We talk Chuck Versus Agent X. This is take two of the podcast since the first time it didn't record. So we just sum up what we originally said. That makes this a very quick podcast. Easy listen!
This episode has ADULT LANGUAGE. Do not listen if you are sensitive to harsh language.
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Tracks used in this episode, in order of appearance (selected by Babydoll):
The Cave - Mumford and Sons
True Colors - Phil Collins (cover)
True Colors - Phil Collins (cover)
Yeeeah. If we get a dream sequence wedding, that'd just be lol. I mean yeah, shippers want the wedding, I personally don't care one way or another, but if they seriously go the dream sequence route.. that'd be bad, IMO.
ReplyDeleteAs far as 'jump the shark', that worries me. Please god no 'Sarah's pregnant' moments.
But an 85? That's not nearly as terrible as I thought based on yesterday, but hey. Whatever works. Nice, short podcast. Sorry about the lost one that never upped.
Well, because we re-recorded, I didn't get to detail the things I liked about it. If there had been no positives, I would have given this a much lower score. But I liked a few things... in the original we talked about the scene where Chuck flashed in front of Ellie but we forgot about it when we summed it up.
ReplyDeleteYeah, no I got that. I think you said there was some stuff you liked yesterday, but I'd 'see' how you felt about it tomorrow, which is today, so all's good from me, not that my opinion matters. I'm not gonna say "Zomg, best episode ever Chuck hater!" because I know how you feel about the show in general, lol.
ReplyDeleteBut keep up the great work. Honestly, if I'd recorded a long podcast, only to not have it upload properly, I'd probably just say eff it and skip the episode all together.
AHHHHHH, Mumford and Sons *fangirl flail*
ReplyDeleteSorry about your first podcast.
I agree that the show totally sucks at fallout for situations they set up.
I can't wait to see how some people react to your bleeps. Should be interesting.
i disagree a lot but your entitled to your opinion magnus
ReplyDeletewes
I don't have opinions, I only have the truth and God on my side!
ReplyDeleteWhy did the ratings for Chuck rise?
ReplyDeleteI think that nothing will beat Dancing with the Stars or House in the ratings, so canceling Chuck and replacing it with something else won't raise NBC's Monday Night ratings and may just make things worse. Even Chuck can't beat DWTS and House in the ratings.
I think that the only thing that will help NBC get a ratings hit in the Monday time slots is if either House or DWTS is cancelled. Chuck needs to move to a different night or a different time slot.
Canceling Chuck won't help NBC, but keeping it in it's time slot isn't good either.
Moving Chuck to a different time slot might save Chuck.
Good for you, Comic Book Guy. Truth told succinctly. And if you could just learn that cursing loses its impact if you use it every other word, there might be hope for you.
ReplyDeleteOne small quibble: A show like Chuck can't jump the shark in the traditional TV sense because it is so weird conceptually. But they have certainly beat the mythology out of any recognizable shape. If the show gets another season, I'm afraid we'll learn that Orion built his first version of the Intersect on an Etch-a-Sketch.
It would have been fun to hear the entire original podcast, but I liked this.
ReplyDeleteI was glad to hear your disappointment in the bathtub scene. I felt Chuck was her gay male roommate rather than her boyfriend in that scene. "You're naked in the tub? Let me try on some clothes in the mirror."
I'm also relieved to hear you were not jazzed about the Ellie reveal scenes. Those are the scenes I looked forward to the most and they fell flat for me. How could she go from the reaction at the end of last season to just, like, "cool, Chuck, you're a spy and the Intersect."
At the very least, I expected a neurologist would have some concern over the fact her brother had gone through such a potentially dangerous procedure.
Other critics seemed to like those scenes.
I feel in good company that you shared my disappointment.
I'm still very glad the Chuck/Ellie secrets thing may be over(we'll see), but I just thought they scored a single here when they should have scored a homerun.
Curse more? Gotcha!
ReplyDeleteBecause as you should know, when we stop cursing, the terrorists win.
You love horrible episodes like 'First Bank of Evil' and then you are so opinionated on this episode.
ReplyDeleteYou seem to love the really "cute" episodes that have absolutely no angst.
I don't know if it's because you know the scripts in advance and as a result you've changed the way that you review episodes, but you've really lost consistency with your reviews.
