So the other day I decided to switch on the TV and a promo for this new show Human Target caught my attention. It doesn’t look terribly amazing at first glance, but I recognized the main character as the dude who played John Scott in the first season of Fringe. So, meh, I decided to check it out…

I’m actually kind of glad I did. The principle cast of three is a perfect number to start off with and the likes of Chi McBride and Jackie Earle Haley really play off of relative newcomer Mark Valley quite well. The concept of a rogue undercover security guy is okay, but what kept me interested the entire hour of the pilot was noticing details of the show that have Vancouver Production written all over it. Here is a short list of clues to figure out if a series is shot in Vancouver or not:

1 – They say everything is taking place in San Francisco, but they either never show the Golden Gate Bridge, or it is very obvious stock footage.

2 – At some point there is an explosion at random office building usually referred to as some kind of genetic lab, R & D home base, bank or industrial design house.

3 – Tricia Helfer makes an appearance at some point.

4 – For some reason the streets of NYC, California, Hong Kong or even Sydney sometimes are completely empty at some point in order for a car jacking, private conversation or important event to happen in broad daylight.

5 – Victory Square is dressed up to become a park, a meeting place, a place where a drive-by happens, or the background of a car chase.

6 – This guy makes a cameo.

If a pilot or episode has over half of these points, it’s a safe bet that it was filmed in Vancouver.