Human Target: Season 1 Episode 1

American TV drama pilots can be treated with a healthy dose of suspicion. Half the budget of the entire season can be chucked at the first episode, with explosions, big sets and train chases making a breathless and cinematic opening, which can look impressive, but also leave the jaded viewer wondering if the pace can be kept up over the next twenty-odd weeks.

SyFy's Human Target, beginning in the middle of a hostage situation and managing two audience deceiving sleights of hand within the opening minutes, is a pretty good example of this. The clue to sustainability, then, has to be, not the story, but within the dialogue and performances. There's enough wit and banter here to suggest that this is slightly more intelligent than your average comic-based run-and-boom US drama, and this first episode is essentially a whodunit on a expensive train. But Murder On The Orient Express it ain't.

As soon as a character appears as a man concerned for the safety of his wife, US script conventions dictate that he must be the villain. Whether that's the case or not, we won't spoil, but it remains true that this drama doesn't veer too far off the expected tracks, ticking boxes about as often as it punches bad guys. At one point, it feels like we're watching a pilot for Die Hard: The TV Series. Either that, or an abandoned sequel for Under Siege.

This is a curious blend of Quantum Leap and Dollhouse in that the main character, Christopher Chance (Fringe star Mark Valley), becomes a distinctly different character within people's lives - although in Human Target, there's a lot more obvious humour. There's also a distinct whiff of attractive but dumb drama like Relic Hunter. It doesn't always follow its own logic - Chance is meant to be remarkably observant of the small details (it's what keeps him alive), but in one scene, he's trapped in that most clichéd of scenes ('do you hear that?' / 'hear what?').

Chance tells his boss that he sounds like an idiot (actually, he sounds more like Movie Trailer Voice-Over Man) and this sounds - and looks - like a fun enough way to pass a hour, should you catch it on SyFy (it seems unlikely to be screened elsewhere in the UK). A fast-moving junk-food guilty pleasure, Human Target is attractively shot with attractive characters, but are we convinced yet that your life would be darker and less fulfilling if you missed a couple of episodes? Sorry, but no, Chance.



Airs at 10pm on Wednesday 14th April 2010 on SyFy.

Written by Andrew Allen.