Never read the comics. But doing that is on my bucket list now. This series, short as it was, actually is very good. Yeah it's a slow burner, but well worth getting into. The 'team' are pretty damn good and work well together. The stories are varied and there is scary over arc. This is GOOD sci fi.

Frankly, I'm surprised by the number of negative reviews of Painkiller Jane. It seems to me a competent, if not exceptional, sci-fi series with considerable entertainment value, interesting characters, and sometimes engaging plot lines. Some episodes are derivative but none are truly bad, except perhaps for the pointless clip show in episode 16.It certainly focuses more on the emotional than the cerebral, but that's not really a criteria for judging a show, not even a sci-fi show.The writing is solid and the main characters are competent actors. Kristiana Lokken is definitely more than just eye candy -- although the eye candy part does add to the watch-ability -- and she creates a sympathetic and occasionally complex character. (She is credited as a co-executive producer of the series, whatever that means in Hollywoodese). The other main characters are equally competent, although some of the supporting actors are 2nd tier.It is a bit loose at times but it starts to tighten up toward the end of the season when the focus shifts toward following a story arc rather than the neuro of the week, episodic format. I suspect many of the negative reviews arise from two things. The first would be viewers who might be comparing it to the comic book, which I have not read, and which should be irrelevant. The second would be production values which are generally based on budgets. There are no mind-blowing special effects in Painkiller Jane, nor should there be. It's not a space opera.Overall, I think this show got a bad rap, and I would definitely recommend it to sci-fi fans for it's entertainment value.

It's a shame Sci Fi Channel decided to cancel "Painkiller Jane". It was a good show, with nice plots and a whole universe still to explore. Jane Vasco, played by Kristanna Loken, was a good heroine, with a fast healing ability, but "human" and imperfect. I like heroes to have dark points too, and Jane did so she was more interesting. The other characters could have been developed more, but just one season didn't leave them a lot of time.I liked the pilot and the show became more interesting in later episodes, specially when they fought a Neuro who could see the future and Jane tried to save three of her team partners. One thing I didn't expect was Maureen's death. Despite she wasn't as important as Jane, she was interesting and I wish she had survived and stayed in the show. The second season of the show was worse, and the clips episode was really, really boring. However, "Jane 113" was shocking, and after that, we had the Hungary episodes, which were different and interesting. The last episode joined the Hungary episode with the plot we could see in "Jane 113" and was very nice. The way the show ended was perfect for at least one more season, and I would've certainly enjoyed more "Painkiller Jane" episodes.

Apparently, it is customary to either hate or love a show, that's however not how I work. I think this show had very little potential to begin with, but managed to build up quite a fun team-dynamic and plot, though horribly clichéd at times.I'd rate it a 6+, because it's just fun to watch and forget, like many shows today. I really liked Rob Stewart as Andre McBride, he really put a strong, disciplined leader in the show which it really needed. The team itself gets many moral issues to deal with (definite +) but the writers didn't manage to put the conclusion in the team-context (definite -).Overall, mediocre show.