For those of you that can’t remember back to spring of 2009, at the end of the second season of Chuck (back when we thought it would be the final season); Chuck Bartowski became the intersect 2.0.  So not only was he able to flash on all sorts of government secrets, he also got all sorts of super spy abilities.  So now the head Nerd Hearder can install your hard drive and kick your ass.  Fast forward to tonight’s premiere episode of season three and we find Chuck in Prague at a top secret spy training facility built especially for him.  The problem is that Chuck is failing.  He can’t seem to flash on command and pull up those cool abilities when he needs them.  We also find out that six weeks previously Sarah, Chuck’s handler and love interest made him an offer to run away with him and start a new life, just the two of them.  Chuck decided not to go with her, and instead focus on becoming a spy.

With Chuck not able to pull up his abilities when he needs them he flunks out of spy school and lands firmly on Ellie and Awesome’s couch with a can of cheese-balls, no job as a spy and without Sarah.  Of course it didn’t take long for Chuck to get back into the world of secret agents.

It was good that tonight NBC aired both of the first two episodes, because I think they were really meant to be watched in one sitting.  Sure this is a seriel show and one episode leads into the next but these two episodes were somehow more than that.  It’s almost like they were one long episode.  In the span of those two episodes we learned that there is a new bad guy on the block now that Fulcrum is out of commision, the Ring.  We learned exactly why Chuck didn’t go with Sarah, and strangely enough it was because he loved her.  Morgan is back from Hawaii, because Anna dumped him and he could no longer flip his shrimp at Benihana.  And since Morgan is back, he and Chuck get to move in together.  That is going to be epic.

The best part of this whole thing is that we are going to get ANOTHER episode tomorrow night.  How can you go wrong?  Three episodes of Chuck in 24 hours.  I’m happy.

Thoughts and Observations:

• I have a feeling this whole being in love mess is going to be much harder for Sarah to deal with than it will be for Chuck.  After all he’s made it real clear just how he feels, she’s the one that can’t express herself.
• I wonder if my iPhone would keep power for as long as Sarah’s did if I threw it in the pool.
• At the start of the first episode when Chuck was in the training simulation I was having a hard time buying him as a bad-ass.  Am I the only one?  It’s good that despite being able to do the things he can do he still the same old Chuck deep down.
• Casey got to use his big gun.  Good for him.
• I’m going to miss Tony Hale as Emmit.  Sure he was a jerk that needed to be taken down a peg or two, but I never expected him to get shot in the face half-way into episode one.  Maybe he needed time off to go film that Arrested Development movie.  At least Big Mike is back in his absence.
• Speaking of Big Mike, not a Subway foot-long in site for either episode.  I think that would have been a nice nod to the fans that were so vocal about this show coming back.  I hope the fans rally in the same way to help save Better Off Ted.
• So did Morgan actually do the dead with Karina or did he just wake up next to her and she let him think that.  My thought is that he did actually sleep with her since she was so attracted to him after he told her off.  That should be good for Morgan’s self-esteem.
• I loved that Chuck flashed and was able to play guitar.  This is going to lead to some fun things this season.

We’ve learned Jay’s 10:00 PM show will go on hiatus February 1. After the Olympics, Jay will take back his 11:30 PM time slot. What has not been decided — whether Jay’s show will be a half hour, followed by Conan, or whether Jay’s show will be an hour and NBC says sayonara to Mr. O’Brien.

We’re told Jay and Conan have both been told of the changes. As for Jay, interestingly, he’ll get what he always wanted — his 11:30 PM time slot.

This really is a shame.  I really felt like Conan O’Brian’s show was as great as it’s always been and it sucks that NBC isn’t giving him a chance to find his audience.  It took him a while when he followed Jay Leno before.  I guess the thought of NBC is that the only reason that Conan was successful was because he came on right after The Tonight Show and he didn’t follow the nightly news.  I’m no fan of Leno as the host of The Tonight Show, so all this makes me very sad. No word yet on if Conan will go back to his old time slot and replace Jimmy Kimmel whom I also think is very funny.

Boo to you NBC!

Last year I wrote a post about the hottest women on TV. It was one of our most popular post if all time, and many readers have suggested that we should update in on a yearly basis.  I think it’s a great idea, but the only issue is that it hadn’t changed that much.  I’ve asked my fellow male writers to help to contribute to this list, and boy did they come through.  The only rules were that in order for one of the women to be included again on the list they must be on a different show that is currently on the air right now or have just ended it’s season.  So without further adieu, bring on the ladies!

