I got a phone call about a minute before Chuck started. Normally my DVR would have me covered, but for some reason it decided I would rather watch Chuck on a different channel on Thursday night. The net result, I missed the opening teaser. I’m fairly confident I did not miss anything earth-shattering though.
It was kind of neat to see a Jeff-centric plot. Not that I’ve been particularly clamoring for such a thing, but of all the Buy More staff, I think Jeff’s the only one who had yet to get his own storyline.
The exploration of Jeff’s life led to a lot of amusing moments as well. Jeff’s card for when he wakes up drunk with no idea where he is was great. As was his creepy Anna music video (on a related note, I’d have loved to have seen the conversation where Morgan somehow convinced Anna to dress in a hula skirt and fan Jeff. That must have taken some doing).
I was surprised Chuck was the one to beat Missile Command. When Jeff passed out, and Chuck decided to try, I assumed Chuck would fail, and when all hope seemed lost, Jeff would wake up and rise to the challenge. But instead Rush was the key to victory; can’t really complain about that.
I can complain about the existence of the killscreen though. Yes, the victory screen was only intended to be seen by Mr. Moromito (as evidenced by the greeting message), but even if he was 100% confident nobody else would ever see the message, what was the point of it? It’s not like he was trying to run some sort of Last Starfighter-esque recruitment program. Was he really worried he would not be able to remember a simple six letter code? The whole thing was just a touch too implausible.
On a side note, I thought it was pretty neat that they used an actual company and an actual game for this storyline. Most of the time, TV shows rely on obvious facsimiles of real companies (for example, the Buy-More). And when you consider that they were depicting Atari and Missile Command as tools in a terrorist-quest to start World War 3, it’s even more impressive that Atari was willing to go along with it. Good for them.
Ellie’s concern for Chuck was paid off quite well. Her concern, while missing a lot of details, was well-founded. Chuck’s drive and determination to do something with his life evaporated when he found out he wouldn’t be getting rid of the Intersect anytime soon. But tonight, Chuck got a major morale boost that should help him out. First with his saving innocent lives, then with his finally getting recognition (of a sort) for being a hero, and then with Sarah arranging for Chuck to finally get his degree from Stanford. It was self-confidence boosting all over the place for Chuck.
While it was great to see Chuck get his degree, it kind of lessens the impact of the addition of Tony Hale’s character, Emmett. It seems like Emmett is poised to be a more pro-active and disruptive version of Harry Tang and promises to make life more difficult for Chuck at the Buy-More. And there’s definite comedic potential there. That’s all well and good, but it’s not like Chuck really needed his job, even when he didn’t have a new, opportunity-opening degree. Presumably, Chuck won’t be going anywhere, if only because Chuck leaving the Buy-More would essentially eliminate half of the cast, but I worry it will be tough to really feel concerned about whether or not Chuck can keep his menial job.
So what are the odds that Emmett ends up being a Fulcrum agent? I put them around 50:50, but we shall have to wait for at least a couple weeks to find out as there is no new episode next Monday.
“Chuck versus Tom Sawyer” was a great episode. There were a few nitpicks to be had, but anytime the climax for an episode involves Rush and Missile Command, you know you’ve got a winner on your hands.
Trevor MacKay is the sci-fi/horror/fantasy/cheesy/random geeky stuff guy. If something is geeky and/or unbelievably cheesy, he’s there.
