Comments on: Orbiting Two Suns: Kayla Hart and the Chuck That Almost Was

By: Short sale in San Diego

Short sale in San Diego — Thu, 22 Apr 2010 04:52:06 +0000

Hey, I think your really on focus with this, I wouldn’t say I totally agree , but its not really that much of a issue.

By: imkeh

imkeh — Tue, 06 Oct 2009 05:23:51 +0000

First, interesting piece. She missed out on being part of a great show and great cast, but I think if she has any inkling of the vitriol directed at anyone standing in C/S’ way, she probably thinks she’s better off ;).

Second, never knew her, never missed her. I’m sure the writers would have found a way to make her funny, but I prefer Chuck/Lou in all honesty. Just recall how charming, confident he was with Lou. I really wasn’t a fan of the whiney, beaten, insecure Chuck in S1. And to see him possibly do that x 2 (with Kayla).

Third, unless she went through some sort of growth phase too had she been on the show, she doesn’t really make a great match for him IMO. I’m not biased AT ALL (of course not!) but I think that he and Sarah not only are great together, they really do each other good: He softens her (and heartwarms her hehe), and she builds him up by her trust and belief in him. Great duo!

Last but not least, this could have resulted in a much uglier Charah shipper scene. The Chaylas vs. the Charahs would probably not have stopped without drawing blood!

By: Gord

Gord — Thu, 01 Oct 2009 01:32:06 +0000

I also recall them mentioning this character in the S1 DVD extras. It might have worked for a few episodes, but only if played for comedy. I just can’t imagine that Chuck would have grabbed my attention if there was a serious love triangle going on right in the first few episodes.
What brought me to the show was the action and the light hearted humour.

I figured that the writers would eventually bring Chuck and Sarah into a real relationship under the undercover relationship and having Kayla around for the whole season would have made that very awkward.

I didn’t mind the Lou story line too much, because it was well timed – a fair ways into the season but early enough in the Chuck/Sarah story. The Jill story line might have worked OK in the first season too (maybe right after Nemisis), or even if done right after VS Breakup. I thought overall it advanced the Fulcrum story, and even brought Chuck and Sarah closer together but in my mind was just done at the wrong time.

I believe that the Kayla story would have definitely been at the wrong time for the series as well, so it was a smart move on the part of Chuck’s creative team to drop that character.

By: happydayz

happydayz — Tue, 29 Sep 2009 15:45:07 +0000

Great article Aardie! I have to agree…this was an excellent call on the showrunner’s part. With this additional character, it might have been a very different show we were seeing and I’m not sure it would have drawn so many of us in. I, for one, liked that there wasn’t really a triangle…we knew Chuck was drawn to Sarah and we knew Sarah was drawn to Chuck. They both carried a lot of baggage from the past, and that took the place of any third party (well, most of the time it did). If I had tuned in that first couple of weeks and saw an obvious love triangle brewing, I can’t say for sure that I would have allowed myself to become invested and eventually become as hooked as I was (and am).

By: Rick Holy

Rick Holy — Mon, 28 Sep 2009 21:26:59 +0000

Great article. I had heard about the character on the Season 1 DVD bonus features (that’s why it’s GOOD to get the DVD, even if you’ve seen every episode). Anyway – ANOTHER beautiful woman on Chuck! Go figure! I can’t say it wouldn’t have been interesting to see how she would have played into the story. If Lou was basically a “place taker” for her in a manner of speaking, what real difference would it have made in the big “CHUCK” picture? If Lou and then Jill were 2 or 3 episode arcs, then Kayla could have been given the same kind of deal.

Soooo….. in regards to Kayla, I’ll quote one of my favorite lines from the classic Clint Eastwood Movie, The Outlaw Josey Wales. As you know, Josey was planning on “riding alone,” but he winds up picking up Lone Watie (played by the late, great Chief Dan George) and Moonlight (an Indian woman whom Josey rescued from a trading post) along the way. Somewhere along the line a dog enters the picture, much to Josey’s chagrin. So he says to Lone Watie, “Chief, I was just wondering. I suppose that mangy red-bone hound’s got no place else to go, either. He might as well ride along with us. Hell, EVERYBODY ELSE is!”

