Chuck - Season Four (1 Viewer)

[Greg_S_H]

Outlaw was staked, so that opens things up a little. I'm Chuck-Chase-Castle right now on Mondays, with Cake Boss and Pawn Stars filling out some extra time. Tuesdays is No Ordinary Family-Stargate Universe-Parenthood, and I've got a few other big days.

 

[Adam Lenhardt]

Good episode. But Chuck should have picked up the doll his mom bought for her granddaughter. It would have at least given Ellie something from her mom to hold onto.

 

[Greg_S_H]

I thought just the opposite. I wouldn't trust that bear.

Chuck probably should have said she was on the way and was arrested, and maybe he did. I hope mom turns out to be evil but with a soft spot for the kids, but I'm sure there'll be a reason her files don't appear to check out.

Once again, Jeff and Lester have an unwitting effect on the spy side of things.


And, it continues to be really nice that Chuck is shown as completely competent. It was fun having him bumble his way around, but he's not the same little Chuck any more. And it was a *complete* breath of fresh air that he told Sarah about the meet and had her there as backup. Most shows, the guy shows up alone as instructed and hijinks ensue. On the other hand, it was a little weird that Sarah was hiding in the playground for the playground meet.

 

[Adam Lenhardt]

Some would say it's a cheat that Chuck's mom is a spy, too, but they way they structured it I don't really think it is. It's because Chuck's mom was a spy who went missing that everything else happened. If Chuck's mom hadn't gone missing, Chuck's dad would have never become Orion. If Chuck's dad hadn't become Orion, he probably wouldn't have invented the Intersect, or -- if he had -- it probably wouldn't have been deployed in the same manner. Chuck's receptive response to the prototype made him the perfect candidate when Bryce had to send the last copy to someone.


When Chuck's mom said that everything she's done was done for Chuck and Ellie, I believed her. It's probably the one statement we can reliably consider the truth. If it weren't for Chuck and Ellie, she wouldn't have killed Dolph Lundgren, who was one of Volkoff's main toughs. Whatever side she's really playing for, her kids are more important.

 

[Greg_S_H]

Is it a baby, or is it a snail?





This second one is adorable:

 

[Kevin Hewell]

Inter-species relations!

 

[Greg_S_H]

I tried to find the other pics. Trust me, you don't want to do a safe search off image search on chuck locker room.

 

[DaveF]

Liked the A-team Ep. Wasn't crazy about the Halloween Ep; it was too silly-in-a-bad-way. And the mom stuff didn't wholly work for me. It felt rushed.

Liked the ending, though, with Sarah doing the snatch and Chuck having to give Sarah the bad news. Also like the evolving relationship between Casey and Morgan.

 

[Adam Lenhardt]

Tonight was one of my favorite hours in the entire series. My favorite scene was Mama Bartowski's lemonade chat with Ellie, where she tells the story of the show's mythology as almost a fairy tale. Until that moment, it never really struck me that the story of Chuck and Ellie's parents is the story of Chuck and Sarah. That took a negative -- come on, is everybody a spy? -- and turned it into a positive that gave the show real resonance. While the twist with Alexei Volkov was an "of course!" moment, Timothy Dalton did a terrific job selling it. Speaking of Dalton, how much of a get is it for a spy show to have James Bond himself as the Big Bad? All of the scenes we got with him as the anti-Bond before the big reveal were a lot of fun, too. When we saw the Intersect 2.0 on the shelves in the Bartowski basement, I thought for sure it would be a plot point. But nope, it got blown up with everything else.


Everything else, that is, except for the family's 68 Mustang, with the green glowing hardware identical to a piece of hardware in Steven Bartowski's detonated basement. What is it exactly? The Intersect 3.0? Other than protecting her children, what exactly is Mama Bartowski's game?

 

[Greg_S_H]

She's working against Volkov but had to be on the outside and in his good graces to continue to do so. She destroyed Orion's work and removed the Intersect from Chuck to take him off the hunt. I wonder if they're going to do something crazy and have Ellie get Intersected.

 

[cajunhillbilly]

nope Chuck will get the intersect back some how. and I know his mom is still playing a part as she is still undercover

 

[Zack Gibbs]

I don't think Chuck has lost the intersect, it's just been altered somehow. The show's just trying to mislead.

