ChuckTV.net The CHUCK archive
Written by Phil Klemmer
Directed by Fred Toye
‘Congratulations Warren Beatty’
Inevitable. After several episodes with the emotional content cranked up, plus the payoff episode last week with the HoneyMooners, the show had to come back to earth. Not unexpected and it occurs with every show and story. After hitting the heights for so long, a coming back to earth type of reckoning is as inevitable as the force of gravity. This is a transitional episode which is necessary to start laying the groundwork for the next big storyline.
Chuck Versus the Role Models is a stand alone episode that does little to advance the show mythology and dishes out a generic mission which leaves it hobbled out of the gate. Stand alone episodes can be good episodes just as much as mythology ones. Especially if an episode directly impacts or involves one of the Team Bartowski members in a personal manner. Best Friend and Tic Tac are examples of stand alones that do a great job. Sizzling Shrimp is one that never did and now it has company with the Role Models.
Role Models, like the previous three episodes, starts out of the gate very strong with a hilarious Morgan dream induced send up of the 80s, ‘Hart to Hart’ TV show intro with Chuck and Sarah taking over the Wagner and Powers roles plus Morgan doing his best to invoke Lionel Standish. The next scene with Morgan at the fridge bumping into a scantily clad Sarah is also fun. Chuck and Sarah continue to dispel any issues about the two of them being together hurting the show.
Everything is played for laughs in this episode; a no fuss, no muss approach. So Sarah’s hidden gun cache and her initial reluctance to move in stir no dramatic interest as they are both casually dealt with. Too bad about the gun issue. Right now Team Bartowski has been left with a situation where Casey and Sarah handle all the dirty work. This could be a good source of ongoing conflict between Chuck and Sarah but it for now it looks like the show is going to steer clear of it.
The concept of Fred Willard and Swoosie Kurtz playing a mature version of Chuck and Sarah; with Udo Keir and a tiger thrown in, reads like a gold mine on paper. Sadly, the execution did not have that same gold sheen. Willard and Kurtz have their moments, but their storyline never engaged or surprised or brought the amount of humor that was anticipated.
The Casey and Morgan moments thankfully do. Morgan’s failures at all his training exercises were well done. However Casey’s, ‘heart to heart,’ with Morgan and approval of Morgan’s training were too much even in a light episode like this one. Morgan may indeed be a diamond in the rough but it would have been preferable to find a honest way to have him pass his training. At this rate of concession, can Jeff and Lester be far behind in joining the team? ( I kid! I kid.)
Another bit of a head scratcher was the sending off of Ellie and Devon to Africa via the Doctor Without Borders program only to have them come back in the same episode. It must be surmised that this storyline was originally envisioned to kick off the Fourth Season when the initial thirteen Season Three episodes were ordered. Whatever is going to happen in the next four episodes must require their immediate return.
Episode Flashes:
- Third great opening sequence in a row – Morgan’s Hart to Hart dream with Chuck and Sarah
- Morgan’s bedroom decor – including sparkly alarm clock
- Pyjama wearing Morgan – a concession on his part – bumping into a scantily clad Sarah by the fridge – Vitamin Ds!
- Congratulations Warren Beatty!
- 30 Foot Rule Versus the Bartowski Rule
- Craig/Laura Turner aka George/Bitsy Witherspoon aka John/Suzie Smythe
- Diamond in the rough. Very, very rough. I’m sure you’ll make him sparkle.
- Chuck channelling Ellie as he cleans up waiting for the Turners to arrive
- Morgan being trained in the BuyMore by Casey
- Udo Kier! – as Otto Von Vogel
- This is how I deal with stress.
- Doctor, super fantastic, white person.
- Morgan’s gun training – video game knowledge vs reality
- Morgan’s ‘bravery’ with the tiger
- Sarah stepping in to ‘explain’ the Turners’s mission plan to Beckman
- The handing off of the spy couple baton from the Turners to the Bartowskis
‘Chuck Versus The Role Models’ is a solid, albeit inconsequential, episode. It has the misfortune of following the superior efforts from The Other Guy and The HoneyMooners. For those that prefer lighter episodes and enjoy the relational aspects of the show they are sure to find much to be happy with this one. There is continuing proof that putting show leads together is not the kiss of death. Plus the opening of acting manuveuring room for Yvonne Strahovski continues to reap benefits for the Sarah Walker character.
For those that prefer the mythology based episodes or ones that tackle character issues in a more grounded manner, take heart, more engrossing times are ahead based on the preview for the next episode. Things should start revving up once again.
Hola Amigo – I agree with your assessment completely – only I’d prefer to put a more positive spin on things… it was light and was fun!
I also noticed a couple of good gags or opportunities for jokes that didn’t happen… Chuck and Sarah vs the tiger and who would hold the gun… a nice line could have been – ” then you hold my purse” which I think could become a new mantra instead of ” stay in the car”.
I also liked the subtle character change in Chuck. He’s gone from anxious to assertive and even agitated. When have we heard Chuck shout at anyone?
Yep – Casey seems to be groping with his lady feelings… Since he got canned – he seems to have certainly lost his edge. Even though he’s back with the team he’s not the same old Casey – yet.
I agree completely about Devon and Ellie. What happened there??? and Why???
