HUMAN TARGET 1.9 & 1.10 - "Corner Man" & "Tanarak"

WRITERS: Jonathan E. Steinberg & Robert Levine (1.9) & Mike Ostrowski (1.10)
DIRECTOR: Steve Boyum (1.9) & Kevin Hooks (1.10)
GUEST CAST: (1.9) Peter Wingfield, Grace Park, Dash Mihok, Kenneth Welsh, Dan Payne, Laurie Brunetti & Erica Van Briel / (1.10) Moon Bloodgood, Daniel Bacon, Vincent Gale, Kyra Harper, Steve Makaj, Ty Olsson, Angelo Renai & Rey Valentin

[SPOILERS] My apologies for the lateness of these reviews, but Human Target was a victim of the tsunami of shows that have arrived for spring, and was the easiest to put on the backburner for awhile. So, a little belatedly, below you'll find brief reviews for "Corner Man" and "Tanarak":

After the big mytharc revelations in "Baptiste", Human Target appeared to return to its default formula for "Corner Man", as Chance (Mark Valley) went undercover as a martial arts fighter in an underground tournament to help a dullard fighter called Eddie Dunn (Dash Mihok) settle a debt with gangster Hugh Prentiss (Peter Wingfield). To do this, Chance secured the help of Tony Belvilacqua (Kenneth Walsh), a multi-millionaire businessman who holds a grudge against Chance, but is willing to put aside their differences because he hates Prentiss even more. Thus, Belvilacqua agrees to bankroll Chance, so they can bankrupt their common enemy with an all-or-nothing gamble on Chance's tournament victory.

Chance gained a place in the exclusive MMA tournament by defeating a former champ he'd arranged to have take a fall during a staged bar brawl, and was soon facing a succession of the world's greatest fighters, which he aimed to defeat by exploiting physical weaknesses Guerrero (Jackie Earle Haley) could find in each opponent's medical files. At the same time, Chance found himself attracted to Prentiss' sexy aide Eva Khan (Grace Park), a woman whose situation reminded him of his own past in the shadow of enigmatic ex-boss "the Old Man", so he decided to simultaneously help Eva escape Prentiss by uncovering the truth about how her father died.

What made "Corner Man" stand out from most episodes was how it felt less formulaic than usual, with a story that took some interesting twists and involved a situation we haven't seen Chance deal with before. While it's true that episodes tend to always involve Chance helping a sexy lady and/or dim-witted client defeat the week's bad guy, "Corner Man" took things in some unexpected directions so it didn't feel quite so predictable. The fight sequences were a slight disappointment, given Human Target's usually so accomplished in that area, mainly because Chance's bouts failed to make you feel fear about his safety or doubt the likelihood he'd win, but an excellent sequence with Chance escaping from the depths of a swimming pool with a block of concrete chained to his ankle just about compensated.

Perhaps best of all, there was a neat link to the ongoing mytharc, as Chance started suffering from "the yips" (a colloquialism for something psychologically preventing him operating at full efficiency), which we learned was because he fears his old boss might return and go after Winston (Chi McBride). There was more of a brotherly vibe between Chance and Winston in this episode, which proved surprisingly poignant and helped sell those characters as two men who are the best of friends, and not just work colleagues.

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If "Corner Man" stretched the parameters of Chance's investigations a little, "Tanarak" was unashamedly back to basics. Chance flew into the small Alaskan island of Tanarak, to rescue a doctor called Jessica (Moon Bloodgood) who's gone on the run from a gang of mercenaries who want her dead. She was transporting the corpse of a dead miner for autopsy, whose body contains evidence of a toxic solvent his employers at Agrius don't want exposed, so Chance had to try and evacuate Jessica to safety from the hired guns, while Winston and Guerrero investigated Agrius.

As expected, it amounted to another hour of Chance running through a forest, easily evading an incompetent bunch of vanilla baddies, and overcoming the various set-pieces that presented themselves: a dive off a cliff into a freezing cold river, being buried inside an exploded mine, and a final chase with a dumper truck. Naturally, the script found a way to have this week's sexy co-star strip off to her underwear (Jessica had to dry her wet clothes somehow, right?), and give Chance a few opportunities to flirt with his latest damsel.

Oddly enough, perhaps because Human Target's targeted at a young age-group, there's been little sexual content on the show. To my recollection, Chance has only kissed one of his female co-stars so far (his old flame in "Salvage & Reclamation"), and I doubt there are any bedroom scenes on the cards. I can see why this would be, but I don't remember similar shows from the '80s being so coy when it came to action heroes kissing women.

Anyway, "Tanarak" was quite forgettable in the big scheme of things, only occasionally jolting to life –- usually involving Guerrero, who captured an Indian doctor in his car's boot, infiltrated an office place during a party, and frightened a renowned "fixer" with his signature blasé demeanour. Winston also had a compelling scene towards the end, forcing Agrius' CEO to pay recompense or face a tougher jail sentence for his crimes, which was a type of threatening behaviour we haven't really seen from Winston before now. Indeed, if Winston's meant to be the big boss of this operation, I'd prefer it if he wasn't so often reduced to rolling his eyes at Guerrero's quips and making sarcastic comments of his own.

Asides

• What happened to computer geek Layla? I thought she was now part of Winston's team. Is she just going to be a semi-regular presence? Was this episode written before "Baptise" decided to add her to the mix? Or did the writers realize Guerrero was already fulfilling her role?
• Like all red-blooded males watching, I'm delighted by the calibre of attractive women the show manages to cast every week, with Grace Park (Battlestar Galactica) making a good impression here, overcoming a bad hairdo. Moon Bloodgood was less memorable, as she's essentially the new Tia Carrere (fantastic to look at, exudes an attractive toughness, but is unfortunately mediocre as an actress.)

24 & 31 MARCH 2010: FOX, 9/8c