I was going to post a tweet about the 2 year Chuckiversary; the day that the final episode broadcast on NBC, but there's something about this show and the fans that I just couldn't sum up in 140 characters, so here's a short post...
As a show, Chuck may have ended two years ago, but the fan community that built up around it is still going strong. For the most part, we continue to support each other and encourage kindness, compassion and respect in others on social media. Not just this, but I feel proud to be part of a fan community who still continues to change the lives of people who have never even have heard of the show, let alone seen it. By raising awareness and money for good causes, including Operation Smile and St. Jude Children's Research Hospital, I think it shows not only open minds, but big hearts.
As people discover the show for the first time, through friends, family or the cast and crew's new projects, I hope we can bring them into the fold and spread the ethos of what it truly means to be a Chuckster and contribute to a lasting legacy that goes far beyond the show that helped create this community.
#NerdHerd4Ever
Monday, 27 January 2014
Sunday, 29 January 2012
Chuck Versus Sarah/Chuck Versus the Goodbye
Thanks for the memories. We wish a fond goodbye.
Photo Credit: NBC/TVFanatic.com |
Well folks, that’s it. Last night saw the two-hour series
finale of Chuck and it was everything we’d been promised. It was full of
callbacks and emotion. Even a cold-hearted b*****d like me got a bit teary at
times.
Even although it was the final two episodes, they functioned
as one, to the point where they, again, dropped the opening credits for the
second hour.
It was a trip down memory lane for both Sarah and us fans.
From the assault on the D.A.R.P.A. lab, an homage to the very first scene of
the pilot where Bryce Larkin steals the Intersect, right through to Chuck and
Sarah’s dream house, it encapsulated the five amazing years we’ve had, without
the need for flashbacks every few minutes.
The great thing about the finale is that it wasn’t just
trying to remind Sarah why she fell in love with Chuck, it also served to
remind us why we fell in love with the show.
It was funny, dramatic and touching in all the right
quantities. What other spy drama wears its heart on its sleeve so openly?
The first hour, Chuck Versus Sarah, was certainly the darker
of the two episodes, with Sarah manipulating those closest to her on Quinn’s
orders and a lot of emotional pain for Chuck. At first we’re lead to believe
that Sarah has killed Quinn, escaped, and still has enough of her memory to get
home to those she loves.
Of course, she didn’t kill Quinn, but came pretty close to
it, now he’s calling the shots pretending to be her handler. It’s quite amusing
that Bizarro Sarah mistakes Chuck’s goofy good nature for a trap – one of the
lighter moments of the episode.
Maybe it was just me, but Sarah seemed to soften slightly in
deciding not to blow up the D.A.R.P.A. Intersect room. Could it have been that
she didn’t see a need to kill Chuck, or perhaps it was just a disinclination to
blow up a government facility.
Some of Sarah’s memory starts to come back once Chuck takes
her to their dream home, although it’s not the house, or Chuck’s recounting of
the dreams they had for the house, but the names she and he carved into a door
frame.
Of course, once Quinn gets the Intersect glasses, Sarah is
of no use to him, so he verifies Chuck’s story, that he’s been deceiving her
and shoots at her. I think it was another step along the road that she was
concerned about Chuck after he took the bullet for her.
Casey showed his gentler side by turning up at Sarah’s old
room, telling her a bit about how they’d changed over the years and leaving the
DVD of her mission logs. It was nice to see Sarah falling in love with Chuck
via a series of small video diary entries.
Even although this all verified Chuck’s version of events,
Sarah still didn’t feel that connection as she couldn’t remember going through
all the things that made her fall in love with him.
The second episode saw Sarah back on the side of the good
guys and gunning for Quinn. This allowed for more nostalgia and allowed this to
be lighter as Chuck, and fate apparently, tried to take Sarah on a trip down
memory lane.
The episode gave some of the usually mute Buy Morons a line
or two of dialogue as Jeff and Lester were employed to help track down Sarah,
using their network of contacts, or as Lester put it; “Unleash the perverts!”