What I really liked coming out of the whole EP – was again confirmation that Chuck and Sarah are indeed THE SPY COUPLE… just in case we were still in doubt.
I hope. well now we need to vote chuck on http://bit.ly/a0Ojxn
I thought role models was good for character development. It was really funny as well =)
Ermmm. Great article as always Lou, but when it comes to “Sarah and Casey” always doing the dirty work, I find it difficult for the writers to set up conflict between Sarah and Chuck. How exactly do you have a woman who jumped to the conclusion that the Chuck she loved was dead because he killed somebody hold a grudge against him for not blowing people away without it seeming unnecessarily contrived? “No Chuck don’t kill anyone or I’ll move across the country with a piece of plywood, but you’re going to sleep in the doghouse for not blowing away Ring agents at a sufficient clip to satisfy me.” Besides, we don’t even have evidence that he won’t do the dirty work given he put several bullets through the chest of Daniel Shaw. In this episode, despite his protest about guns in the house, he picks one up when it counts. I suspect the couch will be restocked with weaponry by the next episode, but with the addition of Morgan proofed safety locks.
I also take issue with the Morgan scenes. Let’s be honest, while amusing there was nothing in those scenes that wasn’t completely predictable. Arguably that was part of what made this episode something less than the previous ones. We had 4 different couples and they all got their gags, funny moments, witty dialogue, adventure etc. but at the expense of episode cohesion. It was more like 3 different shows.
Having said all of that, I certainly enjoyed this episode and I think it will turn out to be a nearly perfect pause before what I think will be far more focused and intense episodes to come. Role Models may well turn out to be the a brief, unfocused, light-hearted respite between what has been an will be some fairly intense and emotionally saturated material.
“No Chuck, don’t kill anyone or I’ll move across the country with a piece of plywood, but you’re going to sleep in the doghouse for not blowing away Ring agents at a sufficient clip to satisfy me”. Hahahaha….that is one of the BEST synopsis I have ever read. Thank you for making me laugh out loud.
I think Sarah just dont want Chuck to be another gorvernment assassin there are thousands of mercenaries in the world and she has killed people no questions asked for the government herself. I think Sarah wants a man who is better than that. She wants to look up to Chuck. I think she wants to be proud of him and if he is just a hired knife, well… need I say more? I think she gets it if their bad guys kill them but dont kill people for no reason. what if their innocent. she wants Chuck to think for himself. I wish I could find a chick like that most girls listen to oprah telling them that thay can “Chainge” thier man lol. I think guys come in the simplest form as it is. Whithout girls instilling “Mind controle” or anyother form of manipulation
Ah! Like usual, it’s easy to agree with this!
But lemme add one thing. I fell in love with Ellie again. Sarah Lancaster hasn’t had much chance to shine this season (not since Operation Awesome, I think). But even with limited screen time, it was great to see Dr. Ellie take charge once more. “It’s my job to take care of you now.”, she says to Devon.
Oh – and I start to feel sorry for the little bearded man! I’m hoping Anna’s return helps with that.
Morgan’s pillow case has Princess Leia on it!!
star wars lol
I really enjoyed this episode; as you say, stand alones can be some of the best episodes. I’m pleased that you refer to it as a transitional episode rather than a filler, because there was too much progression for it to be a filler. It is setting a lot up for the coming weeks.
I agree that the Turner’s didn’t really work as well as I am sure it looked on paper. But their job was to enable Chuck and Sarah to realise that their relationship really could work with them being spies. I think it was as important for them to realise that they were not the same as the Turners.
I think that Morgan’s willingness to sacrifice himself for the greater good is what convinced Casey that he deserved his place on the team. Casey has changed a lot over the series and particularly since Tic Tac so I don’t see his actions as out of character. Beckman’s going to make him suffer for his cohersion in getting reinstated though!
With regard to the gun issue. I think the showrunners are dealing with this gradually. Chuck is learning that guns are necessary if he is going to be a spy; he went for the back up guns and was surprised when hey were gone; he expected Sarah to shoot the tiger even if he was majestic; he pointed a gun at the Turners (not a tranq because it was from the bad guys) He may not have used one yet but he seems more comfortable around them.
I think Ellie and Devon in Africa is the set up for coming episodes. Possibly they have been used as unsuspecting couriers. As Justin said, they will clear customs so they could be bringing something back.
Overall, a solid episode with much to love that I’ve enjoyed even more on re-watching.
‘Beckman’s going to make him suffer for his cohersion in getting reinstated though’ Good grief she did seem to really needle him the other night didn’t she? As if the poor guy hasn’t suffered enough already. I was thinking lay off lady I doubt if you’ve ever been though what he has. I love Casey to much to see him hurt it makes me feel his pain.
You seemed to be enjoying it too. I’d be careful if I was her; Team Bartowski stick together.
Just spotted a typo! I meant ‘She seemed to be enjoying it too!’ I swear that sometimes what I write doesn’t appear in my post.
