When the Human Target cast and crew pauses to answer some questions, the questions they often get are vague or not even about the show. We have to give props to NJ.com for knowing about both the comic and the earlier television show with Rick Springfield and asking a very good question.
A more human 'Human Target'?: Nerd alert: At the panel for the new Fox action series "Human Target," I asked the producers why they made such a significant break from the premise of the DC Comics character on which the show is based. In the comics, Christopher Chance is a bodyguard whose specialty is impersonating (through "quantum makeup" and other vaguely sci-fi devices) the person he's protecting. In the show, Chance (Mark Valley) is simply a great bodyguard; his appearance doesn't change, and he just adopts a cover identity that's close to the actual target.
Producer Jonathan Steinberg said that, while the makeup gimmick worked well on the page and allowed the comics writers to play with concepts of identity, he felt it wouldn't be credible in a live-action version (though that was attempted once before, in a more faithful short-lived early '90s series, with Rick Springfield as Chance). Also, he didn't want to essentially have to cast a different lead actor in every episode.
"It's hard, very hard to fall in love with Indiana Jones when he looks like somebody else every week," Steinberg said. So the approach became: "How do we do this in a way, if there was a guy who did this job, how would he do it? He probably wouldn't do it by putting on a rubber mask. How would he get into your life and be there with you when your action movie was about to start?"
Read more on Chi McBride at the TCA Presentations after the jump.
The tao of Chi: One of Valley's "Human Target" co-stars is Chi McBride, who is one of the funniest men on television whether the cameras are on or off. Because McBride has starred in so many short-lived series, and because he has a healthy sense of perspective about the profession he's in, he's developed a habit of coming up with one-liners to refer to his previous failed projects. Of the Fox cop show "Killer Instinct," he says it should have been called "Kill it, it stinks." Of "The Nine," he liked to say "It's the only show in TV history whose title referred to the size of its audience."
So it was no surprise that he was ready with the jokes when someone asked him if he saw many similarities between his "Human Target" character and "Pushing Daisies" private eye Emerson Cod:
"I hope that there (are) not too many similarities with 'Pushing Daisies' because, you know, that's why I'm here talking about another show," he said, adding, "Somebody said to me today, 'Everyone loved "Pushing Daisies."' I was, like, 'No, they didn't.'"
Leave a comment