Parents' Guide to

Painkiller Jane

By Will Wade, Common Sense Media Reviewer

age 14+

Contrived, violent action show doesn't connect.

TV Syfy Science Fiction 2007
Painkiller Jane Poster Image

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What's the Story?

In PAINKILLER JANE, Kristanna Loken stars as titular character Jane Vasko, an indestructible government agent assigned to a team (including Rob Stewart as team leader Andre McBride and Sean Owen Roberts as computer whiz Riley Jensen) that's tracking down "Neuros" -- people who have developed unique mental abilities that make others want to do bad things. Jane has also developed her own special power -- super-healing -- which she discovers when she falls off a skyscraper and doesn't die. To make sure, she also runs into the middle of a gunfight and later jabs herself with a corkscrew, just to watch the wounds heal super-fast.

Is It Any Good?

Our review:
Parents say: Not yet rated
Kids say: Not yet rated

The problem with Painkiller Jane is that it doesn't make much sense. For example, although -- like Jane -- Neuros also spontaneously develop super-human abilities, the team's doctor vows that Jane isn't one of them -- and since there's not really any logical explanation for any of this, viewers have to take him at his word. And the storylines are held together with exposition, either from Jane or one of her fellow secret agents. Without these helpful hints, it would be nearly impossible for viewers to figure out what's going on.

It's not just the script that seems forced: Some scenes come across as low budget and fall flat. At one point, for example, the team is assigned to protect the president -- a task that apparently can't be that hard, given that only a few dozen extras are on hand to portray an unusually thin crowd greeting his arrival at a major event. And when the president's official security team notifies the Neuro hunters -- by radio -- that they won't be working together, it seems as if the goal was to avoid hiring additional actors to play the Secret Service detail. If only Jane could kill that kind of pain.

Talk to Your Kids About ...

  • Families can talk about the role of violence in this show. Is it appropriate for the story that's being told? Which parts, if any, are gratuitous? Who sets (and enforces) limits for TV violence? Are standards different now than they used to be? Why? Families can also discuss the show's father-daughter relationship. Jane's relationship with her father is strained, which seems to have played an important part in the development of her icy-cool character -- good for a government agent, not so good for maintaining close friendships. When it comes to father-daughter relationships, is "quality time" an adequate substitute for "quantity time"? How can you help a child deal with the death of a parent?

TV Details

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