We had references to Fulcrum, The Ring and Ted Roarke within
the first few minutes of the episode, and the hits just kept on coming as
Sarah, Chuck and Morgan went on a mission to find Renny Deutch in Berlin. First
port of call was a restaurant that looked exactly like “El Compadre” in LA
where Chuck and Sarah had their first cover date.
Next was a Russian consulate where we got a chance to see
the pair dancing in eveningwear. This was followed by a trip to a Wienerlicious
where it seemed that Sarah remembered a little more of her missing 5 years.
In an act that mirrored parts of “Chuck Versus the Ring” and
his first mission in the pilot, Chuck once again put his personal desires aside
in order to do what was right and took on the responsibility of the Intersect.
Thanks to Sarah, Chuck used the ‘Irene Demova’ virus from
the pilot to defuse the bomb and save General Beckman, and likely a large part
of the audience from being blown up.
However, the day could not have been saved by Chuck were it
not for the intervention of a certain duo. One word: Jeffster!
Whereas in the season 2 finale, Jeffster played an unwitting
part in helping, in this episode they were very much in on the plan. Despite
turning up on their own initiative, they managed to save the day with a
performance of A-ha’s ‘Take On Me’, earning them a standing ovation and the
interest of a record producer from Germany.
In uploading the Intersect one last time, he was denied the
opportunity to use the glasses to restore Sarah’s memory. As the team
disbanded, with Casey leaving to go after Gertrude Verbanski, Sarah needed to
take some time to find herself.
More pieces of her memory must have been resurfacing as she
went to the beach where she had first told Chuck that he could trust her.
Taking advice from Morgan and following his heart, Chuck
found her there and they started to reconnect. We got a montage of the couples
important moments as Sarah asked Chuck to tell her their story and we fade to
black as they share another first kiss.
Whilst Chuck and Sarah may have had a slightly ambiguous
ending, others got their own happy endings. Alex and Morgan moved in together,
Casey off to find Verbanski, Ellie and Awesome moving out to Chicago, Jeff and
Lester getting a record contract. Even Big Mike got a happy ending, with Subway
moving in to the Buy More!
Photo Credit: ZacharyLeviFan.com |
“If you ever want to save the world again…. You know where I
am.” – Gen. Beckman.
It’s been a fun ride.
Josh Schwartz, Chris Fedak, Zachary Levi, Yvonne Strahovski,
Adam Baldwin, Joshua Gomez, Sarah Lancaster, Ryan McPartlin, Scott Krinsky, Vik
Sahay, Mark Christopher Lawrence, Bonita Friedericy, Julia Ling, a whole host
of guest stars, all the writers, directors, producers and the rest of the crew.
All of you are responsible for a show that captured the hearts and minds of
people the world over, and for that we thank you from the bottom of our nerdy
little hearts.
*fade to black*
Labels:
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Sunday, 22 January 2012
Chuck Versus the Bullet Train
The Train Job and Jeffster! to the rescue!
Photo Credit: Byron Cohen/NBC |
As we race towards the final two episodes, last night showed
us that the stakes have never been higher. Like Shaw, Nicholas Quinn (Angus
Mcfadyen) is a man obsessed with getting rid of Chuck Bartowski, but Quinn has
had a lot longer to stew and a lot more failed attempts, given his client list.
Sarah revealed to Chuck that she had uploaded the dodgy
Intersect, explaining that she’d had no other options. Considering the
circumstances, Chuck did very well not to freak out.
There was a great moment between them, after an awkward
silence, where they bond further over having the Intersect. It reminded me of
the Smallville episodes where Lana/Lois get Clarks powers; it gives you a
deeper understanding of how awesome it is to have superpowers, but there is
always a catch. In this case, the Intersect is wiping Sarah’s memory, although
40 flashes in two days is a little excessive. Even a clean Intersect shouldn’t
be such a crutch.
