Chuck: Season Two/General Fangirlings

So, thanks to our crazy campaigning, my part being signing petitions and of course:



We are finally getting a third season of Chuck, which makes me happier'n holy hell.

Season one was absolutely incredible so for season two to take season one and kick it's ass was absolutely fantastic. Looks like the only way is up!

Unlike Nip/Tuck, the show knew how to use it's major guest stars and use them well (Teddy, seriously, the fuck is that bullshit?). From Nicole Richie as Sarah's bitchy school 'friend' to Gary Cole as Sarah's dad (seriously though, what does this guy have against the Jossverse? I saw a movie where he screwed one of Willow's friends, he beat seven shades of shit out of Mal in Desperate Housewives and now he doesn't like Jayne?) to Michael Clarke Duncan as Colt and finally the awesome double team of Chevy Chase as Roark and Scott Bakula as Daddy Bartowski. Obviously not all of them, just the first ones to come to mind.

The secondary characters in this season were also great fun, Chuck's stable of ho's, (Morgan, Jeff, Lester, Anna, Big Mike... Emmett on rare occasions), made themselves pretty much indispensable. They may have been thrown in for the humour value but they never seem redundant. And so often their storys overlap with Chuck's bigger stories. Morgan has a tendency to say things to Chuck which tie in so well to what's going on with everything he's dealing with without even realizing it.

And of course, I can't mention the Stable Of Ho's without mentioning the glorious Jeffster. It shouldn't work. It should be stupid, pointless and annoying but something about it is just so utterly fantastic. It's so real. Just two normal (well Jeff and Lester) guys with this garage band and no real talent. Just grounds the show in reality that little bit more. How many of us know people like that?

And then we've got the characters thrown into Chuck's spy world, Cole Barker being the one which comes to mind. The very antithesis of Chuck, all sexy, suave, smooth, British (obviously). He was a great characters, I want to see more of him in season three. Then there are people like Jill - who honestly? Hated her. But at the same time, she fit into the storyline really well. And for one episode spy characters I loved, let's not forget Casey With Boobs. Or Alex Forrest. The scene in Vs. Broken Heart with her and Casey cleaning the guns was utterly fantastic, Casey's facial expressions especially were hilarious.

Then obviously there are all the main characters as well. Seeing Sarah's past has just made her even more interesting to watch. I especially loved in Vs. The Cougars seeing her past. Geeky Sarah was so cliche really but at the same time, it did fit with her. It'll have been on of the other things - along with Daddy in prison all the time - which'll have made her the strong woman she is today, which is something I admire about it. Her romance with Chuck is gorgeous as well, it doesn't drag like you'd expect it to considering the length of time it's taken them to get to the point it's at now.

And Casey. Well what can you say about Casey? He's even more entertaining this year. The thing I love about him is the fact he is compromised now, he does care about Sarah and Chuck but the character hasn't become a big fluffy pussy cat. He's still Casey, his allegiances have just moved to his friends rather than his country. He's also one of the funniest characters in the show, his interactions with Chuck especially are brilliant. I'm torn between whether I like Casey more than Jayne these days, heh.

Then obviously, there's Chuck himself. Zachary Levi really is an actor to watch. If he doesn't go stratospheric, there's something very wrong with the world. Chuck as a character is one of those rare leads who really is the best character in the show (personal opinion), he's got everything a leading man should have but at the same time, he's just this real person as well. He's not smooth, he's awkward and that's what I love so much about him. He didn't take to spy life like a duck to water, he struggles and that's why he's so enjoyable to watch. While he's getting better in this latest season, it's been a learning process rather than a simple "I CAN DO IT NOW!" and that's what most shows would have skipped out on. I hope season three and the discovery of what the new Itersect can do doesn't change this too much. And his love for his sister? Love it. It's nice to see a family who are that close.

And I can't discuss the characters without a special shout-out to my other favourite, Captain Awesome. As I just mentioned on a YouTube video, when I first started watching the show, I was convinced that I'd hate Awesome. A tall, blonde haired, blue eyed, muscled beefcake who overused 'awesome'? Come on, how many of us thought that'd grate after an episode or two? But damnit, if that little bastard hasn't wormed his way into my heart. The writers and Ryan McPartlin have taken a character that could have been a one-dimensional idiot and made him into this loveable, sweet, indispensable character. I knew he'd be the first to find out about Chuck. He's just on the edge enough for it to work without it being a major deal. I hope to see more of him in the third season - I did actually say this to Zachary Levi at the T1 convention when he asked what we wanted in the new season. He seemed to agree.

The show has also had a really strong story running through which rarely dipped in quality (I only say rarely and not never because sometimes I did get a little annoyed with Chuck's allegiance flitting between enjoying spy life and hating lying to everyone). Even the episodes which should have been terrible (Vs. Tom Sawyer for example) were absolutely spot on. The 3D episode was a great idea but as I'm English and my 3D glasses were homemade - using Quality Street wrappers and an old bit of cardboard, told Zac this at T1 as well. (Cutest thing you'll ever see? Zac Levi squeeing.) But as I was saying, these homemade glasses worked to an extent but short of the ninja stars and the cereal, I couldn't see too much in 3D. But the idea was interesting and perfect for Chuck really.

The whole stories in the spy world have been incredible too. The whole Orion being Chuck's dad surprised me - no really, it actually surprised the shit out of me, sue me for not being especially observant. I knew he was involved in the spy world but I didn't expect him to be involved in the intersect project although the more I think about it, I guess it does make sense really. How else would Chuck's brain be one of those able to handle it?

I'm very much looking forward to the third season. The ideas set up in the finale have shown real promise. Waiting until March is very likely going to do me in but shit, I have the DVD's and it looks like possibly an online campaign before then as well, so I'm sure I'll manage.

But if anyone involved in the show is looking, I just have one request for the third season:

More Awesome.

That is all.