Yes, I know... it is an awesome banner and you wish you could have made it. No need to tell me that. OK, maybe you can tell me that!
When: Friday, 28 October, 2011 at 8/7c
Where: On the network called NBC in the US of A (check your local listings)
Logline
Without the Intersect in his head or the CIA’s support, the spy world is more dangerous for Chuck Bartowski and his team. MARK HAMILL and CRAIG KILBORN guest star.
Synopsis
In the fifth season premiere, without the Intersect in his head or the support of the CIA, the world of espionage is a much more dangerous place for Chuck Bartowski and his team of freelance spies. To start, Carmichael Industries takes on a slick, rich thief named Jean Claude (guest star MARK HAMILL — Star Wars), and a conniving investor, Roger Bale (guest star CRAIG KILBORN — The Late Late Show with Craig Kilborn), who has stolen money from some of the world’s most dangerous people. Meanwhile, Morgan helps Chuck with a special surprise for Sarah. Back in the Buy More, Jeff and Lester have taken things to another level with their latest scheme.
What are your anticipations? What did you think of the episode? Comment away! EXPECT SPOILERS!
Holy molly that's an awesome banner!
ReplyDeleteThank you. I worked hard on it... for like 5 minutes.
ReplyDeleteNice job. Yvonne/Sarah looks great in spite of the travesty that has been visited upon her hair. Someone (Adam?) should teach her how to grip a pistol though.
ReplyDeleteJim
Well, there is wind blowing her hair... and what is wrong with the grip? It is a shooter's grip to steady the weapon.
ReplyDeletePlus, it looks to me like she may have been reloading the weapon, based on how her fingers are curled up underneath the clip.
ReplyDelete1. shooter's grip: the supporting hand is fully bend around the weapon, including the thumb.
ReplyDelete2. weapons on TV/movies have infinite ammo (everyone knows that) except when they have to look cool while reloading.
3. who cares how she's holding the gun? She can hold it upside down as long as she looks pretty doing it. :)
Bob
Unfortunately, she always uses that teacup grip. A lot of people do it in real life, and most of them should probably know better. It's a minor thing for a character on a TV show, but something that jumps out at you if you actually shoot at all. Not a huge mistake or anything; just makes recoil management harder.
ReplyDeleteOn other topics, it's kind of funny that Zac and Yvonne are at about the same scale, but Josh is scaled to look like a hobbit :)
Jim
It is not a good grip if you are competitive shooting but lots of shooters use it because it feels comfortable.
ReplyDeleteAnd Zac, Yvonne, and Josh are not in the banner. Those are Chuck, Sarah, and Morgan. And Morgan IS a hobbit. But the banner isn't supposed to be scaled to size.
"It is not a good grip if you are competitive shooting but lots of shooters use it because it feels comfortable."
ReplyDeleteSure, but lots of shooters are also dangerously incompetent :)
"And Zac, Yvonne, and Josh are not in the banner. Those are Chuck, Sarah, and Morgan."
Good point.
Did I mention the butchering of Sarah's hair? Worse injustice than Shawgate, Namegate, Morgansectgate or any other gate out there. Season 5 will definitely suck because of it.
By the way, I wonder if people are going to call her Sarah Bartowski now.
Jim
Jim, are you just this hyperbolic on the Internet or is this a real life problem too?
ReplyDeleteI am more elliptical in real life. (Math joke. Anyone? Anyone?)
ReplyDeleteThe hair thing is my little attempt at a (non-math) joke. Sarah would probably look good bald. Although, I think she looked better with the longer hair.
Jim
Jim, you are banned for life... again.
ReplyDeleteI read a bunch of reviews i seen all the promos and sneak peaks and my expectation are not high for the first episode but not low either somewhere in the middle :)
ReplyDeleteAfter i read Alan Sepinwall's reviews who is one of the biggest chuck fans from the critics i look forward to see your review Magnus
if Alan can point out so many things that dont work for the show in the first episodes its going to be interesting to see your opinion since you sugarcoat things less then he does
Well this is the last season, I think Magnus is gonna be a little more softer this time , if He has fun, while he watching the show, then He probaly will forgive some of the bad writing or whatever.
