Human Target: My New Guilty Pleasure

If James Bond were American, he could very well be Christopher Chance--if that is in fact his real name, and, quite frankly, we can't say for sure that it is. Yes, I am ignoring for the moment that Matt Helm was the original American James Bond, but, the fact is, the Matt Helm movies were more spoof than anything, so I don't think they count. And, yes, one could validly argue that the title could go to Jason Bourne (Matt Damon), but Bourne just doesn't have the panache to pull it off. Oh, to be sure, in the spy game he's a worthy adversary and could probably kick James Bond's butt. It takes more than weapons expertise, resourcefulness and fisticuffs, however, to be James Bond. One must comfortable in a tuxedo, suave with the ladies and able to move easily in a variety of social circles.

Chance, played by Mark Valley, does all of that--and often in ways that are surprising to the viewer.

When we are first introduced to Chance, it's easy to dismiss him as another handsome jock, heavy on muscle and light on brain power. Time and again, however, he proves us wrong on that count.

Take, for example, the pilot episode in which his cover is to serve as his client's (played by Tricia Helfer) Japanese translator. 

She asks him, "Can you pull this off?" To which Chance characteristically replies, "We'll see."

At this point we humble and judgmental viewers are slapping our heads, thinking, oh, no, here it comes.

We are thus surprised when Chance converses easily with the Japanese investor with whom his client is meeting. In fact, they have an extended conversation in Japanese. His client later asks, "What was all that about?" Chance then explains that the gentleman wanted to know how he recognized his dialect and was able to converse in it so well.

In another episode, Chance poses as an attorney for a mob kingpin to flush out the dirty cops who are after his client, an assistant district attorney. The DA challenges Chance's demand for immunity for his client whereupon Chance rattles off several cases in which such a precedent had already been established. His assistant DA client later asks how he knew all that. He claims that he made it up, but she says that she's done her homework and knows all those cases. Chance merely shrugs.

There almost always doubts as to whether Chance can pull off a job. In the mob kingpin episode, for example, he meets his client in sweats and a t-shirt covered with food stains. The prospective client eyes him dubiously.

Chance's partner and the man who runs their little vigilante operation, Winston, played by Chi McBride, is often as skeptical as the audience and the clients. Chance is always quick to brush off the doubts with a cocky smirk.

"Between the mob boss and the shooters who want you dead, you're screwed. Of COURSE we'll take your case."

Like a chameleon, Chance moves easily from sweats and stained t-shirt to a suit and briefcase or a tuxedo or even--as the situation warrants--a monk's habit. And he fights adeptly in any attire, utilizing in Bourne-like fashion all manner of objects as weapons--seatbelts, hardback books, censers on chains ...

So it would seem Chance has good reason to be cocky--he's smart, tough, knowledgeable, and he's always got Winston and Guerrero (played by Jackie Earle Haley) on the end of a cell phone call to help out when things get complicated.

Guerrero is depicted as the gadget guy and thief who can find out anything and figure out any electronic device. Well, almost, anyway. Sometimes luck plays as much a role as anything, as when Winston needed his help disarming a bomb and couldn't decide whether to cut the red wire or the blue wire.

"Did you just flip a coin?"

In spite of moments like these, the team succeeds, with Chance playing the role of muscle and charm.

There's almost always an attractive woman in the mix, but Chance always seems to maintain a certain distance. He smirks, he flirts, he winks, but that's about it. There's a woman in his past it seems (and I sometimes wonder if it's Olivia Dunham), and maybe that's why he doesn't get too close.

In one of the closing scenes of the pilot episode Chance is seated with Stephanie (Tricia Helfer) in what appears to be a tender moment. She thanks him for saving her life and wonders how she can repay him. He holds her hand affectionately, it seems, and then slowly slips the big rock off her finger. Payment received.

In "Embassy Row" Chance partners briefly with a gorgeous FBI agent who wonders about his identity. When she runs the prints she pulled from the handcuffs they shared, she finds a lengthy list of names to go with them. Winston chastises him for allowing his prints to be taken and wonders if he did it on purpose. In response, Chance smirks inscrutably and we are all left to wonder if indeed he intended for the lovely agent to come looking for him.

When Chance finds that assistant DA Allyson in "Run" has a tracking device planted on her, he orders her to undress in the car so they can get rid of it. Later, in the back seat of a taxi she remarks that he's managed to get her to talk about things she hasn't mentioned to anybody. He replies, "And I've seen your panties."

He's as suave with the ladies as James Bond, kicks butt like Jason Bourne, shares Chinese food with his dog, speaks fluent Japanese and he can fly a plane. What's not to like?

Winston rolls his eyes, Chance smirks and Guerrero just manages to creep everybody out. It's all good.