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Human Target (TV series)
Encyclopedia
Human Target is an American action drama
television series that was broadcast by Fox
in the United States. Based loosely on the Human Target
comic book
character created by Len Wein
and Carmine Infantino
for DC Comics
, it is the second series based on this title developed for television, the first TV series
having been aired in 1992 on ABC
. Developed by Jonathan E. Steinberg
, Human Target premiered on CTV
in Canada and on Fox
in the United States in January 2010. The series was officially canceled on May 10, 2011, after the conclusion of the second season.
), a unique private contractor, bodyguard and security expert hired to protect his clients. Rather than taking on the target's identity himself (as in the comic book version), he protects his clients by completely integrating himself into their lives, to become a "human target". Chance is accompanied by his business partner Winston (Chi McBride
) and hired gun Guerrero (Jackie Earle Haley
). Former client Ilsa Pucci (Indira Varma
) becomes Chance's benefactor, while experienced thief Ames (Janet Montgomery) joins the team to seek redemption. Chance puts himself on the line to find the truth behind the mission. Even his own business partner Winston does not know what drove him towards this life, although it is explained in the first season finale episode (which also explains about the name Christopher Chance itself).
, British Columbia
.
On May 12, 2010, it was announced that Human Target had been renewed for a second season. Matt Miller took over as showrunner from Jon E. Steinberg who remained part of the production team as an executive producer
. Warner Bros. had contacted Miller to take a look at the first season and give his opinions on what changes he would make to the show.
The show was officially canceled on May 10, 2011.
's character Guerrero was intended to have a one-time appearance in the pilot episode, and every episode thereafter would feature a different character assisting Chance and Winston. However, the producers liked Haley's performance and his character, and invited the actor to be a regular on the series.
Bear McCreary
scored the music for the first season, for which he received an Emmy Award
nomination for Outstanding Main Title Theme Music. He wanted to create a modern classic-adventure score", and a heroic but still fun and iconic theme for Chance. Chance's theme later became the opening theme for the first season. McCreary wrote around 30 minutes of full orchestra
l music for 11 weeks in a row, which was performed by an average of 60 musicians. The score for the final episode of the season, "Christopher Chance", was performed by a total of 94 musicians, making it the largest live orchestra ever assembled for a television series. McCreary was not asked back for the second season as they could no longer afford a weekly 40-person orchestra. Chuck
composer Tim Jones
took over the role.
on January 15, 2010, and began airing on Fox
on January 17, 2010. The first three episodes aired in various time slots on Fox; it premiered on Sunday at 8:00 pm ET; the second episode aired Wednesday at 9:00 pm ET; and the third episode aired Tuesday at 9:00 pm ET before relocating to its regular time slot for the remainder of the season, Wednesday at 8:00 pm ET. The first seasons' finale aired April 11, 2010 in Canada and three days later in the U.S. The second season was due to premiere on September 24, 2010 but later delayed to October 1, 2010 airing in a new time slot, Fridays at 8:00 pm ET. Instead of airing the season premiere Fox aired a rerun of Human Target and moved the show back to Wednesdays, taking Lie to Me
time-slot, which had moved to Mondays due to the cancellation of Lone Star. The second season premiered November 17, 2010 on Fox and originally aired Wednesdays at 8:00 pm ET. In January 2011, back-to-back episodes aired on January 5 and January 14, 2011. On January 12, 2011, due to network coverage of the Tucson memorial service, the two scheduled episodes did not air in the United States on Fox, however they aired in Canada on A. The episodes were rescheduled and aired on January 14, 2011 on Fox. Fox announced on January 13, 2011, that the next scheduled episode to air on January 26 was to be delayed and aired January 31, airing Monday at 8:00 pm ET. The final two episodes of the season aired on February 2 and 9, airing in another new timeslot, Wednesdays at 9:00 pm. Fox announced the official cancellation of the series on May 10, 2011.
