LITTLE ROCK — What is it? Human Target, Season 1; 12 episodes on three discs from Warner Home Video.
How much? $39.98.
When? Now.
What’s the premise? Sometimes, through their actions or due to circumstances beyond their control, people make enemies. When there’s a bull’s-eye painted on your back, who better to protect you than someone who used to be the one firing the bullets?
Once upon a time, Christopher Chance (Mark Valley) was a hired gun - an assassin and mercenary.
But he got fed up with that life. Now he’s a bodyguard/security expert hired by desperate people who, for one reason or another, find themselves in mortal danger.
Sometimes the client knows who’s targeting him. Sometimes he has no idea.
Chance’s typical plan is fairly simple: Go undercover, make the bad guy think the target is vulnerable, draw him into making a move, then pounce. It’s a risky tactic, and one thatcan make his clients very nervous, but it usually works.
Chance doesn’t work alone. His business partner, Winston (Chi McBride), is a former police detective who left the force so he could help people without egos and politics getting in the way.
Also providing support is Chance’s former co-worker, Guerrero (Jackie Earle Haley), who looks like a harmless, weasely nerd, but is actually quite deadly. His extensive network of contacts comes in quite handy.
In each episode, there’s a new client, someone to protect and save, whether it’s a highlevel executive targeted on a high-speed train or a princess who has fallen in love with the wrong man.
What’s it like? It’s a thrill ride of a series.
The action sequences are high-energy and complex, many comparable to or surpassing what you’d see on the big screen.
The characters are colorful, with quite a bit of banter between the three main ones plus a nice blend of personalities. You get Chance’s smart-aleck charm mixed with deadly determination and confidence, Winston’s grumpiness and moral uprightness, and the vicious yet laid-back Guerrero. Winston doesn’t particularly like Guerrero. Guerrero doesn’t particularly care.
Adding an element of mystery, there’s also the ongoing story of who Chance is and what happened in his past, with the audience gradually getting more pieces of the puzzle.
Bottom line, it’s a wild show with some continuing mystery and storylines to hook regular viewers. It doesn’t take itself too seriously, but it’s not so light that it floats away either.
Extras? There are some deleted scenes, commentary on thepilot episode, and two 15-minute featurettes. One has the stars and creators talking about the concept of the series and the other focuses on the stunts and music.
New this week: 7th Heaven, Season 11; Batman Beyond, complete series; Deadwood, complete series on Blu-ray; Murder, She Wrote, Season 12; The Pillars of the Earth, miniseries; The Six Million Dollar Man, complete series; The Tudors, complete series; Wagon Train, Season 2.
Next week: Have Gun Will Travel, Season 5, Volume 1; The Lucy Show, Season 3; Parks and Recreation, Season 2.
Style, Pages 56 on 11/21/2010