no more fires. So to me that meant 1 of 2 things. Either they caught their guy . . . highly unlikely. Or the person that they were trying to kill got killed. And since she was a stay at home mom . . . I instantly thought . . . it's the husband. But I continued to watch the next 40 minutes of the show, only to have my suspicions confirmed. This one could've been a Close to Home or Criminal Minds episode. Wait! Scratch that. It wasn't good enough for a Criminal Minds episode. And what about our namesake here? Jane Vasco? May as well have been Urkle running around with the team, for all she participated. Ok. Yes she took a bullet or 2. But that happens on every TV crime show. Her . . . and her powers . . . were inconsequential to the episode. Which really . . . is to bad. She's a good character. She's a complicated, sexy character. She's actually the main character. But you would never know it from how the stories are written. My recommendation? Skip it! Unless there's nothing better on. But if you can find an episode of AFV or a Gilligan's Island repeat, which you've probably seen about 10 times . . . . skip it. The other show's are better.

PainkillerJane - Episode 8 - Friendly Fire - SciFi Channel

To me, this was kind of a strange episode. Basically, someone, well we know it's this Doctor, but he was hired by someone else, abducts Jane. They put her through this personal hell, because they want to know where NIKO is. That's the place where McBride takes all the Neuro's after they've been "chipped". No one on her team knows where she's at. And the guy that's holding her is a shape-shifter. So he keeps coming in, as members of her team, to visit her, but then he has them turn on her so he can break her down psychologically. All except for the girl, that came on to the group with her. Sorry, the only names I can remember are McBride's and Riley's. Like I've said previously, I'm really having a hard time getting in to this series. Mainly because I just don't . . . "buy" it. So anyways, when he comes in as the girl, he working on trying to garner her trust. Supposedly she's in a hospital. But the nurse that's watching her, notices that they have no other patients. So what about all the other people we see working up and down the hallways. They don't notice that. Or they're all working for this Doctor guy? Because if so . . . they never ever stop to talk to him. If he's running the show, and they're some kind of actors, playing parts, don't you at least think there would be some kind of interaction between them? And I'll bring this up again, why on earth is this her show, it is called "Painkiller Jane", but they minimize her character? Anyways, they figure it out, they get the doctor, but they don't find out who's behind the whole thing. And even though he had Jane driving him to NIKO, when they're wrapping up the whole thing, they don't think that that's important? I don't know. There's a lot of holes in this series, and in these stories. I'm really trying to get in to it. Because I'm a comic book fanatic. But I don't know . . . I'm really thinking about chucking the whole thing. It's really a waste of my time. But that's just my opinion. That and a nickle . . . . . will get you . . . . nothing!