In Australia, Human Target premiered on GO!
on August 18, 2010. A week later it premiered in New Zealand on TV2.
based on 26 critical reviews. The New York Post stated, "because he's a human target, he has no problem blowing out of exploding buildings (of which there are too many to count) with nary a scratch. Think Jack Bauer
with excellent grooming." Robert Bianco wrote of the show's premiere in USA Today
, the "confined-spaces fight on the train is a miniature marvel of its kind." Not all reviews were positive. Cynthia Fuchs gave the show a 3 out of 10, calling it predictable and the characters uninteresting.
The second season premiere received similar favorable reviews, scoring slightly higher than the first season with 73 out of 100 on Metacritic based on 12 reviews. Brian Lowry from Variety
criticized the changes made to the second season believing that the producers were forced to give the show an overhaul by the network to make it more appealing to women. He believes the changes almost ruined the show for those who loved the first season. But he said "for all that, there are still some good moments in these early hours, and the stuntwork remains impressive." He was also happy to see the scheduling changes keeping the show away from the Friday night death slot
. Some reviewers wondered what happened to the original theme music, with Ian Cullen going as far as to say that "the change of music in the opening title sequence just plain sucked."
The second season continued the drop in viewers and premiered to 6.59 million viewers. Viewership increased for the final three episodes of the second season, when the show aired in special time slots. Notably, episode 12 which aired after American Idol
, received 9.3 million viewers, a season-high, and the best ratings the series has had since the beginning of the first season.
Dean Choe received a nomination for "Outstanding Stunt Coordination" for the fifth episode "Run", Bear McCreary
for "Outstanding Original Main Title Theme Music" and Karin Fong, Jeremy O. Cox and Cara McKenney for "Outstanding Main Title Design".
by Mark Valley, Chi McBride, Jonathan E. Steinberg
and Peter Johnson for the pilot episode and two featurettes; "Human Target: Full Contact Television" and "Human Target: Confidential Informant". The set received a rating of 4.5 out of 5 from Blu-ray.com, with concerns expressed that "squeezing twelve episodes onto two discs takes a bit of a toll" and caused some artifacting
. The site also questioned the use of a lossy 640 kbit/s audio track and the small number of special features, calling it "a tad pricey for twelve episodes". By contrast, DVD Verdict
said that the DVD's gave "a better-than average offering of supplements".
for the first season was released by WaterTower Music on October 8, 2010. A limited three-disc soundtrack with an additional 20 tracks was released on October 22, 2010 by La-La Land Records
.
Drama
Drama is the specific mode of fiction represented in performance. The term comes from a Greek word meaning "action" , which is derived from "to do","to act" . The enactment of drama in theatre, performed by actors on a stage before an audience, presupposes collaborative modes of production and a...
television series that was broadcast by Fox
Fox Broadcasting Company
Fox Broadcasting Company, commonly referred to as Fox Network or simply Fox , is an American commercial broadcasting television network owned by Fox Entertainment Group, part of Rupert Murdoch's News Corporation. Launched on October 9, 1986, Fox was the highest-rated broadcast network in the...
in the United States. Based loosely on the Human Target
Human Target
The Human Target is the name of two fictional comic book characters that have appeared in books published by DC Comics. The first is Fred Venable, who appears in Detective Comics #201 , by Edmond Hamilton and Sheldon Moldoff....
comic book
Comic book
A comic book or comicbook is a magazine made up of comics, narrative artwork in the form of separate panels that represent individual scenes, often accompanied by dialog as well as including...
character created by Len Wein
Len Wein
Len Wein is an American comic book writer and editor best known for co-creating DC Comics' Swamp Thing and Marvel Comics' Wolverine, and for helping revive the Marvel superhero team the X-Men...
and Carmine Infantino
Carmine Infantino
Carmine Infantino Carmine Infantino Carmine Infantino (born May 24, 1925, in Brooklyn, New York is an American comic book artist and editor who was a major force in the Silver Age of Comic Books...
for DC Comics
DC Comics
DC Comics, Inc. is one of the largest and most successful companies operating in the market for American comic books and related media. It is the publishing unit of DC Entertainment a company of Warner Bros. Entertainment, which itself is owned by Time Warner...
