And just like that, Chuck is back! The show that everyone though would be canceled and was perpetually on the bubble has returned to fine form.
From the onset, this was a pretty good episode, with plenty of laughs, one liners, and action that we’ve all come to love from Chuck. After the events of last season, I was worried that the show would move way to far into the drama and angst between Sarah and Chuck, but fortunately, they’ve kept it to a relative minimum. Chuck and Sarah pretty much act like a normal couple, even considering “sexting” each other. Time will tell how they play their relationship out, but so far, it seems that the writers are very content in allowing their relationship to bloom even further.
One of the big changes this season, ironically, is the return of the Buy More which is now completely a NSA/CIA base staffed completely by agents. One of the most interesting changes is the fact that the main store greeter will be a rotating guest star every week. ‘Gretta’ for the first week was Olivia Munn (G4TV and Attack of the Show), a casting choice that I’m sure will resonate with a lot of the target geek demographic. Other guests stars slated to play the role include Isaiah Mustafa (Old Spice Man) and Stacy Keibler (What About Brian). I think this is a brilliant idea, as it gives the Buy More a little bit of extra personality and keeps it from becoming stale. Unfortunately, there is no sign of a lot of the old fun Buy More staff. Jeff, Lester, and Mike continue to be on the run but are slated to make appearances in Season 4. (Check out the webisodes involving them if you haven’t!)
The casting of Linda Hamilton as Chuck’s mom is probably one of the greatest moves they made in the off season. To see her coldly shoot her captors definitely brings us back to her Terminator heritage. I wasn’t quite sure to the level of her captivity though, as she is seen monitoring Chuck and Morgan in her old safe house and her captors really didn’t stand much of a chance against her. If she’s been captive for all these years, I’d sure like to know how they managed that.
Overall, I think it’s a great start to the season with a lot of appeal to both longtime fans as well as new fans to the series, and I look forward to more adventures with our team!
Other Thoughts
- Gratuitous shot of Sarah: Opening leggy shots with her gearing up for a mission. Also, the sexting scenes were silly. I actually liked her blue dress more, but I guess I’m a sucker for a blonde in a blue dress.
- Those crazy fools flew all over the world to end up in LA again. Silly, but not unexpected.
- Harry Stanton was the Repo Man. If you didn’t know, he was in the Repo Man (1984).
- “Chuck needs to get some big boy pants. He’s a spy, and he’s good at it.” – Casey actually misses him…aww.
- “I changed my mind, you’re back, discussion over. And I don’t think you’re going to find another job.” – General DIANE Beckman.
- Olivia Munn is this week’s Greta. According to her, she was actually really sick during filming, which was evident in her stuffed up sounding voice. I’d be wrong if I didn’t mention I wish she had more in this episode. <3
- There’s a Defcon 1 red button right in the middle of the store.
- The trap door by the nerd herd desk is awesome. I wish I had that when I worked retail and had to deal with some less friendly customers.
- Volkoff seems to have seriously high ties, as they were able to kidnap Sarah and Casey from a government plane.
- “Desolation, frostbite. Must be Russia” Casey
- Why is everything in Chuck’s lair blue light filtered?
Songs
- “Howlin’ For You” by Black Keys
- “We’re Here To Save The Day” by The Constellations
- “In Response” by Peter Wolf Crier
- “Generator (First Floor)” by Freelance Whales
