Chuck on a Roll
Wednesday February 25, 2009
Zachary Levi as Chuck and Andy Richter as Brad White in "Chuck versus the Suburbs."
© Adam Taylor/NBC Photo
In fact, I've been admiring Chuck in general: it's one of the best-produced shows I watch; its writing is consistently sharp and the performances are strong, especially from Zachary Levi and Adam Baldwin (who get most of the best lines reacting to each other and the loonies around them). The show came back for a second season energized and buzzing with confidence, and the overall quality as, if anything, been on an upswing since then. It's a show I enjoy watching not only because it's funny, but because it lets me get closer to the lead character than any other series.
Case in point: near the end of this week's episode, "Chuck versus the Best Friend" (2x14), there's a tiny moment where Chuck pops the trunk of a car into which his unconscious best friend, Morgan (Joshua Gomez), had been dumped by the bad guys. For just a few seconds we get a glance at Chuck's face, looking up at his colleagues and beaming with happiness that his friend was safe, then blackout for commercial. In that moment, in a look, Zachary Levi communicated uncomplicated love for his best friend better than the pages of dialog he'd had earlier in the episode. And what's just as impressive is that the director, Peter Lauer, thought to show us that moment, but not dwell on it. Brilliant.
Anyway, I was talking about the excellent music choices. The party-rock soundtrack has been a hallmark of the show from the beginning, and I really started noticing it for reals in the fall, with episode after episode enlivened with songs that are both fun and a glove-like fit for the scene. Even the title theme for the show itself is pretty awesome (it's from "Short Skirt/Long Jacket" by Cake).
What really made me literally sit up and applaud was last week's episode, "Chuck Versus the Suburbs" (2x13), which contained hands-down the most perfect TV music cue I can remember. Seriously, whoever realized that Chuck walking into a big suburban house filled with signs of his (fictional) married life with Sarah (Yvonne Strahovski) could only be illustrated by "Once in a Lifetime" by Talking Heads is simply a genius.
"Best Friend" contained great (and apt) music as well, including "Been Caught Stealing" by Jane's Addiction, "Momma's Boy" by Chromeo, "Why Do These Parties Always End the Same Way?" by Benji Hughes, and "Wannamama" by Pop Levi. (TV.com has been tracking the music cuts for each episode.)
But there's one thing I cannot forgive Josh Schwartz and the Chuck team for, and that's ending the episode with "Africa" by Toto. Despite everything, I really want to hate them for that. It's not even that it was being performed by Vik Sahay (as the vocally ungifted Lester) and Scott Krinsky (Jeff, ditto) as "Jeffster!" (what a concept). No. It's the song. The last time it got stuck in my head it took me weeks to get it out. Weeks. And there it is again.
Comments
I thought the same thing (about how GOOD Chuck is and how ZL is able to convey some great messages through his facial expressions) after finishing watching the show on DVR last night. I hope others, including the network, are appreciating it as well, because I would really miss it if it went away.
…I bless the rains down in Africa… oh yeah, it’s stuck…
I agree with you- hands down. I can’t believe that they kept Chuck on—I mean, it’s a great show, with a cast that make you feel like you’re hanging out with your old high school friends. (okay- that sounds lame- but you know what I mean, don’t you? And what makes that comment even odder is that I have been out of high school for more than 30+ years)
The concept (behind Chuck) is different, the acting seems effortless, the writing comes across as natural and when it’s finally there on the TV screen you can watch a show that makes you forget your own worries for a little while.
It seems that whenever a show comes on that has a cast that seem to ‘click’, a great story line, and isn’t in the genre or current theme that seems to overwhelm all the TV/cable networks that the network dumps them. Remember Firefly? (only one of the best sci-fi shows to ever be on the air!) I was worried that the same would happen to Chuck- (Hello Adam Baldwin- you found a new home!)
I know that the original remark was about the music- but one of the things that I find remarkable about song selection is the fact that you hear the music without it overwhelming you. (you hear it…you sing along…but it doesn’t take away from the moment……it sometimes makes the moment)
Okay- I’ll stop now. I hope that they can keep Chuck going for a few years and still keep it fresh. The wacky cast and story lines are what keep me coming back for more.
Yes, I think Chuck is the most intellegent sci fi on right now.
It is so much better written that what the norm is for sci fi today, or forever, come to think of it.
most shows that pretend to be sci fi rely on outsized monster animals that make no sense at all.