Category: Human Target

Human Target: Victoria

SPOILERS BEYOND: This week’s episode of “Human Target,” Victoria, chronicles Chance as he protects a princess from an assassination attempt by her jealous husband.

The episode opens as Chance flies into New York city by helicopter and gets in a limo taking him to the British embassy. Inspired by the grand-scale cinematography, I wrote an opening cue that could have functioned as the epic introduction to a feature film. The title card begins with an exciting version of the Chance Ostinato…

… before kicking into a powerful statement of the Chance Theme:

[audio:https://www.bearmccreary.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/04/HT110a.mp3|titles=Human Target – Victoria Title Card] (more…)

Human Target: Tanarak

SPOILER WARNING: Tonight’s episode of “Human Target,” Tanarak, chronicles Chance’s adventures on a small mining island in northern Canada.  A doctor named Jessica Shaw (a distant cousin of Kendra Shaw perhaps?) is the target of an assassination attempt because she knows the corporation is storing deadly toxic chemicals in the mines.  Relatively light on the bigger mythology of the series, this episode still offers a glimpse into Chance’s past as he bonds with Shaw.

The episode begins with a unique orchestration of the Chance Theme, this time performed by a solo French horn.  A small percussion and clarinet groove picks up steam as the logo ends, transitioning us directly into the first cue of the show:

[audio:https://www.bearmccreary.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/03/ht103a.mp3|titles=Human Target – Tanarak Title Card]

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Human Target: Corner Man

SPOILERS GALORE: In tonight’s “Human Target,” Corner Man, Chance travels to Brussels to compete in an underground fight club.  Relatively light on mythology and backstory (compared to last week’s densely layered Baptiste), this score focuses on the intriguing Eva Kahn (“Galactica” vet Grace Park) and the brutality of the combat sequences.

Like all episodes of the show, this one opens with a unique orchestration of the Chance Theme.  This time, Malcolm McNab plays a lonely solo statement of the theme over a dissonant, brass and string cluster.  I wanted to create a deliberate disconnect between the heroic fanfare of the tune and the atonal swell in the rest of the orchestra, suggesting our hero is about to be thrust into a dark and decadent underground layer of society:

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Human Target: Baptiste

SPOILERS AHEAD: Tonight’s “Human Target” is what I like to refer to as a “Mythology Episode,” because it expands beyond the adventure of the week to the larger story of Chance’s past.  This narrative arc has been woven throughout the entire series, but generally limited to passing lines of dialog.  Until now, no episode has dedicated more screen time to the broader plot than Baptiste.

In this episode, we learn Chance used to be an assassin for hire when an old associate, Baptiste, attempts to assassinate foreign dignitaries in Washington D.C.  Baptiste is Chance’s equal in every way.  He represents Chance’s first worthy adversary, because he is his equal both physically and mentally.  I knew that Baptiste would require his own theme. (more…)