TV Series Lounge

Guess what? We have two new beautiful ladies coming on Chuck!

Lauren Cohan, currently sizzling on The Vampire Diaries as Rose, will come on board in March as Vivian. TV Line describes her character as a “charming, sophisticated socialite” enrolled in Oxford. Look for her to be the daughter of a criminal.

Elsewhere, Robin Givens Givens has been cast as an agency higher-up who makes an offer to Casey. She’ll also debut in March.

Chuck returns this Monday with a new episode entitled “Chuck Versus the Balcony.”

You can check other Chuck Reviews and Spoilers HERE.

Honestly, for me, “Chuck Versus the Leftovers” is just a filler episode. Of course, Timothy Dalton is back yet this episode failed to impress me. Nevertheless, here is what TV Fanatic thinks about this week’s episode of Chuck.

If I were to compare it to last week’s installment, which was much more of a stand-alone episode, I’d take Sarah and the crew fighting through Southeast Asia any day of the week.  That is not to say that I didn’t enjoy the the most recent hour, and that Dalton didn’t continue to impress as Alexei Volkoff.

Which brings me to the first of the three aspects that make up the Chuck Triple Threat.

Comedy
Dalton is so fantastic at switching from a ruthless killer to a sympathetic sweetheart.  Not only does he get me to kind of care about what will happen to Volkoff, but he also cracks me up in the process.  I mean, going from wanting to shoot Chuck in the face, to kissing him on the cheek?  Priceless.  And the charades?  I was losing it.

There were a couple of great physical gags tonight, as well.  I could watch Chuck and Morgan at strip kick class for an entire episode.  Unfortunately, there were other things to get to, like Morgan Kevin McCallister-ing himself, as he spilled a bunch of tacks on the floor and proceeded to jump on them.

Action
Not that much all-out action in this one, as the only big fight scene came and went when the three assassins attacked Chuck and Sarah.  It’s always great to see Sarah take on multiple attackers at once, but I was more impressed that Chuck had already implemented the stripper pole kick into his fighting arsenal.

Heart
Oh, Mama Bartowski, how you torture us so.  It has almost become evident, though, that she truly is good.  It’s not only that she’s deep undercover anymore, but that Volkoff is truly in love with her that is making things difficult.  She can’t just leave him and his evil ways, or this guy will go on a killing spree, finding all of the Bartowskis.

The fact that Mama B sticks up for her family, telling Volkoff that she will end him if he hurts them or their friends, was more than enough for me.  “I’m sorry. I hope someday you’ll trust me,” she said to Chuck.  And, like young Charles, I already do.  She’s going away with this psychotic man that’s in love with her just to protect her children. What else needs to be said?

Moving Forward
I know it may have seemed obvious to some, but I was the only one who answered our Round Table question “If fear and cat images didn’t work, what will bring back the Intersect?” with “Has to be that machine under the seat in Ellie’s brand new car!”

Is anyone surprised that Chuck now has re-downloaded Intersect 2.0?  It was a nice distraction for a while, but once they made the move to make Chuck a legit spy with kung fu, they weren’t going to turn their back on that.  They now have a new guy to do nerdy stuff while trying to spy… his name is Morgan.

Do you agree?

You can check other Chuck Reviews and Spoilers HERE.

There are other TV series which are really boring. But for me, Chuck is more than enough! So lets examine the latest episode, TV Fanatic will share their thoughts.

Whichever your pleasure, “Chuck Versus Phase Three” had everything you could ask for from a Sarah-centric episode.
Even though Chuck was in an Inception-esque dream coma throughout the entire episode, this week’s installment was one of my favorites of the season.  Given all the Sarah beat downs, the Morgan hilarity and a nice B plot with Awesome and the Buy Morians, what was not to like?

As we do here with these reviews, let’s take a look at how the Chuck Triple Threat panned out this week.

Comedy
We had Morgan continuing to thrive in the spy world.  Well, in making us laugh while he attempts to succeed in the spy world.  He caves in to Sarah about Chuck’s proposal with no hesitation, he over shares and then he waves a gun around proclaiming that he knows how to use it, once again calling all the bad guys “dirt bags.”

