Television - Chuck 'Chuck vs Sarah / Chuck vs The Goodbye' series finale review

Goodbye, Chuck. Against all odds, you made it to your happy ending, and I mean that in terms of the series as a whole as much as a narrative. Having been near non-existent in the ratings for years, your continued survival will surely baffle television historians for years to come. If there has been one consistent message throughout Chuck's five years, though, it is that positivity and honesty have powers that move people in mysterious ways.

This is a series that has been in danger since the end of its second season. Its creators, Josh Schwartz and Chris Fedak, have written countless finales, expecting each to be Team Bartowski's last hurrah, only to be given a reprieve. The numbers don't add up. Not many people watched Chuck, but the love from those who did kept it alive to see Chuck and Sarah get together, get married and reunite with a loving kiss on the beach where Sarah first won her future husband's trust. Chuck survived on the sincere, uncynical values it so believed in.

  

The Naked Truth: Yvonne Strahovski

[The Naked Truth is a feature celebrating the lives and careers of the most talented women that pop culture has to offer. The fact that they're also all incredibly gorgeous is just a great excuse to post as many stunning images as possible. You can see more of this sort of thing at Flixist's Some Like It Hot feature.]

This Friday sees Chuck reach the end of its improbable five-season run. In itself, that is something to mourn, but doubly so when taking into account that it means an end to five years of having our television screens graced by the wonderful Yvonne Strahovski. 

Excellent though Chuck's entire cast is, Strahovski has to be considered the breakout star. Her character, Sarah Walker, was immediately propelled into the nerd high consciousness, and not just for her willingness to indulge the Buy More wind machine. As we bid a fond farewell to the series, let's take a moment to pay tribute to this generation's Emma Peel.

She's everyone's favourite athletic, ass-kicking Aussie. Yvonne Strahovski, welcome to your Naked Truth...

 

Television - Chuck 'Chuck vs The Bullet Train' review

Although much of it has been enjoyable, Chuck's final season has been a weirdly structured creation. Most assumed that showrunners Josh Schwarz and Chris Fedak would take the (miraculous) opportunity given to them to give their series a fitting end by telling a single, cohesive, season arc. Instead, they have given us a series of mostly unrelated cliffhangers and mini-arcs. Perhaps all these will wrap together in some way. Morgan's short-lived acquisition of the Intersect has become a more prominent plot point in the past few episodes, for sure, yet everything that happened in the episodes in-between seems to have been largely disposable.

We only met Nicholas Quinn last week, yet it looks like he will be the antagonist to take us through to the finale. (There hasn't been any sense yet that he is working for anyone else). Plotlines in Chuck have never been of paramount importance, but unless there's a big unplayed card yet to be revealed, that choice isn't looking like a strong one. We've been with these characters for so long, it would be nice for their final adventure to have a certain symmetry to it. For the villain to come out of nowhere at the last minute (and not exactly bearing Timothy Dalton levels of charisma, either) denies us much of the emotional investment that could have come from a more carefully prepared long-term plan.

  

Television - Chuck 'Chuck vs The Curse' review

Since my Christmas holidays start on Monday, this will be my last Chuck review until the new year, with tomorrow's tenth instalment of DEAD DROP ending this blog's 2011 (and marking the serial's halfway point) with a bang. If you enjoy spies and action, which should be a given if you are reading this article, check it out.

Enough with the promotion, though. It's a shame not to be able to say better things about this week's Chuck, which turned out to be a mixed bag. It is obvious that showrunners Josh Schwarz and Chris Fedak want to see their series go out on a high - though a few episodes will be missed, my reviews will definitely be back in time for the big farewell, 'Chuck vs The Goodbye', on Jan. 27th - and have been throwing bigger and braver ideas at the screen to ensure that happens. Noble ambition, no doubt, but storytelling has rarely been one of Chuck's many strengths, and even the most sensational of plots can feel flimsy if not handled correctly, as was the case last night.

  

Television - Chuck 'Chuck vs The Hack-Off' review

Yesterday, Chuck finished principle photography on the series' final episode. The day before, Community waved a seasonal farewell before embarking on a hiatus of undetermined length. How appropriate that these two fan-favourite programmes should collide at such an opportune moment, in an episode already so concerned with endings. Danny Pudi's cameo took up only a few minutes of screentime - and included one other, completely unexpected but resoundingly excellent, reference to Dan Harmon's series - but the circumstances surrounding it gave a twinge of extra poignancy to what at any other time would have been a throwaway gag.