Chuck almost managed to hold his own in the fight against Quinn
in the train carriage, considering that Quinn boasted that the only thing he
couldn’t take down was the Intersect. As it was, he managed to make a getaway
and captured Sarah, dropping her with a tranq dart and disconnecting their
carriage from the train, leaving Chuck watching helplessly.
At a warehouse location Quinn used Intersect images to
stimulate Sarah to flash, damaging her memory so that she could be his
‘soldier’. I liked that although Casey, Chuck and Morgan tracked her emergency beacon to the location, all that was waiting for them was the beacon and a note saying "Nice Try!" Things won't be wrapped up that easily.
Craftily taking Sarah back to her old hotel room, Quinn used the memory loss to create a new scenario with him as her handler. The new mission: kill Chuck Bartowski. So it seems that the next episode, Chuck Versus Sarah, is just that. It seems quite fitting that part of the drama of the finale will come not from a new villain, but as a threat from one of the very people at the heart of the show. Chuck will have to defeat his wife in order to save both their lives.
Craftily taking Sarah back to her old hotel room, Quinn used the memory loss to create a new scenario with him as her handler. The new mission: kill Chuck Bartowski. So it seems that the next episode, Chuck Versus Sarah, is just that. It seems quite fitting that part of the drama of the finale will come not from a new villain, but as a threat from one of the very people at the heart of the show. Chuck will have to defeat his wife in order to save both their lives.
The secondary story brought Jeff and Lester back into the
fold. With Alex being kidnapped by two of Quinn’s goons, one of whom was played
by Farscape/Stargate SG-1’s Ben Browder, it was up to Morgan and Awesome to
rescue her. Things didn’t go too well as they were spotted, although it
probably didn’t help that Morgan was walking through the parking lot with a
large sniper rifle.
It occurred to me when Morgan commented that he’d never
sniped “wet or dry”(obviously he's never encountered the ‘wetworks’
euphemism) that while he’ll never have done it for real, surely he’s sniped in
games, such as Call of Duty. It might not be the same, but at least it’s a
slight advantage over a novice.
Anyway, with Awesome and Morgan captured as well, Lester
picked up Morgan’s earpiece and hilarity followed. Casey told them to go to his
Crown Vic and take a pistol each, but they broke out the heavy artillery. Cue
Lester Rambo with the mini-gun, chewing on one of Casey’s cigars (and I don’t
think he’d be happy with that!) and Jeff being a little scary with the
flamethrower. I’d have surrendered; never mess with disturbed people with
powerful toys!
Now Jeff and Lester have been officially let in on the
secret of Carmichael Industries, will Big Mike find out in the final episodes?
He is the last one of the principal characters not to know about it, so I think
it would only be fair.
A couple of other points: As well as having Sarah’s old
place feature, we had a nice callback to the Strip Kick from last season and,
of course, Casey’s Crown Vic! I also loved the 80’s style train-track titles
that were used in this episode.
I wonder if the warehouse that Quinn took Sarah to was actually a set-dressed workspace behind the normal sets for Chuck. It had a certain look to it, with the scaffolding at one side looking like there might be a set, possibly the train, behind it.
I wonder if the warehouse that Quinn took Sarah to was actually a set-dressed workspace behind the normal sets for Chuck. It had a certain look to it, with the scaffolding at one side looking like there might be a set, possibly the train, behind it.
Next time: Chuck Versus Sarah/Chuck Versus the Goodbye
SARAH MUST KEEP A SECRET FROM CHUCK IN ORDER TO ACCOMPLISH
A MISSION — ANGUS MACFADYEN GUEST STARS AS ‘NICHOLAS QUINN’ — After a harrowing
mission, Sarah (Yvonne Strahovski) returns to Chuck (Zachary Levi) with a huge
secret. Meanwhile, Ellie (Sarah Lancaster) and Awesome (Ryan McPartlin) are
presented with a new opportunity that could change their lives. Adam Baldwin
and Joshua Gomez also star.