I continue to listen because your podcast's are highly entertaining, but in terms of episode reviews, I might as well be reading Sepinwall's reviews...
Nick, don't blame me for your taste sucking.
ReplyDeletedkd, the non-recorded podcast was so much fun... probably one of our best ever! And far more negative than the one we put out (though, also more positive about other things). Having to do it again, we went in pissed, so we mostly just covered the things we didn't like.
ReplyDeleteActually, seeing some of the reactions to our review makes me hate the episode more. I should have given it a 75. ;)
Well granny was fun,awesome pod cast
ReplyDeleteShe was and thank you for being smart and digging it.
ReplyDeleteI used to listen to your podcast to relax me while I take a bath.
ReplyDeleteAs a result of your rash judgements, I will now however only listen to your podcast while I shower or perhaps while I lay in bed before I fall asleep.
I hope this revelation pains you greatly...
I hope the finale isn't like the 8th season of Dallas that turned out to all be a dream.
ReplyDeleteI also hope that if this show gets a 5th season that they go away from the everybody has been intersected storyline.
They've worn it out as a plot device.
Out of all the characters on the show Volkoff seemed like the best candidate to be Agent X.
I would have hated it if it were Ellie, Mama B or Chuck.
My main concern about Volkoff being Agent X is him possibly turning into a good guy because i've enjoyed Timothy Dalton as a villan.
do you know anything about the supposedly big movie yvonne is in? i knowit is called the killer elite but could this make her a big star in the us?
ReplyDeletewow. some hilarious comments
ReplyDelete"I don't have opinions, I only have the truth and God on my side!"
ahhh magnus.
"but they have certainly beat the mythology out of any recognizable shape... I'm afraid we'll learn that Orion built his first version of the Intersect on an Etch-a-Sketch."
lol!!
"I felt Chuck was her gay male roommate rather than her boyfriend in that scene. "You're naked in the tub? Let me try on some clothes in the mirror."
Soooooooo true
How old is Vivian? I can't remember if they said. Would she be his kid from before he went under cover, or after?
ReplyDeleteUgh, please disregard my stupid question. There is no way she's older than Chuck, so of couse he had her after.
ReplyDeleteThanks for doing the podcast again. Very understandable that you were pissed about the first one not recording.
ReplyDeleteI very much loved Volkoff as Agent X, but I can´t disagree, that it is a big retcon and does not fit perfectly. Still it gave us his mother and hopefully even better stuff for Timothy Dalton. So I am willing to overlook that. Although your impression of MamaB was incredibly funny. :D
It´s kind of ridiculous, that those spy wills always get openend before the spy in question is actually dead. They are pretty handy for giving Team B lots of information they otherwise wouldn´t get.
I didn´t mind Ellie and Chuck that much, because after Ellie starting lying and working on the computer in secret, there wasn´t that much ground for her to freak out anymore. Although it definitely was one of the typical fast solutions they are so fond of.
I pretty much ignored the Jeffster-Big Mike commercial just like the actual commercial breaks, so that hadn´t really registered with me.
Chuck´s non-reaction to Sarah in the bath was horrible, but also nothing new. And I am not sure, if I should even hope for some more hotness or intimacy, if Sarah spends most of the time left in a coma or something like that.
But I really don´t get why Chuck and Sarah getting together had to eliminate most of the hotness between them. It´s like they want to give credence to any stupid Moonlighting myth.
awelle
Working my way from the bottom:
ReplyDeleteawelle, I love Tuttle and in the original attempt to do the podcast, Mike and I disagreed a bit about whether this reveal was good or bad. Mike didn't seem to like it, I pointed out that if Tuttle returns, then it is a bonus. That was skipped over in the re-record. As for Chuck and Ellie, it isn't the fact that she didn't freak out that bothers me, it is that this show resolves things too easily. After wasting our time with her not knowing, their resolution is that she isn't upset. That is not the first, second, or third time they have done that. It says "Hey guys, we are just going to keep doing this. None of our resolutions to perceived conflict will carry much weight."
Patrick, if it is good, then it certainly could put her on the fame map. It has well known actors in it and it is a return to action/drama for Robert De Niro.
Nick, sounds like you feel dirty when you hear my voice. I could tell you were into me like that.