Three other comedic highlights from the hour:

Awesome bragging about the Toyota Sienna’s five out of five stars for side impact protection.
All of the people in Thailand referring to Sarah as the giant, blonde she-male.
Casey being a usual at the stomping grounds for the “scum of the Earth.”
Action
After a few weeks lacking in fight scenes, this week stepped it up a notch.  The kick boxing battle royal in the sand had enough adrenaline to keep me up all night.  To be fair, though, after dismantling that Thai champion in the ring, should Sarah have had to face Sagat and General M. Bison to move on to the next round?

Sarah was also kicking ass and taking names before and after that epic fight.  Of course, she had help from Morgan, who pretended to be a pot head tourist looking for a hostel while Casey and Sarah took out some more bad guys and eventually found Chuck.

Heart
It came down to a pair of moments when Sarah proclaimed her love for Chuck, with or without the intersect.  The first came as an admission to Morgan, but it still got my heart pumping.  When she finally had the nerve to spill her heart out to Chuck?  Fantastic. Yvonne Strahovski was absolutely brilliant as the tears came rushing out when Sarah was trying to wake Chuck up from his dream state.

Moving On
Hello, crazy green light computer formerly of Steve Bartowski!  What will you have in store for us?  I love that Awesome and his merry men got the computer to turn on by any means necessary, but it was also nice to see Ellie be the one to figure out the password.  What was on that first screen?  Might it be related to the intersect?  Frost and Volkoff?  Something crazier?

Any inputs?

You can check other Chuck Reviews and Spoilers HERE.

Usually, when the last episode is blockbuster, it is so hard to match the same with equal or even higher level of intensity. That’s why in this week’s episode of Chuck, many are disappointed.

Following the best episode of the season and, then a week off, “Chuck Versus the Fear of Death” was a run of the mill installment of our favorite spy series.

Filled with a couple of heavy-hitting guest stars, plenty of Chuck and Sarah angst, and a wide variety of humorous lines, it was what you would come to expect from an hour of Chuck.  Comparing it to “Chuck Versus the First Fight?”  A disappointment.

Every time we’ve had a Greta, I feel like I’ve said the same thing: what’s the point of this experiment?  Then again, every time there is a Greta, it is the same thing, so I don’t feel so bad.  It’s an idea that seems to simply be there in order to bring in whatever guest stars they would like to have, and that doesn’t usually create quality story telling.

Don’t get me wrong, I love Summer Glau*, and I enjoyed her more than any other Greta (except the Old Spice guy), but the concept really brings nothing to the table.  She was a foe for the Buy More guys this week, but it creates more confusion than entertainment.

(*It’s tough to see Glau as anything other than a Terminator after watching two seasons of the Sarah Connor Chronicles.  And yes, I was mad it got canceled.)

Let’s move on to what we got out of the Chuck Triple Threat this week.

Comedy
I am a big Rob Riggle fan, so his Jim Rye absolutely did it for me this week.  Whether it was his enjoyment in hitting Chuck repeatedly, him finding it funny when Chuck was in danger, or chomping on a Swiss chocolate bar during the bidding war, he delivered plenty of laughs.  The only problem? He got shot off of a gondola, so he won’t be returning to us.

Sadly, Morgan didn’t bring his A Game this week, but Jeff and Lester stepped it up.  Jeff having delusions about the new Greta possessing a tail was good on its own, but Lester taking it in stride like it was no big deal made it that much more hilarious.  These guys continue to make me laugh, especially when they comment on the sophistication of Greta’s Subway eating habits.

Action
We got a couple of good action bits this week. There was that crazy ninja fight where Rye was testing Chuck’s ability, and then the gondola sequence.  Chuck continues to find great new places to hold battles.  The gondola is perfect because it lends itself well to the old hanging-off-the-ledge routine.  Add Riggle falling hundreds of feet to his death and it was quite the scene.

Heart
There was plenty of Chuck and Sarah back forth, as the latter was worried about the former heading out into the field without the intersect, but that has grown tiresome.  The best heartfelt moment was Casey’s acceptance that he really does love this team.  It took some pushing by his daughter, and a lot of pushing by Morgan, but Casey came around.  He helped Morgan’s Buy More problem by explaining to Jeff and Lester that Greta was stealing things, and by episode’s end he was completely on board for going to save Chuck.

Moving Forward
Chuck is currently captured by the Belgian dude, who definitely likes his waffles Belgian style.  I’m sure the team will go out and find him in the next episode, but what about Frost and Volkoff?  Is that story just going to head into the background for some more time?  I’m fine with if it is the case because I’d like that plot to get resolved near the end of the season, not now.