Everything smacked of contrivance here. The tiger, the trip to Africa, the negligee in the kitchen, I could go on and on. I enjoyed the ep for what it was: light fluff entertainment. The acting rose above the level of the material. I guess I’m spoiled. After the cataclysm and jubilation of “the Other Guy” and “the Honeymooners”, this one seemed bloodless. But putting all things into perspective, back when we were suffering through “the Mask” and “the Fake Name”, I was craving this kind of sweetness and light. Too bad the thing was so poorly written. I would have found Sarah’s change of heart as to moving in with Chuck a bit more satisfying if they had had one of those heart-to-hearts that they do so well. Whether it turns out sad (sitting on the fountain “You will never be normal”) or happy (sitting on the floor “Sarah, do you love me”)these scenes carry a deep emotional satisfaction for the viewer. Instead, this one was done with an almost indifferent shrug of the shoulders (“Sorry if I freaked out”). It can’t be that they were too pressed for time to do it correctly, because the scenes in Africa felt like filler — draggy and not subject to the usually snappy editing and conciseness to which “CHUCK” fans have become accustomed. Perhaps NBC’s scant promotion of this ep reflected their lack of faith in it.
I thought the comedy moments here were genuinely funny and well delivered. The scene with Morgan and the gun is priceless and could be up there among my favorites of the series.
The spy plot fell a bit flat but unfortunately I’ve felt that way more often than not in Season 3. I think the problem here is that the final run of Season 2 set the mythology bar REALLY high. It struck me after reading the review that I bet this episode wouldn’t have seemed so nearly out of place in Season 1 before we really had any mythology and mostly what we had was episodes like this one.
For me I am hopeful that the final run here in Season 3 will get the spy plot back on to something resembling a track. At the end of S2 we’re told that no one can stop The Ring. What we’ve seen in S3 mostly has been a constant stream of baddies much like Fulcrum. I’d like to feel at some point like any of these bad guy agencies have any kind of plan, beyond sending a constant stream of henchmen to get either mowed down or captured by Team Bartowski.
Wonder how this episode would have went if the couple Chuck/Sarah encountered was a young evenly matched Ring version of them? *shrug*
I liked this episode – I really did. That’s not to say it was perfect, or I enjoyed it as much as honeymooners, but it gets back to the fun and goofiness that was more reminiscent of Season 1 (incidentally I enjoyed Sizzling Shrimp too). The scenes with Chuck, Sarah and Sasha reminded me of the classic Bringing Up Baby, and still make me laugh after several views. The scene between Chuck and Morgan on their missions against the tiger and Big Mike, respectively, was well done.
I was pretty disappointed in the Turners, however. I’m not familiar with Fred Willard, but anyone who has seen Pushing Daisies knows that Swoosie Kurtz can play a drunk, bitter woman and still manage to be both endearing and hilarious. Mrs. Turner didn’t quite deliver with that. Also, the Turner’s bickering wasn’t quite light enough to be funny, and I found myself cringing at some points. They did, however, provide some fun moments for Chuck and Sarah (“I’d rather get eaten by a tiger” [than turn into the Turners] and the stress habits). I will probably remember this episode for the tiger, and not so much for the Turners.
It was great seeing the Awesomes out of their element, though I agree with the sentiments that one episode in Africa wasn’t quite enough. They made it clear in the episode that they spent at least a few weeks there, but the plot was rushed. I appreciated seeing Ellie struggle with the work; it was a growing moment for her, and I hope it’s not glossed over in the last few episodes (though I have a feeling that won’t happen). The cliffhanger at the end was almost predictable, but I’m curious to see where it all leads.
Lastly, the final scene with Chuck and Sarah was a little reminiscent of the end of Best Friend, with Sarah reflecting on her own spy-consuming life, and gaining insight into “normal” relationships just by Chuck’s example. Scenes like these combined with their spy missions show how they bring out the best in each other.
Well said. That’s exactly what I wanted to say but you said it better! I think the Turners seemed like a good idea at the time but not all there scenes worked on screen. I know what you mean about their bickering; it was a bit too spiteful at times, whereas Chuck and Sarah were behaving like a couple secure in their relationship; they weren’t being mean to each other.
Hopefully, Ellie and Devon in Africa was a set up for a spy story going into the finally episodes.
I enjoyed ‘Sizzling Schrimp’ too.
I’m feeling happy but also confused, watching the second season for the third time right now and after all that Chuck & Sarah have been through, it still feels like a surreal dream that they’re finally together. I hope that nothing coming soon will destroy this relationship because this would be my emotional death, no just kidding :).
And I also think that the review is a little bit too hard, this was a very nice and funny episode which I think is better than “Sizzling Shrimp” but the two episodes were important showing something of the characters we wouldn’t know without these stand-alones.
– And now our favorite couple lives together, that’s awesome!
– Indeed!
As soon as there’s a tiger, I get a screwball comedy vibe (for the same reason as Beth, above) so I wasn’t looking for anything profound in this episode, but the comedy did fall flat in several spots, mostly having to do with the Turners. Good thing Zac was around to pick up the ball. They didn’t really give Yvonne anything to do in the comedy department outside of the fridge scene, and that was mostly Josh’s scene anyway. (If anybody actually noticed that Josh was in that scene, that is.)
I’m glad that Josh Gomez has been given so much more Morgan goodness to do. I am hoping that Casey can learn to express feelings and have emotions without becoming emasculated, though. He’s getting awfully close. Here’s hoping he realizes he can be a scary man of action with a heart.
Love the “hold my purse” suggestion above. 😉
Once again, thanks for the review, Lou.
I disagree that Yvonne was not given anything in the comedy department. She had several funny lines:
‘Not if you want to live with a spy.’
‘This is how I deal with stress.’
