Haha, what right do I have to talk about the proper ending of a TV show when it turns out that I have not gotten around to watching the finale of some of my most beloved shows?
Sometimes life gets in the way and you get behind on a show and it feels like you'll never catch up. Or sometimes a show just really goes downhill and you have to give up or you will lose all your good memories of when the show was not sucktastic.
But it's pretty clear to me (and why don't I share it with you) that I have a few projects hanging over my head: shows that are done and complete that finishing my own viewing will provide me with a little peace of mind. Or at least spare me the embarrassment of having to say "yeah, I didn't finish that..."
Friday Night Lights
Last Episode I Watched: Season 5, Episode 1
Why I Stopped Watching: I just couldn't cry that much. No seriously, that is the reason. Knowing that by the time it aired on NBC Friday Night Lights was officially and forever over, that there would be no more, that the fat lady had most definitely sung, made it kind of impossible for me to watch without just sobbing uncontrollably. So much crying. So I decided I didn't want to cry that much. So I didn't watch. Maybe I should put on my big girl pants...
Lost
Last Episode I Watched: Season 6, Episode 5
Why I Stopped Watching: Do I need to say why? Juliet was dead. It was boring.
Chuck
Last Episode I Watched: Season 4, Episode 1
Why I Stopped Watching: I've made no secret of my ambivalence toward Sarah. I've never really warmed to her and I get super annoyed when a show tells me how much I am supposed to love someone that I find kind of boring and selfish. (This is one of my most pet of pet peeves. I HATE it when a show, through dialogue, tries to impart upon me a singular opinion of a character that either isn't or can't be established through that character's action. Hence my unending fury with Kate from Lost or Don from Mad Men.) So when Chuck became pretty much completely about Chuck and Sarah's relationship, I just couldn't really work up much enthusiasm for watching. I wanted to want to watch it, but I just couldn't take yet another discussion of their love.
The Wire
Last Episode I Watched: Season 3, Episode 7 (I think)
Why I Stopped Watching: Because I thought my heart was going to explode. In the scene where Stinger tells Avon that he had Avon's nephew killed in prison, I literally thought that I was going to have a heart attack, it was so frakking tense. And that is always what it feels watching The Wire. So I decided I needed a break. And that break has turned into a year and a half.
Greek
Last Episode I Watched: oh my frakking goodness I have no idea!
Why I Stopped Watching: It would seem after my rant-y-ness about Chuck that I wouldn't in any way endorse a show that really had no plot movement aside from who-is-getting-together-with-whom, but I really enjoy(ed) Greek. It's simple, sweet, and surprisingly funny. Time. Time is why I stopped watching. Each episode is 42 minutes, and it just never seemed to fit into the time that I had to watch it. But I think I can work with that. I mean, I know how it ends for Cappie and Casey (is there really any question about that?), but I would like to know what happens to everyone else. To the Netflix!
The TV Girl
Making the world a better place, one show at a time.
- The TV Girl
- Washington, DC, United States
- I guess you would like to know a little bit about the person making all these proclamations upon good taste and horrid characters. I'm Andrea and when I was 15 I fell in love. An hour after meeting "Buffy the Vampire Slayer" I was forever altered in the way only love can, and I never questioned for one minute afterwards that television offered me an amazing chance to experience lives and moments that I could never imagine. So now, when I'm not getting distracted by my real life, I write about TV. I also read, am finishing a Master's degree in English Literature, travel, am attempting to learn vegan cooking, am the 5th of 6 children, and drive my roommate nuts by constantly cleaning our already clean apartment. Now that we're old friends, time for you to take my opinions as the be all and end all.
Showing posts with label Chuck. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Chuck. Show all posts
Thursday, August 9, 2012
Monday, August 1, 2011
Top 5: Couples I Just Don't Care About
Sorry folk, I have to be true to my nature. A haters gotta hate.
There are TV couples that just bore the every living shite out of me. I don't actively rail against them (most of the time), I just usually go get a snack when they appear. In the worst cases a tiresome couple can lead me to go get a snack permanently.