You can check other Chuck Reviews and Spoilers HERE.

Before this week’s episode of Chuck, there were lots of talks telling that the seventh episode would be the best for this season. Well, at some point I agree to them but in my opinion, this episode is not that spectacular as expected.

TV Fanatic: while I enjoyed it, “Chuck Versus The First Fight” won’t come anywhere near my Top Ten Chuck Episodes list.  It had an all-time great ending twist, but any ep the lacks the presence of Jeffster just can’t be historic.

So, who had money on Mama Bartowski as a septuple agent?  Seriously, how many times are Linda Hamilton and the Chuck writers going to be able to trick me into thinking she’s either good or bad?  At this point, I’m convinced she’s still good, but when she played Chuck that video and Tuttle showed himself to be Volkoff, I once again had serious doubts.

It wasn’t just the Mama B that confused me.  The key was adding an entirely new character that also gained my confidence, and then ripped it away.  Not only was Timothy Dalton a great source of comedy as Gregory Tuttle, but he was so unassuming that I never once expected him to be bad.  Come to find out he’s THE VOLKOFF?!?  Pure genius.

In great Chuck fashion, this week’s ep pulled of the trifecta with style.

Comedy
You would think it was lacking without Jeffster, but Morgan picked up the slack and delivered more than a few chuckles.  Any time you can compare a platonic male to male friendship with a romantic male to female relationship, I’m going to find it funny.  Morgan relating Chuck and Sarah’s problems to his and Casey’s?  A perfect use of that logic. All it takes to get the Bearded Wonder excited for a mission is an ear piece, and he gets worried about asbestos at the bank.  Love this guy.

Mary: “Morgan Grimes. I haven’t seen you since you were nine years old.”
Morgan: “You know what? I haven’t had a decent rice krispie treat since.”

I absolutely lost it.  Way to build on last week’s lemon bars joke Morgan.

Tuttle was great as he enjoyed the tiny weapons standoff and watching two field agents in action. What a show! These moments became even funnier after realizing he was Volkoff acting in character the entire time.

Action
We had a decent amount of good action this week, beginning with the aforementioned tiny weapon standoff that was followed by Chuck dismantling some bad guys. And then at the bank, we got a robbery and a Chuck and Sarah tag team that was great to watch.  Their bickering is much easier to take when they’re round-housing bad guys at the same time.

Heart
I thought Chuck and Tuttle having a heart-to-heart in the back of the truck with the sheep was heartfelt at the moment, but little did I know it was just Volkoff putting on a show.

In terms of actually heart-warming moments, we were blessed with the dramatic work of Sarah Lancaster and Linda Hamilton playing daughter and mother.  Great work by the two of them.  Watching Ellie struggle to even begin speaking to her mom was fantastic.  But then Mama and Ellie thinking about the good times?  Glorious.

Moving Forward
Speaking of the good times… Mary mentioned to Ellie a ’68 Mustang that Papa B used to have and everything clicked for her.  Eleanor went ahead and found the Mustang that had been in the Classifieds forever and in it was a note from Papa B.  So what is up with the car?  What secrets will it have inside?  And what was that green light thing under the seat?

Do you agree?

You can check other Chuck Reviews and Spoilers HERE.

Another good episode for Chuck this season. I could not ask for more, we have it all in “Chuck vs. the Aisle of Terror.” TV Fanatic agrees with me and here’s what they say:

The Morgan/Casey odd couple dynamic; Chuck and Sarah getting along on a mission; Jeff and Lester doing ridiculous things; and a long-running storyline coming to the forefront.  It was definitely one of my one or two favorites of this fourth season.

Let’s get right to the meat and potatoes of this episode, Mary Bartowski.  We went into the ep under the impression that she was a bad guy with Volkoff, but had a feeling that she was deep undercover.  Mama B admitted to her undercover role early on, and I thought “of course.”  What was so great was that the show switched back and forth on this angle multiple times over the hour.

When Mary ruins the deal with Dr. Wheelwright and shoots Chuck in the chest, I was swung back to thinking she was a bad guy.  But, no, she admitted to Chuck that she knew he was wearing a vest. We come to find out, thanks to the spy work of Mr. John Casey, that she is, in fact, a rogue double agent. I am skeptical of this information and still am on record for thinking she’s a good guy.