Then
CHUCK’S FINAL MISSION BRINGS HIM BACK TO HIS ROOTS AS HE
FIGHTS TO SAVE HIS FUTURE – ANGUS MACFADYEN AND LINDA HAMILTON GUEST STAR —
Chuck (Zachary Levi) enlists his family, friends and some unexpected allies as
he races to stop Nicholas Quinn (guest star Angus Macfadyen, “Braveheart”) from
destroying everything Chuck has built over the past five years. Yvonne
Strahovski, Joshua Gomez, Adam Baldwin, Sarah Lancaster, Scott Krinsky, Vik
Sahay and Mark Christopher Lawrence also star.
Here’s the trailer, take a look:
Labels:
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The Secret Is Out
Saturday, 14 January 2012
Chuck Versus Bo
A less than perfect "10"!
Here’s the trailer, take a look:
Photo Credit: NBC |
Is there anyone in Hollywood who
isn’t a spy? First Stan Lee, now Bo Derek!
Chuck Versus Bo was probably one of
the more fun episodes of the season. With things starting to be wrapped up,
although most of the last few episodes have had a sense of closure to them, it
was time to unveil the final villain.
What they’ve done is neatly bring
everything into play, the fact that Nicholas Quinn (Angus Mcfadyen) was
supposed to be the first candidate for the Intersect, and that he’s been going
after it ever since was a pretty interesting way of linking the past to the
present. He blames Chuck for being broken because he didn’t have the Intersect
when he felt he needed it and it seems he might have plans for him.
It was quite amusing that in the
list of Quinn’s clients, as well as FULCRUM, The Ring and Volkoff Industries,
they also mentioned Kim Jong-il. Spooky timing when they say they’ve taken down
some of his biggest clients and Morgan comments regarding the late Mr Kim; “Did
we get him?” A similar thing happened last year with a gag involving Casey
having Bin Laden targets, just days after he was killed.
Is Casey involved in the
assassination of evil foreign douchebags when he’s not on a mission with Chuck
and Sarah? Just a thought :)
Jeff managed to prove that he has
considerable smarts in the last episode and this continued in this one. While
Lester was more than willing to accept a debauched night in Vegas that he
couldn’t remember, Jeff questioned the evidence.
The X-13 gas that Casey used on
them, multiple times, was meant to knock them out and they’d forget the last 24
hours, but it didn’t quite seem to work. Jeff took a cue from Memento and
started writing clues on his arm to help him remember – surely something that
Casey would have spotted and erased before leaving them at the set-up scene.
Of course, Jeff and Lester got to
the bottom of it in Vail, following the team to the Buy More. Just as Lester
accuses them of being spies, Quinn and his men come in and start shooting. The very
notion of Jeffster being involved in a spy vs. spy shootout would never have
crossed my mind last season, but there we were, Jeff cowering and Lester trying
to scale a climbing wall to safety as the bullets flew!
In the end, Casey managed to
outsmart them by writing ‘not’ into the phrase ‘they are spies’ on Jeff’s arm.
So, with the +1 vultures on the car, Big Mike treated them to a Subway Fresh
Fit meal and they drove off towards Vegas. That could have been a nice ending
for them in the series, but they’ll be back in the palace of emerald and gold,
hopefully with Jeffster! rocking out one final time!
I liked the Vail Buy More, a strange
Twilight Zone version of the familiar Burbank store, right down to the Jeff and
Lester-alikes (note how their Lester IS a woman), the female Big Mike, Big
Michelle, and even a version of Fernando!
Adam Baldwin tweeted that he’d ad-libbed Casey’s “I hate
Twitter” line. Who doesn’t love a good Baldwin ad-lib?
