Human Target: Difference between revisions

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The 2010 series was cancelled after two seasons.

* [[The Other Marty]]: The pilot was originally filmed in 1990 and costarred Clarence Clemons and Frances Fisher. By the time the show was picked up, both of their roles were recast and their scenes reshot.

 

* [[Action Girl]]: Ames is suppose to be one but currently she's on a fast track into [[Faux Action Girl]] territory; perhaps justified in that she has a background as a thief. {{spoiler|Ilsa, on the other hand is, judging by the fight she puts up in "Communications Breakdown" most definitely an [[Action Girl]]... though given that she lacks even the rough and tumble past of Ames, being an [[Action Girl]] means a [[Heroic BSOD]] since she's forced to kill someone and most of the fight is less her fighting and more her basically being unwilling to be killed quietly.}}

** Chi McBride gets to use his [[Catch Phrase]] from ''[[Pushing Daisies]]'' in "Salvage and Reclamation."

*** In "Tanarak", he tells someone "leave the info at the trash can, next to the diner", he breaks into people's houses a lot, he's constantly eating...

*** And of course in "Imbroglio", the only way the mooks are able to capture Guerrero is literally just jumping on top of him until he's trapped under their bodies.

*** In "Cool Hand Guerrero", he brings up laws and civil liberties (mostly, people infringing on his) with the same ready knowledge and pointed tones of voice as he does with various bad guys the team encounters.

* [[Affectionate Pickpocket]]: Ames

* [[Air Vent Passageway]]: They try to use this to escape in the pilot, but meet the guy they're fleeing, who's trying the same thing.

* [[Almost Kiss]]: between {{spoiler|Chance and Ilsa.}}

* [[And Starring]]: Jackie Earle Haley gets it for this show.

** To put it simple, Guerrero is [[Token Evil Teammate|a psychopath]] that luckily is on the good guys side.

*** Well, maybe just a sociopath...he seems to have a bit of a conscience, after all.

* [[Cable Car Action Sequence]]: The climax of "Sanctuary" is a fight on top of a gondola.

* [[California Doubling]]: Human Target was filmed in British Columbia, Canada.

* [[Career Killers]]: Chance and Guerrero used to be assassins. Baptiste is a very efficient one.

** Maybe not so "used to be" in Guerrero's case. The nature of his side jobs is left ambiguous.

* [[Cast Calculus]]:

** [[Power Trio]]: Chance (Ego), Winston (Superego), Guerrero (Id).

** [[Guest Star Party Member]]: Emma Barnes, originally introduced in "Embassy" returns for "Baptiste", opening the doors for other one-shot characters to possibly return.

*** Layla from "Lockdown" is also present in the same episode.

* [[Chuck Cunningham Syndrome]]: In the first season, Chance had a rottweiler named Carmine.

* [[Conservation of Ninjutsu]]

(commence ass-kicking) }}

* [[Crazy Prepared]]: Chance. It's a [[Running Gag]] in many episodes that somebody asks him a question or puts him in a situation that his character should know but a casual faker wouldn't. Chance looks very uncomfortable for about five seconds. Right before his client tries to step in and take the hit for him, he proves he knows his stuff, even down to the deep and obscure facts.

** Also, when he shows us the importance of home-base advantage in the first season finale.

** Don't forget about Baptiste. As Chance put it, "He's planned for every contingency you could imagine, and probably some that you can't"

* [[Cultured Badass]]: Guerrero is an opera enthusiast.

* [[Curb Stomp Battle]]: Chance's forte.

** "You can take that flight attendant uniform and shove it up your--!"

** "I swear to--" Said while in the presence of about thirty monks.

* [[Dark and Troubled Past]]: Everybody!

* [[Deadpan Snarker]]: Guerrero defines this trope.

** Crosses over into [[Hypocritical Humor]] when he remarks that Ilsa left "...without any hugs. Cold if you ask me."

* [[Death Seeker]]: Winston believes Chance to be one, as does Baptiste.

* [[Determinator]]: {{spoiler|Hector Lopez}} and he's got a good reason to be.

* [[Dirty Cop]]:

** Winston's arch-nemesis Broward.

* [[Easily Forgiven]]: Averted at the end of "A Wife's Tale". Despite Chance saving her life and showing he was literally willing for her to kill him to earn forgiveness, Rebecca still loathes and doesn't forgive him for killing her husband back when Chance was an assassin.