There is still half a season of Chuck left to go, of course, but seeing Zachary Levi posting a twitter photo of his last day in the Nerd Herd outfit made everything feel that little bit more final. The episode's events thus took on greater dramatic weight than ever, which is admittedly not saying much about a programme that so strongly favours character over storytelling, but was a stick-in-the-throat reminder that once these last episodes have finished, these characters that fans have grown to care about really will be gone forever in all but memory. The glaring absence of Community in the New Year schedule is an ominous reminder of what is to come.

 

Television - Chuck 'Chuck vs The Business Trip'

'Chuck vs The Business Trip' was a perfect example of how far strong characters can go towards redeeming mediocre plotting. Everything revolving around the episode's narrative was contrived and messy, but it offered an opportunity to spend an hour hanging out with this fantastic cast interacting in a more relaxed, slow-paced environment and subsequently became rather good fun, despite itself. In other words, it was the polar opposite to last week's episode, which was fantastic for being driven by story and action.

As we all know, Chuck isn't long for this world. The series' official end date has been set on January 27th 2012 with 'Chuck vs The Goodbye'. Maybe that is what made this episode feel that much more enjoyable than it otherwise might have done, since it is now only two months until Team Bartowski leaves our screens forever. Or at least a few of them, given its ever-worsening ratings.

 

Television - Chuck 'Chuck vs The Frosted Tips' review

After last week's struggle to balance Morgan's move to the dark side with presenting a version of the character who the audience didn't end up keen to see the back of (good characters turning bad is fine; doing so through constant moaning, not so much), 'Chuck vs The Frosted Tips' put a lot of effort into reminding us of the personal stakes of Morgan's treacherous intentions. The affection shared between Chuck's main characters is what has kept it going through thick and thin, leading to this unlikely situation where it has managed to get to this fifth and final season even while never being anything close to a ratings hit, so grounding Morgan's story in his friendship with Chuck was one of many intelligent moves which the episode pulled off very well.

'Frosted Tips' also succeeded in doing something that Chuck has not managed in a while: being genuinely unpredictable. I'm sure that everyone who watches the series - and going by the latest set of ratings, our numbers are shrinking by the week - loves its characters, but probably doesn't reserve the same enthusiasm for its often rote storytelling. This episode threw in a number of well-timed twists, though, raising the tension both towards the end of the hour and to see how the rest of the season will play out.

 

Television - Chuck 'Chuck vs The Bearded Bandit' review

Last week, Chuck Bartowski came to terms with who he was without the Intersect guiding him. This week, he struggled to help the recently Intersected Morgan maintain a grip on his own identity. That's not a bad turnaround, showing us how Chuck has grown before revealing where he needs to go next - no longer enough to just be a competent spy, now he needs to become a competent spy handler. Unfortunately, Morgan has never been as thoughtful and empathetic as his best friend: he is more driven by his desires, his excitement and his insecurities, where Chuck always had his friends and family foremost in his mind.

Morgan isn't a bad guy, of course: he places a high value on loyalty and friendship, which is one of the many reasons that he and Chuck get along so well and why he was able to slip into Team Bartowski relatively easily, despite his lack of outward skills. Unfortunately, his lack of self-control makes him a prime target to be corrupted by the Intersect's power. He still wants Chuck around, but not if it means he has to sit back when he could be going on Dark Knight on evildoers everwhere.

  

Television - Chuck 'Chuck vs The Zoom' review

Not many programmes get the grace of going out on their own terms, but in its final season, Chuck, a series that has always had to adapt to uncertainty and last-second renewals, gets the farewell tour it and its insanely dedicated fanbase deserve. 'Chuck vs The Zoom' was one of the series' best season premieres, full of the adorable little character details that make this cast so wonderful to be around each week and offering a nicely staged bit of symmetry with the first season, where Chuck was trying to work out who he was in his new life and whether he would be stuck in the van forever or able to get out and make a difference.

The big change is, of course, that back at the beginning, Chuck had been unintentionally super-powered by his accidental acquisition of the Intersect database. His dilemma was working out how to deal with the new power and knowledge at his fingertips and whether it was putting him in danger or keeping him alive. Now, the question is whether he can live without it and, with his life transformed over the past four years, whether there is a place for him as anything other than financier of the newly privatised spy team and if he can still make a difference in his vanilla state.

 

Summer Brie-cap: The best of Community, Parks & Rec and Chuck

With Community, Parks & Recreation and Chuck's seasons all ending over the past ten days, plus Doctor Who's summer break only two episodes away, there are not only a few gaps in my schedule for the summer, but we're also waving off one of the strongest years of television comedy for a very long time. It's also going to be an agonising wait until the heavenly Alison Brie is back on our screens, so the header photo is for anyone who might already be suffering withdrawal symptoms. Don't be shy. We're in this together.

