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[Screaming_Gremlin]

A few new teaser/spoilers.

Casting call information from SpoilerTV about 4.17, "Chuck vs. The First Bank of Evil"

Spoiler

4.17 is called "Chuck vs. The First Bank of Evil."

Think Gary Oldman for the new role of Riley, 50's and an intelligent looking and strangely imposing man. He is a powerful lawyer with a sense of humour. Also it's maybe recurring.
Bizarrely the producers are also looking for Henry VIII, yes they need a guy who acts and looks like Henry the VIII...

And from TVGuide about Ellie.

Spoiler

When will Ellie give birth on Chuck? — Howard
NATALIE: Soon! But don't expect the delivery to go as planned. "Captain Awesome crumbled in the spy world, but when it comes to the baby being delivered, it might make the spy world look kind of easy," Ryan Partlin says. "He might be ready to go on a mission after this."

 

[Screaming_Gremlin]

There is a big catch 22 with Chuck though - its awesome because of Schwartz and Fedak, but it also sucks because of Schwartz and Fedak.

I agree with most of what you said, just I think I like this season overall a bit more than you do. Schwartz and Fedak add a ton to the show and make it great, but their weird obsession with TV angst also does the most harm to the show. That and they bring up all these potentially great new directions to take the show, but in the end back out of it and go back to what is safe and familiar.

Edit: I should say Chuck is still probably my favorite show on TV, even if I am not as enthusiastic about it as I once was. Although after giving up on Human Target (now there is a show that really had some horrible changes) the only other network show I watch besides Chuck is Castle. Well, I guess 30 Rock as well.

 

[lunarworks]

I've come to realize I'm absolutely bored to shit with "Chuck and Sarah".

It was entertaining when Chuck was a fish out of water and she was out of his league.

It was still enjoyable when they were warming up to each other.

It his its mark when they came together. "Payoff".

Now that they're together, how long will we have to endure them still being awkward and/or mushy with each other? It's way too drawn-out at this point.


Lester's role was great this week, especially with the Canadian scene. Leafs vs Habs, awesome.

 

[RevoDS]

Chuck vs. The Balcony rose to a 2.1 in the final ratings, setting a brand new season high.

 

[jamesinclair]

Just watched.

I didnt think the Indian girl was a 12 at all. Maybe a 7.

And wasnt Lester hispanic at one point? At least they stuck the jew thing in there.

 

[Medalion]

Just watched.

I didnt think the Indian girl was a 12 at all. Maybe a 7.

And wasnt Lester hispanic at one point? At least they stuck the jew thing in there.

Maybe it's because I know the actor and his name is Vik Sahay, but I cannot imagine confusing him for being hispanic

 

[GDJustin]

The obvious next step for Chuck and Sarah is to put all disfunction behind them and just be an ass-kicking spy team. Married, completely trusting each other, complimentary skills, etc.

 

[Jay Shadow]

The obvious next step for Chuck and Sarah is to put all disfunction behind them and just be an ass-kicking spy team. Married, completely trusting each other, complimentary skills, etc.

Riiiight. If there's a season 5 it'll be a non-stop debate about spies having kids.

 

[Tashi]

I just bought Mass Effect 2 today and it's pretty damn awesome having Yvonne in the squad. They captured her likeness really well too, besides the black hair. Awesome game. Isn't Adam Baldwin in the game as well? I don't think I've run into his character yet. He'll be in my squad once I run into him. Awesome game so far.

Oh and Chuck rules! lol

 

[Arjen]

I just bought Mass Effect 2 today and it's pretty damn awesome having Yvonne in the squad. They captured her likeness really well too, besides the black hair. Awesome game. Isn't Adam Baldwin in the game as well? I don't think I've run into his character yet. He'll be in my squad once I run into him. Awesome game so far.

Oh and Chuck rules! lol

Small spoiler regarding Adam Baldwin

Spoiler

He has a minor part in the game, don't expect to much of it

 

[Tashi]

Small spoiler regarding Adam Baldwin

Spoiler

He has a minor part in the game, don't expect to much of it

Gotcha, thanks.

 

[TheOddOne]

I really liked this episode, I can understand why the writers chose this way out. Instead of getting the marriage out of the way, so they can focus on Volkoff storyline. I hope they don't go to much in the ''I miss Sarah'' scenario.

 

[ConfusingJazz]

I just bought Mass Effect 2 today and it's pretty damn awesome having Yvonne in the squad. They captured her likeness really well too, besides the black hair. Awesome game. Isn't Adam Baldwin in the game as well? I don't think I've run into his character yet. He'll be in my squad once I run into him. Awesome game so far.

Oh and Chuck rules! lol

Did I pick Miranda as the romantic interested simply because she was played by Yvonne?

Spoiler

No, because Jack was a terrible character, and Tali is weird.

(Characters you might not have run into here.)

Spoiler

Yes, yes I did.

 

[SRG01]

Small spoiler regarding Adam Baldwin

Spoiler

He has a minor part in the game, don't expect to much of it

Spoiler

Wait, what? Really? Where?

