I always liked this concept. A bodyguard with a phenomenal skill set puts himself in the line of fire to protect those whose lives are put in danger. Does this bodyguard do it for the 'rush' or because he has a death wish or is he trying to work off some bad karma from a misspent youth? The concept allows the main character, Christopher Chance, to show up in a variety of settings and lends to a million possible stories.
Mark Valley plays Christoper Chance and he has that 'everyman' action hero look that the writers can blend into interesting situations. There is room for some terrific relationship stuff between the three main actors who are connected to each other for reasons that are not immediately clear. The premier episode has a decidedly Canadian feel with Natasha Hestridge as the woman in need of protection and several Canadian actors as co-stars and players in the background.
Familiar faces Chi McBride ('Pushing Daisies') and Jackie Earle Haley (Watchmen and possibly Sinestro in Green Lantern) also appear in the first episode and act as gatherers of information that Chance relies on to do his job. All we know is that Chi's and Haley Earle's characters don't like each other and that hatred is well deserved. I found the writing to be fast and crisp and set up the situations and relationships perfectly.
I also already have great ideas for many episodes especially the amnesia two parter that has Chance believing he is the killer out to murder a woman and her children and this puts his two squabbling partners in the position of having to fight/out think a man whose skills they can't hope to match...unless they can put aside their baggage long enough to save both Chance and the targets. Do I hear 'EMMY AWARD' bitches?
While I admit that I prefer the disguise aspects of the comic book and the old Rick Springfield show (especially when they did that montage every episode showing how he used his high tech gadgets to look and sound like the person he was impersonating) it really makes no sense unless everyone that is being protected is the same size and shape as the main actor.
I am hoping that the writers add a recurring subplot about Chance's past. It was hinted that both he and Jackie Earle's character worked for the 'wrong side' in the past. I always find it interesting when those kind of activities come back to haunt a main character. I am sure that Chance isn't the only 'jack of all trades' out there working against our enemies. I want to see an enemy taking some of the jobs Chance does but for the entirely opposite of reasons.
The only thing I didn't like about the premiere episode was the Friday time slot which seems to be the place Fox puts shows it has very little faith in. They could have a 'mentalist with muscles' show with a bit of backing from the network.