, it is the second series based on this title developed for television, the first TV series
Human Target (1992 TV series)
Human Target is an American action drama television series broadcast by ABC in the United States. It is based on the comic book character of the same title created by Len Wein and Carmine Infantino, and developed for television by Danny Bilson and Paul DeMeo. The seven-episode series premiered on...
having been aired in 1992 on ABC
American Broadcasting Company
The American Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network. Created in 1943 from the former NBC Blue radio network, ABC is owned by The Walt Disney Company and is part of Disney-ABC Television Group. Its first broadcast on television was in 1948...
. Developed by Jonathan E. Steinberg
Jonathan E. Steinberg
Jonathan E. Steinberg is a television producer and screenwriter. Along with Josh Schaer and Stephen Chbosky, he co-created the television series Jericho, where he served as writer, producer and executive story editor, Jericho ran on CBS from September 20, 2006, through March 25, 2008.Steinberg then...
, Human Target premiered on CTV
CTV television network
CTV Television Network is a Canadian English language television network and is owned by Bell Media. It is Canada's largest privately-owned network, and has consistently placed as Canada's top-rated network in total viewers and in key demographics since 2002, after several years trailing the rival...
in Canada and on Fox
Fox Broadcasting Company
Fox Broadcasting Company, commonly referred to as Fox Network or simply Fox , is an American commercial broadcasting television network owned by Fox Entertainment Group, part of Rupert Murdoch's News Corporation. Launched on October 9, 1986, Fox was the highest-rated broadcast network in the...
in the United States in January 2010. The series was officially canceled on May 10, 2011, after the conclusion of the second season.
Synopsis
The series follows the life of San Francisco-based Christopher Chance (Mark ValleyMark Valley
Mark Thomas Valley is an American film and television actor, known for his role as Brad Chase on the TV drama Boston Legal and Christopher Chance in Fox's action/drama Human Target.-Personal life:...
), a unique private contractor, bodyguard and security expert hired to protect his clients. Rather than taking on the target's identity himself (as in the comic book version), he protects his clients by completely integrating himself into their lives, to become a "human target". Chance is accompanied by his business partner Winston (Chi McBride
Chi McBride
Kenneth "Chi" McBride is an American actor. He starred as Steven Harper on the series Boston Public, as Emerson Cod on Pushing Daisies, and recently appeared in Fox's drama Human Target.-Early life:...
) and hired gun Guerrero (Jackie Earle Haley
Jackie Earle Haley
Jackie Earle Haley is an American film actor. Establishing himself from child actor to adult Academy Award-nominee, he is perhaps best known for his roles as Moocher in Breaking Away, Kelly Leak in The Bad News Bears, pedophile Ronnie McGorvey in Little Children, the vigilante Rorschach in...
). Former client Ilsa Pucci (Indira Varma
Indira Varma
Indira Varma is an English actress. Her first major role was in Kama Sutra: A Tale of Love. She has gone on to appear in the television series Rome and Human Target.-Early life and background:...
) becomes Chance's benefactor, while experienced thief Ames (Janet Montgomery) joins the team to seek redemption. Chance puts himself on the line to find the truth behind the mission. Even his own business partner Winston does not know what drove him towards this life, although it is explained in the first season finale episode (which also explains about the name Christopher Chance itself).
