The Hollywood Reporter, well, reports that Fox may be about to greenlight a new series based on The Human Target. The article reads:
“Human Target” hails from Warner Bros. TV, McG’s Wonderland Sound and Vision and DC Comics.
Based on the cult DC Comics book and written by “Jericho” co-creator Jonathan Steinberg, it centers on a mysterious security expert who goes undercover to protect clients in danger.
The truly hardcore may recall the previous 1992 Human Target series, which starred Rick Springfield as Christopher Chance. Yes, Rick Springfield, he of General Hospital and 16 U.S. Top 40 hits. Alas, Rick found the ratings hard to hold, as the show was gone after seven episodes. He was also the original Nick Knight in the Nick Knight TV movie that became Forever Knight, and Zac, Apollo’s doomed brother, in the original Battlestar Galactica.
All right. You forced me to do this.
Head hanging in shame update: As Kurt Busiek chides us for downstream in the comments, the Human Target was created by Len Wein and Carmine Infantino, and chiefly illustrated by Dick Giordano in his early, and most classic appearances. He originally appeared in back-up stories in Action Comics beginning in December of 1972. The character was a loving nod and addition to DC’s rich history of unique private eyes and detectives. The character subsequently appeared in Batman, Detective Comics and The Brave and the Bold
In more recent years, the character has moved to the Vertigo imprint where Christopher Chance was revived by writer Peter Milligan for an original graphic novel, a four issue miniseries, and an ongoing series that lasted 21 issues. Trades of the series and the graphic novel: Human Target: Final Cut are still in print and can be found and/or ordered at better comic book shops.
Wein, Infantino, Giordano and Milligan would have been mentioned in the original article, except no concert footage of them was able to be quickly located. We apologize for the oversight.
January 16th, 2009 at 3:01 pm
“Hard To Hold”…? I hate you Troy.
January 16th, 2009 at 3:06 pm
“Hard To Hold”…? I hate you Troy.”
No, you don’t. Otherwise you wouldn’t have let me know you caught that.
January 16th, 2009 at 3:08 pm
I loved Rick in High Tide.
January 16th, 2009 at 3:24 pm
In Rick’s defense re the short series run…
The original “Human Target” was a summer series created as counter-programming for the ’92 summer Olympics. It was always doomed to get crushed in the ratings regardless of who was in the lead role.
January 16th, 2009 at 5:05 pm
Was it intended as counter-programming, or is that just where it ended up?
And who knew Rick Springfield had so many geeky TV connections. Wasn’t he also The Spirit in the TV movie/series from the 80s?
January 16th, 2009 at 5:42 pm
Nope; that was Sam Jones (from “Flash Gordon”) as the Spirit.
January 16th, 2009 at 6:26 pm
What i find so amazing and blows my mind: Rick Springfield had 16 top 40 hits….really?
…and here I thought he was a one-hit wonder……
January 16th, 2009 at 6:28 pm
YOU TAKE THAT BACK!
January 16th, 2009 at 8:05 pm
Rick Springfield was also Dr. Noah Drake on General Hospital.
BUT before all that he was the on again off again co-star of a saturday morning cartoon called Mission: Magic, a spinoff of the Brady Kids animated cartoon. They were pushing him as a teen idol at the time.
January 16th, 2009 at 9:23 pm
Mock all you want, guys. I like Rick and enjoy a lot of his songs. This one particularly.
I wondered if anyone else saw Springfield in NICK NIGHT. I was starting to think I dreamed it.
January 16th, 2009 at 9:23 pm
Rick Springfield may be a fine man and kind to small puppies and children.
But no mention of Len Wein, Carmine Infantino and Dick Giordano?
kdb
January 16th, 2009 at 9:53 pm
Most do think of Rick as one hit wonder…he deserves more recognition.
He may have geeky TV connections but that man sure isn’t looking his age…where’s that fountain of youth that you seem to have discovered Rick???
http://www.rickspringfield.com
January 16th, 2009 at 11:21 pm
I saw Rick Springfield in concert about 2 years ago, at the VH1 “I Love The 80s” tour.
He was coked out of his mind.
But he did sing “You Gotta Love Somebody” from his film “Hard to Hold”…. TROY…
January 17th, 2009 at 12:35 am
I’m curious as to why you assume he was “coked out of his mind”?
I work in the music industry and have had the pleasure of meeting
Mr. Springfield on a number of occasions, at none of those meetings
did he appear high or come of as a coke head. Trust me, in this business you meet a lot of them and can usually spot them a mile away! Anyhow, I just hate to see anyone’s name slandered without
just cause. Cool that you know “Love Somebody”, you should check out some of his more recent stuff. All of the teen idol BS aside, the man sure can play guitar.
