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Monday, 30 January 2012 10:54

Written by Sharon Eberson

In April 2009, I wrote a blog post titled: Watch “Chuck.” That’s all. Just watch. I was begging  fellow nerds to keep alive what had become one of my favorite shows, a show with a sweetness and silliness I found enchanting and shared an affection for with my son. Despite low ratings, NBC was moved by a loyal, lobbying fan base and gave “Chuck” five seasons, for which I am grateful, and a bittersweet send-off on Friday.

OK, NBC moved it from it’s Monday time slot to the Friday black hole for it’s final season, but it gave creators Chris Fedak and Josh Schwartz a season commitment to bring the show to a satisfactory if bittersweet conclusion that rewarded loyal fans.

I have to admit, I came into the two-hour, two episode finale a little ticked off.

The show kept bucking it’s own mythology by downloading the Intersect into the brains of folks besides Chuck, folks who could not handle it as he had. There were consequences, but where did all of these Intersect downloads come from all of a sudden? Did we really need to see Morgan with blond tips and an attitude? Did we really need to reward fans by bringing Sara and Chuck together sooner than later and then wrench them apart?

The worst for me was a few episodes before “Chuck” was coming to an end, the series introduced a new villain, played by Angus MacFayden, Enough already! I wanted to concentrate on the “Chuck” core that kept me involved to the end: Zachary Levi as the charming, lovable nerd who has a super-computer downloaded into his brain; gorgeous Yvonne Strahovski as Sara, the super spy who becomes his soulmate; Adam Baldwin as Casey, the hulking, grunting military man who acquires a little humanizing (and a long-lost daughter); and Josh Gomez as Morgan, Chuck’s goofball best buddy. And what was going to happen with Chuck’s devoted sister and brother-in-law, Ellie (Sarah Lancaster) and Devon, aka Captain Awesome (Ryan McPartlin)? And to Jeffster (Vik Sahay and Scott Krinsky). the Buy More degenerates who always came through in a pinch and recaptured the joy in ’80s rock standards? To General Beckman and Big Mike?
I mean, come on, what did we need with a newbie after the five-season parade of guests stars and semi-regulars including Scott Bakula, Linda Hamilton, Timothy Dalton, Mark Hamill and Matt Bomer?

So I cheated, and turned on my DVR rather than watch it live -- I went to see Pittsburgh Musical Theater’s “Spring Awakening”; you should, too -- and then I have to admit, I fast-forwarded through some things the first time I watched, starting after 10 on Friday (I’ve watched it all the way through since!).

First, I have to say, NBC, shame on you for throwing the “Smash” promo pop-ups into some of the final scenes of a series. I’ve seen the pilot of “Smash” and hope you have a hit with it, but that was almost enough to turn me off.

OK, to the final hours of “Chuck.” They didn’t disappoint.

We got a Jeffster performance in a concert hall (OK, the sequence was vaguely reminiscent of the “Get Smart” movie with Steve Carell, but still). Stoic Casey hugged Chuck (and not the other way around), helped Sara find her way back to her former life and gave his blessing to the relationship between Morgan and his daughter Alex before going off to look for his lady love Gertrude. Ellie and Awesome prepared to go off to bigger, better things in Chicago. But most of all ...

As he had at Comic-Con in July, Zachary Levi had tears in his eyes through most of two hours -- and with good reason. Chuck's wife had amnesia and his series was coming to an end. This was about the Intersect draining Sara’s memory of her life with her husband, Chuck. First she was convinced he was the enemy, then she was convinced of the truth of their love, but couldn’t recapture the feeling. Oh, the agony! The tears in Chuck/Zachary’s eyes were heartbreaking.

Sitting on the beach where Sara once reassured Chuck that everything would be all right, she asks him to tell her “our story.” Cue the clips from past episodes (just enough, not overdone) of the Chuck-Sara relationship, from the first meeting of the nerdy asset and spy handler to husband and wife.

Finally, Chuck explains that Morgan has this crazy notion that a kiss will return all of Sara’s memories of their life together.

“One magic kiss?” she says. Pause. “Chuck, kiss me.”

The series ends, mid-kiss.

I can live with that.

Comments (1)

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written by BichonLover, February 02, 2012 - 08:30 PM

I have loved Chuck since it premiered, and it's hard to believe that it's over. This show had heart, humor, action, and love, and its characters were some of the best I've ever seen on any TV show or movie. Zachary Levi, Yvonne Strahovski, and writer/producer Chris Fedak have all said they'd be open to making a Chuck movie, even an online movie. We need to let Warner Brothers know that is what we want! I'd love to see that Sarah's memories have actually returned, and see them happy in their future.

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