Writer: Zev Borow
Director: Chris Fisher
Cast: Zachary Levi (Chuck), Yvonne Strahovski (Sarah), Adam Baldwin (Casey), Joshua Gomez (Morgan), Bonita Friedericy (General Beckman), Tony Todd (CIA Director Graham), Julia Ling (Anna Wu), Vik Sahay (Lester), Mark Christopher Lawrence (Big Mike), Scott Krinsky (Jeff), Kelvin Han Yee (Rashan Chen), David Paluck (Agent #2), Michael Wiseman (Agent #1) & Yuriana Kim (Mrs. Wu)
Director: Chris Fisher
Cast: Zachary Levi (Chuck), Yvonne Strahovski (Sarah), Adam Baldwin (Casey), Joshua Gomez (Morgan), Bonita Friedericy (General Beckman), Tony Todd (CIA Director Graham), Julia Ling (Anna Wu), Vik Sahay (Lester), Mark Christopher Lawrence (Big Mike), Scott Krinsky (Jeff), Kelvin Han Yee (Rashan Chen), David Paluck (Agent #2), Michael Wiseman (Agent #1) & Yuriana Kim (Mrs. Wu)
Chuck goes undercover as Sarah's husband, to foil a counterfeiter who later endangers the lives of Anna, Morgan and Anna's parents..."Would you stop sneaking up on me like that?
This is a retail store, okay, buddy -- not Tora Bora."
This is a retail store, okay, buddy -- not Tora Bora."
-- Chuck (Zachary Levi) to Casey (Adam Baldwin)
I have to admit I'm bored by the "will they, won't they?" vibe to Chuck, as nothing's likely to happen between Chuck (Zachary Levi) and Sarah (Yvonne Strahovski) under the rules of television romances. But I've accepted that. What's growing tiresome is the near-identical fumbling scenes between these would-be lovers -- with every episode's writer offering essentially the same material for Levi and Strahovski. You know the drill: Chuck babbles his feelings nervously, as Sarah looks uncomfortable and can't meet his puppy-dog eyes.
"... Versus The Crown Vic" (named after the ill-fated pride-and-joy of car enthusiast Casey) is quite enjoyable, if unremarkable. Chuck goes undercover once again, this time to a casino -- affording an obvious musical riff on the Bond theme and a left-field reference to Wesley Snipes actioner Passenger 57 ("always bet on black"). With Sarah pretending to be his wife, they're after information on a millionaire counterfeiter -- meaning Sarah has to get closer to this week's villain, by potentially sleeping with him aboard his luxury yacht.
Elsewhere, the Buy More B-story is tinged with a lacklustre Christmassy vibe, as the store prepares for its annual Christmas party -- with Lester (Vik Sahay) annoyingly insisting it's referred to as a "holiday", not "Christmas". Oddly, nobody resents Lester's view, so I assume writer Zev Borow believes it’s a valid point worth making. But I disagree. Christmas is Christmas, no matter what your religion is.
Anyway, the real meat of the Buy More story concerns Morgan (Joshua Gomez), who wants to meet his new girlfriend Anna's (Julia Ling) parents. Naturally, they decide to meet as the local marina, where Morgan spots Sarah on the deck of a luxury yacht -- trying to get closer to the counterfeiter -- and alerts Chuck to the fact his girlfriend might be having an affair.
Bubbling under the surface of everything is Chuck's hurt feelings, as he thinks Sarah still fancies his old-friend Bryce -- despite the fact she's decided to continue protecting Chuck, after Bryce offered her the chance to "elope" with him. Despite my annoyance at how the Sarah/Chuck scenes are still being played, having their uneasy relationship simmering under the bread-and-butter plot works well. This episode isn't particularly complex or intelligent, but it's undeniably improved by the cumulative interest in the Chuck/Sarah situation. And the episode was worth watching for one standout moment -- when Sarah bites back at Casey (Adam Baldwin), needling him about his duty-bound attitude and trying to make him admit he pines for a normal life, too. Baldwin's icy reaction to his colleague's emotional manipulation is perfect.
The story moves at an agreeable pace, managing to make the continuing clash between Chuck and Morgan's separate lives work (just about) and builds to a decent resolution. However, "... Versus The Crown Vic" is mostly memorable for its denouement, that sets the scene for the last 2 episodes perfectly. I'm not really convinced by it in a "real world" sense, but it definitely got my psyched to see how loyal-to-a-fault Casey deals with his orders to "deal" with Chuck now Intersect 2.0 has been created.
Overall; this is a regular episode of so-so interest, improved by the Chuck/Sarah subtext in most scenes -- but I wasn't interested in the Morgan/Anna* "meet the parents" sub-plot, and the Christmas backdrop wasn't utilized very well. But, y'know, seeing Yvonne Strahovski in a black bikini made up for it.
16 June 2008
Virgin 1, 10.00 pm
* Morgan/Anna = Morgana; King Arthur's nemesis? Or have I been watching too much Moonlight, with its Mick/Beth = MacBeth thing? Hmmm.
