Opening with "Chuck Versus The Pink Slip", the plot unnecessarily took a non-linear approach that didn't justify that storytelling technique, as we find ourselves thrown six months into the future. Chuck's being trained by the CIA in Prague to be a secret agent, given his unique position as host of the "Intersect 2.0" supercomputer lodged in his brain. Unfortunately, his emotional instability has a side-effect of rendering him extremely inconsistent: he can fight his way through a roomfull of bad guys, but somehow lacks the ability to slide down a wire using a belt? O-kay.Deeming his training a failure, General Beckman (Bonita Friedericy) retires Chuck from active duty and he's sent back to California. I have no idea why it's suddenly okay for an unemployed Chuck to consequently slob around his house in a nightgown, grow a thick beard, and eat cheeseballs all day, considering the show has spent two seasons scaring us with the knowledge Chuck would be imprisoned underground as a security risk unless he's protected 24/7. But, hey, never mind.
The reason for the non-linear timeframe is to help keep secret what happened between Chuck and his sexy handler Sarah (Yvonne Strahovski) six months ago, just after the Intersect was upgraded in his head. Currently, the pair are not even on speaking terms, as Sarah refuses to take his calls, and Casey (Adam Baldwin) is packing up the Castle now that their mission is over.
Of course, there isn't a fan alive who can't figure out what happened between Sarah and Chuck, so quite why writers Chris Fedak and Matt Miller are under the misapprehension the show's complex enough to warrant a narrative backflip is beyond me. The episode would have been a lot more accessible to newcomers if they'd told it straighter. Chuck's a light-hearted, sexy, action-packed hour of goofy thrills and nerd-comedy, so it was a bit of a chore waiting for the story to reveal that, yes, Chuck chose a career as a spy over running away with the woman he loves.
Second of Strahotness: water nymph
It sounds like I hated "Chuck Versus The Pink Slip" at this point, but that's not entirely true. I just expected something a lot better considering the potential for a mild "reboot", but the best thing that came out of this premiere was a fairly satisfying reason for the Chuck/Sarah relationship to continue (in a slightly altered fashion), and the suggestion that it's not really Chuck's emotions that glitch Intersect 2.0, but the fact he needs genuine stakes to utilize its power.
I'm also quite glad that newlyweds Devon (Ryan McPartlin) and Ellie (Sarah Lancaster) decide to move out, meaning Chuck and best-friend Morgan (Joshua Gomez) can setup a bachelor pad together. That should be a great way to include Morgan in more of Chuck's storylines, as he otherwise tends to spend a lot of time mixing more with the Buy More staff than his best buddy. My only concern is that the Ellie/Devon partnership will now become even less relevant than it was before, although it helps that Devon knows Chuck's spy secret now.
With so much catching up to do with the characters (mostly to reset everything back to quasi-season 2 status, sadly), the episode's semblance of a storyline is very slight, but it once again involves a hackneyed villain -- in this case, assassin Javier (Adoni Maropis) -- who escaped capture in a restaurant full of undercover agents, thanks to Chuck accidentally foiling a "sting" in an effort to protect Sarah. The strange thing about Javier's arrival at the Buy More is that within seconds he casually shoots manager Emmett (Tony Hale) through the eyeball, which marks the first time a major character on the show has actually died. But did anyone else find it rather distasteful that Emmett died in the style of a punchline and his assassination was never mentioned? I know Emmett was always written as an intensely irritating and unlikeable prick, but I'm surprised the show treated the demise of a semi-regular in such a cavalier way.Overall, "Chuck Versus The Pink Slip" wasn't the evolution of Chuck that I expected. I understand a certain level of "if it ain't broke, don't fix it" mentality (and we'll probably never escape the increasingly tedious Buy More tomfoolery), but for a show that struggles in the ratings this was its last chance to restructure itself to appeal to a bigger audience. I'm just not convinced that giving Chuck an additional superpower is appealing enough on its own, although the prospect of Chuck being more useful in the field should help future spy-jinks, and I must admit that I like the idea that fretful Chuck needs Sarah's calming presence and support to keep Intersect 2.0 under control.
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"Chuck Versus The Three Words" was marginally better in some ways, worse in others, but ultimately of the same average standard. This episode saw the welcome return of Carina (Mini Anden) from season 1's "Chuck Versus The Wookie", another drop-dead gorgeous secret agent who perhaps proves that the CIA's recruiters scout the catwalks of Milan. Carina's currently undercover on a mission, posing as the fiancé of British arms dealer Karl Stromberg (Vinnie Jones), in order to gain access to a prized weapon in his possession.