** Though she does forgive him enough not to call the police on him. There is no statute for murder after all.

* [[Embarrassing First Name]]: Winston's first name is...wait for it...Laverne.

* [[Everyone Knows Morse]]: Or at least Chance does.

** So do Guerrero and Winston, and FBI Agent Vance, in "Imbroglio."

* [[Faking Amnesia]]: Inverted. A client who has amnesia takes part in a sting to trick the bad guys by pretending not to have amnesia. To do this he has to convince them that he was faking it. It makes sense in context.

* [[Fan Nickname]]: G-Man - Guerrero.

* [[George Lucas Throwback]]: To the TV adventures series of the past like ''The Fall Guy'' or ''[[Six Million Dollar Man]]''.

* [[Girl of the Week]]

* [[Great Escape]]: "Lockdown"

* [[Hannibal Lecture]]: Baptiste loves delivering these to Chance

** Because, unlike Guerrero, she's willing to take a check. Nevertheless, being that she was a notable thief before joining the team, paying taxes was probably something she conveniently forgot to do.

* [[Heroic Sociopath]]: Guerrero, though he's not so much heroic as he is loyal to Chance.

* [[Hidden Depths]]: Guerrero is a big fan of opera. Big enough that when he misses a show in "Imbroglio", he's ready to dish out pain with as much grumpiness as when, say, 'retrieving' information from an uncooperative captive. {{spoiler|He's also initially smitten with Ilsa's sister-in-law despite the rather obvious differences between the two of them; credit to Jackie Earle Haley for slipping in just the slightest bit of excitement over getting to join Ilsa and her sister to the opera as well as just the slightest bit of politeness to her compared to the way he normally talks to people. And then he goes and gets a date to Venice with her...}}

** Guerrero is the more obvious example. Heck, he took his first job in 3rd grade for a friend. And gives said friend a 'friends and family' discount.

* [[Hollywood Acid]]: In "Tanarak", an evil corporation is storing an illegally toxic solvent in a mine shaft, poisoning the miners working there. The solvent is naturally a bright flourescent green.

* [[Improvised Parachute]]: Unusually, to stop at high speed, rather than to survive a fall.

* [[Indy Ploy]]: "You know Chance. He prefers to... wing it."

* [[In Name Only]]: The concept of the comic is that Christopher Chance, a bodyguard who saves people by impersonating them, using brilliant disguises, makes himself into a human target. Guess what Christopher Chance on the show doesn't do?

* [[Institutional Apparel]]: ''Sanctuary'' includes the orange jumpsuits.

* [[Lady in Red]]: Done by an FBI agent who is trying to remain inconspicuous, go figure. Chance takes one look at her and determines that she must be a prostitute.

** a ''forty-dollar'' prostitute, which is what really pisses her off.

** It isn't as, ironically, Ilsa Pucci gives him his paycheck with his full legal name on it. He is less than pleased though more at getting a check rather than someone knowing his legal name.

* [[Legacy Character]]: Christopher Chance, as it turns out.

* [[Make It Look Like an Accident]]: Baptiste's method of taking his targets out.

* [[Meaningful Name]]: Guerrero means "warrior" in Spanish. Though he does come across as laid back, he's not one you want to get into a fight with.

** And Chance is usually his clients' last chance to live another day.

** The only thing close to it is the "Old Man" storyline.

* [[Nerds Are Sexy]]: Layla

* [[No Name Given]]: Inverted; Guerrero rarely, if ever, calls anyone by their names when talking to them. When he does have to address specific people, he'll usually use some sort of consistent nickname ('boss lady' for Ilsa for instance or 'the girl' for Ames) or his generic 'dude'/'bro'. This isn't so much due to him not knowing people's names so much as not really caring unless it's relevant (the name of an arms dealer); the few people he's talked to and used their name tend to be people like Chance, someone he is loyal to a fault to. As far as Ilsa, by episode 12 of the second season, she gets upgraded from 'boss lady' to 'dude'.

** And apparently working with Chance is just one way she does this. More than once she has mentioned trying to take down one other their targets before, though probably not the way they do.

* [[Offscreen Moment of Awesome]]: The first season finale left us with {{spoiler|Winston kidnapped, the headquarters shot to hell, and Chance's old boss finally finding him so they can form a temporary alliance.}} The season two premiere opens with {{spoiler|Chance and Guerrero rescuing Winston from the bad guys}} and completely skips over how they ended up there. Even for a show that regularly uses [[Noodle Incident|Noodle Incidents]] it's a little frustrating.