Buffy and Spike, Buffy the Vampire Slayer
This just never made one damn bit of sense to me. Just didn't. Riley was wrong for Buffy and Angel had a whole new life (and show, and love interest) in LA, so romantic options were limited for our dear slayer, but Spike! I will never stop feeling like the writers/producers wanted to keep Spike (because he was a really good character) but they didn't quite know how so they decided to hook him up with Buffy. On a show that was exceptional for organic character development this storyline seemed immensely forced and contrived, therefore (to me) deeply uninteresting. There were genuinely compelling moments between Spike and Buffy, but those moments didn't add up to a couple you rooted either for or against.
Chuck and Sarah, Chuck
I admit, I kind of stopped watching Chuck because of Chuck and Sarah's relationship. Mostly because the show became ABOUT their relationship, and I just couldn't care less. Sarah is awful and Chuck could do so much better. Sarah is really hot and quite adept at kick-and-kill, but she sleeps with any eligible male partner who crosses her path, and is continually lecturing others to behave in ways she refuses to do so herself. Furthermore, because essentially Chuck asserts his concept of Sarah as her actual character, there is a deep disconnect for the viewer between what we see and what the male lead says, making it really hard to care. By the end of S3 (where I left off watching) Chuck's expeditions into adulthood, his halting but ever hopeful steps towards self-respect, definition of purpose and acceptance of responsibility, became a reductive get-and-keep-the-girl image of maturity, a disappointing case of a show being less than the sum of it's parts by focusing far too heavily on the weakest elements. (And then there's the whole, this-is-my-tax-dollars-at-work issue...)
Ted and the Mother, How I Met Your Mother
I don't know that I've ever cared too much who The Mother actually is, despite that being the title of the show. I really like the failed relationships and lessons learned from those that have occupied Ted on his way to meeting his future wife, and I do want to know her name, but the real draw of the show for me is the friendship between the 5 principle characters. I like the way Marshall, Lily, Barney, Robin and Ted both mock and support each other, how they entertain themselves with silly games, how they know when to correct and when to congratulate, when to apologize and when to ask for an apology. It's wonderful to see friendships on TV that seem natural, sincere, and well-rounded. And at some point, I'll find out who Ted marries, cool with me, but not at all keeping me up at night.
Kate and Neal, White Collar
Another case where the very existence of this couple predicates the premise of the show (Neal escapes from prison, and must be recaptured by the guy who put him there, FBI Special Agent Peter Burke, because Kate dumps him) but aside from acting as a springboard, Neal and Kate have little to no value. The fact that Kate is an absence rather than a presence on the show doesn't help captivate the audience at all, but in the episode where we get to see Kate and Neal fall in love you seriously want to take a nap. Add to this that Alexandra Daddario, the miscast woman who plays Kate, just cannot keep pace with Mathew Bomer quick, clever, but ultimately yearning Neal. Sorry, she's just not a terribly good actress. But she's very pretty. And essentially, that's how you end up feeling about Neal and Kate: they are an aesthetically pleasing couple without much else to recommend them. Luckily everything else on the show is fun and engaging, so it's easy to ignore the ho-hum relationship that started the whole thing.
Deb and Lundy, Dexter
The most interesting thing this couple did was get shot, him fatally. Harsh? Yes. But true. Damaged, stubborn, and relentlessly loving Deb is without a doubt the emotional core of Dexter (and Dexter). A bit hard to take in S1, Deb grows into not a nagging-voice-of-reason to act as an easy foil to Dexter's detached and murderous nature, but rather an emotionally complex and thoughtfully principled companion to and reflection of her brother. A great deal of this development happens within the context of her various romantic relationships, but it was hard to pay attention to all this during S2 because her love interest, FBI Special Agent Frank Lundy (I really like writing out whole title for these dudes) was unfortunately dull. Lundy was a bit too smart by ordinary, too Everyman, not quite the Sherlock Holmes we need to be chasing Dex and to be inspiring such love and loyalty from Deb. Safe, kind, and dedicated to his job, Lundy just didn't have that spark of personality against which Deb shines all the brighter. He was her Riley (the good guy she needed to fill the time while she healed from heartbreak): necessary but expendable.
The TV Girl
There are TV couples that just bore the every living shite out of me. I don't actively rail against them (most of the time), I just usually go get a snack when they appear. In the worst cases a tiresome couple can lead me to go get a snack permanently.
