By Dean Robbins
‘Human Target’ laughs in face of danger
A charming rogue beats the bad guys while flirting with the ladies and dodging slow-motion explosions. “Human Target” (Sunday, 7 p.m. Fox) takes the same approach as countless TV series featuring wisecracking law-enforcement types, colorful sidekicks and nonstop action. The only difference: This one works.
Mark Valley plays Christopher Chance, a contractor who goes undercover in situations where normal police protection won’t work. Valley is effortlessly appealing — a refreshing change from all those would-be action heroes who try way too hard with little payoff. It doesn’t take itself too seriously, but the scenes are so well staged that we still get caught up in the plot. In other words, the filmmakers have perfect control of their tone.
In the pilot, Chance is hired to protect a beautiful transportation executive… on a speeding train… whose brakes are about to blow. He rigs up a homemade parachute and urges the executive to jump off with him before the inevitable crash. “Come on,” he says. “This will be fun.”
He’s right about that.
“Big Love”
Sunday, 8 p.m. (HBO)
The series about a polygamous Mormon family has lost none of its dramatic edge in season four. In this week’s episode, Bill (Bill Paxton) weighs the choice of running for Utah state senate or replacing the murdered Roman Grant as his sect’s “prophet.” In the meantime, Bill’s three wives (Chloe Sevigny as Nicki, Jeanne Tripplehorn as Barb and Ginnifer Goodwin as Margene) and one of his daughters (Amanda Seyfried as Sarah) struggle with their prescribed roles. Margene bristles at Bill’s order to donate her hard-earned money into the collective pot. Nicki refuses to attend her father Roman’s funeral, calling him a “false prophet.”
Like many American women, these characters struggle against the patriarchy. It’s just that their version makes our patriarchy look practically benign. CV
