This week, Chuck and Sarah are sent undercover to an idyllic cul-de-sac in the suburbs, posing as blissfully married couple Mr and Mrs Carmichael, with Casey as their ever-present cable TV engineer. It's the ideal opportunity for Chuck to mix business with pleasure, as he gets an insight into what a normal life with Sarah would be like -- and it turns out she's a domestic goddess who even appears to relish the role of a caring housewife. Chuck's sister Ellie (Sarah Lancaster), believing her brother and his girlfriend are house-sitting for a friend, is equally excited about their weekend taste of domesticity, hoping it will inspire them to get married for real.
The mission involves trying to locate an enemy agent amongst their neighbours, meaning the superficial nirvana of their community is tainted by that underlying threat. The idea of the all-American suburbs hiding a sinister underbelly is hardly new (variations are found in Blue Velvet, Twin Peaks, The 'burbs and Desperate Housewives), but Chuck certainly has fun playing up this sub-genre's tropes -- like the communal "meet-the-neighbours" barbecue, where we meet cheerful Brad (Andy Richter), a nymphomaniac "cougar" called Sylvia (Jenny McCarthy) who instantly sets her sights on Chuck, and the possible red herring of a granite-faced man called Cliff (played by renowned character actor Brian Thompson).The Buy More subplot even holds its own this week, as Big Mike (Mark Christopher Lawrence) reveals he's been served with divorce papers on Valentine's Day by his childhood sweetheart, prompting Morgan (Joshua Gomez), Jeff (Scott Krinsky), Emmett (Tony Hale) and Lester (Vik Sahay) to try and find their boss a date online. This leads to Big Mike grappling with his staff's insistence that he bend the truth about his weight and occupation to make him appear more attractive to ladies. For once, this story worked as a decent breather from the main plot and wasn't allowed to grow too tiresome because it was effectively scattered throughout the episode by writer Phil Klemmer. The surprise ending, that Big Mike's internet date turned out to be Morgan's mother Bolonia (Patricia Rae), was also handled very well and should provide Morgan with some juicy material in the weeks to come.
But it's in the suburbs where the episode was bubbling to life; a cul-de-sac the perfect location and psychological symbol to put Chuck's romantic feelings under strain, as he struggles to get a handle on whether or not Sarah has feelings for him (she does, she just can't show it). I'm a huge fan of Levi/Strahovski's scenes together because the actors are so likeable and funny in each other's company, and often bring out great performances in their two-handers. The difficulty with shows involving romances is trying to keep the couple apart without frustrating viewers too much, and Chuck is doing a better job than most because it has a plausible reason for why Chuck and Sarah can't just abandon their mission and drive off into the sunset. Sarah's too committed to her career and loyal to her mission (so prefers to keep things professional), while Chuck would risk serious consequences because he has the government's secrets stashed in his cranium.
A signature of Chuck is also the high caliber of its guest stars, so it was great to see Andy Richter and Jenny McCarthy in roles they fitted like gloves. McCarthy was surprisingly fun, while the only disappointment with Richter is that his role wasn't much larger. The twist to the story involved the realization that the entire community is a cover for a top secret project, as the whole neighbourhood are Fulcrum agents trying to develop their own version of the CIA's Intersect. In a slight change to the mythology of the show (which we'll let slip), it appears that only certain individuals can withstand having encoded images burned into their minds, and Chuck is one of those (un)fortunate people -- so, he's later kidnapped and restrained in a chair with his eyelids clamped open, Clockwork Orange-style, to have Fulcrum data fed into his brain as a test.Overall, "Chuck Versus The Suburbs" was a supremely entertaining, sweet, funny and compelling hour of lighthearted frolics with a soupcon of real drama. It also sets up a few new ideas for the show to explore from hereon in, not least the fact Chuck has the enemy's version of the Intersect lodged his brain, so will assumedly start flashing on Fulcrum intel -- thus making him even more valuable than he was before! But the real joy of this episode was how it gave us an enjoyable mission that further explored the relationship between Chuck and Sarah in an effective, fresher context. I also loved the vaguely Raiders Of The Lost Ark-style of the finale, with Chuck urging Sarah to close her eyes to protect herself from the effects of the Fulcrum data-download, sans Jenny McCarthy's face melting.
1 September 2009
Virgin1, 9pm
written by: Phil Klemmer directed by: Jay Chandrasekhar starring: Zachary Levi (Chuck), Yvonne Strahovski (Sarah), Adam Baldwin (Casey), Joshua Gomez (Morgan), Scott Krinsky (Jeff), Vik Sahay (Lester), Bonita Friedericy (General Beckman), Ryan McPartlin (Captain Awesome), Sarah Lancaster (Ellie), Tony Hale (Emmett Milbarge), Mark Christopher Lawrence (Big Mike), Jenny McCarthy (Sylvia Arculin), Andy Richter (Brad White), Brian Thompson (Cliff), Darren Keefe (Dennis), Alison Simpson (Vanessa) & Patricia Rae (Bolonia)