Buffy and Spike, Buffy the Vampire Slayer
This just never made one damn bit of sense to me. Just didn't. Riley was wrong for Buffy and Angel had a whole new life (and show, and love interest) in LA, so romantic options were limited for our dear slayer, but Spike! I will never stop feeling like the writers/producers wanted to keep Spike (because he was a really good character) but they didn't quite know how so they decided to hook him up with Buffy. On a show that was exceptional for organic character development this storyline seemed immensely forced and contrived, therefore (to me) deeply uninteresting. There were genuinely compelling moments between Spike and Buffy, but those moments didn't add up to a couple you rooted either for or against.
Chuck and Sarah, Chuck
I admit, I kind of stopped watching Chuck because of Chuck and Sarah's relationship. Mostly because the show became ABOUT their relationship, and I just couldn't care less. Sarah is awful and Chuck could do so much better. Sarah is really hot and quite adept at kick-and-kill, but she sleeps with any eligible male partner who crosses her path, and is continually lecturing others to behave in ways she refuses to do so herself. Furthermore, because essentially Chuck asserts his concept of Sarah as her actual character, there is a deep disconnect for the viewer between what we see and what the male lead says, making it really hard to care. By the end of S3 (where I left off watching) Chuck's expeditions into adulthood, his halting but ever hopeful steps towards self-respect, definition of purpose and acceptance of responsibility, became a reductive get-and-keep-the-girl image of maturity, a disappointing case of a show being less than the sum of it's parts by focusing far too heavily on the weakest elements. (And then there's the whole, this-is-my-tax-dollars-at-work issue...)
Ted and the Mother, How I Met Your Mother
I don't know that I've ever cared too much who The Mother actually is, despite that being the title of the show. I really like the failed relationships and lessons learned from those that have occupied Ted on his way to meeting his future wife, and I do want to know her name, but the real draw of the show for me is the friendship between the 5 principle characters. I like the way Marshall, Lily, Barney, Robin and Ted both mock and support each other, how they entertain themselves with silly games, how they know when to correct and when to congratulate, when to apologize and when to ask for an apology. It's wonderful to see friendships on TV that seem natural, sincere, and well-rounded. And at some point, I'll find out who Ted marries, cool with me, but not at all keeping me up at night.
Kate and Neal, White Collar
Another case where the very existence of this couple predicates the premise of the show (Neal escapes from prison, and must be recaptured by the guy who put him there, FBI Special Agent Peter Burke, because Kate dumps him) but aside from acting as a springboard, Neal and Kate have little to no value. The fact that Kate is an absence rather than a presence on the show doesn't help captivate the audience at all, but in the episode where we get to see Kate and Neal fall in love you seriously want to take a nap. Add to this that Alexandra Daddario, the miscast woman who plays Kate, just cannot keep pace with Mathew Bomer quick, clever, but ultimately yearning Neal. Sorry, she's just not a terribly good actress. But she's very pretty. And essentially, that's how you end up feeling about Neal and Kate: they are an aesthetically pleasing couple without much else to recommend them. Luckily everything else on the show is fun and engaging, so it's easy to ignore the ho-hum relationship that started the whole thing.
Deb and Lundy, Dexter
The most interesting thing this couple did was get shot, him fatally. Harsh? Yes. But true. Damaged, stubborn, and relentlessly loving Deb is without a doubt the emotional core of Dexter (and Dexter). A bit hard to take in S1, Deb grows into not a nagging-voice-of-reason to act as an easy foil to Dexter's detached and murderous nature, but rather an emotionally complex and thoughtfully principled companion to and reflection of her brother. A great deal of this development happens within the context of her various romantic relationships, but it was hard to pay attention to all this during S2 because her love interest, FBI Special Agent Frank Lundy (I really like writing out whole title for these dudes) was unfortunately dull. Lundy was a bit too smart by ordinary, too Everyman, not quite the Sherlock Holmes we need to be chasing Dex and to be inspiring such love and loyalty from Deb. Safe, kind, and dedicated to his job, Lundy just didn't have that spark of personality against which Deb shines all the brighter. He was her Riley (the good guy she needed to fill the time while she healed from heartbreak): necessary but expendable.
The TV Girl
Tuesday, February 2, 2010
Chuck: God I Love This Season!