Dream sequence wedding. WTF! please tell me you are joking. That's shark jumping at it's finest. What is this inception?
ReplyDeleteI am pretty sure I didn't say "dream sequence wedding" so...
ReplyDeleteI'm really hoping the bathtub scene that we saw wasn't the hot scene we were supposed to get that you told us about a while back.
ReplyDeleteI get that Chuck and Sarah have lived together a while now and it's probably not a revelation for him anymore to see her nekkid. But, this is TV. We're not asking for realism when we watch this show.
I don't know if this bothered anyone else, but the lockbox that Hartley's spy will was in didn't strike me as technology from 1980. We've gone from Casey never having seen such a device before last season to it being something in existence in the early 80's.
Now, that I've said enough about what I didn't like, I was more accepting of the Volkoff twist. It's cool enough for me to kind of ignore the flaws in it.
I also love anytime they remind us Chuck's skills include foreign languages. So, I really liked the sword scene.
Someone brought up to me that we have never seen Chuck flash on two things at once except in Tic Tac. I think it is possible he flashed on the sword skill and language at different times but we didn't see the second flash. Or they violated their own rules. It didn't bother me.
ReplyDeleteThe other thing that bugged me with the Ellie stuff was in Castle when they were doing the demo of the Intersect: wasn't Ellie's big issue about Chuck being a spy his safety? If so, she seemed pretty unconcerned when he told Morgan of all people to run at him full speed with a katana sword. Don't get me wrong I enjoyed the Intersect demo overall and it was satisfying for Ellie to see just how cool her dad's technology is and what a bad ass her baby bro can really be (when he wants to be). But, it felt like she should have been more worried as soon as he said "full speed, please". That aside I did kind of like the fact that it made Chuck and Morgan look like a couple oversized five year old boys.
ReplyDelete-OPD
OPD, she probably should have reacted to Morgan running at Chuck. Just another bit of detail the writers either didn't include or the producers felt didn't need to be included, that probably would have added a bit more weight to the moment.
ReplyDelete@dkd:
ReplyDeleteThe lock itself is just mechanic, nothing fancy.
The recently abandoned 3,5 inch floppydiscs were really 80s to me and a nice reference to the weird triangle shaped discs in First Fight (also about/connected to Volkoff). Or am I thinking too far with this last one?
I am just wondering about the code on the lock box that was shown so apparantly all the time. I am still puzzling with that one.
Granted, that moment was one of my favorites in the episode because it was the kind of fantasy that made me fall for the show. I don't mind ridiculousness or lack of realism if it is fun. But I DO mind when scenes don't seamlessly flow together, or when an episode stutters through its story.
ReplyDeleteThis episode had too many of those problems. I will excuse a lot for the show I love as long as it does it seamlessly.
Yeah, I mean I thought she should have reacted to some part of that scenario lol- most of all to anyone allowing Morgan to play with swords. But you're right I think it would have given it some more emotional impact. I had also been hoping Ellie would react to the flash face so Sarah could explain it to her, and simultaneously throw it in Chuck's face that her imitation last week was spot on.
ReplyDeleteAlso, a note on the language thing, per your discussion above, it seemed in the reaction shots like Casey and Sarah were oddly impressed/surprised that Chuck whipped out Japanese. Did they not think that one was in the Intersect?
-OPD
27r3zm7Adc?
ReplyDeleteI don't recognize it as meaning anything.
Great pod cast. i had some of the same complaints. the ellie chuck talked bugged me. i gave the episode a 5 out of ten. on a side note, you didn't say "dream sequence wedding". what i thought i heard you say was the reactions to the dream sequence of the wed...thats where it cut out. i ca see where the confusion could come from. great job again and look forward to the next one. thanks again.
ReplyDeleteTW0073
Granted, I don't see the meaning of 27r3zm7Adc (yet) too.
ReplyDeleteBut apart from a serious meaning it could also be some joke like the license plates on the cars in Chuck sometimes (for example of the car Volkoff, Sarah and Mama B arrived at the Contessa in Push Mix. I don't want to spoil it, so who is interested can look for themselves).
A quite famous moviedirector in my home country teached me a titbit many years go and until now always proved to be true: "Nothing clearly shown in a movie (of tv series) happens by coincidence or accident". So IMO 27r3zm7Adc means probably something, but it doesn't need to be important at all - maybe it is just an inside joke, I found a few in flashes too.