‘I’d rather be eaten alive by a Tiger.’
‘You’re not going to ask me to move in with you again, are you?’
The whole arguement about the Guns.
With Chuck and Sarah together we will hopefully see more spy stories; both Zac and Yvonne will then be able to show us their full range of acting abilities on undercover missions.
I think I still have echoes of the dippy southern belle in my head from the week before. Any funny lines of Sarah’s just came across as straight-man stuff in this ep. No oopsies this time! 😉
I’ve also come to the conclusion that I’m just not as focussed on the Chuck/Sarah dynamic as some seem to be, and that’s not only speaking about Charah, so I don’t necessarily pick up on this kind of thing on the first go-round. That’s why I like reading analyses like Lou’s because it gives me something to look for when I watch the episode again.
I know what you mean. I think Yvonne will have a tough time topping for dippy southern belle act. I also miss quite a few lines of dialogue on first watching. I’m from the UK and what they say about America and Britain being divided by a common language definitely rings true for me. This is one that improves greatly on re-watch as there is so much more to discover, and not just from Chuck and Sarah.
Let’s face it, any episode that follows one that has been written by Lauren LeFranc and Rafe Judkins along with Ali Addler is going to have a challenge measuring up. Honeymooners was so good I think most of kind of expected a bit of a let down in terms of the humor, action, romance and great execution. Hopefully they can find a way to raise the bar more consistently during season 4.
I personally enjoyed hearing Sarah explain to Chuck why it was a big step for her to move in with him since she has lived in hotels ever since she was young and on the run with her dad. At some point it would be nice for Chuck to offer to let her redecorate his/their bedroom in a style that would express her personality as much as his. Better than just putting a few pictures on the mantel. That would be a big sacrifice on his part, especially if he willingly took down his Tron poster and allowed her to see what he has written on its backside. Who knows she might even offer to fill in some of the blanks!
Man, that’s a great idea about letting her comment about the back of his Tron poster!
While I think it would be a nice gesture for Chuck to let Sarah “redecorate”, I think her putting the pitures on the mantle really IS the extent of her redecoration. She’s lived out of hotel rooms all her life. Those photos are likely the extent of her belongings besides clothes. I doubt she would know how to redecorate or even what she likes or dislikes.
I have to agree with you on several of the points but on the advancing the show mythology I disagree. I think they clearly set the mythology for the rest of this season and seasons to come in this episode. Chuck and Sarah: they are a couple now both with ideals and strengths. Sarah is a strong woman, this was diminished in the first 14 episodes as we saw her struggling with who she is who she loved and what she could not have. In this episode it was Sarah who recomended they steel the software, figured out where the Turners were staying, keeping her ideals and morals while watching the Turners fail and who stepped on Chuck by offering up the tripple cross theory. It was pointed out through Mrs turner that Sarah in the past would have shot the Turners, but because of Chuck she softend and saved the Turners showing that Sarah will use her intelectual skills more than her fighting skills going forward. With her moving in, sets the show these two are together, she realized that being with Chuck is what she wants and what poetential issues they will have to face creating a path for comedy and drama as they figure it out. Yvonne is getting a chance to act I loved how she made Chuck remove the collar while she held the gun and the little scream as she followed Chuck out the door with the Tiger, this shows that Sarah has fears and is human.
For Chuck this episode clearly shows Chuck growing up. Having to deal with maturing his roommate, by not wanting guns in his house because Morgan might find them, Morgan creeping Sarah out and the lack of clothing issues. Finding out that even perfect spies have flaws and it takes work. We also find out that after last episode of Chuck flashing on demand is back to Flash maybee. That Chuck is the boss and he has Sarahs permission to say so but not act so.
Casey now cares: in the past Casey was the funny thug who would not have cared if he was part of the team, but now cares about Chuck Sarah and Morgan. I feel that the fact that he really cares will be helpfull and will be utilized in upcoming episodes. It is a sure bet that he will not betray his team ever again and how to use Morgan not as a traditional spy.
Morgan thought that it was easy to be a spy and that he would just step in and be a spy like Chuck “wrong”. He learned that he has skills but just not spy skills. Morgan dream as a spy has stopped but he is still part of the team and his skills and best use are upcoming.
Devon and Ellie This was the perfect episode for them to check out Africa. Ellie learned “there is no place like home” and she is a great caring doctor who belongs in the city. Devon learned “its not always safe in the car” danger is everywhere. For Devon being part of Chuck spy life will be something he can not run away from.
They truly needed an episode to wrap up the first 14 episodes set the mythology for the final 4 episodes and then set the stage for book 4.
That’s what I got from this episode too. Some people on the forum were saying it was a filler. I know Lou hasn’t; he quite rightly said it was a transition episode, which sums it up nicely. A lot of progress was shown in all the relationships and it was all up on screen to see; no second guessing or working it out from looks and body language. I think a lot was set up here for future episodes including Ellie and Devon in Africa; we don’t know what Ellie doesn’t suspect. Maybe the Ring has found out about the Bartowski link to the intersect?
If this episode turns out to be crucial in what it sets up for future excellent episodes, then I’ll eat my words. I’m hoping you’re right and I’m wrong. The whole ep itself didn’t seem like filler, but much of the pacing and editing made it seem like there was filler in it. As a stand-alone episode I don’t think it was one of the best, nor was it utterly dismal. I just think they could have done the whole thing better.