* [[Papa Wolf]]: Threatening {{spoiler|Guerrero's son}} is, without a doubt, the last thing you will ever do.

* [[Pet the Dog]]: Guerrero very reluctantly sets up Ames with a tab at a bad guy bar he visits.

** In a later episode, he's gives Ilsa and her sister time to talk in private over personal matters (though to be fair, he's also smitten with said sister). In the same episode, he also trusts Ilsa enough at this point to toss his earpiece to her before being captured. Considering his generally open disdain or indifference for her prior, this is a huge step in how he thinks of Ilsa. {{spoiler|Though some of it may be due to the events of "Communications Breakdown" as it's not out of the question to think that his opinion of Ilsa was improved by her being capable of killing Lopez on her own.}}

* [[Please Put Some Clothes On]]: Lightheartedly [[Hangs a Lampshade|lampshaded]] by Chance, who was the reason she got naked in the first place.

* [[Psycho for Hire]]: If Baptiste comments on your watch, run immediately. If you take his watch (or a watch he really really likes)... run faster.

** Guerrero is one to an extent as well.

* [[Redheaded Hero]]: Layla.

* [[Refuge in Audacity]]: With this show, it goes hand-in-hand with [[Rule of Cool]]. By the time the plane starts flying upside-down ("Rewind") you really don't care anymore.

* [[Reset Button]]: Used shamelessly in "Kill Bob."

* [[Rule of Cool]]: The show runs on it.

* [[Rule of Symbolism]]: In "Baptiste", Chance and Baptiste's episode-long conversation takes place in front of a picture of Lucifer's fall from grace. It's interesting to note that Chance is sitting in front of Lucifer and Baptiste in front of the host of angels tossing Lucifer out.

* [[Scary Black Man]]: Baptiste

* [[Second Season Downfall]]

* [[Sherlock Scan]]: Subverted. At the end of "Tanarak", Chance knows that the girl of the week is leaving the country, and where she is headed, before she tells him anything. He tries to explain how he knows, using his knowledge of her character, then a bandage on her arm that looks like an immunization, before admitting her mother told him.

** In "Sanctuary", the head of a robbery gang's name is [[Splinter Cell|Sam Fisher.]] Looks like the guy decided to retire and be a crook instead.

** Carmine, the rottweiler, is named after Carmine Infantino the co-creator of ''Human Target''.

** "Imbroglio" had a reference to ''[[The Dark Knight Saga]]'', particularly 2008's ''The Dark Knight'' with the hostages being framed as gunmen by using their disguises on them.

* [[Show Some Leg]]: Ames, quite often since her appearance. Being the resident [[Ms. Fanservice]], this is perhaps to be expected.

** "Imbroglio" has Chance kicking ass to an operatic aria.

* [[Stairs Are Faster]]: Ames takes the stairs when she realizes Winston is on to her. It doesn't work out for her though.

* [[Team Mom]]: Winston.

* [[Team Pet]]: Carmine.

** Averted in the second season. (Given how many fans ''hate'' the music in season two once [[Bear McCreary]] left, it's just as well.)

* [[Tranquil Fury]]: Just because Guerrero isn't raising his voice doesn't mean he isn't ready to throw a homemade knife at your head and bring hell down on you.

* [[We Help the Helpless]]

** Everything else is just for fun.

* [[Why Don't Ya Just Shoot Him]]: Hilariously lampshaded in the opening scenes of the first episode: "Word of advice: never make threats. If you wanna do something, don't talk about it, do it."

* [[Wilhelm Scream]]

** [[Always Close]]: With exactly one second left.

** Happened again when Ames had to choose between two valves for a gas main. Unfortunately, Winston and Guerrero disagreed on which one to pick. {{spoiler|So she turned both off... and it worked}}.

* [[Would Hit a Girl]]: {{spoiler|The Season 2 premiere has Guerrero clocking Ames. In the same episode, he was about three seconds away from shooting off her kneecaps if she didn't cough up the identity of the guy who hired her to steal the ring. He also states that he would either shoot her kneecaps, or rip her fingernails off with hooks.}}

** Hector Lopez also doesn't have any qualms about brutally beating {{spoiler|Ilsa Pucci}}.

** This is why Chance is being hunted by his former employer.

* [[Your Terrorists Are Our Freedom Fighters]]: [[Black and Gray Morality|Subverted]] in "Salvage & Reclamation". The rebels are just a bunch of drug dealers without political goals.

 

[[Category:American Series]]

[[Category:The New Tens]]