We knew that everything wasn’t going to end smoothly, right
from the moment that Sarah said “one last mission” – even Casey knew that you
never, ever, say one last mission – it’s like saying “nothing can possibly go
wrong” or “this’ll be the best Christmas Walford’s ever had”*
*A trope taken from UK soap Eastenders, where
something terrible happens every Christmas. Line also completely nicked from Doctor
Who episode The Impossible Planet ( http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3hdvMjVSctc
)
The bad guy and his new set of goons grab Chuck demanding
that Sarah bring the Intersect glasses to a location at the docks. Sarah and
Casey go off to save Chuck, only to find that the exchange is a trap. Pinned
down without an exit, Sarah decides the only thing to do is put on the glasses
and upload the Intersect. Well, to be fair, it was either that or surrender and
most likely be killed.
I’ve seen a few people on Twitter complaining that Sarah
doesn’t need the Intersect to be badass. Whilst this is true, it should be
noted that the Intersect 2.0 was supposed to enhance the skills of already
competent spies. The Giant Blonde Shemale might be awesome, but give her the
Intersect and she can dodge bullets.
I would have said that with Intersect-enhanced skills she’s
unstoppable, but we all know what comes from uploading a dodgy Intersect. Can
we expect Sarah to start losing her memory, or worse? There’s only one way to
find out – tune in next week!
A MISSION ABOARD A JAPANESE BULLET TRAIN SPIRALS OUT OF
CONTROL, PUTTING THOSE CLOSEST TO CARMICHAEL INDUSTRIES IN DANGER – ANGUS
MACFADYEN GUEST STARS — When a mission in Japan becomes a hostage situation,
Sarah (Yvonne Strahovski) and Chuck (Zachary Levi) must face the merciless
Nicholas Quinn (guest star Angus Macfadyen, “Braveheart”) aboard a speeding
Japanese bullet train. Meanwhile, the mission leaves Casey with an impossible
decision. Joshua Gomez, Sarah Lancaster, Ryan McPartlin, Scott Krinsky, Vik
Sahay and Mark Christopher Lawrence also star.
Labels:
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Saturday, 7 January 2012
Chuck Versus the Kept Man
Assignment: Miami Beach. Sun, sea, subterfuge and spiralling!
Photo Credit: NBC |
The first Chuck episode of the New
Year was one that followed the pattern of the last couple of episodes by giving
a certain amount of closure to one of Team Bartowski. This time it was the turn
of John Casey, the stoic military man who seems averse to warm fuzzy feelings.
Gertrude Verbanski made a return;
not because she was no longer wanted for murder, but to come back to Casey.
She’s a strong woman and once she sets her mind to getting something she wants,
she is very persistent.
The expensive gift of the cashmere
sweater was certainly not Casey’s style, something I thought she’d have known.
Give him harsh conditions and gunplay and he’s happy as a pig in mud.
She had to resort to hiring Carmichael
Industries for what was essentially a ruse to get Casey to Miami for a booty
call. There was a mission, but it was largely time for a bit of private R&R
and then time for some nefarious dealings.
He did succumb to her at one point
during the ‘mission’ at the hotel in Miami, allowing her to exercise her
dominant nature and play rough with him. It was probably one of the most
unusual uses of a Casey grunt we’ve had in the series, although thankfully (for
most of us) it was off screen.
Chuck, after Sarah walks in on
Casey and Verbanski: “Sarah, what’s wrong?”
Sarah: “Everything. It’s all wrong.”
Sarah: “Everything. It’s all wrong.”
It was quite a comedic episode for
Yvonne Strahovski with her quizzical and disgusted looks and her meta reference
complaining about how many skimpy outfits she’s had to wear for the missions.
We had Sarah’s pregnancy scare, leading Chuck to start
‘spiralling’ towards freaking out. Then of course Sarah started spiralling in
their discussion before she went to aid Casey in rescuing Verbanski.
One of the neat little tricks I
liked during the episode was Chuck and then Sarah tuning in to the dangers
around them. It was in tune with the audience understanding that no matter what
situation the find themselves in, they always manage to survive it.