• Eva Amurri- Californication (Showtime)

• Allison Brie-Community (NBC)

• Kristen Bell- Gossip Girl (CW)

• Abigal Spencer- Mad Men (AMC)

• Emmanuelle Chriqui- Entourage (HBO)

• January Jones- Mad Men (AMC)

• Lizzy Caplan- Party Down (Starz)

• Eliza Dushku- Dollhouse (FOX)

• Natalie White- Survivor (CBS)

• Mary Louise Parker- Weeds (Showtime)

• Katie Aselton- The League (FX)

• Kaley Cuoco- The Big Bang Theory (CBS)

• Sofia Verga- Modern Family (ABC)

• Katy Mixon- Eastbound and Down (HBO)
• Erin Andrews- ESPN
• Stana Katic- Castle (ABC)

• Cat Deeley- So You Think You Can Dance (FOX)

• Krysten Ritter- Breaking Bad (AMC)

• Nadine Velazquez- The League (FX)

• Anna Camp- True Blood (HBO)

• Audrina Partridge- The Hills (MTV)

• Andrea Anders- Better Off Ted (ABC)

• Maggie Siff- Sons of Anarchy (FX)

• Lea Michelle- Glee (FOX)

• Christina Hendricks- Mad Men (AMC)

I’d love to have another list of the hottest guys on TV, but my wife isn’t up for updating her list from last year.  drop us a line if you have some suggestions on who should be on it.

Seinfeld O'Brien

According to Popeater.com, an anonymous NBC source has said the network is considering replacing Conan O’Brien with Jerry Seinfeld. This seems a little premature to us. Although The Tonight Show has struggled to find its audience this year, it seems too soon to ditch O’Brien, who has a large base of dedicated fans. The other thing that network chiefs need to remember is that there are no slam dunks in late night viewing. The Chevy Chase late night show seemed like a great idea in the beginning, right?

January

• The Bachelor: On the Wings of Love premieres (ABC), 8 PM Monday, January 4th
• The Biggest Loser premieres (NBC), 8 PM Tuesday, January 5th
• Nip/Tuck Final season premieres (FX), 10 PM Wednesday, January 6th
• Chuck premieres (NBC), 9 PM Sunday, January 10th (moves to Monday’s after this)
• Big Love premieres (HBO), 10 PM Sunday, January 10th
• American Idol premieres (FOX), 8 PM Tuesday, January 12
• Project Runway premieres (Lifetime), 10 PM Thursday, January 14th
• 24 four-hour, two-night premiere part 1 (FOX), 9 PM Sunday, January 17th
• 24 four-hour, two-night premiere part 2 (FOX), 8 PM Monday, January 18th

February

• Lost Final Season premieres (ABC), 9 PM Tuesday, February 2nd
• Winter Olympics (NBC), February 12-28

March

• Parenthood premieres (NBC), 9 PM Monday, March 1st
• Nurse Jackie premieres (Showtime), 10 PM Monday, March 22
• United States of Tara premieres (Showtime), 10:30 PM Monday, March 22nd

April

• The Tudors Final Season premieres (Showtime), 9 PM

No dates yet on Breaking Bad, True Blood, Rescue Me and a few others that aren’t coming to mind right now.  As soon as we have dates for them we will let you know!

Best Television Series – Drama

10. MODERN FAMILY- ABC, 2009-present: Now I love Modern Family, but with only 9 episodes under it’s belt it’s too early to put among the 10 best shows of the decade.  In a few years I might look back and admit I was wrong, but I couldn’t include it.
9. LOST-ABC, 2004-present: I have to agree will this one.  Even with a season or two that were stinkers Lost has kept me coming back again and again.  For me it really all hinges on the upcoming season.  It is ends well then It should be there, but if it doesn’t it could knock it off my list.
8. 24-Fox, 2001-present: Another solid pick in my opinion. Like Lost it’s had some seasons that were less than stellar, but it did introduce us to one of TV’s great heroes, Jack Bauer.
7. 30 ROCK-NBC, 2006-present: Once again, dead on.  One of the funniest and most clever shows on TV.
6. MAD MEN-AMC, 2007-present: I;m on the fence about Mad Men being on this list.  I’m going to have to think long and hard about including it in my top 10.
5. DAMAGES-FX, 2007-present: Not really a fan of Damages.  Wouldn’t make my top 20.
4. THE SHIELD-FX, 2002-08: I missed out on The Shield, but I’ve never heard anything but great things about it so I can understand why it would be on someone’s list.
3. CURB YOUR ENTHUSIASM-HBO, 2000-present: Yes, Yes, Yes
2. THE WEST WING- NBC, 1999-2006: Another one that I missed the boat on.  I was in college when West Wing, and not really interested in this type of series so I never watched it.  It will be on many top ten lists I’m sure.  I love Aaron Sorkin (Sports Night would be in my top 10 of all time), so I’m sure this show was great.
1. THE SOPRANOS-HBO, 1999-2007: No surprises here.  Maybe one of the greatest shows of all time.

Jack asks Liz out to dinner.  It turns out that Jack and NBC want to start a talk-show based on Liz’s book Deal Breaker! Liz is very excited, but makes the mistake of taking Tracy and Jenna’s advice and she decides to shop the show around herself.  She hires a very junior agent who has never handled a human before, only animals.

Excited by the fact that Liz took their advice Tracy and Jenna start calling themselves “The Problem Solvers.”  When the new cast member offends Kenneth by not taking advantage of Kenneth the way that everyone else does Kenneth get’s upset.  Tracy and Jenna tell the new cast member that Kenneth likes being their slave, but he makes them think when he tells them that he doesn’t like to treat anyone like that in case they end up being his boss one day.