ReplyDeleteMe personaly I will try to wait, before I judge.
The only thing that I really really not want to feel this year is, that this show is may be running more then it should.
Woohoo! One more lifetime ban and I win a sponge cake. At least I assume that's how it works.
ReplyDeleteJust about a day to go now. I'm actually excited.
Jim
I just got through watching the end of a Bourne Ultimatum rerun on some cable channel, and it occurred to me that a Chuckless Sarah Walker 20 years down the road equals Pamela Landy.
ReplyDeleteNow that's who should have played Sarah's mom: Joan Allen.
Jim
I refer you to the three-episode score review I posted. First episode is the worst. Third is the best.
ReplyDeleteAs for sugarcoating it... I may actually be far less critical than Alan. Because I don't care about the story as much anymore. I just want to have fun at this point. So, plot holes and such, while I may point them out, don't really get me like they used to.
I understand your point of view Magnus i pretty much feel the same about the plot holes
ReplyDeleteMy only hope is Morgansect not going to take away to much from the other characters
as long as they find a way to give Casey enough to do and keep the Chuck and Sarah sweet moments in the mainframe i am not going to be to upset with the new Morgansect dynamic
Although i can't shake the feeling if Fedak & Schwartz knew they where getting extended but for only 13 episodes they would of treated the season 4 cliffhanger in a different way and would of spared everyone of the Morgan super spy situation
the way they structured the last episode of season 4 it looked like they where not expecting to come back for a fifth
I don't know about that Chris Fedak has always done cliffhanger's and open ended endings.
ReplyDeleteI think this is the direction he would have gone in regardless.
Oh, it IS a perfect banner.
ReplyDeleteAnd I LOVE LOVE LOVE Sarah's hair. It is more fun, has more movement to it and is flirtier... pretty pretty pretty.
ReplyDeleteI love long hair, but a woman has to change haircuts every once in a while otherwise it just gets boring (always the same look...).
And Morgan is indeed a hobbit, that will hopefully lose the intersect very soon.
Sarah's long hair was all cute, girly and pretty, but the new one is more grown up, more professional and more wifelike.
ReplyDeleteWhat's this I keep hearing about Chuck premiere being crushed by some stupid sport?
Please razorback tell us:
ReplyDeleteMorgan's intersect will cause his death??? Morgan's death is the big thing fedak's told????
Please any spoiler....
Mary, I can't answer that. I think it is wholly disrespectful to the show creators to spill such things. And if you have followed this site through the years, you know I never drop major plot spoilers.
ReplyDeleteYou're right... I'm sorry...
ReplyDeleteIt is almost here!
ReplyDeleteAwsome!!!!
ReplyDeleteOh man! is Fedak insane? I now know why Sepinwall was a little harsh on the first 2 episodes..or I can kind of guess. They need to get Chuck back in charge man and I mean really in charge, this is sooooo bad. Morgan is just awful, absolutely awful. Morgan has no charm or charisma or anything that Chuck has, oh boy. Lets hope next week is better or whatever. This morgansect rivals the peter disappearance for lameness..oh man.
ReplyDeleteI loved lots of the episode... disliked one or two things... or four... but the show definitely feels more like seasons 1 and 2 now, which is good if you really liked those seasons.
ReplyDeleteI liked the episode.
ReplyDeleteMy same thought: this episode had so much of season 2 in it (and for me it's a compliment).
ReplyDeleteAnd you should really ban any negative comment on Sarah this year!!! :)
Flat. I truly dislike Morgan in this role (and in any, frankly). Chemistry wasn't there, and the jokes weren't very funny. It all felt contrived. Hopefully this is a lead in to better stuff, but I'm glad I didn't try to introduce anyone new to Chuck by suggesting they watch this episode.