Cast and characters
Main characters
- Mark ValleyMark ValleyMark Thomas Valley is an American film and television actor, known for his role as Brad Chase on the TV drama Boston Legal and Christopher Chance in Fox's action/drama Human Target.-Personal life:...
as Christopher Chance – an ex-assassin formerly employed by "The Old Man", who became a security specialist/private contractor/mercenary-for-hire helping those in need. He took the name from the previous Christopher Chance (Lee MajorsLee MajorsLee Majors is an American television, film and voice actor, best known for his starring role as Colonel Steve Austin in The Six Million Dollar Man and as Colt Seavers in The Fall Guy ....
). His real name is unknown. Abandoned as a child, Chance has a dark and mysterious past, beginning with his recruitment by "The Old Man" and training into one of the world's greatest assassins. Despite being given the Old Man's true name as his own (he is referred to as "Junior") and being selected to succeed him as leader of the organization, Chance instead broke ranks, fled, and taking up the name and mantle of Christopher Chance, started his life again. Officially, he is listed as "John Doe", with the name "Christopher Chance" amongst his many aliases. - Chi McBrideChi McBrideKenneth "Chi" McBride is an American actor. He starred as Steven Harper on the series Boston Public, as Emerson Cod on Pushing Daisies, and recently appeared in Fox's drama Human Target.-Early life:...
as Detective Laverne Winston – a former police detective with the San Francisco Police DepartmentSan Francisco Police DepartmentThe San Francisco Police Department, also known as the SFPD and San Francisco Department Of Police, is the police department of the City and County of San Francisco, California...
who is now Chance's business partner. Winston left the force after the Katherine Walters mission "to do what was right. But no B.S.BullshitBullshit is a common English expletive which may be shortened to the euphemism bull or the initialism B.S. In British English, "bollocks" is a comparable expletive, although bullshit is commonly used in British English...
, no egos in the way." At the end of season one, he was in the custody of one of the Old Man's clients for secretly hiding a mysterious book they were after, with Chance and the Old Man working together again to get him back. - Jackie Earle HaleyJackie Earle HaleyJackie Earle Haley is an American film actor. Establishing himself from child actor to adult Academy Award-nominee, he is perhaps best known for his roles as Moocher in Breaking Away, Kelly Leak in The Bad News Bears, pedophile Ronnie McGorvey in Little Children, the vigilante Rorschach in...
as Guerrero – an ex-assassin formerly employed by the Old Man, who also went rogue alongside Chance after he was ordered to kill Katherine Walters when Chance refused to do it. Guerrero works as part of the team, and despite his complicated nature, cares greatly about Winston and Chance, considering the former a friend and secretly protecting the latter from the Old Man's agents. Outwardly, Guerrero appears weak and nerdy when in reality he is actually a highly intelligent, vicious, and deadly killer. Despite this, he is deeply loyal to his friends and a family man with a child of his own. He helps Chance and Winston in their missions by using his underworld contacts, as an accomplished computer hacker, and is also an expert in torturingTortureTorture is the act of inflicting severe pain as a means of punishment, revenge, forcing information or a confession, or simply as an act of cruelty. Throughout history, torture has often been used as a method of political re-education, interrogation, punishment, and coercion...
people for information. - Indira VarmaIndira VarmaIndira Varma is an English actress. Her first major role was in Kama Sutra: A Tale of Love. She has gone on to appear in the television series Rome and Human Target.-Early life and background:...
as Ilsa Pucci – a sophisticated and recently widowed billionaire who becomes a benefactor to Chance to aid their protection agency. - Janet Montgomery as Ames – a thief whose chameleon-like abilities allow her to blend into any situation. Winston, familiar with Ames from his days on the police force, offers her a job in an effort to help her get her life on the right track.
