SIC TRANSIT GLORIA CHUCK
When “Chuck” first came on, I wasn't too sure about it. I hadn't seen a really good spy comedy since “Get Smart,” and that was a loooong time ago.
But, I gave it my usual three episodes, and I decided that it was worth continuing.
I hated the Buy-More aspect; all too often, it felt as though the segments were just fillers for thin scripts. I didn't like Jeffster, and I really hated Morgan. I found him whiny and needy, and not very funny.
I know there were fans who love the Buy-More and its denizens. I wasn't one of them, and I think it was one thing that might have contributed to the low ratings because it distracted from the main event. Once the Buy-More became intergrated into the cover for Carmichael Industries, it worked a lot better.
But Chuck was great, and Sarah kept my attention. The storylines got better and the relationship progressed. It took too long to get there to suit me; I have said of many recent shows that the Long Slow Tease was cute back in the days of “Remington Steele” and “Moonlighting,” but has become very, very stale by now.
Loved Ellie and Awesome. McPartlin's transition from wide-eyed disbelief to solid backup was fun to watch. What was key to the overall success of the show was that all the main characters fit together and contributed something.
It was great seeing some of the guest stars, especially Timothy Dalton, neatly spoofing his James Bond turn.
What wasn't so neat was hearing everybody mispronounce his character's name. Any Russian speaker will tell you the name is pronounced 'Alek-say,' no 'Ah-lexy.' His close friends might call him 'Alyosha' as a diminutive, but not 'Lexy.' But if you've ever heard them mangle Russian on 'NCIS,' you won't be too shocked. Can't any of these shows afford a Russian coach?
Another general grotch about women in action shows popped up in the final episode: Sarah going on a mission in high-heeled boots. Come on, people! No trained female fighter is knowingly going into a dangerous situation in footgear that throws her off balance, misaligns her lower back, and creates an unnecessary risk of a sprained ankle. A case in point: in an early Cynthia Rothrock film, she's playing a vice cop on hooker detail, and she's shown walking down an alley in stilettos. If you watch closely in the ensuing fight, you can see that she's switched the heels for sneaks.
And it does happen that Sarah had to be in high heels for the ballroom sequence; that might happen to anyone, but the greater likelihood would be that she'd get the damned things off speedy quick and fight in her stockings, or maybe carry some kind of flat shoe that she could change into if there were time to do it. Rock climbing shoes would be a good bet; they would fit into a small bag and slip on quickly.
Anyway – Chuck went out with a near-bang (the bomb didn't go off, after all) and all the loose ends were neatly tied up. What was left at issue was whether Sarah would ever recover her memory, or whether Chuck would be able to make her fall in love with him all over again. I would like to believe so. It certainly seemed to be off to a good start in the last frame.
There are some interesting possibilities still dangling. There could be a spinoff about Chuck and Sarah trying to adjust to the new life, with surprises when a sudden situation throws Sarah into automatid defence mode. Or we could follow Ellie and Awesome's new life in the Midwest, adjusting to the new life, thje new job, the weather – and a string of Chuck's old enemies coming afer them. The baby growing up in a family that includes a gun-toting grandma, a kung-fu auntie, and Uncle John and Aunt Gertrude and their interesting toys....
