Chuck and Parenthood
Mar. 3rd, 2010 03:05 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
next_to_normalI actually watched this week's Chuck on time, but I'm writing about it a day late because... just because.
OMG how much did I love this week's episode?? SO hilarious with Chuck being undercover, just cool enough to fool the bad guys (and how ridiculous were they, lol), but still lapsing into talking about cupcakes and sterile torture instruments. I have to say, I am really loving the new, more confident Chuck this season. There was some concern that giving Chuck kung fu skills would change the show for the worse, but I think they've got a great balance between making him kick-ass enough that I totally have a TV crush on Zachary Levi, but still maintaining that goofiness and occasional ineptitude that makes him Chuck. I also like that Sarah isn't happy with this new Chuck, that while he's been getting tougher and more spy-like, she's been getting softer and longing for a normal life - to the point that they've passed each other going in opposite directions. That's valid character conflict there, not just another obstacle to the inevitable coupling.
After the whole crazy shipper thing that resulted from the last episode, I did get a chuckle out of the meta exchange about "will they/won't they" couples, but I imagine the crazy haters were probably not pleased by the outcome of this episode. Hannah's gone, but Sarah/Shaw took a giant leap forward, meaning that it's still an obstacle to Chuck/Sarah. To be honest, I would've preferred the opposite (lose the Sarah/Shaw stuff but keep Hannah around), which is surprising, because I thought I would hate Kristin Kreuk a lot more. Or at all. But KK really had good chemistry with Levi, much more so than Sarah/Shaw, which still feels forced. Plus, I'm kind of getting tired of the three-episode girlfriends Chuck seems to have. I get that they're terrified to pair anyone with Chuck for too long, for fear that the Charah shippers will hunt them down and gnaw off their arms or something, but it's really annoying to keep bringing in new love interests, only to dismiss them after a couple episodes. Let her stick around!!
Also, I love Casey. The show needs more Casey. The world needs more Casey.
I also watched the premiere of Parenthood last night. It's been on my radar because I absolutely love Lauren Graham and Peter Krause, and I wasn't disappointed by them. Lauren Graham's character kind of reminds me of Lorelai, if Rory had been a huge troublemaker instead of the perfect daughter, lol. Overall, though, the show reminds me more of Brothers & Sisters, but with more likable actors. (To be fair, I like both Calista Flockhart and Rachel Griffiths a lot more after having watched B&S than I did before.) I had a lot of trouble keeping track of all the characters, since I didn't recognize many of the actors, and I'm still not sure how everyone's related. But the dialogue was fast-paced and snappy, and I do have a weakness for big zany family dramas (it's the only child thing, I think), so I'll keep watching.
OMG how much did I love this week's episode?? SO hilarious with Chuck being undercover, just cool enough to fool the bad guys (and how ridiculous were they, lol), but still lapsing into talking about cupcakes and sterile torture instruments. I have to say, I am really loving the new, more confident Chuck this season. There was some concern that giving Chuck kung fu skills would change the show for the worse, but I think they've got a great balance between making him kick-ass enough that I totally have a TV crush on Zachary Levi, but still maintaining that goofiness and occasional ineptitude that makes him Chuck. I also like that Sarah isn't happy with this new Chuck, that while he's been getting tougher and more spy-like, she's been getting softer and longing for a normal life - to the point that they've passed each other going in opposite directions. That's valid character conflict there, not just another obstacle to the inevitable coupling.
After the whole crazy shipper thing that resulted from the last episode, I did get a chuckle out of the meta exchange about "will they/won't they" couples, but I imagine the crazy haters were probably not pleased by the outcome of this episode. Hannah's gone, but Sarah/Shaw took a giant leap forward, meaning that it's still an obstacle to Chuck/Sarah. To be honest, I would've preferred the opposite (lose the Sarah/Shaw stuff but keep Hannah around), which is surprising, because I thought I would hate Kristin Kreuk a lot more. Or at all. But KK really had good chemistry with Levi, much more so than Sarah/Shaw, which still feels forced. Plus, I'm kind of getting tired of the three-episode girlfriends Chuck seems to have. I get that they're terrified to pair anyone with Chuck for too long, for fear that the Charah shippers will hunt them down and gnaw off their arms or something, but it's really annoying to keep bringing in new love interests, only to dismiss them after a couple episodes. Let her stick around!!
Also, I love Casey. The show needs more Casey. The world needs more Casey.
I also watched the premiere of Parenthood last night. It's been on my radar because I absolutely love Lauren Graham and Peter Krause, and I wasn't disappointed by them. Lauren Graham's character kind of reminds me of Lorelai, if Rory had been a huge troublemaker instead of the perfect daughter, lol. Overall, though, the show reminds me more of Brothers & Sisters, but with more likable actors. (To be fair, I like both Calista Flockhart and Rachel Griffiths a lot more after having watched B&S than I did before.) I had a lot of trouble keeping track of all the characters, since I didn't recognize many of the actors, and I'm still not sure how everyone's related. But the dialogue was fast-paced and snappy, and I do have a weakness for big zany family dramas (it's the only child thing, I think), so I'll keep watching.
no subject
Date: Mar. 3rd, 2010 09:30 pm (UTC)That made no sense whatsoever to me.
I'm going to miss Hannah, which shocks me, because by the time KK left Smallville I hated her. HATE HATE HATED her. I like her on Chuck, though. I guess in part because Hannah is a much less annoying character than Lana ended up being.
I have Parenthood on the DVR and intend to watch it this evening. I'm glad you liked it. It give me hope.
no subject
Date: Mar. 3rd, 2010 10:08 pm (UTC)Yeah, that didn't make much sense to me, either. I appreciated that she at least acknowledged that she has a weakness in falling for her coworkers... but then she went and did it again anyway?
From the discussion I've seen, the two main theories are: (1) Sarah is actually suspicious of Shaw, and is using this as an opportunity to get close to him to find out what he's hiding, and therefore she's not actually interested in him, or (2) Sarah is so confused and upset by this new spy!Chuck that she gives in to her weakness and backslides by dating Shaw. The first one makes more sense, IMO, but I haven't really seen any clues yet (except perhaps General Beckman's reaction to Shaw's addition to the group) to support it.
no subject
Date: Mar. 7th, 2010 04:35 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: Mar. 7th, 2010 04:54 pm (UTC)