“Chuck vs the Pink Slip,” “Chuck vs the Three Words,” “Chuck vs the Angel de la Muerte,” “Chuck vs Operation Awesome,” Chuck vs First Class”
Just to get my piddley complaints out of the way, I must say that I miss Anna (Julia Ling) and I am sorry Emmett (Tony Hale) got shot in the face in the first episode (even though he was a total wanker). But I think that we can all live with these losses.
Okay, now to get my minor quibbles out of the way. I know that no true Chuck fan is supposed to say this, but I don’t like Sarah very much, and kind of hope that Chuck ends up with a much better girl, therefore, all of the state-of-our-relationship-talk/profession/rambling in the first two episodes was kind of boring to me (really, how many times can Chuck tell Sarah that he is in love with her!). I won’t harp on this too much, since I am know I am in a very small minority here of people who think Sarah is an emotional barnacle who messes up her job on far too many occasions. I enjoyed the 3rd, 4th, and 5th episodes where there were far fewer declarations of undying devotion and much more super badass spy-ness/retail misery.
Spy-ness/retail misery that involved Armand Assante as the funniest 3rd World dictator ever, a little more of Casey’s background, the most pathetic fight-club in history (started in the Buy More by Jeff and Lester, of course), and multiple in-flight battles where Chuck held his own.
Chuck being given a bit of independence is what is a huge part of what is making this season so good. Two seasons was about as far as they could keep up Chuck-as-idiot-savant-on-a-leash shtick, so it was about time the government trained him up and required him to live up to his potential (in all senses). The more-confident-and-capable-Chuck might give Casey and Sarah less to do as his handlers, but the possibility that Chuck will get to someday use his sweet nunchuck moves kind of makes up for that. I never thought I would say this about anyone who played Superman (my least favorite super-hero), but Brandon Routh’s Daniel Shaw might be just what this show needed: an outsider to set Team Bartowski in place for a future on more equal footing. But, Chuck will still barely hold a gun, so it isn’t like he has changed that much.
For me, the best thing about this season is that it has shown Awesome as more of a fallible person. Completely unable to lie and susceptible to fear in the face of danger, when kidnapped Awesome proves to be simply a decent guy who just wants to do his job, take care of his wife and take a ride on a stationary bike. It was nice to see the admiration grow between Awesome and Chuck as each recognizes the strengths and weaknesses of the other.
Keep it up Chuck!
The TV Girl
Just to get my piddley complaints out of the way, I must say that I miss Anna (Julia Ling) and I am sorry Emmett (Tony Hale) got shot in the face in the first episode (even though he was a total wanker). But I think that we can all live with these losses.
Okay, now to get my minor quibbles out of the way. I know that no true Chuck fan is supposed to say this, but I don’t like Sarah very much, and kind of hope that Chuck ends up with a much better girl, therefore, all of the state-of-our-relationship-talk/profession/rambling in the first two episodes was kind of boring to me (really, how many times can Chuck tell Sarah that he is in love with her!). I won’t harp on this too much, since I am know I am in a very small minority here of people who think Sarah is an emotional barnacle who messes up her job on far too many occasions. I enjoyed the 3rd, 4th, and 5th episodes where there were far fewer declarations of undying devotion and much more super badass spy-ness/retail misery.
Spy-ness/retail misery that involved Armand Assante as the funniest 3rd World dictator ever, a little more of Casey’s background, the most pathetic fight-club in history (started in the Buy More by Jeff and Lester, of course), and multiple in-flight battles where Chuck held his own.
Chuck being given a bit of independence is what is a huge part of what is making this season so good. Two seasons was about as far as they could keep up Chuck-as-idiot-savant-on-a-leash shtick, so it was about time the government trained him up and required him to live up to his potential (in all senses). The more-confident-and-capable-Chuck might give Casey and Sarah less to do as his handlers, but the possibility that Chuck will get to someday use his sweet nunchuck moves kind of makes up for that. I never thought I would say this about anyone who played Superman (my least favorite super-hero), but Brandon Routh’s Daniel Shaw might be just what this show needed: an outsider to set Team Bartowski in place for a future on more equal footing. But, Chuck will still barely hold a gun, so it isn’t like he has changed that much.
For me, the best thing about this season is that it has shown Awesome as more of a fallible person. Completely unable to lie and susceptible to fear in the face of danger, when kidnapped Awesome proves to be simply a decent guy who just wants to do his job, take care of his wife and take a ride on a stationary bike. It was nice to see the admiration grow between Awesome and Chuck as each recognizes the strengths and weaknesses of the other.