ReplyDeleteBut, did they did get a wide range of advertisers.
I did love the Chuck stuff, the action sequence where he had a plan to escape..very Chuck like and awesome. I liked he was very sweet and charming and cool. One thing though, I never thought the kisses could get more pg...guess I was wrong on that front, they did not even show them on close ups! lol. Come on Fedak! get it together, even day time programming shows that! Morgan just sucks, has anyone notice that the stunt guy is like a foot taller then him? I am trusting Sepinwall on this, I am waiting for episode 3 until I judge where this arc is going, I hope to get my show back soon.
ReplyDeleteI think that was a solid episode of Chuck. Whoever the writer is that contributed the baseball joke has Jeff-like psychic powers.
ReplyDeleteI know Magnus has said he thinks the next two episodes are even better, but there was a lot here to like.
Chuck and Sarah continue to be adorable even though we don't get hot scenes anymore.
Casey had some good stuff. The way he sparked up when he heard Rush Limbaugh was a victim of the scam was hilarious.
I really enjoyed Chuck's final "plan" the most. If we have to endure Morgan with the Intersect for a while, it's great to see Chuck's natural talents shine. There's much more drama when Chuck is in a dangerous situation because he doesn't have the Intersect than I felt when he did.
The massage scene definitely felt like it could have been in Season 1 or 2.
As for Morgan with the intersect, I think I purposely tuned my mind out during most of those scenes. Took a swig of nice scotch each time. It works to make it through. He's good, though, when it involves old-fashioned non-intersect Morgan stuff.
I have uncomfortable feelings about the overarching conspiracy stuff. I do like Decker as an adversary, but I'm apprehensive about master plan crap.
Good to see Ellie supporting Chuck and giving the "Ellie speech". I hope they can work her in more to the rest of the season.
Your grade of 85 is about right. But, damn, I'm glad this show is back in my life.
I think the trojan horse in the new intersect is Decker (I am purely guessing here!) I think that Decker left those glasses, I think they were intended for Chuck, but I think they serve two purposes: First to spy on Chuck and follow him because he is awesome but also it maybe able to control the users brain....we shall see. I think Morgan may be controlled soon..or he cannot control the program, but whatever. I read Ryan Magees review and he was awesome..said the right things and I agree with him...all this season has to do is let the Bartowski familly be happy and Chuck to buy the perfect house for Sarah.
ReplyDeleteThe element that kept the episode and storyline from sinking was Chuck, and Zachary Levi. Everything else kind of paled in comparison really. The "fun" to be had by an intersected Morgan didn't really deliver.
ReplyDeleteKate
I really liked Morgan as the Intersect, it gives the character a real reason to be part of the missions. For Chuck the Intersect is just a gimmick, cheap trick to please the masses.
ReplyDeleteChuck You the Podcast episode 1... recorded, edited, and about to be uploaded. :)
ReplyDeleteSo, you decided to do it. Great.
ReplyDeleteInitial reaction: I really loved the mission end sequence. Intersect-less Chuck was really amazing and it made it made me want to jump off my couch and cheer (which is when I love this show the most), also the Typhoon song they used is one of my all time favorites so I was chanting along to the chorus! There were some good Chuck and Sarah moments. Love Sarah going over to get the T.I.T.S. plan and Morgan's "he cracked like an egg!". The Morgansect stuff didn't bother me all that much, it definitely doesn't interest me really but I can deal with it. I guess I was disappointed the most with the end scene since it didn't really seem to give us much more that what we already knew. There wasn't even a hint of why the evil conspirators want to take down Chuck. It seemed a bit like they just put it in there because they felt the need to further establish Decker as the overall baddie for the season, which I think everyone kind of figured was the case anyway.
ReplyDeleteMy thoughts on it can be discovered in the PODCAST.
ReplyDeleteI will likely write up a more detailed review on GeekFurious.com tomorrow (or later tonight).