Recurring characters
- Emmanuelle VaugierEmmanuelle VaugierEmmanuelle Vaugier is a Canadian film actress, singer, songwriter and television actress who has had recurring roles as Detective Jessica Angell on CSI: NY, Mia on Two and a Half Men, Dr. Helen Bryce on Smallville, and FBI Special Agent Emma Barnes on Human Target...
as FBI Special Agent Emma Barnes – after her career was tarnished by Chance's activities in "Embassy Row", Chance is able to get her help to stop Baptiste's assassination mission in "Baptiste". With Baptiste's arrest, Barnes' reputation is implied to have been restored. Barnes and Chance have complicated romantic feelings for each-other. - Autumn ReeserAutumn ReeserAutumn Alicia Reeser is an American actress and blogger. She has portrayed Taylor Townsend on the Fox series The O.C., Lizzie Grant on HBO's Entourage and most recently appeared as Katie Andrews on ABC's No Ordinary Family....
as Layla – a computer technician who was initially working for a corrupt defense contractor company Sentronics in "Lockdown", but after it was ruined by Chance, Layla was recruited to freelance for the team in "Baptiste". - Leonor VarelaLeonor VarelaLeonor Varela Palma is a Chilean actress, and model. She played the character Cleopatra in the 1999 film Cleopatra...
as Maria Gallego – Chance's former girlfriend who asks for his help in "Salvage & Reclamation". They are reunited once again in "A Problem Like Maria" when she asks for his assistance again to rescue a friend of hers. She is also revealed to be married, a secret she keeps from him until they share their goodbyes. - Lennie JamesLennie JamesLennie James is an English actor and playwright.-Career:James attended the Guildhall School of Music and Drama, graduating in 1988...
as Baptiste – an assassin employed by The Old Man who previously worked with Chance, being his partner, student and friend. Baptiste is one of the world's greatest assassins; amoral, ruthless, incredibly efficient and deadly, but he owes all his skills to being trained by Chance. Baptiste did not take it well when Chance ran away, and even now struggles to understand. Baptiste is responsible for countless deaths, including the flawless hits of heads of state. Most notably, Baptiste killed Katherine Walters and the previous Christopher Chance as seen in "Christopher Chance". Baptiste's plan to destroy Operation Olive Branch, a secret UN peace summit, was foiled by Chance and Agent Barnes, and so Baptiste was taken into custody by the FBI in "Baptiste". "The Return of Baptiste" shows that he was transferred to a Russian gulag. He betrayed Chance after being recruited to assist the team in retrieving hostages taken by Don Miguel Cervantes. Baptiste asks to become Cervantes' head contract killer, before betraying Cervantes to save Chance. On returning from the mission Baptiste vows never to return to the Russian gulag as promised, but he is outsmarted by Chance yet again. He is also shown to collect his victims' watches. - Armand AssanteArmand Assante-Personal life:Assante was born in New York City and raised in Cornwall, New York, the son of Katherine , a music teacher and poet, and Armand Anthony Assante, Sr., a painter and artist. His father was Italian and his mother was Irish, and was raised in a devoutly Roman Catholic family...
as The Old Man – the leader of an organization of professional mercenaries and assassins, his two favorite subordinates were Chance and Baptiste but, while he respects them both equally, he considered Chance his favorite and, becoming a surrogate father-figure to him, groomed him to be his successor, to the point he gave him his own name as Chance's - and when Chance ran and disappeared, taking the name "Christopher Chance", it was said to have "broken his heart". He seeks to re-recruit Chance back into his organization. His reputation for ruthlessness is so great Chance admitted the Old Man was the one person he is afraid of. - Tony HaleTony HaleTony Hale is an American actor, best known for his role in the Fox comedy series Arrested Development as the neurotic Byron "Buster" Bluth.-Early life:...
as Harry – a private investigator who assists Chance and the team.
Production
On May 18, 2009, Fox announced that Human Target would premiere mid-season. The show is filmed in VancouverVancouver
Vancouver is a coastal seaport city on the mainland of British Columbia, Canada. It is the hub of Greater Vancouver, which, with over 2.3 million residents, is the third most populous metropolitan area in the country,...
, British Columbia
British Columbia
British Columbia is the westernmost of Canada's provinces and is known for its natural beauty, as reflected in its Latin motto, Splendor sine occasu . Its name was chosen by Queen Victoria in 1858...