Now we can take a look at how the Chuck triple threat played out this week:

Comedy
Jeff and Lester were back on their game.  Whether it was Jeff putting down a deposit for unclaimed merchandise at the morgue, or his admission that he’d do anything for 30 dollars and a sandwich, it was all gold. Also, “is it a baby or is it a snail? I don’t know.

Again, there were plenty of yucks from the bearded wonder.  He compared himself and Casey to Ross and Rachel.  He was very concerned about Chuck not ruining his appetite at the weapon sale.  And he was sure Mrs. B wasn’t a bad guy because she made delicious lemon bars.  Also, there was this: “Apparently I’m quite the hot commodity in the spy world. Morgan Grimes, not just for the ladies anymore.”

Action
Not much in the fighting department, but the amount of tension that came with the anticipation and act of Mrs. Bartowski shooting Chuck in the chest was enough to make up for it.  I mean, come on!  She shoots my Chuck, her son, in the chest.  I don’t care if you know he’s wearing a vest or not, that is some crazy guts she’s got.

Heart
Let’s start with the uplifting moment.  Mary’s plea to Chuck in the car that nothing means more to her than him and Ellie.  Of course, this was somewhat foolish if Casey’s intel of her being evil is correct.

On the heart-wrenching side of things, there was the sadness that Chuck, and the rest of us, felt as Mary told him that she didn’t want to know anything about him.  I don’t care if you are an undercover spy or not, you don’t say that to the child that you left out in the cold when he was nine years old.

And does it get worse than that final scene?  The anticipation of Ellie about to see her mom for the first time in forever, combined with the fantastic “Dead Hearts” by Stars for the musical background, was absolutely riveting.  For Mary to be taken away by Sarah and Casey before the meeting took place?  Crushing.

Moving Forward
This can’t be it for Mary Bartowski, right?  The whole Volkoff thing is still out there, so this has to come back to the forefront.  Will they let it stay dormant for awhile like they did between episode one and this week?  I’d guess yes, and if so, I like the idea.  Letting the long-running plot stay in the background for a few episodes and then bringing it back strong is a nice way to play things this season.

So what do you think guys?

You can check other Chuck Reviews and Spoilers HERE.

We saw him last year as a janitor on Bones. This Monday he will be on Chuck as an evil scientist. So what’s next for Robert Englund?

Up next for Robert Englund, the man best known as Freddy Krueger before he started to land guest-starring gigs on a number of popular shows? A mysterious guy named Dr. Robert on Supernatural.

“Hunters often find themselves in situations where they need medical attention but can’t exactly stroll into an ER,” producer Sera Gamble said to EW. “Robert plays an unlicensed doc who makes his living stitching folks up on the down low. One of our guys goes to him with a life-or-death problem.”

Episode Review:

• Episode 1
• Episode 2
• Episode 3
• Episode 4

I guess there are other people who are unsatisfied on the first few episodes of Chuck this season. But I tell you, this episode is simply the best so far!

TV Fanatic thinks that one of the great things about Chuck has always been its ability to take some of the most serious spy situations and turn them into complete jokes.  Doing spy well doesn’t necessarily mean it’s by the book, or completely serious.  Chuck is somewhat of a farce.  Sure, it has plenty of moments of true sincerity, but at its core this is a comedy.  And it uses its also action sequences as comedic moments.

When Chuck and Sarah are captured, and Casey takes Morgan along to help save the day, we have the privilege of watching the Bearded One make a mockery of the CIA with his lack of talent.  First, he uses a miniature, plastic fan to cool himself off while on the “mish.”  Then, he can’t work any of the equipment correctly, so he turns himself in to the bad guys.

But in order for this opportunity to even come about, Morgan had to go through some ridiculous antic in order to get Casey ready for the challenge.  He professed his love for Alex in order to get the big man out of his paralysis!

Because Sarah and Chuck’s relationship took a back seat this week, Casey was a major player, while Jeff and Lester were in mid-season form. Everyone should have been happy with the episode this week and here’s why:

Action
There was quite a lot of Casey beating down dude this week. As much as I love Sarah or Chuck taking out bad guys, it’s always nice to see John get his time in the violent spotlight. We also had Morgan saving the day with his ability to withstand an electrocution.  He took out Eric Roberts, the dude from Dodgeball, and some huge oaf with one pull of cord!

Comedy
Where to start right?  Morgan was on fire once again.  That eulogy?  Brilliant.  It turns out the little man is quite obsessed with dudes that can fill out clothing.  Last year it was Shaw’s ability to fill out a pair of slacks, and this week it was the fact that Casey “could fill out a uniform.”

