Painkiller Jane: The Complete Series (2007) (TV series review).
The Painkiller Jane television series was shown in 2007, with this DVD set released in 2012. I’m not sure how I missed it.
Based on the comic-book series created by Jimmy Palmiotti and Joe Quesada, it follows the exploits of a small unit hunting neurological aberrants, abbreviated to ‘neuros’, people with dangerous psionic abilities. The team implants a device in their necks to neutralise their powers before locking them away.
DEA agent Jane Vasco (actress Kristanna Loken) assists the team during an investigation. When she survives a forty-foot fall from a window, she and her partner, Maureen Bowers (actress Alaina Huffman), are recruited into the unit.
The team is led by Andre McBride (actor Rob Stewart), with Connor King (actor Noah Danby) providing the muscle, Riley Jensen (actor Sean Owen Roberts) handling the computers and Seth Carpenter (actor Stephen Lobo) serving as medic. With such a large ensemble, it is difficult to give everyone enough to do, so expect a few changes over the course of the 22 episodes.
The name Painkiller Jane is something of a misnomer, as she is never actually called that and she certainly feels pain whenever she is injured, which happens in nearly every episode. Her ability to survive attacks does, however, give the team one hell of an advantage.
Jane also discovers that her IQ is increasing as her brain cells rearrange themselves during the healing process. This is not explored in much depth beyond her reading more books and becoming better at solving puzzles.
The series quickly becomes formulaic, although later episodes begin to address where the neuros might have come from and whether Jane herself could be the result of an experiment. When the team visits an overseas facility holding neuros and discovers abuse there, the issue is not properly resolved before the season ends.
The final four episodes were filmed in Hungary and involve the team investigating a detention facility where things are going badly wrong.
Given the way the story is left, there were clearly hopes for a second series, but these 22 episodes are all you get. It is a very violent production, although there are some successful attempts to shake up the formula and give the cast opportunities to stretch themselves.
I haven’t read the comic-book series, so I can’t say how closely the television version follows it. However, co-creator Jimmy Palmiotti was involved in the production, which probably helped to keep this Canadian-made adaptation on track while it lasted.
GF Willmetts
July 2026
(pub: Anchor Bay Entertainment, 2012. 6 DVDs. 983 minutes. 22 43-minute episodes. Price: varies. ASIN: ABD1051)
Cast: Kristanna Loken, Rob Stewart, Noah Danby, Stephen Lobo, Sean Owen Roberts and Alaina Huffman.
