Tuesday, March 29, 2011

Just Because it's March 29th

While I was working on something else, I stumbled across this....

from Christopher Chance, Season 1 Episode 12

Friday, March 25, 2011

Ames. Meet Guerrero.

Now if you've watched Human Target, you don't need any introduction to Guerrero.  He's definitely a unique character and you can't help but love him (shhh, don't tell him I said that).

In no way do I condone guys hitting women, but somehow Guerrero gets a pass on this one.  Guerrero does all those things we secretly wish we could do with an evil little grin on our faces.

I thought he was rather gentlemanly for the first few seconds when Ames pleads for help to escape Winston.  That didn't last long....

So here again, we have the first meeting of the two characters with no first names.
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Monday, March 21, 2011

Braver

P.S. Anonymous comments have been enabled on this blog, so you don't need a Blogger account to add your thoughts!

After writing the other day that Ilsa had searched for Chance for 6 months, I started thinking.

Ilsa sought out Chance to free her from the same people who had killed her husband. Once that was initially accomplished, she couldn’t let go. Really, what was she thinking? It seems that partnering with these men gave her a complete break from her previous life which had been ruined by the death of her husband and the subsequent threats. Now that she was free, what next? What’s even more interesting was that the team agreed to partner with her.

I love that she was so astute about Chance right off the bat in Ilsa Pucci, Season 2 Episode 1.

It didn’t take much for Ilsa to put together that Chance had an enormous conscience. She already knew he had recreated himself – that he was a former assassin turned bodyguard. She found him in an ashram, a spiritual hermitage, a place located far from human habitation designed for meditation and making penance in order to find solace and tranquility. This is clearly a man trying to change his life again.

However, it didn’t take much persuasion for Chance to take her on as a client. Maybe he applauded her persistence. Maybe he sensed her frustration or that indeed, she was not like his other clients. Maybe he was tired of ashram life. Maybe he thought he’d done enough penance. Or maybe it was the “braver” stab.
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Ilsa probes even deeper when being brave comes up again later in the episode.



And then there is this wonderful interaction between Chance and Ilsa after the bullets have stopped flying.  She once again assesses him perfectly and he is willing to answer her honestly and not blow her off with a flippant remark.  Beautifully written and acted.

Ilsa is a smart woman.  She knows what to say although I don't think she was being calculating or manipulative at all in this scene.
In the end, Ilsa gets what she wants - at least in this episode - and I'm pretty sure it has to do with winning his heart by calling him brave. 

Saturday, March 19, 2011

Chance Meets Ilsa

I love the first episode of Season 2, Ilsa Pucci.   It's here we are introduced to billionaire philanthropist and recently widowed Ilsa.  She has it all, except Chance.

This is a mini-vid of their first meeting.  She is sophisticated, sexy, challenging and mocking. She's been searching for him for six months and has had six months to prepare her first words to him.  How does Chance respond?  He stops meditating and looks her up and down.  Yep. He's obviously had too many months on an ashram.....


This episode was written by Matt Miller, the Season 2 showrunner, who leaves us wanting to know more about the multi-layered and complex Ilsa.  I think he writes Ilsa better than anyone. There is a nice (early) interview with him here.
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Friday, March 18, 2011

There Oughta Be A Law

There oughta be a law against guys with really blue eyes wearing blue shirts. Wow!

 And where I didn't expect it.....

Both screen caps are from Ilsa Pucci, Season 2, Episode 1

Thursday, March 17, 2011

Desire

Normally Shazam does all my work for me. But not this time.  So it was a happy day when I discovered that Fox has linked a lot of the episode music to iTunes.  Love this song!
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from Communication Breakdown, Season 2, Episode 8

Buy on iTunes
or

Wednesday, March 16, 2011

Size Matters

from Ilsa Pucci, Season 2 Episode 1
One day I was curious how tall Winston was.  They all look waaaay up to him.  So I went hunting.  Chi McBride is 6' 4-1/2" according to the internet.  Um, he's tall.
I couldn't stop there, so how tall is Chance?  Mark Valley is 5' 10" 
Guerrero?  Jackie Earle Haley is recorded at 5' 5".  And I wouldn't want to mess with him no matter how tall he was.
Guerrero's sidekick Ames?  Janet Montgomery is 5' 6"

Ilsa Pucci?  Indira Varma is 5' 7".  Put her in 3" heels and she is the same height as Chance.  Perfect.  Equals.

Tuesday, March 15, 2011

You Wearing Heels?

The reactions of the women just cracks me up.
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This clip is from Dead Head, Season 2, Episode 5


Just Because

I was looking up some stuff and landed on this frame from Ilsa Pucci (actually it might originally have been in Christopher Chance at the end of Season 1) and felt the need to make a screen cap!

Sunday, March 13, 2011

Christopher Chance & Co. Offices


Location, location, location.  Here is the first one I'll look at.

I love this show because unlike V and Fringe, and I forget what else at the moment, Human Target is less likely to disguise Vancouver than the others.
Have they ever told us if the company (now Ilsa's company, I suppose!) has a name? They refer to it as an agency.