So as far as Kayla, why not? Why not have had her “along for the ride.” Everybody else (Lou and Jill were). Could there really have been THAT much difference in the overall scheme of things between HER storyline/episode arc and Lou’s?? I SEEM to remember (although I’m not exactly sure) that Josh or Chris said on the DVD that they decided to eliminate her because basically having her around would make things too complicated (or something to that effect – my memory’s not so good). But didn’t having Lou and then Jill around complicate things?? Seems like six and one-half dozen the other.

Regardless, please, PLEASE don’t bring her back NOW!! 🙂

By: aardvark7734

aardvark7734 — Mon, 28 Sep 2009 20:30:12 +0000

In reply to olddarth. Heh. I think there's a little "being tarred by the same brush" going on here, OD. ;) I've never forgotten that the show has drawn all of its acclaim based on what TPTB have done right, not what they've done wrong! In this case, for a number of reasons, I think they absolutely made the right choice.

By: Larry1234

Larry1234 — Mon, 28 Sep 2009 20:27:13 +0000

I think Sarah and Chuck’s relationship has been very slow to develop–too slow__they have been seeing each other every day for how long–11/2 to 2 years. I think Kayla would have just complicated things–However it is hard to tell how the story lines would have developed-She could have been used to accelerate Chuck and Sarah’s relationship.-I am probably the No.1 angst hater because I want Sarah and Chuck to have a loving,long term committed relationship. I think it would be best for the longevity of the show to have that type of relationship and then more time could be spent going after the evildoers as a team and the writers could jack up the comedy and adventure. The BuyMore may be important to the show but I think time devoted to it could be cut by 30% at least. Anna and Ellie offer some interesting possibilities to explore. I have wondered if the “Medium” star Arquette (SP) would have agreed to cut back on her episodes from the 22 contracted to the 13 or so they asked her to do if Medium would not still be on NBC and Chuck would have been cut. Chuck needs to be solidified to guarantee it’s survival.

By: olddarth

olddarth — Mon, 28 Sep 2009 20:20:13 +0000

Wow. Praise for the showrunners! WooT! This calls for a drink. 😉

By: Pat

Pat — Mon, 28 Sep 2009 19:53:27 +0000

Hi All:

Good article! I never knew too much about the Kayla character and this article explained her purpose and effect on the show, nicely. It is interesting that the producers and writers were going this route, initially.

I do agree with niilk that Chuck and Sarah’s relationship started too quickly. However, I don’t think this character would have enhanced the relationship or show. After reading the character’s background in the article, she didn’t really seemed interested in Chuck and tended to go for more “wild” types of men. It appear she was attracted to more free spirited and reckless individuals.

Also, this type of female I could not picture Chuck being attracted at the time. At that point in his life, he seemed to go for more traditional, conservative types of women. The females he has been attracted to Lou, Jill and even Sarah seemed deep down more old fashion. They are nothing like this young woman.

Also, I could not see her having much interaction with the other characters on the show. She seemed somewhat designated to the nightclub scene only and would not regualarly interact with Chuck, his family and the Buymore crew. That might be another reason why she was cut.

I would tend to agree that it was probably a good decision to cut her role in the show. I would not mind seeing her on the show maybe the same character, but a different purpose than what she was originally casted.

By: niilk

niilk — Mon, 28 Sep 2009 17:36:44 +0000

Thanks for the article.

I’ve always thought Chuck and Sarah got too close too quickly. Having Kayla in the story may have made it easier to delay the real development of Charah, or a least to have it develop more slowly until the Kayla situation (and Bryce too for that matter) became resolved – perhaps for a season or more.

We would have had more character development by the time C&S became more serious (if Charah was delayed via Kyla) and therefore more information to understand the inevitable ups and downs of Chuck and Sarah’s relationship.

On the other hand, Chuck pining for two women who wouldn’t sleep with him would have the potential to make him appear more pathetic than he can be already. Certainly that would have forced the writers to develop Chuck’s character early on such that when he and Sarah actually did get close, we could better understand what Sarah saw in him.

All in all, I say they should have kept Kyla in.

PS; for those looking for the pilot script, do a search for Chuck TV scripts – it’s available on the web.