This is Chuck we’re talking about; I wouldn’t expect there to be an ‘utterly dismal’ episode! I think that a lot of the progression was in setting up the relationship issues; Chuck and Sarah are together and will remain so; Morgan will be part of Team Bartowski; Casey is back on the team and will be loyal to all (including Morgan). The spy part was Africa; I think Ellie and Devon going there was an essential part of the forthcoming story. There were a lot of scenes and they would have been expensive to shoot (Rain; extras; costume and set design). With the restricted budget this year they wouldn’t have wasted that on filler. I am probably completely wrong but I hope not. I’ve been waiting for the spy story to kick in now we’ve moved on from Walkertowski.
I think they got the old M*A*S*H set out of storage for the Africa scenes. Must have saved a bit of money, anyway. 😉
I thought I recognised it!
How great the future episodes are remains to be seen. However, all the stuff in Africa has definitely set up a story line or lines for future episodes.
Ellie & Awesome are leaving Africa only weeks after arriving because the Ring agent Justin has somehow gotten Awesome sick with something resembling malaria. He also said he was calling ahead so they wouldn’t have to pass through customs. Something nefarious is happening here.
Rest assured the Ring has Devon & Ellie in their sights.
My guess is that Awesome was drugged by the Ring so they could use him as a mule to move some item back to the US while at the same time avoiding customs. Clearly its important to have Devon be the one to be drugged as he might have suspected something since Ellie was drugged before. Still we don’t know if the Ring realizes their connection to Team Bartowski or Devon just seemed like a good healthy candidate who wouldn’t die during the process.
At any rate this will definitely start to amp things up for the next 4 episodes.
@Bree he never did betray the team, and if he did it wasn’t intentional. If anything I believe he was forced too or the Ring would’ve killed his family who we obviously know he still loves but to keep them safe he’s stayed away the less they know about his spy life the better chance they have to being free and surviving. Cause there’s always the danger of being captured, held as leverage or killed. And I know Casey wanted to spare his family the dangers and risks involved. else they’d have to go on the run or go into hiding.
I thought this episode had a lot of great stuff going on. It was definitely a return to the more whimsical roots to be found a lot in season one, which I think was welcome and in some ways needed. I actually think they didn’t go as far as they could have in the comedic department, feeling that Fred Willard’s style of comedy was slightly underused. I thought the cross cuts were well done, as was again the set design (like the foreshadowed tiger on Morgan’s blanket and the safari scenes on the Buy More tv’s). The most important character development I thought was for Chuck and Sarah, seeing what can happen to love lives in the spy game. Granted, the moving in arc was handled quickly but I think they set up the reality behind making that decision well. One last thing. Are we sure Ellie and Awesome are on their way home? My guess is no, but I guess it remains to be seen. It just seems to me that some people have forgotten how to just enjoy ‘fun’ Chuck. I guess it might be a little harder when a mostly stand-alone episode occurs this late in the season. For this, from an outside observers standpoint, I place the blame directly at the feet of NBC. It would be so interesting to see the difference if they were to just come out and order a FULL season four, at a budget high enough to bring the producers visions to life. Full plot lines, ability to put the entire cast to effective use, location shooting. This show would be unstoppable. In a perfect world I guess.
I enjoyed the episode a lot, though disappointed in the ratings. The Turners weren’t half bad though they could have been better.
What I did love in this episode:
C/S bickering aww just like an old married couple so cute 🙂
Sasha the tiger the real star of the show gorgeous animal and quite badass for a kitty 😉
Casey/Morgan , hilarious and such a great team. Caution though, I don’t want my Casey to have to babysit Morgan for the rest of the season, I want him in the action. It’s not fair now that C/S are together they’ve left Casey out and he deserves better then that. I rest my case.
Beckman didn’t sound like her normal hard stone self and I’m not sure I like that, I like her to be a rather frienemy to the team like she was in the first and second season better fun that way.
Liked that the Ring is becoming a bigger threat now, targeting Team B’s loved ones to draw the team out in the open is going to be a great story. Next week looks intense. A long week ahead folks and it’s already Wednesday. Don’t know if I can wait that long. 🙁
With Morgan on the team, I hope they leave Morgan in the van and turn loose the Casey. You are right Casey did not betray his team he let them down by not trusting them enough to help him. This episode can not be fully appreciated after only one viewing. I have watched it several times and each time I do I enjoy it more. What is wonderful is that every scene has so much to it more than actors saying words.
I guess you could say the Team’s even then. Remember in Colonel? C/S didn’t trust Casey to help them find chuck’s dad, they let him down. So he returned the favor in the Tic Tac. But they’ve learned to trust and lean on each other since then and they’ll have too more then ever now.
Let’s face it. A mediocre Chuck is better than 99.4% of anything else out there. Actually, I liked it as a nice, stand alone ep, UNTIL the last couple of minutes, when we realize it isn’t really a stand alone. Clearly the direction is going intense again, and quickly. The ring agent thinking he got Awesome and now is after Ellie is very scary, not to mention the preview showing Chuck being dragged off into the psyche hospital. We only have 3 weeks to go, 4 eps. C’mon NBC, give us season 4 now!!!
