Episode Title: "Christopher Chance"
Written By: Jonathan E. Steinberg & Robbie Thompson
Story: Ghosts from the past come down on Christopher Chance (Mark Valley) prompting a flood of memories to the days before he became a hero — the days when the honorable Lavern Winston (Chi McBride) was still a cop, the enigmatic Guerrero (Jackie Earle Haley) was still in shape, and the beautiful Katherine Walters (Amy Acker) was still alive.
Risk Assessment: A wise man once said that "Christopher Chance is the guy you go to when no one else can help you." What he really meant to say was that Christopher Chance is Lee Majors. And that is awesome. In every conceivable way, "Christopher Chance" was the single best episode of "Human Target's" first season. Whether it's action, pacing, guest stars, character development, cliffhangers or expanding upon the show's overarching mythology — you name it, "Christopher Chance" had it.
It's hardly surprising considering that the episode was the first season finale, it took its title from the show's main character and it shined the spotlight straight on Chance's mysterious past. By all accounts, there's no reason why "Christopher Chance" shouldn't have been a perfect episode — which is exactly why it's the single most frustrating installment of "Human Target" yet.
Why did it take thirteen episodes to learn this much about Chance? His back story was such a slow, slow build throughout the season, culminating in an avalanche of information that was almost too much to bear. Why did it take so long to find out that Guerrero is just a slightly worse fighter than Chance himself? Guerrero's squirrelly attitude was fun throughout the season, but he could have easily pitched in on the battle front on more than one occasion. Why did it take so long for Winston to reveal that his first name is Lavern? We could have made fun of him so much earlier!
None of that is to detract from the quality of the episode itself, because make no mistake, this was a very good episode. I am so thrilled that it shied away from a last minute sucker punch where Amy Acker was actually the villain. I love that the episode ended with Chance running off to save Lavern — ah, Winston. The potential for further brilliance in a second season is most certainly there, but will we get a second season? If the show maintained the quality of tonight's episode throughout the first run of episodes, there would be no question in my mind that we would.
In reality, that's just not how the season played out.
I'm keeping my fingers crossed that FOX takes a chance on "Human Target." If the series can come back and meet the quality of "Christopher Chance" on a regular basis, this would be one of the very best shows on television.
Tell us what you thought of the season finale of "Human Target" in the comments section and on Twitter!
Tags human target
'Human Target' Review: Episode 1.12, 'Christopher Chance'
Posted 4/14/10 9:53 pm EST by Josh Wigler in Commentary, Review, Vertigo
Written By: Jonathan E. Steinberg & Robbie Thompson
Story: Ghosts from the past come down on Christopher Chance (Mark Valley) prompting a flood of memories to the days before he became a hero — the days when the honorable Lavern Winston (Chi McBride) was still a cop, the enigmatic Guerrero (Jackie Earle Haley) was still in shape, and the beautiful Katherine Walters (Amy Acker) was still alive.
Risk Assessment: A wise man once said that "Christopher Chance is the guy you go to when no one else can help you." What he really meant to say was that Christopher Chance is Lee Majors. And that is awesome. In every conceivable way, "Christopher Chance" was the single best episode of "Human Target's" first season. Whether it's action, pacing, guest stars, character development, cliffhangers or expanding upon the show's overarching mythology — you name it, "Christopher Chance" had it.
It's hardly surprising considering that the episode was the first season finale, it took its title from the show's main character and it shined the spotlight straight on Chance's mysterious past. By all accounts, there's no reason why "Christopher Chance" shouldn't have been a perfect episode — which is exactly why it's the single most frustrating installment of "Human Target" yet.
Why did it take thirteen episodes to learn this much about Chance? His back story was such a slow, slow build throughout the season, culminating in an avalanche of information that was almost too much to bear. Why did it take so long to find out that Guerrero is just a slightly worse fighter than Chance himself? Guerrero's squirrelly attitude was fun throughout the season, but he could have easily pitched in on the battle front on more than one occasion. Why did it take so long for Winston to reveal that his first name is Lavern? We could have made fun of him so much earlier!
None of that is to detract from the quality of the episode itself, because make no mistake, this was a very good episode. I am so thrilled that it shied away from a last minute sucker punch where Amy Acker was actually the villain. I love that the episode ended with Chance running off to save Lavern — ah, Winston. The potential for further brilliance in a second season is most certainly there, but will we get a second season? If the show maintained the quality of tonight's episode throughout the first run of episodes, there would be no question in my mind that we would.
In reality, that's just not how the season played out.
I'm keeping my fingers crossed that FOX takes a chance on "Human Target." If the series can come back and meet the quality of "Christopher Chance" on a regular basis, this would be one of the very best shows on television.
Tell us what you thought of the season finale of "Human Target" in the comments section and on Twitter!
Tags human target
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