Randy vs Chuck Pt. 1
Saturday, July 12th, 2008
One episode down, 12 more to go? So, if you have read my article over here, you would know that me and Scott have a deal going. I give Chuck and Supernatural a chance, he gives Babylon 5 a shot. Even though I wasn’t going to start watching my episodes until tomorrow, I managed to sneak in the Chuck pilot into my schedule today. This is the beginning of my "Chronicles with Chuck".
Alright, so before I go into my thoughts on the episode itself, let’s discuss my opinions on various aspects of the show post-pilot. Josh Schwartz? Love him. Adam Baldwin? Oh so talented. Yvonne Strahovski? I’m taking a liking to her. Zachary Levi? He could grow on me. I definitely see that bit of Adam Brody in his character. He’s no Adam Brody. So I’ll let the character evolve a bit before I make a judgement on him? Sarah Lancaster? I didn’t love her in Everwood. I don’t dislike her here, but I’d be ok with her scenes being a bit rare.
How do I feel about the episode? Well, you better keep on reading to find out…
There was a lot to love about this pilot. But there was a lot to hold back that love as well. When I imagined Chuck, I imagined it being two steps off from a sitcom. That’s not exactly right. It looks like it’s about five steps off. That’s what keeps this episode from being "special" to me. You take super serious plots involving the CIA and NSA and mix it with a sometimes goofy comedy style. Maybe I can learn to get over that, or maybe the slapstick humor (Ninja burglar, anyone?) will be toned down a bit. But in this case, it really bugged me.
The beauty of The O.C. was that it was a mostly serious and charming serious which at times took ordinary humor to special places. But at the heart of the series, it was still a very real series. With Chuck, it seems to take the opposite approach. Let’s stick a stereotypical nerd in a spoofed out job that seems straight out of 40 Year Old Virgin, have him become the target of a serious plot, and then wash it out with a spy spoof action show.
Ok, ok. Let me be fair. Besides the Best Buy/Geek Squad pun damage, occasionally goofy action scene, there is probably very litte over-the-top humor going on in the episode. It’s just that everytime I got to enjoying the episode, I had to grown a bit to myself and be pulled back out of the show. A nut shot from a candle deflecting ninja? Seriously?
But I digress. Hidden under what I arguably consider too much of the wrong type of humor is a very interesting story. The characters compel me, the acting is surprisingly strong for a pilot episode, and honestly, I often found myself laughing. Laughing at the dialog, that is. Very nice dialog, I might add. I suggest they rely on it a bit more.
*ahem* Pilots are generally some of the weaker episodes in a series. And for the most part, this wasn’t bad. I just hope they decide what type of show they want sometime soon, so I can decide if it’s for me. Do you remember the gore fest that was the first few episodes of Heroes? Remember how people were worried it was going to remain over-the-top gross you out action with a Cheerleader that could heal herself and a villian that could slice your head open? That’s me right now. Except silly humor has taken the place of gross special effects.
The good news is, I actually think I could enjoy a show like this, even if it does remain fickle with it’s tone. But it’s not the show I want, nor would it be one of my favorites. I’ve heard Scott say repeatedly the Gossip Girl and Chuck are two halves of a whole. I agree. One is mean-spirited and serious, the other is light-hearted and slapstick. Maybe I should watch them both at the same time.
So, does anyone want to re-assure me? Perhaps I’m insane. That happens often enough.
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I really enjoyed the pilot episode of Chuck, but I also think it is one of the weaker episodes of the show so far. Chuck gets a bit better with the next couple episodes, but once it really finds its feet a few episodes in, the show takes off.
One thing that I like about the show is that it takes some time to develop its characters. For instance, I didn’t really like Chuck’s best friend, Morgan, in the first few episodes. However, by the time the (shortened) season was over, I absolutely loved his character. I also liked how they continued to develop the relationships between characters throughout the season.
As for my favorite characters, I think that all of them are really good, but Adam Baldwin tends to steal any scene he is in. Also, Rachel Bilson shows up for a couple episodes midway through the season, and I thought her character was a lot of fun.
I didn’t much care for Morgan either, but his role was kind of small here, so that didn’t bother me. Rachel Bilson would be cool. She’s no Autumn Reeser. But she’ll do. :)
I pretty much assumed that the show will gain a little footing in the next few episodes. It really does have a lot of promise, I just don’t think it’s quite there for me yet. I am a little worried about the lack of re-assurance that it goes a bit away from the goofy humor and sticks with a more normal humor. But even with a really solid show, I think I could learn to look past that.
I have to agree with Polygon_Wizard in that Adam Baldwin definitely steals every scene he’s in. There is still some goofy humor in later episodes, but I think it’s really well balanced after a few episodes. This isn’t my favorite show, but it’s an enjoyable hour of TV.
Also, since I’ve seen you mention The O.C. a couple times recently I just thought I’d say that I am currently in the middle of season 2. I didn’t watch it on TV for the exact reason you mentioned. I had the wrong idea of what it was going to be. I finally started watching after hearing Scott talk about it on Two Geeks. It’s a fun show.
I recently finished watching the O.C. on DVD a few weeks ago. Best Buy had a great deal on the box sets, so I picked up all four seasons for about $45. :)
Anyway, I watched a few episodes of the first season when it was on TV, and then I saw about the last season and a half when it was on the air. I had a lot of fun going back through the series, filling in the holes I had missed.
I agree SaberJ, Rachel Bilson is no Autumn Reeser. Reeser is my favorite part of the final season of The O.C., she was just so freaking funny. :D
Chuck gets better, but I liked the pilot. Don’t forget Sarah Lancaster. I really liked her on Everwood.
Add me to the Autumn Reeser fan club. She was my favorite female character on The OC. She stole the show the last season.
Rachel Bilson is pretty too but i though that she had sad eyes*.`