 

[DaveF]

Really enjoyed Dalton playing against type. That was a lot of fun. [/url]

hen we saw the Intersect 2.0 on the shelves in the Bartowski basement, I thought for sure it would be a plot point. But nope, it got blown up with everything else.


Everything else, that is, except for the family's 68 Mustang, with the green glowing hardware identical to a piece of hardware in Steven Bartowski's detonated basement. What is it exactly? The Intersect 3.0? Other than protecting her children, what exactly is Mama Bartowski's game?

[/quote]
I'm not sure what you mean by Intersect 2.0; I guess I missed that. I saw clearly some bit of hardware which then has a mate in the Mustang, as you note. Since Chuck has seemingly been de-intersected, I presume that the Mustang has I3. I also wonder if Elie will get the Intersect now. That car is for her; Chuck has no reason to drive it. And, keeping with the bit o' love to Alias, that would be an Abrams' worthy twist.

 

[Greg_S_H]

With her pregnancy, she'll be an analyst more than a field agent. Maybe she can be Chuck's ears. I'll admit, I wouldn't mind seeing Chuck get full training and be able to kick ass without any cheat sheet in his head. This might actually be a pretty cool rearrangement going into a possible fifth season.

 

[Greg_S_H]

Undercovers was canceled. No offense to fans, but I see holes in NBC's lineup as a stronger chance that they will have to rely on Chuck for another year. They've lost Lone Star, Undercovers, and this is the final season for Friday Night Lights. I thought Chase might be teetering, but it was given a full season a couple of weeks back. If the writers stay in top form, I'd like to see Chuck go on as long as possible.

 

[Adam Lenhardt]

Originally Posted by Greg_S_H

Undercovers was canceled. No offense to fans, but I see holes in NBC's lineup as a stronger chance that they will have to rely on Chuck for another year. They've lost Lone Star, Undercovers, and this is the final season for Friday Night Lights. I thought Chase might be teetering, but it was given a full season a couple of weeks back. If the writers stay in top form, I'd like to see Chuck go on as long as possible.

Lone Star was Fox.


The difference between Chase and Undercovers was production costs. Undercovers was more expensive to produce, so it needed to hit a higher number to be financially viable. Considering that Chase continues to drop like a rock, I would guess that it's one and done for that show. Chuck is never going to be a ratings powerhouse, but it has a floor; in a normal week, you'll never see it dip below a 1.9 rating. A 1.9 rating now looks a hell of a lot better than it did two or three seasons ago. Schwartz and Fedak have also found creative ways to keep the quality up while reducing costs, which means Chuck now is a relatively cheaper show than it was in the first season. And because the cast knows it's forever teetering on the edge, they don't ask for huge pay raises.


I think NBC's perspective on Mondays will determine whether Chuck gets another season. Do they see Chuck as a reliable performer on a tough night? Or do they see Chuck as a weak lead-in that drags down the rest of the night? If the renewal decision depends on the merits of Chuck alone, it will be renewed. If Chuck gets blamed for the plummeting ratings of The Event and Chase, then it very well might not get renewed.

 

[Greg_S_H]

Reason to hope for other shows to do well! A strong NBC helps Chuck better than a weak one, eh? Lone Star felt like an NBC show. Maybe it would have done better there. I should have looked that one up to have been sure.


Chuck has such a tremendous ensemble cast that it'll be hard to see them go when they inevitably do one day. I don't know why this isn't must-see TV for everyone. It's probably my favorite show ever, ever.

 

[Kevin Hewell]

I'm just happy as hell that we have a full season. An extended season at that.

I think NBC's perspective on Mondays will determine whether Chuck gets another season. Do they see Chuck as a reliable performer on a tough night?

 

[Greg_S_H]

You're right, you're right. Every few weeks, I need to be reminded to be glad for what I have and anything beyond that will be gravy.

 

[Walter C]

I think Chuck will be back next season, and would be surprised if it didn't, considering the holes that the Peacock already has at this point, with more to come. It'll probably depend on their midseason shows.


Until then, eat those Subway sandwiches.