We Talk Renewal and CHUCK Versus The TOOTH.
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Magnus,
ReplyDeleteI'm 25 minutes into the podcast & I had to pause and comment on one line - "maybe he's not in control...."
The problem is, I can't comment. My mouth is hanging open, speechless. My mind is racing as I search for clues from past episodes. "maybe he's not in control...." - if not, who is? How did they take control? And HOW are they in control?
You guys are right - three episodes are not going to be enough.
Okay, back to the podcast....
Thankfully, there is always season 4. :)
ReplyDeleteMagnus, great podcast as always. I do disagree to some extent with the comments about John Casey's softening up. I think it's great that he's doing it, and, at least to me, feels evolutionary. Tic Tac is where we see Casey begin to re-evaluate himself and the life he's led. While he has no regrets (that we can see), I think he's also garnered a greater appreciation of what he had with Team B (a pseudo-family) when he lost it. Plus I think the feels indebted to them and his sense of loyalty and honor would make him suck it up and go to bat for them.
ReplyDeleteAre they doing a Manchurain Candidate thingee...?
ReplyDeleteMagnus,
ReplyDeleteOkay, I just finished the podcast - good one by the way - and I'm left with more questions than answers. If you hadn't done such a good job editing the OUT TAKES I might have more answers.
There's a way for Ellie to find out without finding out everything. My first question is, how do you define "everything"? Spy life, intersect, Chuck as one or both, Dad's role - maybe I'm going to far but still, thinking about it, there is a lot of "everything".
I liked the way you zeroed in on how they have moved the emphasis to family - Chuck & Ellie in parallel last episode - and wonder how far into the family they are going.
I wonder how Awesome fits in all this - and if one of your OUT Take comments was real or not.
And like you, I worry about the execution. I loved this episode and hope it foreshadows what we will see over the next two weeks.
And finally, although you are confident in the rumor from TV by The Numbers, I choose to be cautious - didn't you always tell us that - and hope it is true.
"Monday night is gonna be a bit of a wasteland".
ReplyDeleteLol.
Hi Magnus and Gang!! Seriously, this should be the podcast lineup every week! It was nice to hear you and Lou be able to discuss things in an intelligent manner and Liz added so much to the conversation as well. Kevin is still a mystery :)
ReplyDeleteI loved this episode very much and agreed with pretty much every POV the podcast had. I'm so looking forward to the possibility of Shaw being alive and a villain. I always did feel he probably didn't 'die' in vs The Other Guy anyhow!
I'm very intrigued by the Ellie storyline and as I was watching it I was saying all the things you brought to light...such as, she really thinks Justin IS CIA and that she is doing this to help her Dad. I think sometimes it's important to remember that the character doesn't know everything the audience does and I think this is being brilliantly set up.
I particularly liked how she brought this up to Devon. Of course, we as the audience 'know' why Devon is going to say she is crazy, but Ellie doesn't know this. Just great execution, IMHO.
I'm glad to hear that this dream thing with the Intersect and Chuck is definitely going to be explored more. I kind of thought it really had to be, but some of the reviews I read made it seem like this was a 'one off', never to be revisited again! Critics really tick me off sometimes!
It all opens up an incredible season end and an increasingly very hopeful Season 4.
My only complaint, more Anna Wu!!
Same lineup for the podcast next week, pretty please :D
Thank you for the Sarah/Yvonne makeup rant. That drives me up the wall. And they seem to really have the biggest issue with it in scenes that take place in Castle, so lighting is probably part of it.
ReplyDeleteNatural is the best look for her, hands down.
Actually a really good Chuck You Tuesday episode.
ReplyDeleteIt got me thinking about Chuck, the Intersect and his Dad. What if his dad seems all crazy because of the Intersect? We all know he's had one in his head for a long time. Is this what Chuck is going to turn into if he keeps the Intersect.
What you said about how much Ellie will find out got me thinking. It'd be interesting if she knew the truth about everyone except Chuck. She might even think Sarah & Casey were using her brother.