I don’t mean to hurt anybody’s feelings here, but I actually really enjoyed this episode. I really appreciate that this show gives us so much to discuss, and I love that we Chuck fans are smart and well-spoken. But I’m getting a little bit of a negative vibe from this review, and I just feel that at all when I watched this episode.
For me, it had some fantastic LOL moments coupled with some really great “heart-felt” moments. Not only that, but I really enjoyed all of the acting, even from the Turners. And even though it didn’t contain a lot of Chuck “mythology,” it had some great character development for all of our star players.
Maybe it’s just me, but this “lighter” episode hit the spot for me this week.
oops, meant to say “don’t feel it at all”
I guess it’s because People think it’s not on par with Honeymooners and I’ll admit it wasn’t, but it was enjoyable, I mean hey, it’s a lot better then most shows. Still entertaining.
Just wanted to make a quick comment, regardless of the mixed feelings about this episode,(personally I really liked it), and congratulate the enitre cast and crew of “Chuck” on reaching their 50th episode. My congrats go out to “Chuck” fans too, for continually standing behind them and fighting to keep this show alive. Here’s hoping for 50 more!
I agree with the review.
For me, this ep was light and Not fun.
Oh and I’m really surprised that the ratings dropped so hard since, according to many fans, the last ep was ‘the best ever’ because the show was ‘fun again’ that most fans were expecting the ratings to increase even more.. What happened??
Best ep of the season so far for me: Other Guy
Now that was epic.
That’s easy to explain, you just misread the ratings. Fewer people were watching ‘Role Models’ because fewer people were watching TV across the board. All of the networks took a similar hit. The show’s ratings ‘share’ was exactly the same. See the Ratings thread in the forum for more information.
Best ep of the season so far for me: Honeymooners
Funny, Romantic, great stunts, team B back together. And no more Buzzkill.
Or maybe a lot of people just weren’t in a hurry to watch ‘the Chuck & Sarah romance hour?’ 😉 Seems to me the Shaw arc had a lot more viewers over all.
I hope he returns. He’s the best villain the show has hands down, and the show needs some real tension and drama right now.
Well, if you’re just going to bend the data to your promotional agenda, your assertions are without merit. Anyone who actually strives to understand the ratings system knows better than to assume any single episode’s rating is due solely to its content.
Staying on topic, this episode was great because it contained moments of joy and fun, something that only recently returned to the show as the previous arc ended. Episodes like ‘Role Models’ may never be a majority favorite, but neither will they birth another “Chuckapocalypse”. And a roller coaster ride needs its ups as well as its downs.
I hope Shaw does not return. Whatever value he has as a villain is far overshadowed by his association in many fans minds with the most disappointing episodes of the season. We need to just put that time behind us and heal. More drama and tension is fine – every episode shouldn’t be light and airy. But there are other ways to get there without this one character.
“Episodes like ‘Role Models’ may never be a majority favorite, but neither will they birth another “Chuckapocalypseâ€.”
A reason why so many shows play it safe with middle of the road pedestrian type episodes like the Role Models. Chuck takes chances. They may fail at times but at least the show take risks. Rather have Chuckapocalypses occur occasionally through risk taking than sit through a procession of safe, fluffy and inconsequential episodes like this one.
I am ambivalent on Shaw’s return. Ambivalent, on one count, because of fans that insist on setting limits on the show without seeing the product first. Unfortunately most fans will not even entertain thoughts of Shaw returning as a villain invoking silly shark jumping moment edicts. The thought of forums flooding with negative posts about Shaw’s possible return is more than I care to contemplate.
From a motivational point of view, Shaw is an excellent choice for the villain. He has history with both Chuck and Sarah now and an axe to grind with both of them.
But the main thing, is if the show does choose to bring back Shaw as the villain, I will approach it with an open mind.
My ambivalence extends in another direction because if the villain is to be someone from Chuck’s past, the options are limited. If it is not Shaw, whom else can it be?
What if it is MamaB? That would bother me more than Shaw’s return.
Beyond those two who else is there? Jill? Anna? PapaB? Lazlo? Tommy? Manoosh? None of these seem really viable.
So we come back to the villain being either Shaw or MamaB. Pick your poison. Of the two, I prefer Shaw.
Excellent post, Lou.
Fans really need to keep an open mind on this. It seems to me that many of them completely closed their minds and started hating on Shaw the moment Sarah told him that she liked his kiss on her neck. And since then, everything he said or did was ridiculed to the point of the absurd.
Fans seriously need to understand that this is NOT real life. These characters not real. And these actors deserve some respect. All of them. They are just doing what they’re told.
As to Routh, if someone asked me if another actor could have done a better job with the exact same material, I would easily say yes. So while I can understand the reaction of some to Routh’s performance, he has become, IMHO, a scapegoat not just for the Shaw arc but the first 13 episodes in general.
Divorce the LI material from the character’s arc and Routh’s performance was adequate. There is shared blame here with the writers. They wanted the notion of a relationship between Sarah and Shaw but lacked the courage to clearly delineate it.
What I have no time for is vitriol being assigned to the character and worse the actor. The wood jokes got old real fast.
I’m glad you’re ambivalent, Lou. It proves you are, as you say, being open minded and considering the whole picture. The issue you and I both reference about fan displeasure with the character and the actor, whether fair or unfair, is a very real one.
