Tag: Devon Woodcomb
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TV Surveillance Podcast Episode 25 – Goodbye, Chuck
In the first new episode of the year, I’m joined by Wes Ambrecht for an extended conversation about all things Chuck, from the final season and the finale to what went wrong along the way. Don’t forget, you can subscribe to the podcast on iTunes, if that’s your kind of thing.
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Chuck Versus the Final Season: Four things the series needs to do to make the final season great
It is hard for me to say this, but Chuck has been a disappointment. I’m well aware of the high expectations everyone had for the series after fans, critics and randos on Twitter decided that they wanted to spread the word and eat a bunch of Subway sandwiches. When you feel like you personally helped…
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#TVFail Entry 8: Chuck, “Chuck Versus the Mask”
The accused: Chuck, “Chuck Versus the Mask” The crime: Delaying the eventual union of the series’ primary romantic couple even further by pairing them off with new characters, subsequently creating a fan panic/outrage Television’s failures are supposed to be obvious. From the overhyped non-starters that flop from the very beginning (hello, FlashForward, Lone Star) to the much-discussed…
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Chuck, “Chuck Versus The Muuurder”
Sometimes, Twitter is not your friend. Last night during the first 15-20 minutes of my viewing of “Chuck Versus The Muuurder,” I tweeted something along the lines of “Chuck is getting kind of good again.” And at that point, I really meant it. Despite some of the middling reviews, I actually thought last week’s episode…
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Chuck, “Chuck Versus The Cat Squad”
In his guest review of this episode last night for the A.V. Club, Myles McNutt discussed his frustrations with this season’s general staleness and lack of real stakes. If you’ve been reading my reviews of Chuck this season, you know that I’ve often felt exactly the same but if you take a look at Myles’…
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Chuck, “Chuck Versus The Seduction Impossible”
I was angry with last week’s Chuck. For so many reasons that I don’t need to go into again. I say this because I completely adored this week’s episode, which probably makes me the worst Chuck fan of the week or something. I think I’ve decided that if Chuck doesn’t want to create sustaining narratives…
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Chuck, “Chuck Versus The Push Mix”
Josh Schwartz has gone on record countless times, both on Twitter and on the Firewall and Iceberg Podcast, that the final 10 minutes of “Chuck Versus The Push Mix” were the greatest in the series’ history. Even for a series that’s been on varying planes of struggle for a full calendar year, that’s a big,…
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Chuck, “Chuck Versus Phase Three”
Last week, I said that the nonsense with Rob Riggle and the sketchiness of how the Intersect wouldn’t totally be a loss if the makeshift part two of that story was effective and satisfying. Well, even though “Chuck Versus Phase Three” didn’t do a few of the things I hoped it would last night, it…
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Chuck, “Chuck Versus The Fear of Death”
After a string of rock-solid episodes, “Chuck Versus the Fear of Death” feels more in-step with the earlier episodes of season four. Despite the episode’s attempts to keep the stakes high after the Mama Bartowski stuff from the last few efforts, the value of the plot movement found within “Fear of Death” won’t really be…
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Chuck, “Chuck Versus The First Fight”
Of course, I after I complained about Chuck earlier this month, it’s rattled off three straight high-quality episodes that almost require me to comment in some fashion. However, in many ways, that’s a good thing. I want to talk about Chuck. I don’t want to avoid it here on TVS because it’s one of my…
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Chuck, “Chuck Versus the Aisle of Terror”
If Chuck isn’t going to take many risks or strive for its season two levels of awesome, fine. I’m over it. I guess it’s just time to watch the series, enjoy it for what it is and move on. With that in mind, “Chuck Versus the Aisle of Terror” still feels like an improvement over…
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Chuck, “Chuck Versus The Couch Lock”
I don’t have much to say about this week’s Chuck, but just a few tidbits. After I spent last week’s Chuck post talking about how I probably wouldn’t write-up the series too often in the future, the NBC spy comedy had to up its game in “Versus The Coach Lock.” Of course, if you’re Chuck…
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Chuck, “Chuck Versus The Coup d’Etat”
I didn’t write about last week’s Chuck because I didn’t feel like I had much to say. This is perhaps weird considering so many people had strong (read: angry) reactions to the episode and its desire to create all sorts of neurotic drama between the supposed-to-be-happy Chuck and Sarah pairing. I wasn’t as offended by…
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Chuck, “Chuck Versus the Suitcase”
Though I enjoyed last week’s Chuck premiere, there was some discussion Twitter about the series’ storytelling desires. After the premiere, Daniel Walters wrote a nice piece about what he’d do to improve the series, particularly when it comes to raised stakes and less formulaic cases that involve Chuck and Sarah infiltrating a party. I can’t…
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Season Premiere — Chuck, “Chuck Versus the Anniversary”
Watching the Chuck season four premiere felt odd. After wanting that third season so badly and then having to wait until January to get it, the season three premiere felt much bigger and more anticipated. Having the series back so soon with relatively little fanfare (nearly every other series on Monday, returning or new, seemed…
CB, PhD 