I just read this Comcast to Spend $200 Million More on NBC's Primetime Schedule Than GE Did
ReplyDeleteHas something to do with Chuck?
http://tvbythenumbers.zap2it.com/2011/05/04/comcast-to-spend-200-million-more-on-nbcs-primetime-schedule-than-ge-did/91505
nena
When you did your podcast with babydoll and mentioned that chuck should be more like ARCHER in season 5....if there is one...the first thing (as amply demonstrated in the bathtub scene) is for chuck to gain Archer's situational awareness! Also he should wear tutle necks more often and also have the labido of Archer! All these things will cost nothing to the budget and it would make the scenes oh so much more sexy! Also as I said in one of my previous podcasts they need to do some BSG Baltar/Six scenes where sarah is just all over chuck....it will make for one heck of a season! lol!
ReplyDeleteYour sources mention anything about Zach working on a pilot? Apparently it was mentioned in a twitcast last night that was quickly deleted.
ReplyDeleteFirst of all, it is Zac. Second of all, even if I knew anything about that, it wouldn't be my place to talk about it.
ReplyDeleteI don't know anything regarding a pilot, but I know that he is going to do a movie this June, which he says in an interview on youtube
ReplyDeleteEven if he was doing a pilot, that doesn't mean he will be in the show if it is picked up. His contract is with CHUCK and if it is picked up, he will stay on that show. But looking to do movies and other shows is what an actor does. Especially if you think your show is going to be cancelled.
ReplyDeleteThe whole Ellie reaction could be explained that back in episode 14 she told her mom that she was okay with her being a hero and a spy.
ReplyDeleteshe had actually come to terms with her family being spies.
She knew of the intersect and it's capabilities through her research so that really didn't shock her very much.
This show has so many characters and storylines going they really don't have time to get into Ellie being more curious.
They briefly touch on a lot of things without going into more depth.
Please Showrunners don't make Sarah pregnant.
I don't think Killer Elite will make Yvonne a bigger star.
Robert Deniro in the last few years has been making a lot of average films that don't get a lot of press.
With a little more than 10 days away ( assuming news leaks early one way or another ) from an renewal/cancellation announcement . Can you throw me a little bone in the mean time ? Pretty please !
ReplyDelete♡ Kayla
Kayla, things haven't changed. It is still pretty much what it was three weeks ago. I think they will renew but if they really love the stuff in development enough that they fill up the schedule, CHUCK will be gone. I don't think that is going to happen. Others disagree.
ReplyDeleteAnonymous, where did you get the idea that his movies don't get press? They may not get critical praise but anything he is in gets press.
ReplyDeletelooking forward to the finale i just hope they dont do some crazy cliffhanger with the confidence of getting renewed like las vegas did, ended on an insanely negative cliffhanger with no resolution. If it ends im just happy they got three seasons out of this show, time to find a new show to look forward too. It might be breaking in on fox, Christian slater is awesome in it, the chuck audience would like it. Gadgets,Comedy, Nerds, and a hot chick.
ReplyDeleteMagnus, Everything Robert Deniro gets some level of press because he is in it that is true.
ReplyDeleteBut just look at a lot of the movies he's been over the past 10-12 years they haven't gotten as much attention from the media as some of his other films.
Godsend, Everybody's fine, Hide and Seek, Machette, Righteous kill, City by the Sea.
One of the reasons they don't get as much buzz is because they are mediocre films.
It wouldn't surprise me if Killer Elite is an average action film that makes some money at the box office and then quickly fades from people's memories.
He was just in LIMITLESS and LITTLE FOCKERS, two movies that made the studios nice bags of cash and at the end of the day, your star power is related to your ability to draw people into a movie.
ReplyDeleteoh sure Limitless and Little Fockers did real well.
ReplyDeleteAnother thing about Killer Elite is i'm not sure how big a part Yvonne is going to have.
If it's a really small part I wouldn't think it's going to turn her into a bigger star.
A lot of talented actors and actresses that we think will go on to have a big career never do for one reason or another.
It wouldn't surprise me if she became a big movie star after Chuck or if she struggles to find quality roles.
After Chuck I wish Yvonne and the entire cast the best.