 

[ConfusingJazz]

Spoiler

Wait, what? Really? Where?

Spoiler

He was the other Quarian on Tali's strike team on Haestrom, Tali's recruiting mission.
The injured one when you had to kill the tank, and you could either tell him to fight or stay down.

 

[Cornballer]

- New promo for the next episode along with the rest of the NBC Monday shows

 

[Medalion]

Personally I think they did right by not marrying Chuck and Sarha...fuck sake they were just getting serious not even that long ago and already getting married and it's only mid-season

But yeah I don't want any more Chuck/Sarah angst either... decisions decisions

 

[Cornballer]

- A few NBC promo photos for Episodes 4.13 and 4.14 which are the 1/31 and 2/7 episodes. *casting spoilers*

 

[Screaming_Gremlin]

Again, this will have larger spoilers then usual, but the full synopsis is up for 4.14, "Chuck vs. The Seduction Impossible"

Spoiler

THE TEAM JETS TO MOROCCO TO SAVE ONE OF THEIR OWN -- JOHN LARROQUETTE RETURNS AS 'ROAN MONTGOMERY' -- LINDA HAMILTON AND MEKENNA MELVIN ALSO GUEST STAR -- In need of an exciting new mission, Chuck (Zachary Levi), Sarah (Yvonne Strahovski) and Casey (Adam Baldwin) are sent to Morocco to rescue Roan Montgomery (guest star John Larroquette). Meanwhile, Chuck and Sarah are at odds over their future plans. Back at home, Morgan (Joshua Gomez) prepares to meet Alex's (guest star Mekenna Melvin) mom, as Mary (guest star Linda Hamilton) bonds with her family. Sarah Lancaster, Ryan McPartlin and Bonita Friedericy also star.

 

[Cornballer]

Thanks, SG. I added it to the OP without looking. Do we know the title of 4.16? I'm not sure if that's been announced yet.

 

[Screaming_Gremlin]

4.16 is "Chuck vs. The First Mate"

 

[quaere]

I agree with AV Club. If you delete 1/3 of S3 I feel the remaining episodes are stronger than S4. Like they said, at least S3 knew what story it wanted to tell.

Chuck is getting dangerously close to being as episodic as you get with non-comedy scripted TV. I could have picked up right from the close of S3 and not missed anything important. I don't care at all about Chuck's mom, and Volkoff hasn't gone beyond, "hey, look, it's Timothy Dalton".

Like the other episodic TV shows I watch, I intend to view all the episodes eventually, but don't really feel any urgency to do so because I'm not exactly going to be missing anything I don't anticipate or haven't seen before.

 

[legend166]

There's nothing inherently wrong with being episodic.

Season 2 was largely episodic, with a couple of mini arcs now and again.

 

[RevoDS]

I agree with AV Club. If you delete 1/3 of S3 I feel the remaining episodes are stronger than S4. Like they said, at least S3 knew what story it wanted to tell.

Chuck is getting dangerously close to being as episodic as you get with non-comedy scripted TV. I could have picked up right from the close of S3 and not missed anything important. I don't care at all about Chuck's mom, and Volkoff hasn't gone beyond, "hey, look, it's Timothy Dalton".

Like the other episodic TV shows I watch, I intend to view all the episodes eventually, but don't really feel any urgency to do so because I'm not exactly going to be missing anything I don't anticipate or haven't seen before.

"Lost is an extremely episodic show. I don't care about the Island or whatever character's journey, and MIB hasn't gone beyond "Oh, look, it's a bunch of smoke!""


'course, I'm exaggerating, but my point is that if you ignore the main story arcs, any TV show will be episodic. Chuck has always been halfway between serialized and procedural, and that's still true of S4.

 

[quaere]

"Lost is an extremely episodic show. I don't care about the Island or whatever character's journey, and MIB hasn't gone beyond "Oh, look, it's a bunch of smoke!""


'course, I'm exaggerating, but my point is that if you ignore the main story arcs, any TV show will be episodic. Chuck has always been halfway between serialized and procedural, and that's still true of S4.

I did tune in to LOST each week to find out more about each character's background, more about the island, and to find out how the ongoing personality conflicts and group dynamics would turn out.

Similarly I watched Chuck to find out about the Intersect and its effects, to learn more about Chuck, Sarah, and Casey and what drove them, whether Chuck would be safe with the CIA, how he would balance his spy and family life, about Orion, and yes, even will-they-or-won't-they or Shaw.

If you can say that you spend time thinking about what relationship stage Chuck and Sarah will awkwardly tackle next, or look forward to Chuck's moms next family reunion, or to Volkoff doing whatever the hell Volkoff actually does, that's great that the show still has a balance of episodic and serialized content for you. It's a matter of opinion after all.

 

[Medalion]

S3 was too much Shaw and The Ring, S4 is doing it episodic while still keeping the background of Volkoff and Chuck's mom in the background, good stuff

 

[Cornballer]

- Chuck's Yvonne Strahovski Teases Tomorrow Night's Episode *minor spoilers*

4.16 is "Chuck vs. The First Mate"

Thanks! Added to the OP.