Keep it up Chuck!
The TV Girl
Saturday, January 26, 2008
Chuck (7.5): Emotional Constipation and Fake Fish...
There were two episodes of Chuck on Thursday night, and they were the last new episodes we will have until the Writer’s Strike ends. Given that fact, I am kind of upset that they aired both eps on one night, and not even Chuck’s regular night (Monday by the way). There were so many good things about these two episodes I think I might end up writing a novel here.
“Chuck vs The Undercover Lover”
Before I say anything else: all male strip poker? That was not what I was expecting.
I think that in this episode Morgan really came into his own. I like Morgan, but he became more than just Chuck’s best friend in his self-appointed role as “retail therapist.” Lester (Vik Sahay) and Jeff (Scott Krinsky) are just enough random/weird comic relief for the show, so I’m happy that Morgan is developing into a more independent character.
Since this episode focused on Casey, Sarah (Yvonne Strahovski)’s involvement was mitigated, and I think is a better balance than some of the other episodes. A huge part of the show is the romantic plot between Sarah and Chuck, and since that relationship won’t really change/move forward for a while (Writer’s Strike or not) the show could easily become pedantic. But by equalizing Sarah and Casey there is less of a chance for that.
I do have a criticism. The Casey/Ilsa story was fun, and Chuck’s determination to give it a happy ending was really sweet. It is a testament to what a good person Chuck is that he wants Casey to be happy. But having Casablanca actually playing during the first parting scene was overkill. Anyone watching who didn’t know what the plotline was based on, or the Ilsa reference, wouldn’t understand based on the snippet showing on a screen in the background, and those of us who understand are offended that the writers think so little of us.
Question: why were all of those Russians so short?
“Chuck vs The Marlin”
Woo-hoo for Ellie (Sarah Lancaster) and Awesome (Ryan McPartlin)! While I can’t personally understand why any woman would want to marry a guy like that, I am so happy for Ellie because now she doesn’t have to get drunk and sleep in the same bed as Morgan ever again. And Chuck knows that someone is always protecting her, so he has less to worry about. A very good think for my little Chuck, who just has too much on his plate.
And again, my slight problem with Sarah. I like her because Chuck likes her, but as explicitly stated in a previous episode, Chuck doesn’t actually know anything real about her. He knows that she is an excellent CIA agent, but his feelings for her seem odd to say the least, because they don’t have any honest emotional connection. Her desire to protect the life Chuck leads, separately from protecting his life as the Intersect, makes me like her more, but she hasn’t won me over yet.
There was something missing in this episode, and I just can’t put my finger on it. Maybe it is just knowing that there won’t be new episodes for the foreseeable future, or that the format was different (trying to follow a single thread from multiple perspectives). I don’t quite know, but I have a vaguely disappointed feeling.
Shout Outs:
Little Things to Know that Make Watching Better
Casey’s ex is Ivana Milicevic, better known as skank-bag extraordinaire from Love Actually, Casino Royale, and Just Like Heaven. Her standout performance for me was her appearance on one episode of Buffy tVS Season Six as Riely's wife. I knew I was in for something good when she appeared.
The TV Girl
“Chuck vs The Undercover Lover”
Before I say anything else: all male strip poker? That was not what I was expecting.
I think that in this episode Morgan really came into his own. I like Morgan, but he became more than just Chuck’s best friend in his self-appointed role as “retail therapist.” Lester (Vik Sahay) and Jeff (Scott Krinsky) are just enough random/weird comic relief for the show, so I’m happy that Morgan is developing into a more independent character.
Since this episode focused on Casey, Sarah (Yvonne Strahovski)’s involvement was mitigated, and I think is a better balance than some of the other episodes. A huge part of the show is the romantic plot between Sarah and Chuck, and since that relationship won’t really change/move forward for a while (Writer’s Strike or not) the show could easily become pedantic. But by equalizing Sarah and Casey there is less of a chance for that.
I do have a criticism. The Casey/Ilsa story was fun, and Chuck’s determination to give it a happy ending was really sweet. It is a testament to what a good person Chuck is that he wants Casey to be happy. But having Casablanca actually playing during the first parting scene was overkill. Anyone watching who didn’t know what the plotline was based on, or the Ilsa reference, wouldn’t understand based on the snippet showing on a screen in the background, and those of us who understand are offended that the writers think so little of us.