And no amount of wishing for open mindedness or scolding of fans for being delusional and disrespectful is going to change that.
While many probably wish the Shaw arc was not a risk the show had tried, those same people would likely choose taking risks in future arcs even at the expense of future failures. I’ve never seen a single post on any forum advocating playing it safe in the future. But I have seen a lot of people who are saying “ugh, this is terrible, let’s move on.” This is what, IMO, the show should have done with Shaw – see he was affecting the show negatively and dump him ASAP.
Having experienced most of three seasons worth of this show, and having access to media leaks and whatnot, it seems clear that Shaw is the front runner for the returning villain. But of the two choices you provided, I’d rather have MamaB.
Why? Because she’s an open slate. She has no baggage to overcome, no residual antagonism to surpass. She could start being fantastic from the first second of screen time. We have EIGHT episodes of Shaw with which to predict Routh’s likely performance. Are we to disregard all of that? At what point does it stop being open-mindedness and start being willful blindness?
Having MamaB turn out to be a villain is to ‘Aliasy’ for my tastes. Much rather see that character taken on a different path.
See thats the one thing I dont like about analysing episodes, you find all of the holes. If not for your reveiws(which are brilliant) I probably wouldn’t have noticed any flaws. I loved seeing Chuck and Sarah as a somewhat realistic couple, not some super sexy spies in Europe on a train. It was refreshing to see them spat and work out there problems, it even made it more realistic. One thing I noticed: Sarah having committment issues. Something for the future? I also loved how the actors still have great chemistry even as a full out couple.
Very funny EP and again thank you for the nice review Lou. So now that Chuck and Sarah are together in one roof hopefully the succeeding EP or next season will see the “I do’s” of Chuck and Sarah. =)
The storylines are getting more and more gimmicky…
The “Role Models” started with a great premise — if the Turners were rogue, it was a nice cautionary tale for Chuck&Sarah. If they weren’t, it would have been a nice look at C&S’s future. Either way would have been fine but the writers can’t seem to decide one way or the other; they strung you along the whole hour — are they or aren’t they.
Then the end, they chickened out (the gimmick) and wrote in the sweetheart deal where Sarah tells Beckman it’s actually a triple-cross to keep them from going to jail as traitors.
It was silly and it showed a complete lack of respect for the viewers. We, as the viewers, are perfectly willing to suspend our disbelief to go on this journey with the storytellers, but please don’t keep trying to trick us with constant misdirections. It’s just not playing fair!
They did this with the Shaw storyline too (but that’s all I’m going to say about that lest I get deleted for going off topic).
And what happened to the strong, confident, protective and very sexy Sarah Walker? Between the previous episode and this one, she is now a doe-eyed, lovesick simpleton (very un-sexy) who might as well be saying “Whatever you want, Chuck” the entire time.
We’re happy they’re together (this is what we’ve been waiting for for two years) but don’t change who they are because we fell in love with them long before they were a couple.
Hope the writing improves because, I wonder, if that’s why they’re having trouble with the ratings. The stories aren’t grabbing people to come back week after week.
I love this show and hope they get renewed but the silly storylines do take a toll.
I liked S shrimp & laughed thru this ep. C/S working their way as a couple was great. The Ring is coming back strong. Can’t wait for Monday
Best line in “Role Models:” “…vitamin Ds are very important…”
Very interesting reading all the comments and the review, with all the speculation about forthcoming episodes and the transition from separate to together.
I personally found this episode light weight and predictable but if anyone watches Chuck for reasons other than the acting, character development, dialogue and fun they’re kidding themselves.
I enjoyed most of the comedy and the tiger link to “Bringing up Baby” was cute especially as tool for the Casey/Morgan development and in the final scene Sarah/Chuck co-habitation.
My favorite line was during the Sarah/Chuck argument:
Sarah: “I don’t quite believe it myself.” She has a delivery style that is very understated and her timing is great. Remember “Thanks for the tank”.
I’m looking forward to seeing this side of her character being exploited further.
Meanwhile, a new movie has been released today locally(Aust), starring Yvonne as the love interest in a comedy. It is called ” I love you, too” and opened to warm reviews.
I’m surprised no one mentioned that kick butt card Craig Turner picked up.
”Complements of the Bartowski’s” Foreshadowing anyone? Since Sarah doesn’t really have a family of her own, the Bartowski sibs have taken her in as one of them. I wouldn’t be surprised if she really did join them before long. 😉
Complete with the superfluous apostrophe. They have to stop getting their prop stationery printed up in places where English is their second language.
Or at least read Lynne Truss. She’s my punctuation hero. 😉
I love this episode. But I would like to see more passionate kiss between Chuck and Sarah in the future.
According to Morgan, the passionate kisses are in the bedroom. I think they took the camera out.
lol …….very funny…Bree…
I agree with the review, but one line could have had more pop:
“Diamond in the rough. Very, very rough. I’m sure you’ll make him sparkle.”
if sparkle was shinny, simple, but a nod to the fans!
yeah, since when is Morgan a diamond? So that makes Jeff and Lester gems in the rough? 😀
HAHA not a chance with those creeps.
I liked this episode, but then again, I haven’t seen an episode of Chuck that I didn’t like, I think this episode set up the remainder of the season with the Ring going to come in really strong.
“As to Routh, if someone asked me if another actor could have done a better job with the exact same material, I would easily say yes.”