.
On May 12, 2010, it was announced that Human Target had been renewed for a second season. Matt Miller took over as showrunner from Jon E. Steinberg who remained part of the production team as an executive producer
Executive producer
An executive producer is a producer who is not involved in any technical aspects of the film making or music process, but who is still responsible for the overall production...
. Warner Bros. had contacted Miller to take a look at the first season and give his opinions on what changes he would make to the show.
The show was officially canceled on May 10, 2011.
Casting
In the original concept, Jackie Earle HaleyJackie Earle Haley
Jackie Earle Haley is an American film actor. Establishing himself from child actor to adult Academy Award-nominee, he is perhaps best known for his roles as Moocher in Breaking Away, Kelly Leak in The Bad News Bears, pedophile Ronnie McGorvey in Little Children, the vigilante Rorschach in...
's character Guerrero was intended to have a one-time appearance in the pilot episode, and every episode thereafter would feature a different character assisting Chance and Winston. However, the producers liked Haley's performance and his character, and invited the actor to be a regular on the series.
Music
ComposerComposer
A composer is a person who creates music, either by musical notation or oral tradition, for interpretation and performance, or through direct manipulation of sonic material through electronic media...
Bear McCreary
Bear McCreary
Bear McCreary is an American composer and musician living in Los Angeles, California. He is known for his work on the re-imagined Battlestar Galactica television series.-Biography:...
scored the music for the first season, for which he received an Emmy Award
Emmy Award
An Emmy Award, often referred to simply as the Emmy, is a television production award, similar in nature to the Peabody Awards but more focused on entertainment, and is considered the television equivalent to the Academy Awards and the Grammy Awards .A majority of Emmys are presented in various...
nomination for Outstanding Main Title Theme Music. He wanted to create a modern classic-adventure score", and a heroic but still fun and iconic theme for Chance. Chance's theme later became the opening theme for the first season. McCreary wrote around 30 minutes of full orchestra
Orchestra
An orchestra is a sizable instrumental ensemble that contains sections of string, brass, woodwind, and percussion instruments. The term orchestra derives from the Greek ορχήστρα, the name for the area in front of an ancient Greek stage reserved for the Greek chorus...
l music for 11 weeks in a row, which was performed by an average of 60 musicians. The score for the final episode of the season, "Christopher Chance", was performed by a total of 94 musicians, making it the largest live orchestra ever assembled for a television series. McCreary was not asked back for the second season as they could no longer afford a weekly 40-person orchestra. Chuck
Chuck (TV series)
Chuck is an action-comedy/spy-drama television program from the United States created by Josh Schwartz and Chris Fedak. The series is about an "average computer-whiz-next-door" named Chuck, played by Zachary Levi, who receives an encoded e-mail from an old college friend now working for the Central...
composer Tim Jones
Tim Jones (film composer)
Timothy Stuart Jones is an American composer and musician. Jones has composed film scores for film and television.Jones is currently composing the music for the fourth season of Chuck on NBC. He has been the sole composer since the series debut in 2007...
took over the role.
Broadcast
The series premiered in Canada on CTVCTV television network
CTV Television Network is a Canadian English language television network and is owned by Bell Media. It is Canada's largest privately-owned network, and has consistently placed as Canada's top-rated network in total viewers and in key demographics since 2002, after several years trailing the rival...
on January 15, 2010, and began airing on Fox
Fox Broadcasting Company
Fox Broadcasting Company, commonly referred to as Fox Network or simply Fox , is an American commercial broadcasting television network owned by Fox Entertainment Group, part of Rupert Murdoch's News Corporation. Launched on October 9, 1986, Fox was the highest-rated broadcast network in the...