January 17th, 2009 at 2:13 am
don’t forget rick also played apollo’s younger brother who died in the pilot of the original battlestar galactica.
Go Mavs!!!
January 17th, 2009 at 11:35 am
I have had the opportunity to meet this rock icon on several occasions and he has NEVER appeared to be on any drugs on or off stage. He is however high on LIFE and does alot of good for different charities as well. He songwriting and guitar skills are brilliant. His power-pop rock riffs are classic and the envy of many who try to mimick them. His work speaks for itself. He is a very hard working artist and truly appreciates his fans. He has had a long career for anyone that cared to take note. He is sorely under-rated and unfortunately the butt of many jokes by small-minded people who seem to be stuck in the 80s.
January 17th, 2009 at 12:22 pm
<>
We need a YouTube video of Len singing “Jessie’s Girl”. That would solve the problem nicely!
January 17th, 2009 at 12:34 pm
Don’t forget about his starring role in the 1970s cartoon series “Mission Magic.”
January 17th, 2009 at 3:55 pm
“But lately Jessies got himself a girl and I want to make her mine!!! You know I wish I had Jessies girl, and the faith that this show will work!” I’m all for pushing another Vertigo project onto the TV. HOPE IT ROCKS!
January 17th, 2009 at 10:43 pm
“Kurt Busiek Says: Rick Springfield may be a fine man and kind to small puppies and children.
But no mention of Len Wein, Carmine Infantino and Dick Giordano?
kdb”
Oh, of couse not. Why actually give credit to the men who CREATED the character…? I mean, that would make perfect sense and would allow others to possibly hunt down back issues to read some truly classic stories.
Pft. Who wants to do that…?
It’s easier to post a YouTube vid and make it all a joke. (Which the tv show was, but not the comics.)
January 18th, 2009 at 12:14 am
Rick Springfield is one of the most underrated musicians around. The fact that he was a “teen idol” turned him into a so-called “chick’s musician.” Most men won’t admit they enjoy his music, or even give him a chance. It’s so irritating. He’s certainly not a one-hit-wonder. It’s those people who think he is one that validate my opinion that he is underrated. If you have ever had the opportunity to see this man play live in concert, you will know what an incredible talent he is. Listen to his new music (he has been putting out new material for about 10-15 years consistantly) and you will see what an amazing singer/songwriter he is. Nearly 28 years ago, Rick Springfield got my attention when I heard him on the radio. Then I got to see his music video. I admit, my childhood crush took hold. But it was his music that kept me around all these years later. Rick Springfield is a wonderful person who genuinely appreciates all his fans. It’s obvious to anyone who sees him in concert. Watch “Don’t Forget the Lyrics” on January 23rd. You’ll get to see him make a fan’s dream come true. That’s not for tv only. It’s Rick giving back!
January 18th, 2009 at 2:11 pm
@Kevin T. Brown: Actually, we’re going to do an installment of Dial H for History ABOUT The Human Target just because of this announcement. That will be covered in that. Saw no reason to mention it before, as this was a fun Friday afternoon post based on a quickie announcement.
As to whether or not we should mention the creator of the character in every news flash, well, I’m torn. We’ve run probably hundreds of bits on Dark Knight and Iron Man, but no one clamors that we mention Kane/Finger and Lee/Colan in every single article. It’s probably not a bad practice in theory, but I imagine that any long-form article covering a book that had a lot of characters would get ruined by parentheticals. Imagine the recap of Final Crisis #6: As Superman (created by Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster) raced to save Batman (created by Bob Kane and Bill Finger) from Darkseid (Jack “King” Kirby!), the other heroes battled Darkseid’s forces; Tawky Tawny (created by Otto Binder and C.C. Beck) ripped out Kalibak’s (Kirby) guts.
In terms of media announcements going forward, it may not be a bad practice; then again, I’d probably have to make sure to credit the creators on the recent Vertigo series, too, since that is the likely inspiration for the current series.
Frankly, I think it depends.
January 19th, 2009 at 1:12 am
I do hope the existential angst of the Milligan series makes its way into this new iteration (if it does, indeed, ever see the light of day). That was a truly exceptional, underrated series and it still breaks my heart that it’s gone (also, it’s a shame DC/Vertigo haven’t completed the series in TP).
January 29th, 2009 at 5:21 pm
KryptonSite has posted casting breakdowns for Human Target – http://target.kryptonsite.com/humantargetspoilers.htm It sounds interesting, although I don’t know how much like the comic it will be.
March 17th, 2009 at 3:11 pm
They have started filming of this. I’m at work in Vancouver and they keep setting off explosions in a near-by rail tunnel. Some of my co-workers went down to see what they were filming and the crew responded that it’s for the pilot of Human Target.
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