I’m actually wondering if a major
character will be killed off in these last few hours of the series, just to
throw us a curveball.
In the Buy More sub-plot this time around, we had Jeff
piecing together the puzzle of what goes on behind the scenes. Using a
noteboard in the way that Chuck used the back of his Tron poster, he deduced
that Sarah and Casey were spies and that Chuck was an asset. Okay, so he was a
bit late with the info, but he was brain damaged up until recently.
It was fun to see Jeff and Lester tracking Awesome on the
‘drop’. They have done some “pretty decent spy work” before in ‘Versus the Best
Friend’, but of course we knew that Awesome was acting as a decoy and knew he
was being followed.
It certainly was, how should I put this, ‘interesting’ to
see Lester embrace the feminine side everyone has talked about. He even got the
wind machine!
I loved the fact that Morgan used Awesome to fake them out,
but that Jeff, thanks to Lester, found out the truth and busted through the
fake wall to see Chuck, Sarah and Morgan in Castle.
I’ll be interested to see if they try to use this newfound
knowledge to wangle themselves positions in Carmichael Industries.
It seems that pretty much everything is wrapped up, although
we didn’t get Casey’s reaction to Chuck and Sarah deciding not to rejoin the
CIA, although the option is still open to him. Would he choose to go back, or
do the roots he’s been putting down in Burbank have a stronger hold on him?
Will we ever find out?
Next time: Chuck Versus Bo
MORGAN FACES THE CONSEQUENCES OF HIS TIME AS THE
INTERSECT WHEN HE MUST PIECE TOGETHER A LOST WEEKEND IN VAIL — BO DEREK (“10″)
AND ANGUS MACFADYEN (“BRAVEHEART”) GUEST STAR — As Chuck (Zachary Levi) and
Sarah (Yvonne Strahovski) try to realize a new, safer future, Morgan’s (Joshua
Gomez) past as the Intersect sends them to Vail on one last mission, where they
enlist the help of an unlikely source — the legendary Bo Derek (as herself).
Elsewhere, Jeff (Scott Krinsky) and Lester (Vik Sahay) continue their own spy
mission. Adam Baldwin, Sarah Lancaster and Mark Christopher Lawrence also star.
Here’s the trailer, take a look:
Saturday, 31 December 2011
Chuck Versus the Baby
Anybody Seen My Baby?
Photo Credit: NBC |
With last night’s Chuck being written by the wonder-twins
Lauren LeFranc and Rafe Judkins, we knew that it was going to be a cracker of
an episode. Although the chronology of Sarah’s past has always been a bit of a muddle,
there were a couple of errors that I found a little glaring, but they weren’t
striking enough to detract from my enjoyment of the episode as a whole.
The episode treaded both familiar and unfamiliar ground,
showing Sarah’s journey from loner spy to someone with friends and family who
are there for her. As with last season’s Phase Three, we got to see Sarah
kicking some ass, some in flashback in a Matrix style, with some stylised
gymnastics, but we also got to see her vulnerable side. When handling ‘the
package’ she was clearly out of her comfort zone, allowing for a couple of
tender scenes with her mother.
After Chuck reverted back to making bad decisions based on
family in ‘Versus the Curse’, so it seemed that Sarah became very sloppy around
this mission because it was to do with family.
First of all, she never even considered that Ryker would
have heard the news about Shaw being recaptured and imprisoned. She also fell
for the same trick that she’d pulled on her old handler back in Hungary, having
a decoy prop and a recording of a baby, despite the fact that five years had
passed and the child would no longer be a baby.
Guest star Tim DeKay made a great villain as Ryker and it
was easily believable that he could be linked to Shaw, both of them having a
sadistic streak.
The fight scene between Ryker and Sarah in the house was one
of the most brutal that I think I’ve ever seen her involved in. It certainly
was a rather, if you’ll excuse the pun, sharp end for Ryker, being run through
with a kitchen knife.
