More postponements thanks to liberties taken with the International Date Line. My newest one is named Inga. She’s from Sweden.

I’m back now so without further putting-offness….

Shows that I am ecstatic and shocked about coming back cont’d:

Chuck discovered that his father was actually a spy named Orion who actually created the Intersect. Chevy Chase played the best role he’s had in ten years as an egotistical and very evil software billionaire determined to get his hands on the Intersect.

In hindsight, it seems that the second seasons closed the chapter on one part of Chuck’s life with his old betraying flame, Jill, in the first half and the start of his new chapter in the second half. The reconciliation with his father. The growth of his relationship with Sarah. Very Campbellesque.

Indeed, I think Chuck and Sarah was done very well as they gradually realized that covers or not, there was something burgeoning forth, a common attraction and affection that ran very deep and true. And rather than fight it or deny it, they welcomed it. But Sarah wasn’t a pushover. She wanted Chuck to step up and fight for it. And I really admired that in one episode they made no bones about how geeky and awkward Chuck was compared to this super spy sex stud that caught Sarah’s eye and made no bones that she was attracted. But the most troubling aspect was his passiveness. Chuck, instead of concentrating on his strengths, kept being reminded of his weaknesses in camparison with Cole. And he committed the gravest sin in Sarah’s eyes. He backed down. It’s a turning point for Chuck. He becomes more active and assertive. And finally is rewarded for his boldness in a moment of union and (interrupted) passion in a motel room.

I think that’s really why as disappointed as I am that Reaper is not coming back, I would have been pissed as hell if Chuck got cancelled. Because these characters grow. Chuck fights to get the Intersect out of his head and for his relationship with Sarah. Sarah learns to value Chuck more than her job. Reality over illusion. Truth over lies. Chuck is her path towards that.

But for Chuck getting the Intersect out isn’t the primary goal, it’s to start his life for real. Quit the Buy More and do whatever he wants. But Joseph Campbell ain’t about what the protagonist wants as proved with the finale.

Let’s just say that sometimes a show or a movie does something that I wish they never did and sometimes in the way it’s done I dig all hell out of it despite myself, which in a lot of ways is better. Because it shows how fearless the producer or director really is. Fuck what you want, you’ll like this better. And I did.

My biggest fear with Chuck was it turning into Jake 2.0, an old flop about a government nerd hit with nanobots and becomes a super powered secret agents. Felt false to me. My only hope for Chuck was that Chuck remain Chuck. No artificially-endowed kunk-fu moves.

Sigh.

Yet unlike Jake, Chuck chooses the new Intersect and Schwartz and Fedak promise that Chuck won’t change radically. He’s still at heart a lovable geek. But I think it would be an interesting inversion of the heroic model to see Chuck actually get too big for his britches. It would be cool to see Sarah turned off by badass Chuck and trying to remind him of why she fell for him in the first place. Lot of interesting directions for the show to go.

And truth be told, I actually thought that Chuck would get to know kung-fu just after four or five seasons. So maybe Schwartz and Fedak know that the shelf-life for the show is pretty short. Who knows?

But I can’t wait to find out.

Shows I wish would just die already:

Heroes

I had never been more stoked for a show when I saw the culmination of Heroes’ debut season. Every epsiode was stellar and kick-ass. The opening scroll promised this to be a grand saga about how these characters became heroes and we would discover over time what their ultimate fates became. The characters were all relatable. They had an indestructible Buffy-knockoff, even down to the cheerleader status. I thought Nathan Petrelli was gonna totally upend expectations. A dude who can fly who was also unscrupulous and had designs for the presidency. Luthor disguised as Superman.

The second volume came. Dropoff. Minor dropoff but still cool. They gave Hiro some genuine gravitas along with the charm. Claire’s getting hotter and she’s still a cheerleader. Sylar’s back. Still cool.

Third season….W. T. F?

Sadly, the third volume really showed two very apparent things. One, how flimsy the premise of the show really was if it wasn’t nurtured and developed properly. And secondly just how much of the show the writers were really ill-prepared on. No wonder NBC forced creator Tim Kring to dump two of their producers, one of them being comic book wunderkind Jeph Loeb.

It was a necessary move. Heroes had become so mired in plot and story that it forgot about its characters. And, well, it’s a common mistake. Shows are cyclical things for the most part. They have their up moments, but also their down moments. You try so hard to keep things fresh and competitive that you lose sense of what worked in the first place. That’s a very normal reaction.

Monday: My Heroes have always been competent and I musta got Lost.

TallGent