Whatever, they have claimed Vancouver's Sun Tower at 100 West Pender St. for their offices.  The Sun Tower was built in 1912 and was bought by the Vancouver Sun newspaper in 1937.  The Sun is no longer published there, but the name remains.  I worked in it when a good portion of it was occupied by the Geological Survey of Canada (who moved when the Federal Government claimed it wasn't up to earthquake code - at least that's the story I got).   I'll never forget the day someone jumped off it.....

Here are some screen caps from the show.  You can see them larger by clicking on each photo.




Saturday, March 12, 2011

Human Target - Chances (Video)



YouTube has blocked Chances in Germany, so if you'd like to see it, you can find it on Vimeo here.  Personally, I think the vid plays better on Vimeo!  Not a clue why.


Chances from CI Musings on Vimeo.

And here is the whole blurb about the video again:

Christopher Chance and Ilsa Pucci are very different and yet the same when it comes to strong will and the need to do the right thing. This is about the other side of the action show. It is their story in chronological order. So Ilsa, is he worth it?

I missed Valentine's by one day.

There ends the short story.....

Chance is a former assassin, whose conscience has pushed him to the other end of the spectrum and is now using his talents as a bodyguard to, in his own way, make amends. In Season 2 of Human Target, billionaire and recently-widowed Ilsa Pucci steps in to underwrite Chance's redemption after he successfully uncovers and neutralizes a plot to steal her fortune.

At first she is enthusiastic, giving Chance and his team everything they want financially, but has second thoughts as she witnesses some of their unorthodox methods. She sees up-close and in-detail the backlash of Chance's past. Once she accepts that the outcome justifies the means, she settles into a relatively comfortable partnership with Chance, although she continues to struggle with their methods at times. When Maria, an old relationship from Chances past returns, a power struggle develops between the partners which spills over into the next episode, "Communication Breakdown". I think Ilsa's fit was all about jealousy, something I totally did not expect from her!

I needed a longer song for this video! There are so many great clips I left out due to lack of time. I really regret omitting the rest of the team who make a brilliant ensemble. I think I have to make another Human Target video just so I can use the clip of Guerrero blowing up the Eldo in "Marshall Pucci". Another thing lacking (but hinted at) in this video is the humour throughout the show. I only caught a few things -- like the time Chance looks at her as if she has two heads, when she almost blows his eardrum out and the clip of him climbing over the top edge of the building.

I love Ilsa Pucci. She's elegant, exotic and is driven by the need to do good. And as Chance says, "I don't think I've met anyone quite as strong as you are". During the 13 episodes she has appeared in, he has learned that she was far from a trophy wife, is willing to take chances for others and is completely capable of rescuing him if need be. Not to mention she'll jump off buildings with him... more than once. And she scares him. Gotta love that.

And what does she see in him? Besides the obvious. I guess that he is trying to do the right thing the best way he knows how and that he is confident in his abilities. He has fun doing what he does. He is motivated by more than money, which fascinates her, and he wants to fix everything.

It was an obvious choice to use this amazing song, but I didn't realize how good it was till I paid closer attention to the lyrics.

What is pretty cool about Human Target is that it's filmed in Vancouver. I used to work in the building they "use" as their office building. They filmed in the UBC undergraduate Chemistry labs -- which don't seem to have changed since I was there! There are so many Vancouver scenes that I get a jolt when I see the aerial shots of San Francisco.

I had a blast making this vid. It's like dancing to great music with wonderful partners.

Chances -- Five for Fighting

Chances are when said and done
Who will be the lucky ones
Who make it all the way?
Though you say I could be your answer
Nothing lasts forever
No matter how it feels today

Chances are we'll find a new equation
Chances run away from me
Chances are all they hope to be

Don't get me wrong I never say never
Cause though love can change the weather
No act of God can pull me away from you

I'm just a realistic man
A bottle filled with shells and sand
Afraid to look beyond what I can lose when it comes to you
And though I'll see us through yeah

Chances are we'll find two destinations
Chances run away from me
Still chances are more than expectations
And possibilities
Over me

Eight to five or two to one
Lay your money on the sun
Until you crash what have you done?
Is there a better bet than love?
What you are is what you bring
You've got to cry before you see

Chances, chances

Chances lost are hopes torn up pages
Maybe this time
Chances are we'll be the combination
Chances come and carry me
Chances are waiting to be taken
And I can see
Chances are the fascination
Chances won't escape from me
Chances are only what we make them
And all I need

Human Target Opening Credits

I had no intention of starting this blog, but it seems I can't stop myself.

What initially attracted my attention to Human Target was the opening credits!  I love great design and these are guaranteed to stop me in my tracks and pay attention.

You can see this better on one of my YouTube Accounts, but due to copyright, I couldn't embed that version here.  This is the Season 2 opening credits.

These credits received Emmy nominations for Karin Fong, Jeremy O. Cox and Cara McKenney for "Outstanding Main Title Design".  Hardly surprising!