Then there was Jeff and Lester, who were on point this week.  We had Lester cracking up at the ridiculous things Jeff says, Jeff knowing exactly what dumpster Casey was hiding in, and the fact that Lester has the keys to Morgan’s apartment.

Heart
Like I said earlier, Chuck and Sarah took a back seat, which left plenty of room for the Morgan and Alex’s relationship to blossom.  Not only was there the sweet moments between the new love birds, but also the heartfelt moments between Morgan and Casey.  Sure, they are mostly one sided, but when Casey agrees to let him date his daughter, you have to smile.

Moving Forward
Casey’s old team members inform Chuck that Frost was Volkoff’s right hand.  Now that he assumes his mom was a bad guy, things are a little more iffy on that front, but I’m sure more will be revealed after we find out what she says to him on that phone call. Hello Chuck, it’s your mother…

I’m sure that these developments make the season more interesting and worth watching.

You can check other Chuck Reviews and Spoilers HERE.

I’ve been waiting for this episode for a long long time! This week’s episode is all about everything that you can expect in a TV series! Other than the disappearance of Jeff and Lester, we were treated to a full menu of Chuck goodness last night. TV Fanatic says:

Action
If the episode was light on anything, it was action.  There was that great fight scene in the stairwell at the Generalisimo’s place in which Awesome and Ellie got to witness Chuck and Sarah kicking some major butt, but other than that, but that was about it. I don’t know if that is necessarily a bad thing, though.  I say Chuck is great because of its triple threat, but if I have to be let down by one aspect, I’m not ready to lose a second of comedy or heart.

Comedy
What wasn’t funny this week?  Morgan was on his game. From voicing-over Chuck and Sarah’s awkward ring moment to his cute yet awkward conversation with Alex while Casey was in their presence, Morgan was killing it.  How about that pro/con list he uses to decide whether to pursue Alex?  Reasons to date Alex: She’s pretty, she smells good and she might even like Morgan.  Classic.

There were plenty of other comedic moments, but a couple of my favorites were Awesome’s infatuation with talking to Ellie’s stomach, as if the baby was already out; and Big Mike giving love advice to Morgan.  It’s great seeing the big man take such pride in being a father figure to the bearded one, but it’s even better when he spews out gems like, “When has anyone ever learned anything from a book?”

Heart
For once, the heartfelt moments didn’t involve Chuck and Sarah.  Well, until the very end.  The most interesting centered around Morgan yet again.  He is, indeed, in deep with Casey’s daughter.  While he’s in the middle of making his pro/con list, Alex comes in and tells him she likes him and goes in for the smooch.  It’s nice to see the guy have a chance with a seemingly normal girl.  I mean, Anna Wu was great and all, but she was screwed three ways towards the weekend.

We were also given the heartfelt brother/sister moment between Chuck and Ellie, which is always nice.  I love that Ellie respects his spy skills, but she is really getting in the way of him being the Chuck we know and love.  The guy finally breaks down and tells her that he’s looking for their mom, so who knows where things go for them from here.  Now everything is out in the open.  I like it a lot better when there are some nice secrets hanging in the balance.

At episode’s end, we finally got some sweet Chuck and Sarah chill time.  As Chuck pretends to be asleep, Sarah, who for the past couple of episodes has struggled with commitment, proclaims “I love you Chuck and nothing’s gonna change that.  And if you ask me for real, then my answer would be yes.”  The old fake sleep move works out perfectly for Chuckles, as he smiles just before the credits roll.

Moving Forward
There were just a couple of bits and pieces of info on Chuck’s mom this week, but that story is always on the horizon.  Now that he’s told Ellie about it, there should be no reason not to attempt to find the great Linda Hamilton.

You can check other Chuck Reviews and Spoilers HERE.

I know we are all excited to know Timothy Dalton’s mysterious role on Chuck. However, we cannot get any concrete details on the said role. But now, we have something for you.

Now, Entertainment Weekly has shed just a little bit of light on this character, revealing the first image of Dalton on the show’s November 1 episode and revealing he’ll share history with Chuck’s mom.

“It’s not the kind of character you’d [expect] him to play,” creator Josh Schwartz says of the man who portrayed James Bond. “There’s nothing suave or debonair about him.”

Any speculations?

You can check other Chuck Reviews and Spoilers HERE.