In the end the new cast member (I can’t find his name character name anywhere) and Kenneth come to some sort of understanding and Kenneth ends up helping him out, proving his worth and inflating Tracy and Jenna’s already inflated self-worth at the same time.

Jack tries to prove to Liz that he can play hardball as well, and interviews Top Chef’s Padma Lakshmi to host the Deal Breakers show.  In the end, both Jack and Liz realize that they need each other and everything is right again.

Thoughts and Observations:

• No surprise that the lovely Padma Lakshmi showed up on an episode.  Bravo, the channel that Top Chef is on is owned by NBC Universal, and Padma has a development deal with NBC for a sitcom.  Even if it sucks I will watch it on mute every week.
• The whole gag about Padma inventing a clear plastic bag to put a sandwich in was very funny for us Top Chef fans since Glad has been a sponsor of Top Chef for years.
• Poor Lutz.  He never gets any respect at all.  When he walks in, the sexy Cerie mistakes him for the new cast member despite the fact that he’s worked there for 3 years and he tells her, “I gave you that car I won?”
• The new cast member is from Canada and he can’t say “About” correctly.  Aboot.  Oh Canada, you are comedy gold.

"I will have the gabagool."

Nice rebound from last week’s wedding aisle dance spectacular with an episode that revolved around an absurd situation that had just enough credibility to hook us and the dolt triumvirate, aka Michael-Dwight-Andy aka the best thing about the show at this point. I’m thankful the writers didn’t worry about advancing story arcs and just focused on developing a hilarious setup.

And thank the soon-to-be-ousted Zucker that Jim and Pam were relegated to mere voices on the phone (they were honeymooning in Puerto Rico).

Is it a surprise to anyone that the show worked just fine without Mr. and Mrs. Happy Happy Jimjams?

But for me, the “gabagool” moment (the Tony Soprano pronunciation of capicolla, the deli meat) was an instant Office perennial. (And let me make clear that I come from an Italian family but never heard capicolla pronounced that way. Granted, the only time it ever came up at all was during an order at Togo’s sandwich shop, but still, park your stereotypes at the door, sizzle chest.)

If the entire episode had taken place at the lunch table and revolved around Michael ordering the “gabagool” I would have been happy. This was nicely escalated by Michael’s goodfellas…

Andy (wiseguy accent): “You know, the gabagoo?”

Dwight (yelling): “Bring him the gabagool!”

Then Michael puts the topper on it: “I’ll have the spaghetti. With a side salad. If the salad is on top, I send it back.”

Andy is summoned outside to fix a woman’s car (because he’s wearing a mechanic’s outfit so he can bring a tire iron into the restaurant as a weapon in case it gets ugly, why else?) and he explodes her engine, telling her “that’s totaled, you’re gonna want to get a refund.” Great moment.

Kevin’s disastrous stint in Jim’s office was a nice b story, although too much of Kevin talking in that voice (i.e., Kevin talking) can get tedious. But it kept Jim and Pam on that phone; again, only a good thing.

And they nicely reined in Dwight. He was silly and hardcore in the signature Schrute way without going bat-poopy insane on us. Case in point: his reaction to Andy saying that Michael will wake up with a horse’s head in his bed. Dwight reacted instantly with a quick rebuttal and an exasperated, knowing look that can only come from a beet farmer who pioneered a more efficient method to make hamburgers out of horses. We thankfully didn’t get the cut to an interview where he talks about how your average American has no concept of how to decapitate a horse. No need, the short line and the look got the job done. Kudos on the restraint, creative team.

Another element that I loved was the repetition of the word “mafia.” Who says mafia any more? And they just kept repeating it, especially Andy…

"You made the mafia apologize to you. You made the mafia be POLITE."

Of course, once Michael finds out that they tricked him into thinking the salesman was not in the mob, while he most definitely was, he’s initially scared…but then he realizes he was just a complete bad-ass so he tells his war story to the entire office, adding that he told the guy “If any of your friends come around here, they’re dead. I said something like that.” Prompting Oscar to comment “Let’s be clear he backed down an insurance salesman from Mutual of Harrisburg.”

But Michael will not be put in a corner. So he makes it clear who wears the pants with his coffee order to Erin…

"If it's not Stop'n'Shop, I send it back."

Solid episode. And props to actor Mike Starr, a go-to tough guy actor who never overdoes the “New York Italian Guy” bit like too many of his peers and will always be remembered as Frenchy in Goodfellas (”I’m the night watchman, I’m the Commandant.”) and as Eddie the Sinatra-wannabe in Spike Lee’s Summer of Sam.

"Garlic bread. Toasted, not burnt."

When I first met my wife, she turned me on to the darkly comedic elements of Summer of Sam and we watched it more than once on her crappy vcr and tiny TV. And now, we’ve graduated to an outdated dvd player and bigger, but still analog and crappy, TV. But at least we’re not getting shaken down by Grotti, who definitely changed his name from Gotti.

See ya’s next week, fuggedaboutit.

-Danny C.
(button man in Grotti crew)
Dan’s Scriptomatic Cinematic Telematic in 3D!

photo credits: nbc.com

p.s. For anyone who wants more of Erin the receptionist, here’s a decent deleted scene featuring her on nbc.com…

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