Of course, had she been as single minded as she set out to
be and taken the tactical advantage, we’d never have got to see that knockdown
fight.
The sub-plot this time was Ellie and Awesome giving Alex and
Morgan relationship advice, setting the scene for the eventual reconciliation.
Morgan did seem a little surprised when Alex kissed him, considering he’d been
edging for them to get back together and dropping all sorts of less than subtle
hints earlier.
We had some great comedy moments in the episode including
Chuck taking down the waiter and proclaiming that he doesn’t need the
Intersect, then finding that it would be very useful when the waiter speaks to
them in Hungarian. This was immediately followed by a Pythonesque moment (“My
hovercraft is full of eels”) where Casey is trying to use the phrase book and
ends up saying, “Were… we weeping… curd cheesecake.”
The scene towards the end with the reunion of Sarah and her
mother and adopted sister were very heartwarming. I thinkit was very fitting
that the safe-house that Sarah sent them to was Casa Bartowski, making sure
that they were with people that she trusts, the friends and family that she’s
gained since the last time she saw her mother. It wrapped up the two plots of
the episode nicely and gave us a very happy note; they could almost have ended
the series on that.
So, Chuck and Sarah are splashing out on a new home, hoping
that they can make the down payment now that they’ve vandalised the place by
carving their names into a doorframe.
But wait, what is this conveniently forgotten plot point
from the beginning of the season? I’m sure that a lot of you are wondering,
like I am, where the Volkoff fortune that Chuck and Sarah had before Decker
froze their assets went to. Surely the CIA would have allowed them access to
their own money?
Right, I mentioned earlier about glaring errors. For me the
biggest one(s) came at the end with the flashback to Sarah in Director Graham’s
office. Firstly, if this was her assignment to Burbank straight after Chuck had
been sent the Intersect, why was there no mention of Bryce; he was supposed to
be her partner after all.
Secondly, Graham says to her he thinks it’s time for her to
become a handler. Initially, her mission involving Chuck was just to grab the
intel from his computer, but she decided to stick around to see if he had a
backup anywhere and find out how much he knew. She was never supposed to be his
handler; it was only after it became clear that he had the Intersect in his
head that she and Casey were assigned to be his handlers.
As a bit of a film reference nerd, I literally laughed out
loud at the inclusion of a “Wilhelm scream” in the episode. You can catch it at
the point when Ryker pushes the waiter down the stairs - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Bj1nuOl3WVc
Next time: Chuck Versus the Kept Man
GERTRUDE VERBANSKI RETURNS WITH A MISSION FOR CHUCK AND
A PROPOSITION FOR CASEY — CARRIE-ANNE MOSS GUEST STARS — While Chuck (Zachary
Levi) and Sarah (Yvonne Strahovski) contemplate the next step for Carmichael
Industries, Casey’s (Adam Baldwin) forbidden love, Gertrude Verbanski (guest
star Carrie-Anne Moss, “The Matrix”), walks back into his life with a
questionable mission in South Beach. Meanwhile, Jeff’s (Scott Krinsky) enhanced
intelligence leads he and Lester (Vik Sahay) to suspect that something unusual
may be happening at the Buy More. Joshua Gomez, Ryan McPartlin and Mark
Christopher Lawrence also star.
Here’s the trailer, take a look:
Saturday, 24 December 2011
Chuck Versus the Santa Suit
The Grinch who (almost) stole Christmas!
What a Christmas treat we got with last night’s Chuck! This
is certainly my favourite episode of the season so far and one of my favourites
of the series. It just goes to show how good an episode it was when the colossal
spoiler in the promo that NBC aired two weeks ago had little impact on the
enjoyment of it.
Photo Credit: Mike Ansell/NBC |
That being said, there is a bit of a large plot hole, so
let’s get it out of the way quickly. Surely the CIA would have de-Intersected
Shaw when they took him into custody, knowing how dangerous he and it can be.