Anyone knows if the writers have plans to give Chuck the intersect back or at least remove it from Morgan? Cause I really can't stand a Morgan with intersect. I tuned out on most of the premier cause Morgan with intersect is just something that I can't wrap my head around.
ReplyDeleteMorgan was the "intersect" for how many minutes? Come on. The episode was a ton of fun... even if Morgan as the Intersect didn't work.
ReplyDeleteHmmm. More good than bad and better than I expected, actually.
ReplyDeleteLoved the Ellie speech, very sweet. Their scene together had more heart than they've had in a while.
Loved the Chuck/Sarah scenes. I can't believe they actually had a conversation. I may be in the minority but I prefer the emotional intimacy to sexytimes so I'm fine with how they played that.
I did think there was a stretch of the episode in the middle that was straight up boring though. The Morgan racquetball and the Chuck massage scenes went on way too long. Especially since it wasn't funny to begin with.
I also thought there wasn't enough Casey.
Oh, and I'm just going to ignore the Decker/CIA stuff for as long as possible. I might be able to enjoy a good deal of the season if I can manage to do that.
ReplyDeleteIt was a lot better than I expected. I really figured it would flop since Morgan got the intersect, but surprisingly it was awesome.
ReplyDeleteSo now I'm looking forward to my Friday's instead of Monday's. Well sorta Castle sorta stole some of my love away from Chuck, but having Chuck back again brought my crazy love for it back again.
:D
Dakota
Yeah I agree with Sue too. Totally not paying any attention to the Decker and CIA thingy they got going on until I must.
ReplyDeleteDakota
First of all it was great to see my favorite characters back Chuck,Sarah,Casey,even Morgan:P and especially Ellie
ReplyDeleteZachary Levi and Sarah Lancaster nailed their scene in Castle and i hope we are going to see more scenes with these two because they are great
The Ellie/Chuck talk provided the best hart moment of the episode
Surprisingly i was not bothered by the whole Morgansect thing as much as i thought id be
Unfortunately for the first time since i watch this series i felt burned out by the Chuck and Sarah relationship
It feels like their journey has ended last season and now they are running on fumes using gimmicks like Sarah and her dream house to force things moving
its a little sad to see one of the best Tv couples loosing the spark but i guess it happens to all shows after a while
Hopefully the writers found ways to go around Chuck and Sarah this season and mix things up with other characters
A good example is the Morgan and Sarah dance scene it was pretty good and it also brought back a little boy/girl sexiness on the show
Overall id give this episode an 8/10 Chuck is still my favorite show and its nice to see it back!
I really enjoyed that. And if episode 3 is a 95 to this episodes 85, then I can't wait to see how the season evolves.
ReplyDeleteJim
I loved the episode
ReplyDeleteI liked the chuck's defenceless mod like in season 1 and 2. It was funny. Especially massage scene:))
I liked chuck's sad mod.
I don't like Morgan's intersect action. I think I won't get use to it...
I like Chuck's action scene..
Men liked Sarah's hot scene but As a girl I want Chuck's hot scene.. That's not fair!!!
I hope we can see more Chuck's hot scene!!!
BTW I liked the Decker's scene... as an enemy he looks scary...
I congratulate writers... I can't wait 5x02 and other episodes:)))))
I enjoyed the ep solid B I think.
ReplyDeleteMorgansect was as amusing and funny as expected, still wanted them to do something else though. I think I'm more excited about Chuck and Sarah going on a BuyMore corporate retreat.
I loved the episode
ReplyDeleteChuck was good with no intersect
Sarah/yvonne was perfect like always
Casey was ok but we need more action scene with him
Morgan was funny at the beginning
The buy more guys were stupid ( funny ) like always.
What i did not like:
Morgan dance and when Chuck jump from the building come on he's not hurt and the van got no damage make it a little more real please.
But let's give the writers a chance about Morgan thing,this is just the first ep.
I noticed the ep is streaming on hulu for 2 weeks, but it warms it may not be able to host any further episodes. Is NBC not making Chuck available on line anymore?
ReplyDelete