ReplyDeleteI actually like Casey's scenes tons in 3.16. He may seem a lot softer, but the fact is we've never actually really seen him in a lot of scenes alone with Ellie before (or with Ellie and Awesome and no Chuck or Sarah). At various points (before the running public indecency gag this season), Ellie's called him "so sweet" and stuff, but we've never seen that! And those scenes made me laugh more than anything else in this episode too.
ReplyDeleteActually I think the way he plays the scenes in this episodes (obviously done in an over-the-top way) jives extremely well with, for example, how he acted with Awesome/Ellie when he was searching Chuck's room back in "Colonel" and they found him (also played over-the-top for laughs, and one of the only scenes we've had of him with them alone!).
We all said we liked Adam's performance... and I don't think anyone said he played anything over the top. What we said was we have a hard time buying that shift from hard-nosed to kind and caring. It is the SHIFT that we are talking about, not the actor or how the character is presented in the scenes. The transition is too quick. Casey needed a whole episode dedicated to that new way of thinking. "Final Exam" just wasn't enough of a change episode for him.
ReplyDeleteMy mind was already reeling from the storyline possibilities laid out from WATCHING "The Tooth", but now the two teasers in the podcast about Chuck's dreams and where Ellie's storyline might go have me on edge.
ReplyDeleteI don't know what will kill me more--the anticipation for these episodes or the revelations revealed watching them.
Diane
Mind you, the teases I tossed in the podcast are vague references to what actually happens. So, don't expect too much. :) But it will be pretty interesting.
ReplyDeleteCasey has been softening up since the Undercover Lover. It is a transition from the cold heartless assisin to a world class super spy. The only thing Casey did not do that he normally does is grunt that is not a big shift. There are scenes in every episode after Undercover lover that shows Casey Cares for Chuck and Sarah and wants to be part of their team. He still threatened to kill Morgan and drag his dead body out of the Concert but Morgan helped him out with the tranq gun. Everyone is projecting season 4, I wish NBC would just announce it. I think it is pretty Awesome that someone gets to move on.
ReplyDeleteDid you take in the scene at the beginning that Sarah was serious when she said about Spies like us breaking a lot of protocols. Because her reaction and Chuck reaction to her made it quite obvious she was joking too. I was a bit puzzled when OldDarth in particular thought she was serious.
ReplyDeleteKisku... I think you missed something, not OldDarth. :)
ReplyDeleteBree, our problem is a specific shift in the open expression of his feelings. It was gradual... gradual... gradual... boom! Out of the closet Casey!
No, i think you are wrong, Chuck explaining Sarah that he was joking, but Sarah is smiling and when Chuck looks at her he starts laughing, so he gets she was joking too, when she went on about "breaking rules of protocol".
ReplyDeleteMagnus, I absolutely agree that Yvonne looked very different in many eps this season than the last two. The only way I could describe it is Sarah looked "tired". Maybe "weary" is a better word. Don't know if that was on puprose or not, as there were many eps where she looked absolutely stunning and "fresh". Maybe they were trying to tie in Sarah's mental/emotional state with her looks? Dunno.
ReplyDeleteKisku, you are still missing it.
ReplyDeleteI really enjoyed Chuck vs. The Tooth, and the podcast too. You put together a great group for the discussion.
ReplyDeleteIt was interesting to hear everyone talk about the appearances of Chuck and Sarah. I agree with Lou. I think they look tired. An example of this that really struck me are contrasting scenes in Colonel and The Other Guy when Chuck pulls away from Sarah during a kiss to sort of look at her in amazement that "this is really happening." In Colonel, Chuck looks like a kid. In The Other Guy, he looks significantly older. I guess the toll of being a spy and killing Shaw weighed on him. Or the actor is tired from the shooting schedule.
In other thoughts, I have a feeling we only have a few hours of Awesome left on this show. He seems like the only major character without a plan at this point and that doesn't bode well for his future. If Ellie's somehow indirectly responsible, I fear for her soul when she eventually finds out. I also see her becoming the Intersect M.D, maybe without even knowing Chuck is the Intersect.