Are you just here to shoot down the potential of Yvonne becoming a star based on this movie?
ReplyDeleteForget the movie . The real travesty today is the fact that Yvonne didn't even make the Maxim hot 100 . Mini Anden did . WTF Magnus ??
ReplyDeleteThose lists are like the award shows, popularity contests. If you aren't doing something that is popular, then they don't know about you and so it is as if you don't exist.
ReplyDeleteJ says ...
ReplyDeleteRE : Renewal
I was pretty confident last year about renewal . I told myself that if we got a full 4th season that we would get a 5th because of the syndication factor . Now I'm not as confident as I was last year , but like you I think we get it .
Fringe has lost WB mire money than Chuck has over the years and that show got renewed yet again fir a full 22 episode next season which will bring their total to 88 eps . Coincidence ? Chuck is only 10 eps away from that # . I would think that Chuck's chances in the syndication market would be better than that of Fringe's due to the heavy serialization of it . So I think WB makes a deal to at least get to 88 if not 91 .
My prediction is that if Chuck is renewed and left to be sacrificed on Mondays @ 8 it gets 13 eps and then done . If NBC moves it to Fridays @ 8 I'll go with a full 22 episode season . Either right out of the gate or 13 + 9 . if it gets cancelled you can edit my comment in about 2 weeks :)
Nope, your comments stay up forever!
ReplyDeleteIn fact, if CHUCK is cancelled, I am going to say that you were my source since that is essentially what I already predicted. :)
J says ...
ReplyDeleteI always wanted to be a " source " lol :) .
Interested to read that it's WB who are losing money on Chuck, rather than NBC.
ReplyDeleteI guess I automatically assumed that WB would charge a licence fee to NBC that meets their cost of production, plus a small margin. Then the risk sits with NBC, who have to recoup their outlay through advertising.
But that's not how it works?
So what's the incentive for WB to sell something to NBC for less than the cost of production? I understand if they're trying to get a mew show off the ground - but say for S3, when NBC demanded the licence fee cut - what would be WB's incentive to keep making a show that loses them money? Is it purely to try and get the show to syndication?
Sorry if this is a dumb question. Just trying to get my head around how the business side of this works!
It is called loss-lead. The studio expects to make their money back through DVD sales, iTunes, syndication etc so they license the show to the network at a loss to keep the show on the air.
ReplyDeleteUnderstood. Didn't realise that syndication and distribution on other platforms was such a cash cow for WB with a show like Chuck. My bad. Thanks for the clarification.
ReplyDeleteJ asks ...
ReplyDeleteIs it weird that we haven't heard of any official pilot pick ups yet ? I seem to recall this time last year there were already a bunch from NBC . Speaking of NBC , the only pilot I've heard really positive buzz about and a virtual lock for pick up is " Smash " . There's more buzz regarding their comedies than to their drama slate . I would be hard pressed to believe that NBC would spend north of $20 million on the Wonder Woman pilot and not pick it up in dome capacity . How well it does is another story lol . Hopefully the lack of news is a positive sign for Chucks case :) .
Kevin
I am told that there is a shockingly short supply of fuel in the tank (quality pilots). Could that be good for CHUCK? It depends on whether or not they think they need to fill a hole.
ReplyDeleteOPD, Japanese is a language that is used by millions of people AND it is the language of a major world power, so it kind of HAS to be in the Intersect. It's even in the Rosetta Stone software program that teaches people other languages.
ReplyDeleteDeadline reported last night that NBC is starting to view their pilots today . Will you get any info from sources on how they test ?
ReplyDeleteProbably.
ReplyDeleteWill you let us know the outcome ?
ReplyDeleteDepends on what my source wants me to do.
ReplyDeleteWhat do you think the ratings for the next episode of Chuck will be?
ReplyDeletemelwicker, that's why I was surprised that Sarah and Casey seemed shocked/impressed in the reaction shots when he was telling Morgan he "dishonored" his shirt. I mean they've seen Chuck whip out other languages before, so why would they be surprised by Japanese? Or were they supposed to be surprised that he showed it off to Ellie? I wasn't sure, maybe just my interpretation of their reactions.
ReplyDelete-OPD
Ausiello just posted! It's back! Same stuff you suggested much earlier! You are a freaky genius Magnus!!!
ReplyDelete