EDIT: Here's a youtube copy of the video listed above.

 

[Cornballer]

Chuck Day!

Should be a fun one tonight.

 

[Cornballer]

- ChuckTV.net's preview of tonight's episode includes the promo, logline, and a few other tidbits of information *spoilers*

 

[Solo]

Seeing Black Swan tonight. Chuck can wait til later this week.

 

[Dr.Horrible]

Seeing Black Swan tonight. Chuck can wait til later this week.

Great movie and a worthy reason to miss out on the live viewing of Chuck

 

[PhoncipleBone]

Yvonne Night.

And I am closing at work, so it will have to be an Yvonne morning tomorrow on Hulu.

 

[Medalion]

Holy shit @ ^ Yvonne night pic

 

[Cornballer]

Holy shit @ ^ Yvonne night pic

It's a classic. Nice pull from PB.

 

[Cornballer]

4.16 is "Chuck vs. The First Mate"

Weird, now it looks like they might have changed it to Chuck vs the Masquerade.

 

[Cornballer]

Chuck Day!

Enjoy the episode!

 

[Seth C]

Chuck Day!

Enjoy the episode!

Just because I'm so excited.

 

[RevoDS]

That was badass. Move over Intersect 3.0, you're already beaten.

 

[TJ Bennett]

I was driving around LA today and drove by Chuck himself. Zachary Levi's license plate is NRD HRD.

 

[Crumpet Trumpet]

i like that chuck is wearing a de blob shirt lol

 

[Penguin]

de Blob, interesting choice for a shirt, but I want!

 

[The Elite]

How much does it cost to get the lead actor to wear your shirt?

EDIT: Hydra? Umm, they gonna get sued.

 

[mYm|17|]

casey nooooooooooooo

 

[Captain Blood]

Dear lord in heaven, thank you for cat suit sarah. Amen.

 

[whytemyke]

Hmm...

I wouldn't feel bad about them killing off a main character, if it contributed significantly to the story.

This split between Chuck and Sarah could work. To keep that aspect of the show alive you've gotta find a reasonable to keep the love interest apart, and having her go rogue would certainly do that. I'm just not sure that the show has the creative intelligence to actually pull it off in a reasonable way. Hm. Guess we'll see.

 

[Screaming_Gremlin]

I am not really feeling this whole infiltration of Volkoff Industries. First, it has been too rushed. It is the same issue I had with last season. I understand they were working with a shortened season (13 episodes), but you knew that going in, so get rid of one of the filler episodes if you need the extra time to setup the plot. Just telling us that it has been weeks and Sarah has gone on all of these crazy rogue missions without actually showing us anything doesn't work for me. And if they were going to go this route, they should have worked with NBC to make this the episode they came back from break with. At least the long gap between the fall and winter/spring episodes would make it feel like weeks for the audience as well. As is, I think a lot of the scenes with Chuck/Sarah lost any emotional intensity that they had.

This split between Chuck and Sarah could work. To keep that aspect of the show alive you've gotta find a reasonable to keep the love interest apart, and having her go rogue would certainly do that. I'm just not sure that the show has the creative intelligence to actually pull it off in a reasonable way. Hm. Guess we'll see.

I very much doubt they do. Ignoring the fact that the next episode will be written as if it was a series finale so you know they are going to be back together, all of the tension as it is feels cheapened by the fact that she has a device that she can communicate safely with Chuck. Yet for some bizarre reason she decides to not explain anything to him just because his mom advises that she keeps an emotional distance. It honestly makes her just come off as a bitch. But then this show has always manufactured most of the tension between them over the last two years through stupid mis-communications or one of the two characters acting a particular brand of stupid which is hard to explain.

 

[Screaming_Gremlin]

Well despite the above post being entirely negative, I didn't entirely hate the episode. Morgan was fantastic as normal, as he has been most of the last two seasons.

- The scene with the Back to the Future shirt was hilarious. Especially the slow motion of the orange juice and pizza sauce spilling dripping on the floor. Also nice to see Chuck act like a nerd for the first time in a while.

- The baby plot seemed sort of unnecessary but still brought a few laughs. Jeff and Lester in particular.

- Morgan and Casey bringing Steve the prison guard a birthday cake was hilarious, especially when the other guards showed up.

- I also enjoyed the game of Risk with Chuck, Morgan, and Casey. Although with Chuck and Morgan being such nerds, you think they could chose a better game. It was hilarious seeing how Casey was getting into it, adding sound effects and everything while he took Australia from Chuck.

- Sarah in a leather outfit is always good. I know they were getting in a Miranda joke (I love suicide missions), but I think I prefer her as a blonde actually.

 

[mYm|17|]

 

[gdt]

For some odd reason, it was kinda hard seeing Casey all banged up in the end. Like, I had to blink it all out a bit :lol.

 

[thetechkid]

So this is what Miranda looks like outside of the game.