Whenever a showrunner changes in a TV series, there is understandably concern among those fans who love a show just the way it was, because with the new showrunner comes new ideas and sometimes even new cast members. Like Human Target. Matt Miller has taken over showrunning duties from Jonathan Steinberg for season 2. In part 1 of our coverage of San Diego Comic Con 2010, he discussed the addition of two females to the regular cast.
Understandably, there was concern in the pressroom as to whether Jonathan Steinberg would be continuing with the series. Miller assured that Steinberg was still very much a part of the show. “I’m working with Jack. Jonathan Steinberg is a brilliantly talented guy. We’re lucky he is working on the show. He created wonderful characters and did a wonderful season 1 and he’s going to be writing a variety of episodes this season. Again, he’s contributing to every single aspect of the show and in an incredibly positive way. Again, super, super, super lucky. He’s a gracious, wonderful guy.”
Chi McBride on Jonathan Steinberg
Chi McBride was also reassuring. “I think Jon did a really good job introducing the series and that Matt is already doing a good job taking it to the next level. I mean you always have to try to do it better and stronger and funnier and faster and more action and Matt has really fit the bill in a short a period of time. And he’s doing a great job. And John’s still writing on the show.”
Whether favorite guest stars from season 1 would be revisiting was also on journalists’ minds. “Yeah,” Miller affirmed, “we’re gonna bring back some of the guest actors who were popping for us in season 1. In fact, the 4th episode of this season, which Jon wrote, is gonna be an episode where we bring back the Baptiste character…
"He’s gonna come back in a 48 hours kind of situation where he’s like in a Siberian prison. And basically, the episode is what if in order to rescue someone, Chance has to trust the person that he trusts least in the world and that’s Baptiste. So he has to go to the Siberian prison, get him released, he’s in these handcuffs, in a 48 hour stint, and he has to trust him on this mission in a way that he feels very uncomfortable. And Baptiste is saying at the beginning of the episode, ‘I’m not going back to jail.’ And Chance is saying, ‘we’re gonna do this thing and then you’re going back to jail.’ That’s the tension of the episode and it’s a great episode.”
Autumn Reeser to Leave Human Target
When asked whether Autumn Reeser would be back, Miller had to disappoint. “Autumn, unfortunately, is on a series. She may not be available to us. But we are going to bring back, if you remember, Maria, from ‘Salvage and Reclamation’ in the big Indiana Jones episode. They had a great heat, a great chemistry, Chance and Maria.”
Since Mark Valley had served in Operation Desert Storm, he was questioned about how much of his military background came into play in his role. He said that he sees a comic book element in the scripts and that Chance is pretty archetypal in his experience being “war… fighting… military or otherwise. That having been said, working in the army gave him experience in working in a team, making friends and stuff. And I’ve got my team with Chi and Jackie. I just know these guys really have my back, which is really nice. And I have theirs.”
A question about whether they had read the comic books or the graphic novel before they got the pilot script revealed interesting tidbits about their auditioning process. Mark said he read the script first, then the graphic novel, after which, he went on eBay to get the original comics. “Then Chi told me I could have just asked for the comics.”
eBay Bidding Antics
This turned into another banter exchange as Mark quipped to Chi: “Thank you for that, by the way. Four unaccepted bids later…”
Chi: You’ve been outbid $1,400. Damn, this is costing me… [Chi holds out right hand, palm up, like weighing] Mortgage? [Chi holds out left hand, palm up to weigh second choice] Comic book?
As for Chi, when he first read the project during pilot season, he told his agent there was nothing in the script for him. “It was a completely different character. A British guy who was like a museum curator – some silly shit like that.” Turning to Mark, Chi bantered again, this time in an affected voice: “Giles, we’ve got someone is being threatened by a threat -- will you go up and take care of that for me?”
Mark, playing along: Sure, stuffy English guy, I’ll get right on it.
Chi: Stuffy? I’ll just stay here and press my ascot. Yes, I’ll have some tea.
“After I met with the guys and we all decided to sign onto the deal,” Chi continued, “I read the graphic novels and thought they were really cool and really interesting and I loved that the guy was pretty much going crazy with creating all these other people. He didn’t even know who he was.”
Which Superhero are You?
The last question to Mark and Chi at the press conference was which superhero persona would each be. Chi’s answer was The Flash. “Not the Flash with the helmet though. Not with the lightning bolts. With the pit helmet. The old miner’s helmet. I like The Flash because he can always get in and out of places and nobody knows you were there. It’s kind of a good way to collect merchandise. Cash free. You can always say, ‘it wasn’t me.’”
Mark “would be mild-mannered Clark Kent. You can always bet if riled and if push comes to shove, he could be Superman, if he had to…. Knowing that he doesn’t have to wear blue tights, unless he wants to. I’d be Clark Kent with a cell phone so he doesn’t have to go into a phone box.” When it was pointed out that the phone booth was where Clark changed clothes, he answered: “Well, you’ve got to be able to kick ass as Clark Kent, too, without getting dressed up. Just because he’s wearing a tweed suit doesn’t mean he can’t kick some ass.”
Later, in the panel, Jackie Earle Haley was asked if Guerrero was a member of the team for season 2, since originally he was called as needed and now he seemed to be hanging around the office. “I think Guerrero is always gonna be a vendor,” Jackie said. “You see him around quite a bit but I don’t know that he’s necessarily a member of the company as much as he’s just the go-to guy. He’s kind of a planner, a fixer, and when they need him, they call him. And the cool thing is that they call him every week, which is really good job security.”
In part 4, there is another amusing banter exchange, plus Matt Miller shares his plans for season 2.
Season 2 premieres Friday, Oct. 1 (8:00-9:00 PM ET/PT) on FOX.
Crystal Taylor - I'm a writer of TV one-hour scripts, screenplays, novels, short stories, articles, and poetry. I'm most proud of a story (episode outline) ...