Question: why were all of those Russians so short?
“Chuck vs The Marlin”
Woo-hoo for Ellie (Sarah Lancaster) and Awesome (Ryan McPartlin)! While I can’t personally understand why any woman would want to marry a guy like that, I am so happy for Ellie because now she doesn’t have to get drunk and sleep in the same bed as Morgan ever again. And Chuck knows that someone is always protecting her, so he has less to worry about. A very good think for my little Chuck, who just has too much on his plate.
And again, my slight problem with Sarah. I like her because Chuck likes her, but as explicitly stated in a previous episode, Chuck doesn’t actually know anything real about her. He knows that she is an excellent CIA agent, but his feelings for her seem odd to say the least, because they don’t have any honest emotional connection. Her desire to protect the life Chuck leads, separately from protecting his life as the Intersect, makes me like her more, but she hasn’t won me over yet.
There was something missing in this episode, and I just can’t put my finger on it. Maybe it is just knowing that there won’t be new episodes for the foreseeable future, or that the format was different (trying to follow a single thread from multiple perspectives). I don’t quite know, but I have a vaguely disappointed feeling.
Shout Outs:
Little Things to Know that Make Watching Better
Casey’s ex is Ivana Milicevic, better known as skank-bag extraordinaire from Love Actually, Casino Royale, and Just Like Heaven. Her standout performance for me was her appearance on one episode of Buffy tVS Season Six as Riely's wife. I knew I was in for something good when she appeared.
The TV Girl
Sunday, January 20, 2008
Why Slackers and Losers Rock My Socks:
There are two shows that started in the fall of 2007 (this whole Writer’s Strike thing makes it hard to talk about seasons, since if there are not new episodes then the season is over and that technically makes Fall 2007 last season) that kind of caught my attention, and over time captured my heart: Chuck (NBC) and Reaper (The CW). I don’t know about anyone else, but I own up to the special place in my heart for underachievers. We all tear-up during the final game of inspirational sports movies, so don’t pretend you don’t root for the underdog as well. The tears I’ve shed watching these two shows have been tears of laughter. But, becoming attached to these shows got me thinking about why I would connect with these characters. I am a fairly upstanding person; I am a grad student, have a part-time job as a receptionist, pay rent, bill, and taxes, and I overall live a life at the level of functionality that is expected of someone my age. So what is my interest in two guys who are kind of losers? (Feel free at this point to have your own “aren’t girls always interested in losers” thought.)
Both shows started out with potential; their pilot episodes are good, but not spectacular. I actually had the rerun of Reaper’s pilot on last night, and it was great to see just how far they’ve come in so few episodes. And, I have to admit that the premise of each show is fairly ridiculous: computer geek becomes most important national intelligence resource because of an e-mail and his incredible memory (Chuck); shiftless minimum wage worker was sold before birth to the Devil and must be his bounty-hunter (Reaper). But watching, there is something undeniably attractive about these shows (and I’m not just talking about the adorableness of the leading men).
The first thing I noticed was the respective work places. Chuck’s Buy More is the fictionalized Best Buy, and Reaper’s The Work Bench is the Home Depot of the future, where they sell literally everything, all under the name of “home improvement.” You have a serious case of denial if you can’t see that these kinds of stores are taking over the world, and even if you don’t work there, you shop there. I know I do; Best Buy has great prices (I got the first two seasons of Bones for 40 bucks a couple weeks ago). Its nice to know that, at least in TV-land, it is much harder to work there than to shop there. The indignities the characters suffer working in such places are the kind everyone can relate to, without being that kind of over-the-top, for-the-love-of-pete-just-quit, stuff that happens on The Office (not knocking The Office, but that is for another article). Harry Tang’s maniacal torture of Chuck (Zachary Levi) while they were both vying for the assistant manager position was the funniest portrayal of a little man complex I have ever seen (and to find out later that Big Mike, the manager, was sleeping with Tang’s wife was priceless). Sam’s (Brett Harrison) manager at The Work Bench, Ted, is equally as ludicrous, but Sock (Tyler Labine) and Ben’s (Rick Gonzalez) pranks are so great that you want Ted to do more idiotic things so that they will have to get back at him. Chuck and Sam have something at their crummy jobs that we all wish we had at our crummy jobs (past or current): comrades. Chuck and Sam are fighting in the suburban equivalent of trench-warfare (I’m going to refrain from going into who the enemy is, management or costumer) and the only way to survive is with a loyal band of fellow fighters. Chuck’s other Nerd-Herders, and his best friend Morgan (Joshua Gomez) on the sales floor make the circumstances tolerable for Chuck, who by all rights should have a better life, while at the same time display the level of dysfunction necessary to remain sane in such a mundane job. It’s the same situation with Sock and Ben, but Sam has the extra bonus that they know about his after work activities, and help him; Chuck has to maintain two lives in order to protect both those he cares about and the governments secrets. These friendships subtly indicate that monetary success is not the measure of achievement, but it isn’t preachy. Both shows have confidence in the viewer’s ability to understand that friends who have each others backs is more rewarding than a fancy job.