on January 17, 2010. The first three episodes aired in various time slots on Fox; it premiered on Sunday at 8:00 pm ET; the second episode aired Wednesday at 9:00 pm ET; and the third episode aired Tuesday at 9:00 pm ET before relocating to its regular time slot for the remainder of the season, Wednesday at 8:00 pm ET. The first seasons' finale aired April 11, 2010 in Canada and three days later in the U.S. The second season was due to premiere on September 24, 2010 but later delayed to October 1, 2010 airing in a new time slot, Fridays at 8:00 pm ET. Instead of airing the season premiere Fox aired a rerun of Human Target and moved the show back to Wednesdays, taking Lie to Me
Lie to Me
Lie to Me is a 2009-2011 American television series.Lie to Me may also refer to:* Lie to Me , a South Korean drama series* "Lie to Me" , an episode of Buffy the Vampire Slayer...
time-slot, which had moved to Mondays due to the cancellation of Lone Star. The second season premiered November 17, 2010 on Fox and originally aired Wednesdays at 8:00 pm ET. In January 2011, back-to-back episodes aired on January 5 and January 14, 2011. On January 12, 2011, due to network coverage of the Tucson memorial service, the two scheduled episodes did not air in the United States on Fox, however they aired in Canada on A. The episodes were rescheduled and aired on January 14, 2011 on Fox. Fox announced on January 13, 2011, that the next scheduled episode to air on January 26 was to be delayed and aired January 31, airing Monday at 8:00 pm ET. The final two episodes of the season aired on February 2 and 9, airing in another new timeslot, Wednesdays at 9:00 pm. Fox announced the official cancellation of the series on May 10, 2011.
In Australia, Human Target premiered on GO!
Go! (Australian TV channel)
GO! is an Australian free-to-air standard definition digital television channel launched by the Nine Network on Sunday 9 August 2009.-Origins:...
on August 18, 2010. A week later it premiered in New Zealand on TV2.
Critical reception
The series premiere of Human Target received generally favorable reviews, scoring 70 out of 100 on MetacriticMetacritic
Metacritic.com is a website that collates reviews of music albums, games, movies, TV shows and DVDs. For each product, a numerical score from each review is obtained and the total is averaged. An excerpt of each review is provided along with a hyperlink to the source. Three colour codes of Green,...
based on 26 critical reviews. The New York Post stated, "because he's a human target, he has no problem blowing out of exploding buildings (of which there are too many to count) with nary a scratch. Think Jack Bauer
Jack Bauer
Jack Bauer is the main protagonist of the American television series 24. His character has worked in various capacities on the show, often as a member of the fictional Counter Terrorist Unit based in Los Angeles, and working with the FBI in Washington, D.C...
with excellent grooming." Robert Bianco wrote of the show's premiere in USA Today
USA Today
USA Today is a national American daily newspaper published by the Gannett Company. It was founded by Al Neuharth. The newspaper vies with The Wall Street Journal for the position of having the widest circulation of any newspaper in the United States, something it previously held since 2003...
, the "confined-spaces fight on the train is a miniature marvel of its kind." Not all reviews were positive. Cynthia Fuchs gave the show a 3 out of 10, calling it predictable and the characters uninteresting.
The second season premiere received similar favorable reviews, scoring slightly higher than the first season with 73 out of 100 on Metacritic based on 12 reviews. Brian Lowry from Variety
Variety (magazine)
Variety is an American weekly entertainment-trade magazine founded in New York City, New York, in 1905 by Sime Silverman. With the rise of the importance of the motion-picture industry, Daily Variety, a daily edition based in Los Angeles, California, was founded by Silverman in 1933. In 1998, the...
criticized the changes made to the second season believing that the producers were forced to give the show an overhaul by the network to make it more appealing to women. He believes the changes almost ruined the show for those who loved the first season. But he said "for all that, there are still some good moments in these early hours, and the stuntwork remains impressive." He was also happy to see the scheduling changes keeping the show away from the Friday night death slot
Friday night death slot
The Friday night death slot is a perceived graveyard slot in American television, referring to the concept that a television program in the United States scheduled on Friday evenings is destined for imminent cancellation....