In addition to the remaining episodes of Who and Archer, from next Monday I'll be going back over the first season of Breaking Bad, a programme I've somehow never watched before despite its enormous acclaim and the presence of star Bryan Cranston (Hal from Malcolm In The Middle, as I've known him until now), before deciding whether or not to keep following the show when it returns with new episodes on July 17th. Reviews of the new South Parks will start appearing from this Thursday, before Futurama returns on June 23rd.

For now though, follow the jump for a tribute to the three shows which have gone on hiatus for the summer, in the form of a selection of the finest scenes and moments from the past year. (Unfortunately the Chuck clips I wanted refused to embed, so they're in the form of links instead).

 

Never Gives Up: Chuck season finale review

TELEVISION REVIEW

CHUCK: 'Chuck Versus The Cliffhanger' 

What a relief that Chuck continues to be so resilient to being killed off, either as a character or as a series. I don't think many people would have bet on Mr. Bartowski getting a fifth season, but either showrunners Chris Fedak and Josh Schwartz knew all along something they weren't willing to pass onto worried fans, or they just got even more exceptionally lucky than on every previous unlikely renewal.

Previously, the Chuck finales have focused on giving the characters a strong send-off in case it proved to be their last, possibly aware that the characters of this particular programme have considerably greater value for its fans than the often questionable storytelling. This time, with ratings at an all-time low and cancellation looking more likely than ever, Fedak and Schwartz not only ventured the possibility of ending the series with a cliffhanger, but one which suggested that there was an entire second meaning, a conspiratorial grand plan, governing everything we'd watched over the past four years. 

Perhaps it's just me, but had the series ended on that note, I would have been furious (as a fan - not literally wandering my house fuming, you understand): the second twist was fine, and I'll discuss it after the jump in case anyone who hasn't watched the episode yet is perusing the front page. But that first twist was the promise of a revelation that, had the series not been renewed, would have left fans with the bitter taste of a key continuity-altering plotline they would never get to see, on a show they had supported so faithfully. That's not a problem now, of course, but I doubt Fedak and Schwartz would have known that at the time of writing. I didn't appreciate their readiness to leave fans in a state of limbo.

  

Nothing Can Go Wrong: Chuck review

TELEVISION REVIEW

CHUCK: 'Chuck Versus The Last Details'

That's a perfect example right there of why channels shouldn't show 'next time' promos after cliffhangers. Or should at least edit them as not to ruin what was one of the most sinister and powerful moments Chuck has ever produced.

Of course, we all know that Sarah was never going to stay 'dead', but it's not great to have it confirmed by a post-episode ad rather than the suspense of waiting until next week to see how the situation resolves itself. It's up to the programme to confirm our suspicions, not the channel's marketing department to take advantage of them. Anyway, rant over. The sight of the near-invulnerable Sarah Walker collapsing at the feet of her fiancée just as everything in their lives seemed to be aligning in some sort of order was a brilliant way to lead into the season, and possibly series, finale. Let's hope that Sarah makes a sufficiently quick recovery so she isn't sitting on the sidelines when the action kicks off. Should Chuck not make it to renewal, which we'll know by the time the episode airs next Monday night, the last place we want to see Sarah Walker, this generation's Emma Peel, is lying in bed.

Well... you know what I mean.
 

Rubix Cubed: Chuck review

TELEVISION REVIEW

CHUCK: 'Chuck Versus Agent X'

Chuck may not be hitting the same heights as during its second season, but when on form it is still one of the warmest and most charming programmes on television. Like the man who lends the series his name, it's flawed and prone to going off on tangents, but never for a moment feels insincere. It's a textbook example of how much strong characters and intelligent casting can offer. Even when having to sit through the drudgery of the Shaw season, it was Chuck, Casey, Sarah and Morgan who keep the fans faithful. (And when those fans stage the mass buying of sandwiches from sponsor Subway to save the programme from cancellation, you know you're onto something special). So though I may not look forward to Chuck as much as I used to, if these final episodes of season four are the last we see of Chuck and his Castle cohorts, I'd like to be there to see them off.

Despite the the pre-season budget cuts leading to no shortage of questionable CGI work, this fourth season of Chuck has pulled off enough high points that it won't feel like the programme has gone out under a shadow, should the predicted cancellation come to pass. Timothy Dalton was a casting coup and has been nothing less than magnificent in his every appearance, giving a masterclass in scenery-chewing hilarity. The buildup to Chuck proposing to Sarah might have brought out the same tiresome neuroses from our hero that should have been left behind long ago, but since then the relationship has stabilised and the chemistry between Zachary Levi and the radiant Yvonne Strahovski (who has finally been given opportunities to show off her terrific skills as a comic) is back to its best. The latest episode, 'Chuck Versus Agent X', also had good form in one area that the series usually struggles with: the storytelling.