Surely it is written somewhere in the vast television bylaws that prime time needs to be routinely restocked with stunningly beautiful, lethal women. Buffy, Xena, Sydney Bristow - they're gone now, but the remarkable kick-butt attitude they fostered must live on.
And so United States television network The CW has graciously stepped up to fill the quota with a high-octane series called Nikita starring Maggie Q.
Nikita is a reboot of La Femme Nikita, itself a remake of the original French film, which also inspired an American flick starring Bridget Fonda.
The Hawaiian-born Maggie got her start in a series of Hong Kong action films and has shown off her skills in American flicks such as Mission Impossible III, so the woman can brawl with the best of them.
Still, the gruelling pace of television presents a heightened challenge.
"I'm half Asian, so [people] immediately go, 'Oh, well, you do kung fu'," she said. "Like that's what we all do. We wake up. We brush our teeth and do kung fu. So it's just assumed that you're not working your butt off to make this believable and great. And we absolutely are."
In Nikita Maggie plays a former spy and assassin who has vowed to bring down the shadowy government agency that trained her. She is instantly captivating.
Like Jennifer Garner in Alias, Maggie will need to go undercover a lot, meaning she'll be forced to don everything from skimpy swimwear to gorgeous evening gowns. It's something she doesn't exactly crave.
"I've gotten to that point where I'm so used to being sort of sweaty and wearing pants and sitting like a guy in boots and the whole thing, that when I'm dressed up and people are touching me up, I'm less comfortable. I like to wear less makeup and be tougher."
• Nikita screens on Fridays at 8.30pm on TV2.