I continued watching Chuck and Reaper because there is more going on than job related foibles. Both shows are about growing up, and taking responsibility for ones life and choices. Our culture is accepting a prolonged teenage-mentality for men. It’s more and more acceptable for men in their early twenties to live at home, or with multiple roommates in the same boat, and to spend more time figuring it out, or finding their path, or choosing a career. Both Chuck and Sam are aware they are part of the man/boy category and it is kind of the core struggle for them. For those of us who have already made these steps towards adulthood watching shows that deal with this is both relieving and reassuring. I connect with Chuck and Sam because I am young enough to still question my choices, but old enough to know that they are my responsibility to make. But, because the characters are older, and not actually teens, they have a more humorous outlook on their situation. Neither show delves into melodrama so often equated with the difficulties of maturity. Even when it is life-or-death (bombs, escaped souls), Chuck and Sam don’t indulge in self-pity or wining; neither allows for Dawson’s Creek syndrome. I love teen melodrama, but it would be very annoying for men in their twenties to act in such a way. Chuck and Sam are trying to become adults, in admittedly unconventional circumstances, but they don’t ask for pity. I root for them, and laugh with them, each week because even though they are starting a bit later, they are growing into good people. Growing up is funny, and laughing with Chuck and Sam helps me laugh at myself.
Shout-Outs:
Little Things to Know that Make Watching Better
Josh Schwartz, who created and produced The O.C., created and produces Chuck, and he did an amazing homage to his deceased show in the Halloween episode. Mr. Schwartz recreated Ryan and Marissa’s New Year’s Eve scene from Season One with Chuck and Morgan. The music, the movement, the lines, all identical, all brilliant. Brett Harrison was on The O.C. very briefly in season one as Summer’s love-interest (Seth and Sandy didn’t find him very funny). Also, Melinda Clarke (The O.C.’s badass Julie Cooper) guest starred as the Devil’s mistress on a recent episode of Reaper.
Adam Baldwin (Chuck’s Agent Casey) is my beloved Jayne from Firefly. I can’t help but smile every time I see him (even when he was a serial killer on Bones).
My heart skipped when Valarie Rae Miller (Original Cindy, of Dark Angel fame) snapped at Sock in the pilot of Reaper. Her smarts and sass have been sorely missed, and I hope they do more with her character on this show.
Final Thought:
How did I mention Bones two times in an article about entirely different shows?
Next On The TV Girl: Heroes Season Two- what was it really, and what do we do now?
The TV Girl
Both shows started out with potential; their pilot episodes are good, but not spectacular. I actually had the rerun of Reaper’s pilot on last night, and it was great to see just how far they’ve come in so few episodes. And, I have to admit that the premise of each show is fairly ridiculous: computer geek becomes most important national intelligence resource because of an e-mail and his incredible memory (Chuck); shiftless minimum wage worker was sold before birth to the Devil and must be his bounty-hunter (Reaper). But watching, there is something undeniably attractive about these shows (and I’m not just talking about the adorableness of the leading men).