I disagree. I think the material these writers gave him was so poor in some eps that I just don’t see any other actor doing much better, honestly. Heck, in the Mask ep the writers even managed to make Shaw an incompetent spy TWICE. That always seemed ilogical to me since he was supposed to be this super spy, yet he made some silly mistakes that made no sense. Seems to me that the writers didn’t pay a lot of attention to the plotting in some cases; they paid more attention to make sure to get their geeky references out there.
The writers, however, did a very good job in writing the Shaw character in some of the eps like Operation Awesome, First Class, Final Exam, American Hero and Other Guy. There Shaw (and the actor) had a real purpose to the plot, had interesting dialogue, was more complex overall and was able to shine. But of course many Charah fans still found plenty of reasons to complain about him and to put him down at every chance they had.. which only makes me think that they started to seriously hate the character (and the actor) simply because Sarah liked him enough to want to be in a romantic relationship with him. As simple as that. I think some fans also became so jealous that the Shaw character was a very important and prominent one this season.
Overall, I think he was a good choice. I enjoyed him in the role. He had the presence, the authority and the acting chops, and managed to give good performances even when the material he was given was subpar. Also, fans need to realize that Shaw was a more serious and subtle character, the straight and under appreciated man in world of silliness where guys like Jeff and Lester are the rule and the ones getting the laughs.
“So while I can understand the reaction of some to Routh’s performance, he has become, IMHO, a scapegoat not just for the Shaw arc but the first 13 episodes in general.”
Yeah, I agree that many Charah fans couldn’t get into this season because they couldn’t bear to see Chuck and Sarah apart. Personally, I think it made sense that they were apart, it wasn’t written very well, especially the Sarah character, but overall I liked it. Besides, I’m not a writer, so I doubt I would have done a better job myself. Overall, I enjoyed the first arc this season. It was different, but it was still interesting and even compelling at times. I’m glad we didn’t get the same old, same old.
“Divorce the LI material from the character’s arc and Routh’s performance was adequate. There is shared blame here with the writers. They wanted the notion of a relationship between Sarah and Shaw but lacked the courage to clearly delineate it.”
I agree that the writers/producers lacked the courage in that aspect but only in eps 9 and 11. The rest were fine to me, especially Fake Name and American Hero.. Plus I’m one of those who liked the Shaw/Sarah pairing. I wanted to see more of their romance, but sadly wasn’t ‘allowed.’ Meh, I think they were afraid of the Charah fans or what? Big mistake. LOL
“What I have no time for is vitriol being assigned to the character and worse the actor. The wood jokes got old real fast.”
Agreed. Really, it’s not funny anymore.
A good actor can elevate any material. Routh has not demonstrated that ability.
And Srahovski clearly demonstrates that point.
“Overall, I think he was a good choice.”
Well, of course you do. 😉
You know, everyone is entitled to their opinion. And no one wants to deny you yours. But trying to hide your strong bias behind a masquerade of critical objectivity seems disingenuous at best. I suggest that others do as I did and Google “stargazer Brandon Routh”.
And make up their own minds regarding the veracity of your arguments.
I agree with stargazer however I would add also the writers were given only half the season with a threat of no season 4, so gave the fans an ending that would have been personally been very satisfying, i.e. the nerd gets the hot girl. additionally the way C/S were finally together was done very well. Sarah could only be with the hero type (Bryce,Cole,Shaw) but these have their limitations So chuck is made a hero but not a cold blooded killer. Chucks kill was for his one passion Sarah, so he becomes a hero, saves sarah in more ways than we can currently imagine but not a cold blooded killer, and now he knows that he can use that gun if he has too.
I give credit to the entire cast and crew for doing a great job with limited resources and time, just like the us nerdy engineers.
I should add I didn’t like shaw as he creeped me out with the “I’m the safest guy in the world” line, interestingly my wife a late starter with chuck (but she made up for it by watch 2-3 eps in a night and is re-watching every ep again) said the same thing when she saw that and asked if he was a bad guy at that point.
I never liked him from the start, but I absolutely detested him for getting Sarah to come out as “Sam”, which hurt Chuck and deprived him of a moment of which he had long dreamt.
I liked the card, on the drink cart, that read “compliments of the Bartowskis.” The union is legitimized in print! We know it is legitimized in emotion and intent. Now it just needs to become legally binding.
++++++++++SPOILER ALERT+++++++++++
Here are some predictions for the remainder of CHUCK S3.1 and S4.
*Because Sarah has moved in with Chuck, Morgan persuades Casey to take him in as an apartment-mate, thereby making an ‘odd couple’ scenario that will supply most of the show’s humor.
*Shaw becomes the new RING director because he has the most knowledge of the inner workings of the CIA/NSA task force dedicated to destroying the RING. He will also be out to take revenge on the Bartowskies (engaged by end of 3.1 or soon into 4).
* Jeffster will become an international sensation, thereby enabling Jeff & Lester to quit the Buy More and tour, where they will keep running into C&S as a running gag.
*Because Shaw is now in the RING, Castle cannot be used, so the BUY MORE will be phased out. We will hardly see it anymore. C&S will be ‘on the road’ a lot next year along with Casey & Morgan as team Bartowski fights the RING’s plan for world domination.
*But what happens with Ellie & Awesome?