. Some reviewers wondered what happened to the original theme music, with Ian Cullen going as far as to say that "the change of music in the opening title sequence just plain sucked."
Viewership
In the U.S. the series premiere attracted 10.12 million viewers, and dropped to 7.24 million viewers for the season finale. The first season averaged on 8.26 million viewers and became 48th in viewers. In Canada the premiere was watched by 1.26 million people, ranking 21st in that week.The second season continued the drop in viewers and premiered to 6.59 million viewers. Viewership increased for the final three episodes of the second season, when the show aired in special time slots. Notably, episode 12 which aired after American Idol
American Idol
American Idol, titled American Idol: The Search for a Superstar for the first season, is a reality television singing competition created by Simon Fuller and produced by FremantleMedia North America and 19 Entertainment...
, received 9.3 million viewers, a season-high, and the best ratings the series has had since the beginning of the first season.
Awards and nominations
In 2010 Human Target was nominated for three Emmy Awards. Stunt coordinatorStunt coordinator
A stunt coordinator, usually an experienced stunt performer, is hired by a TV, film or theatre director or production company to arrange the casting and performance of stunts for a film, television programme or a live audience...
Dean Choe received a nomination for "Outstanding Stunt Coordination" for the fifth episode "Run", Bear McCreary
Bear McCreary
Bear McCreary is an American composer and musician living in Los Angeles, California. He is known for his work on the re-imagined Battlestar Galactica television series.-Biography:...
for "Outstanding Original Main Title Theme Music" and Karin Fong, Jeremy O. Cox and Cara McKenney for "Outstanding Main Title Design".
DVD and Blu-ray
Human Target – The Complete 1st Season was released as a widescreen three-disc region 1 DVD box set as well as a two-disc region free Blu-ray version on September 21, 2010. In addition to the 12 episodes of the season, which have an enhanced audio mix, a number of extras are included; several unaired and deleted scenes, an audio commentaryAudio commentary
On disc-based video formats, an audio commentary is an additional audio track consisting of a lecture or comments by one or more speakers, that plays in real time with video...
by Mark Valley, Chi McBride, Jonathan E. Steinberg
Jonathan E. Steinberg
Jonathan E. Steinberg is a television producer and screenwriter. Along with Josh Schaer and Stephen Chbosky, he co-created the television series Jericho, where he served as writer, producer and executive story editor, Jericho ran on CBS from September 20, 2006, through March 25, 2008.Steinberg then...
and Peter Johnson for the pilot episode and two featurettes; "Human Target: Full Contact Television" and "Human Target: Confidential Informant". The set received a rating of 4.5 out of 5 from Blu-ray.com, with concerns expressed that "squeezing twelve episodes onto two discs takes a bit of a toll" and caused some artifacting
Compression artifact
A compression artifact is a noticeable distortion of media caused by the application of lossy data compression....
. The site also questioned the use of a lossy 640 kbit/s audio track and the small number of special features, calling it "a tad pricey for twelve episodes". By contrast, DVD Verdict
DVD Verdict
DVD Verdict is a judicial themed website for DVD reviews. The site was founded in 1999. Current editor in chief is Michael Stailey, who also reviews for Rotten Tomatoes...
said that the DVD's gave "a better-than average offering of supplements".
Soundtrack
A two-disc soundtrack containing 43 tracks composed by Bear McCrearyBear McCreary
Bear McCreary is an American composer and musician living in Los Angeles, California. He is known for his work on the re-imagined Battlestar Galactica television series.-Biography:...
for the first season was released by WaterTower Music on October 8, 2010. A limited three-disc soundtrack with an additional 20 tracks was released on October 22, 2010 by La-La Land Records
La-La Land Records
La-La Land Records is an American record company based in Burbank, California . The company specializes in film and television soundtracks. The label is run by Michael V...
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