w00t.
"Chuck," a tongue-in-cheek action series about a nerdy secret agent, was on the bubble for renewal last year, but NBC ordered 13 more episodes after Subway signed on as a sponsor for the season. The network is now committed to 19 episodes for the season, but hasn't yet set a premiere date for the show.
http://artsbeat.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/10/29/more-chuck-but-no-more-trauma-for-nbc/
January 10th, baby! Two back to back episodes and then another on its regular night on Monday!
http://ausiellofiles.ew.com/2009/11/19/scoop-chuck-returns-january-10/
Bye bye, Anna Wu. *sniff*
Dude, spoilers.
How in the world is that a spoiler?
A pretty major character leaving the show is a spoiler, yes?
Bastards. Taunting me with glorious barrels of Cheese Balls. They've been almost non-existant for decades up here.
That was pretty good stuff. The smooth dispatch of Emmitt Milbarge, the return of Big Mike, the explanation for Morgan's return from Hawaii (and the disappearance of Anna). And the moment in Prague. There's... there's something in my eye.
Another big world-changing finale, that is almost immediately neutered and we are returned to pretty much the status quo (this time with fewer characters to pay for) If they want things to stay the same, they should just keep things the same, instead of being the boy who cried plot.
<-The smooth dispatch of Emmitt Milbarge->
You know, I really hope they have some fallout from that. Chuck's once-again sloppiness got an innocent killed. I don't think it's completely out of character for Chuck, a character who's squishy about even handguns, to have to feel this just a smidge.
You know, I really hope they have some fallout from that.
I suspect that's the long term purpose behind having Casey cover it up. Sooner or later Chuck's gonna find out.
It was a little unclear exactly how, and to whom, he covered it up. From the exchange, it was clear that Chuck knew he was gone now and no implication that he didn't know that that departure was because of death.
Chuck is under the belief that Emmett got a job with LargeMart in Alaska. I don't think it was unclear.
Except for all the stuff that's different, of course. His job at the Buy More is now a total CIA cover and he ha a more hands-on part with the missions and is actively training how to use his new powers.
Just to add, I also like the tacit acknowledgement by the writers that sticking a wish fulfillment machine inside the head of an overly emotional computer nerd is not necessarily a good idea...
And that Walker and Casey's mission has changed from "Protect Chuck from the World" to "Protect the World from Chuck".
Favorite joke from that: The Intersect trying to make Chuck strangle Emmett. Levi is a great physical comedian.
And, of course, Rocky 3 shout-out!
I din't know what that meant, when they said it, but it still seems like they were protecting chuck who got in over his head on a mission…same as always.
We watched all three of the new season episodes together, and while I still love the show, I did get a little tired of the gyrations required to once again get Chuck and Sarah back in the "they like each other but can't do anything about it" situation they seem to keep returning to. In that sense, I found it a little repetitive. But there were some awfully fun scenes in between.
When are they going to figure out that Sarah is the reason the intercept works for Chuck?
God, the reset button rhumba in that first ep was pretty painful, huh?
>>SPOILERS<<
Emmett's removal was also OTT harsh (and hardly justified by his earlier dickishness, clearly there to set up for the shocker) and just felt a bit out of character for the show. Jeez, the CIA can arrange for Morgan to get his old job back ("They practically begged me!") but can't shunt Emmett off to Alaskan Largemart?
Second ep better, though UGH stunt casting. They can't afford Julia Ling but they can get Jones? UGH.
<<END SPOILERS>>
Third ep tonight for me. Fingers crossed.
For me, the Emmett bit was the comedic highlight of the season so far. Moderately dark comedy, granted, but I was so surprised that the writers were willing to do that I was laughing hysterically.
I had mixed feelings; I don't think I could have stood him for another season but it kind of threw me off nonetheless. Cath was shocked!
>>Emmett's removal was also OTT harsh (and hardly justified by his earlier dickishness, clearly there to set up for the shocker) and just felt a bit out of character for the show. Jeez, the CIA can arrange for Morgan to get his old job back ("They practically begged me!") but can't shunt Emmett off to Alaskan Largemart?<<
I actually think that was a very smart thing for the show. It was a much-needed counterpoint to all of Chuck's "I want to be a spy because it'll be so cool" enthusiasm, a very harsh reminder that what he's doing will get people killed because it isn't just some fun game. That it happened because Chuck was sloppy and left his Buymore ID at the restaurant is something I hope he finds out later in the season.
Doing it with Emmitt in particular was a nice creative choice because he'd been a petty little asshole through his entire run on the show, but still he didn't deserve to die. It was harsh and sudden and brutal, and totally necessary to re-ground the show as having real stakes beyond the spy games.
I agree, and the willingness of the writers to off Emmitt like that -almost- had me believing that Awesome was actually dead at the end of Monday night's episode.
A lot of things in those first couple of episodes really points towards a power corrupts plot percolating through the season.
"I actually think that was a very smart thing for the show. It was a much-needed counterpoint to all of Chuck's "I want to be a spy because it'll be so cool" enthusiasm, a very harsh reminder that what he's doing will get people killed because it isn't just some fun game."
I get that, I do. Just... surprised me, really.
"That it happened because Chuck was sloppy and left his Buymore ID at the restaurant is something I hope he finds out later in the season."
Absolutely concur. At the moment, its a meaningless death to the characters (obv not to the viewers), and I'll be interested to see if they follow it up - along with Casey's lie.
"Doing it with Emmitt in particular was a nice creative choice because he'd been a petty little asshole through his entire run on the show, but still he didn't deserve to die. It was harsh and sudden and brutal, and totally necessary to re-ground the show as having real stakes beyond the spy games."
A valid point!