Human Target TV pilot in the works for Fox
Fox is working on a pilot for the Human Target, based on the cult DC Comics character Christopher Chance, created by Len Wein, Carmine Infantino, and ComicMix contributor Dick Giordano. Christopher Chance operates by impersonating his clients in order to eliminate threats to them, making himself the target. The character first appeared in Action Comics #419.
The Human Target has already been turned into a TV series back in 1992, starring Rick Springfield. The new pilot is written by Jericho co-creator Jonathan Steinberg, and comes from Warner Bros. TV, McG’s Wonderland Sound and Vision and DC Comics. (Via Hollywood Reporter.)
I recall being less than impressed with the previous TV series.
I agree with mike weber.Hopefully, they'll take a page or two from Vertigo's mini-series The Human Target, not the regular series after that.
I thought the first tv version, which I have on tape, had its moments but I don't really see the need for another bite at the apple, unless Fox is looking to do a series based on a comic book character as cheaply as possible. No costumes or special effects needed for Christopher Chance.
There are a lot of good comics characters out there who require very little effort to adapt them to film. Mike Baron's Badger would be a hoot if done right. I caught every episode of the original Human Target, and I wasn't that impressed, either. It had potential, but was hamstrung by a studio that wouldn't give Bilson & DiMeo have the money to do it right. And the idea is not new. A non-powered adventurer, non-costumed, with a public identity? That goes back to Doc Savage, and has been redone over and over. One of the best riffs on this was Bill Bixby's series The Magician, which went to hell real fast after the pilot when NBC had it tweaked to make it more acceptable to audiences. Changing the character's name from Dorian to Blake, getting rid of the mysterious past… and then in the third season locking him into a single location pretty much killed it. Look it up.But I agree with you guys. A new HT series is pointless, because it'll flop. The audience isn't there, any more than there was for the emasculated tv version of Jon Sable.Miles
3rd season? According to IMDB, there was only one season of The Magician.
I feel as if i recall more than one season, too … but i seldom watched it
I was addicted to it. And IMDb is wrong on this. For two seasons, Anthony Dorian fought crime and got laid regularly, working from a private plane called (I love this) "The Spirit". Modified Boeing 720 with a drop ramp; Tony parked his Corvette in the hold. In the third and final season, he was based out of The Magic Castle nightclub with Joe Sirola as his sidekick, which was the deathknell for the series. It could have gone on for another season, but the ratings were sagging and Bixby hadn't been happy since season one. NBC gutted the show right after the pilot. One thing that they got rid of was the Monte Cristo element; Tony Dorian had scars arond his wrists, like he'd been chained up. No one knew anything about him, except that he was a very talented stage magician with a raftload of money and a hatred of injustice. Wikipedia says the show only ran one season, but for the life of me I swear it ran more. Maybe it just seems that way. Anyway, it ran outta steam really fast. Weird.Miles