This episode was ultimately an way to take a look at Sarah and Chuck's fraught relationship, helped along by plain-speaking Carina's role as an amateur "therapist" to the pair. She may have stronger principles when it comes to mixing business with pleasure than best-friend Sarah, but nevertheless Carina has enough heart to help her friends out: by making Chuck understand that Sarah's standoffish attitude is down to the fact she loves him, before later giving Sarah security camera footage of Chuck professing his love likewise.At this rate, we should be back to the usual Chuck/Sarah chemistry that's proven so popular by the next episode, and the show's done a good job of making it plausible that Chuck now wants to embrace his life as a spy for the "greater good", and Sarah has come to understand why he effectively dumped her six months ago. One of the big problems Chuck always has to contend with is keeping its two lovebirds in a romantic middle-ground that isn't purely platonic, but isn't a comfortable Mrs. & Mrs. Smith-style affair either. So far, they're doing a decent job.
(Another) Second of Strahotness: dressed to kill
The Buy More reared its head this episode, with the return of Big Mike (Mark Christopher Lawrence) as store manager to replace the murdered Emmett who has been sent to Alaska according to Casey's cover story. Here, Morgan is dared by Lester (Vik Sahay) and Jeff (Scott Krinsky) to make a move on Carina after he notices she's back in town and making wind-machine assisted entrances. So, he invites her to his housewarming party, which duly becomes the backdrop for the episode's climactic showdown between Team Bartowski and Stromberg's cronies when Carina's cover is blown. Well, it made a change from the baddies descending on the Buy More, I have to admit -- and I enjoyed seeing Chuck's quickthinking save the day for once, by igniting a fountain full of alcohol with a flaming torch.
There were some good moments in this episode, actually -- most notably Chuck making his way through a vault full of red laser beams to retrieve a case. It worked as both a fun demonstration of his newfound acrobatic skills thanks to Intersect 2.0, but also highlighted the amusing ways he can still mess up thanks to a lapse of concentration. Chuck's essentially a clutzy version of Inspector Gadget this season, if Penny was recast as a "girlfriend". I guess that makes Casey the loyal dog.Overall, "Chuck Versus The Three Words" (which were "I love you"), wasn't a very noteworthy episode, but it was okay. It was great to see Carina back (the show now has enough history for fanpleasing returns like that), I still like the Chuck/Sarah relationship, and it was good to see the start of a recurring storyline (the secret device retrieved from Stromberg, the suited man in Beckman's office.) Vinnie Jones was terrible of course, but that was partly because the script asked him to act like a pleasant guy, when his acting range is limited to scowling in silence. Making Jones smile is like sticking a toothpick between the lips of a Rottweiller.
A few additional thoughts:
-- The reduced budget for season 3 means that two characters have been axed (Anna Wu and Emmett Millbarge - the genuine recipients of a "pink slip"), and it's unlikely that all of the cast will be featured in every episode. Already, Ellie and Devon were notably absent from "... The Three Words", despite the fact you'd expect them to attend Morgan's housewarming. But I'm okay with those losses and limitations, provided the saved money keeps the action sequences to an acceptable standard. It might also mean less Buy More antics overall, which is great news. Silver linings, eh.
-- I was, of course, overjoyed to see Yvonne Strahovski soaking wet in a white bikini, and for the writers improving on Sarah's lingerie-clad "tooling up" sequence from the pilot by involving Mini Anden. My dreams of a Sarah/Carina spin-off start here.
-- The choice and use of pop music hasn't been a problem for me before, but did anyone else find the music's integration in these episodes a little ham-fisted? It was like watching The OC on more than one occasion. A well chosen pop tune can work wonders for a scene's energy (loved the use of "Sexy Bitch"), but there were times when it wasn't necessary.
-- While it was beyond the control of producers, I'm not sure a double-bill of Chuck is a good thing. Pay attention, NBC. Maybe a two-part episode would have worked a lot better, if the writers has been told of this scheduling months beforehand. As much as I like the show, I find it a struggle to get through two episodes in a row. You notice more of Chuck's flaws and formulas without a week to dull your memory.
10 January 2010
NBC, 9/8c
written by: Chris Fedak & Matt Miller (3.1) & Allison Adler & Scott Rosenbaum (3.2) directed by: Robert Duncan McNeill (3.1) & Peter Lauer (3.2) starring: Zachary Levi (Chuck), Yvonne Strahovski (Sarah), Adam Baldwin (Casey), Joshua Gomez (Morgan), Scott Krinsky (Jeff), Vik Sahay (Lester), Bonita Friedericy (General Beckman), Tony Hale (Emmett), Ryan McPartlin (Devon), Sarah Lancaster (Ellie), Mark Christopher Lawrence (Big Mike), Adoni Maropis (Javier), Joe Bucaro II (Mitch), Tony Flores (Guard), Vinnie Jones (Karl Stromberg) & Mini Anden (Carina)
