Human Target

Below is a rant that I have been bottling in for some time. Should you read further, I will not blame you should you disagree. I just needed to get a few things off my chest.

Why is it that FOX will do everything in its power to back reality based shows and continue to stifle promising shows such as Human Target. Yes this show had flaws, but the acting was decent and the story line was intriguing. I may be naive, yet I still believe that we as viewers deserve well written shows without the distaste of inflated human drama that has been reality TV. I think that we can grow from the train wreck syndrome of not being able to pull away from people making complete jerks of themselves for pay and start to realize that there is still novel ideas out there and intelligent writers. Reality TV has its place in game shows and the odd hidden camera series that draws upon the young and the old viewers. The time slots of 7pm to 10pm should still be reserved for reserved for shows that entertain. Instead I have to resign to watching DVR of shows on Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday to avoid this seemingly endless onslaught of contrived melodramatic human tragedy known as Reality TV.

I get the sense this show is made by smart people. It's not an intellectual show but it doesn't insult my intelligence like so many action movies. It is as advertised and as expected and as is made clear from the first ten seconds of every episode. The last one I watched had Mark Valley diving through the air within the first ten seconds of the show.

This show certainly doesn't leave me thinking about it afterwards. I watch it, it makes me feel good and I go do something else. It has a certain cheeseless charm. I feel when I start watching the show gives me a promise of giving me some good action, a little bit of information on the protagonist's past, some fun interaction between the three main characters and a few new characters. This never feels forced, it's the nature of the show. When I watch a Michael Bay movie I expect some romance, a kissing scene, some sexy scantily clad ladies, some car chase scenes and a lot of explosions but he's putting it in there because he feels like it. We expect it but we expect it because we know he's gonna force it in there regardless of the story.

I remember how people used to talk about every episode of The West Wing being like a small movie. The Human Target is the same but in the action genre. They came up with a good formula for a show, they had a great concept, they hired likable and talented stars, the direction is straightforward, the production values are extraordinarily high. Why even mention the flaws? A show is supposed to make you feel a certain way and give you a certain something. The Human Target delivers.

I imagine The Human Target's episode formula is gonna start to bore me eventually but I have trust in the people running this thing for some reason. I get a strong feeling watching it that the people in charge of this know what they're doing. Maybe I'm wrong.

this show is a distilled Indiana Jones kind of adventure, except where indie has a dark past. I've been watching all season, and from the first, it was fun and easy to watch--light fluff that does the trick when you need down time. But as the season progressed and you got a better feel for the characters, you got drawn into the old school adventure romance of it--transient heroes for those in need. redemption of the irredeemable. the scalawags you root for. there is a very archetypal sense to our cavalier protagonists, and it hearkens back to the kind of heroes i remember growing up, who were themselves retrofits of 30's heroes. I think this was very intended, even down to the motifs in the scoring. It's interesting to reject the modern sense of antihero, by mythologizing people who should be antiheroes but are not--its a classic idea that never gets tired--the noble person born out of sin. or maybe its just manipulative pablum. hey, if you're gonna watch television. . .

The finale paid off too, I really hope this series gets renewed.

I watched every episode and was very disappointed when this was cancelled. All these characters were very interesting and the cast was perfect. I wish they could have had a last season to tie up all the storylines.

After seeing terrific shows such as Life and The Unit cancelled, it's nice to find something to fill the void. Human Target does this effectively, creating a show that doesn't take itself too seriously - it's like watching a comic come to life.

Over-the-top fights, grin-inducing action sequences and the banter between Mark Valley et al (including some fantastic guest stars) will keep you smiling through the episodes' "villain of the week" plots. Hopefully the writers will make more of the arcs in the future, which would add a little depth to a show that's already hugely entertaining - which, if you're anything like me, is just what you need after coming home from work. Recommended.