The first thing I noticed was the respective work places. Chuck’s Buy More is the fictionalized Best Buy, and Reaper’s The Work Bench is the Home Depot of the future, where they sell literally everything, all under the name of “home improvement.” You have a serious case of denial if you can’t see that these kinds of stores are taking over the world, and even if you don’t work there, you shop there. I know I do; Best Buy has great prices (I got the first two seasons of Bones for 40 bucks a couple weeks ago). Its nice to know that, at least in TV-land, it is much harder to work there than to shop there. The indignities the characters suffer working in such places are the kind everyone can relate to, without being that kind of over-the-top, for-the-love-of-pete-just-quit, stuff that happens on The Office (not knocking The Office, but that is for another article). Harry Tang’s maniacal torture of Chuck (Zachary Levi) while they were both vying for the assistant manager position was the funniest portrayal of a little man complex I have ever seen (and to find out later that Big Mike, the manager, was sleeping with Tang’s wife was priceless). Sam’s (Brett Harrison) manager at The Work Bench, Ted, is equally as ludicrous, but Sock (Tyler Labine) and Ben’s (Rick Gonzalez) pranks are so great that you want Ted to do more idiotic things so that they will have to get back at him. Chuck and Sam have something at their crummy jobs that we all wish we had at our crummy jobs (past or current): comrades. Chuck and Sam are fighting in the suburban equivalent of trench-warfare (I’m going to refrain from going into who the enemy is, management or costumer) and the only way to survive is with a loyal band of fellow fighters. Chuck’s other Nerd-Herders, and his best friend Morgan (Joshua Gomez) on the sales floor make the circumstances tolerable for Chuck, who by all rights should have a better life, while at the same time display the level of dysfunction necessary to remain sane in such a mundane job. It’s the same situation with Sock and Ben, but Sam has the extra bonus that they know about his after work activities, and help him; Chuck has to maintain two lives in order to protect both those he cares about and the governments secrets. These friendships subtly indicate that monetary success is not the measure of achievement, but it isn’t preachy. Both shows have confidence in the viewer’s ability to understand that friends who have each others backs is more rewarding than a fancy job.
I continued watching Chuck and Reaper because there is more going on than job related foibles. Both shows are about growing up, and taking responsibility for ones life and choices. Our culture is accepting a prolonged teenage-mentality for men. It’s more and more acceptable for men in their early twenties to live at home, or with multiple roommates in the same boat, and to spend more time figuring it out, or finding their path, or choosing a career. Both Chuck and Sam are aware they are part of the man/boy category and it is kind of the core struggle for them. For those of us who have already made these steps towards adulthood watching shows that deal with this is both relieving and reassuring. I connect with Chuck and Sam because I am young enough to still question my choices, but old enough to know that they are my responsibility to make. But, because the characters are older, and not actually teens, they have a more humorous outlook on their situation. Neither show delves into melodrama so often equated with the difficulties of maturity. Even when it is life-or-death (bombs, escaped souls), Chuck and Sam don’t indulge in self-pity or wining; neither allows for Dawson’s Creek syndrome. I love teen melodrama, but it would be very annoying for men in their twenties to act in such a way. Chuck and Sam are trying to become adults, in admittedly unconventional circumstances, but they don’t ask for pity. I root for them, and laugh with them, each week because even though they are starting a bit later, they are growing into good people. Growing up is funny, and laughing with Chuck and Sam helps me laugh at myself.
Shout-Outs:
Little Things to Know that Make Watching Better
Josh Schwartz, who created and produced The O.C., created and produces Chuck, and he did an amazing homage to his deceased show in the Halloween episode. Mr. Schwartz recreated Ryan and Marissa’s New Year’s Eve scene from Season One with Chuck and Morgan. The music, the movement, the lines, all identical, all brilliant. Brett Harrison was on The O.C. very briefly in season one as Summer’s love-interest (Seth and Sandy didn’t find him very funny). Also, Melinda Clarke (The O.C.’s badass Julie Cooper) guest starred as the Devil’s mistress on a recent episode of Reaper.
Adam Baldwin (Chuck’s Agent Casey) is my beloved Jayne from Firefly. I can’t help but smile every time I see him (even when he was a serial killer on Bones).
My heart skipped when Valarie Rae Miller (Original Cindy, of Dark Angel fame) snapped at Sock in the pilot of Reaper. Her smarts and sass have been sorely missed, and I hope they do more with her character on this show.
Final Thought:
How did I mention Bones two times in an article about entirely different shows?
Next On The TV Girl: Heroes Season Two- what was it really, and what do we do now?
The TV Girl
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