I'm also intrigued by the idea of the Ring remotely controlling the Intersect. Maybe this is the answer I've been waiting for to the question Beckman posed in the first episode, "We need to protect the world from Chuck."
Bad Leg
Anyone who knows Zac would tell you, the man doesn't get tired. :) It is just the characters (or the actors projecting that).
ReplyDeleteAs for the Ring controlling the Intersect remotely... I wouldn't take my comment THAT literally.
Well considering that the Intersect can bestow physical skills, maybe it can go haywire and control Chuck. I mean we saw that he could barely control himself and not break Emmit's neck in 3.01, and how he flashed and chewed out a lady in Thai in 3.03. Not to mention all of the unitentional kicks to the face.
ReplyDeleteKisku,
ReplyDeleteWhat Sarah was expressing in her smile after Chuck told her "it was a joke" and started laughing at her, was her recognition that she doesnt have a keen sense of humor and is not very adapt at picking up on the lighter things in life without Chuck sometimes pointing it out to her.
Sarah has been serious and 'unhappy' most of her life. Sarah was recognizing that she was slow with Chucks humor in that very moment. She realizes she is behind the curve at being normal and having normal reactions to humor and sarcasm from non spy people, which is 99.9 percent of the population.
Chuck wasnt rubbing it in to her either. He was gently trying to let her understand that her reaction to his joke was off base in a loving and caring way. He is trying to help her become someone she has never been but someone she wants to be... A normal woman with normal reactions to life's situations.
HJ
I don't understand why it is becoming brain surgery on here as to why Zach and Yvonne look "different". They are real human beings who get older just like us. They both NOTICEABLY lost weight this season. Losing weight will always make you look thinner, but, can also make you look older due to the nutritional fight your body is in. Zachary and Yvonne have also stated that they are on set for many 18 hour days this season, due to the one day shorter shooting schedule.
ReplyDeleteIMHO, I think these are more apt to be the reasons for Chuck and Sarah looking "different" than are bad lighting, inept make-up people and actor "projection".
bsp
bsp, so you are telling me that from one episode to the next, and then backward and forward in time, they age differently? That is BEYOND RIDICULOUS.
ReplyDeleteI just saw a handful of interviews with Yvonne where there was different levels of lighting and makeup. She looked GORGEOUS like the goddess she is in EVERY SINGLE ONE OF THEM. She also looks GORGEOUS in any interview on set. It is just in specific scenes in the episodes, when wearing specific makeup styles, where she looks weird. So, it is MAKEUP and HAIR and perhaps LIGHTING choices. Nothing else.
It's official!!!! Chuck gets a season 4. Thanks for what you do here Magnus...
ReplyDeleteCheers mate!
HJ
I spearheaded the renewal so... you are all welcome. ;)
ReplyDeleteMagnus,
ReplyDeleteAwesome news about the renewal - and to echo HJ, much thanks for everything you do for the show!
Quick question - is the podcast up on Itunes yet? My work firewall has blocked video streaming (boo!!) so I'm waiting to listen on ITunes - but no sign yet.
It goes up on iTunes first. You sometimes have to refresh to see it.
ReplyDeleteHi Magnus,
ReplyDeleteFirst of all, I enjoyed the podcast, good thoughts and this time there weren't situations when because you're all yelling we can't understand anything, so keep up the good work.
I have a question though about the whole "Shaw might be not dead, wohooo" stuff: if it's true, do you know if it will be explained how the hell Chuck and the Intersect know something which really isn't in the database, or can't even calculate( cause let's say that Chuck can hack codes because it's a computer in his brain like in vs the dream job), or you have to just belive it, like the existance and the whole system of the Intersect pictures?
I get it if you don't know or it's just too spoilery( even if I can't really imagine how a yes/no can be that), but I'm really interested in it, you know. Thanks!
Ali Adler is dunzo apparently.
ReplyDeleteMoving to a new ABC show.
FT