Since they apparently didn’t, the question arises; how did he survive for two
years without a Governor?
Right, gripe out of the way, now I can get to the rest of
the episode.
This episode was fantastically done, blending pretty much
all of the elements that make for a really good hour of Chuck. It also featured
the entire ensemble with Team B, Ellie and Awesome and the Buy Morons all
getting to play their part.
For a change, Jeff and Lester proved instrumental in the
payoff without it being dumb luck thanks to one of their schemes having wider
repercussions. You could say that, for a while, they were an unofficial part of
the Carmichael Industries team. Plus it was a great chance to have a Subway promotional
plug (one of two – the second being a more subtle one at the CIA Christmas
party) with Jeff doing a Big Mike and describing the ingredients of his delicious Subway sandwich.
Adam Baldwin got a little comedy, a little action and a lot
of heart with this episode. His reaction to Chuck and Morgan finding out about
his present for Alex was brilliant, and the scene where he begins to record his
‘final’ message for her on the bear was very moving. Of course he got to tell
Alex in person and, caught up in his ‘lady feelings’, even gave her a nudge in
Morgan’s direction – “You know, that.. that Grimes kid, he’s not that bad. You
should maybe give him another chance.”
Shaw was unpopular during Season 3, even before he did his
heel turn. Quite a bit of it was to do with him getting between Chuck and
Sarah, and some of it was to do with the fact that he seemed so wooden. When he
returned last night, there was a great desire form the fans to see him get his
ass kicked up and down the Buy More. We weren’t disappointed, although I’m sure
some of us would have liked to have seen him put down permanently.
After he regressed to the old Chuck last week, it was a
relief to see Chuck back on form. He had a plan; he utilized everyone at his
disposal, used his nerd skills and his physical training to win the day and
save the world from Daniel Shaw.
I have to admit that from last week’s promo, I thought that
maybe Chuck got the Intersect back, courtesy of Gen. Beckman. When we found out
that Jeff and Lester had cracked the Omen code, I figured that Chuck would use
it against Shaw. It was quite amusing and ironic that he used the bluff from
Superman II, where Superman makes Zod think he has the upper hand when in fact
he’s removed his powers.
I felt that the fight scene in the Buy More this time around
was better than when both Shaw and Chuck had the Intersect. This fight was not
between two guys with near superpowers, it was between two guys who hated each
other. Plus we had Ellie get in on the action by clocking Shaw on the back of
the head, bringing the fight to an end!
Now that Shaw is locked away you would have thought that his
villainy could no longer affect our heroes, but then you get that final scene
between Shaw and Sarah. Oh boy, that is a cliffhanger to ponder over Christmas!
Whose baby do you think Shaw is referring to? Post your theories in the
comments section.
Of course, now that the vendetta against Chuck has come to a
close as far as the CIA are concerned, he should be getting back all of the
assets that were frozen by Decker, meaning that Carmichael Industries should be
rich once again. Having been offered open positions at the CIA means that there
are a few options open to each of them.
Where will the story go after next episode? Few people know,
but I am very interested to see how it all plays out.
Next time: Chuck Versus the Baby
SARAH’S PAST COMES BACK TO HAUNT HER AND THREATENS
THOSE CLOSEST TO HER — CHERYL LADD AND TIM DEKAY GUEST STAR — Sarah (Yvonne
Strahovski) is forced to confront a secret from her past and feels she must do
so alone, while Chuck (Zachary Levi) urges her to let him help. When Sarah
encounters her original handler, Kieran Ryker (guest star Tim Dekay, “White
Collar”), she fears that he will harm those closest to her, including her mom
(guest star Cheryl Ladd, “Las Vegas”). Adam Baldwin, Joshua Gomez, Sarah
Lancaster and Ryan McPartlin also star.
Here’s the trailer, take a look:
Labels:
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Casey,
Chuck,
Ellie,
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Jeff,
Lester,
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Santa Suit,
Sarah,
Secret,
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