Report from Chuck at C2E2

The Chicago Comic & Entertainment Expo (C2E2) is the last event which wraps up a little “March Madness” of our own. Starting out at PaleyFest in Los Angeles, going to South by Southwest Convention in Austin, TX and finally Chicago, it has been a whirlwind of activity for Mel and I. I’ve gathered my notes (such as they are) from Saturday evening’s C2E2, Chuck panel, and I’ll attempt to make some sense of what went on during that hour. Although with Joshua Gomez, Ryan McPartlin, Vic Sahay, Scott Krinsky and Chris Fedak together in one place, in public, ‘sense’ has nothing to do with anything. Oh, and AOL’s Mo Ryan moderated.

I knew Mo was going to be in trouble the minute the cast took the stage. No, there wasn’t a Jeffster grand entrance this time, but the boys were all in top form nonetheless.

Before Mo and the cast came onstage, we were treated to a wonderful video montage of highlights from seasons 1, 2 and 3, and what we’ve seen of season 4. It was so much fun to go back to the first season when Chuck and Sarah first met, Anna and Morgan, Bryce Larkin, those first few missions that Chuck stumbles into and more.

(Video: chuckmontage)

As you can see, there’s a lot to look forward to in the rest of this season.

Since this was the last panel of the day, the cast were given a fair amount of time on stage, which was good, considering all the fun banter going on. At one point, Ryan mentioned that he thought Mo Ryan had a question and she replied, “Yes, if I could get a word in!” Everyone laughed but she was right! Here are the highlights of the evening:

• Poor Ryan, all anyone wanted form him was that he take his shirt off! However, he did say that Ellie was about to get into a whole lot of trouble with what she discovers on that computer.
• Chris Fedak’s dream guest star for “Chuck” would be anyone from the Star Trek world, and he named William Shatner in particular. (I thought of Mel right away. 😉 )
• Dream song performed by Jeffster for Chuck and Sarah’s wedding? “Faithfully” by Journey or something by Sarah Boyle.
• Speaking of Jeff and Lester, Fedak said that it is not likely that they will find out about ‘spy’ Chuck or what really goes on at the Buy More. Jeff and Lester are reminders of Chuck’s normal life and he needs that sometimes. Fedak did say that other people will find out about Chuck though.
• Fedak reveals that the next few episodes are epic and will set up next season, should there be one.
• As you saw from the montage,  and from our posts here, Gary Cole returns as Sarah’s dad but we will not be seeing her mother any time soon.
• When asked about favorite scenes from all the seasons, Ryan said that the “Pulp Fiction” homage was his fave. And of course, diaper duty.
• Josh’s fave was going to Iran, swinging on cables and Han and Chewey (sp?) breakup. Vic Sahay said his fave was “Push It”. Scott Krinsky said he loved the opening episode of this season, with Jeff and Lester living out of their van.
• When asked if the Buy More is here to stay or if it will get blown up again, Fedak says it is here to stay. It is the perfect cover for the spy world, and serves as a fall back for Chuck.
• Will there be a love interest for Casey? Fedak says he already had his love with Alex’s mother, and we will see more of that story.
• Josh was talking about a scene they recently shot involving Chuck’s bachelor party. It was in the woods and all the men of “Chuck” were there, including Big Mike. A lot of things go wrong.
• Fedak has given some thought to an episode called “Chuck vs. the Comic Convention”.
• Will Bryce Larkin return? There’s always a possibility, however, since he is “mostly dead”, it would only be a flashback. But Matt Bomer is pretty busy these days!
• When asked which other character the actors would like to play, Ryan says he’d love to play Morgan Grimes. Krinsky would love to have the six-pack to play Awesome.
• Fedak says he’d love to have Bruce Campbell guest star on the show. In fact, he talks with “Burn Notice” creator Matt Nix quite often, and has to stop himself from begging him to let Bruce on “Chuck”. He may have to do it though.

That’s it for the panel! I went on to the press room after that. First at our table were Vic Sahay and Scott Krinsky. Poor Scott was so very tired. He had been filming until 3 a.m. that morning, then had to hop a flight to Chicago and he hasn’t had any down time yet. They both recognized me from the NBC Wired party during Comic Con week last year, and from our podcast.

There had been a lot of joking on the panel about Jeff and Lester actually being two people, though folks often linked them together as one person. That carried on into the press room, and someone asked if they were sharing a room. When asked about the effects of not knowing if the show will be renewed each season, Scott says they are pretty used to it, and he thinks it has actually helped move the story along a lot quicker. They wrap up each season as though they aren’t coming back which in turn, wraps up a story and allows for the next one to be introduced.

Vic Sahay, when talking about a love interest for Lester, says that the one thing he needs to most, his actions prevent him from having. Poor Lester! I so want to see him in a lasting relationship!

It was difficult to get a complete answer to any question out of Ryan and Joshua, when they came to the table. They kept joking around with each other and interrupting each other’s answers. It was fun though! Josh gave us his thoughts on Morgan Grimes, and how Ellie and Devon have always helped to keep Morgan grounded.

Josh answers my question about the differences between the relationships between Morgan and Anna and Morgan and Alex. He basically voiced what we speculated on in a recent podcast. Morgan’s journey to maturing began with Anna, who was kind of kooky like Morgan. Now we have something more grown up and normal with Alex.

By the way, Ryan McPartlin is a Cubs fan! Just had to throw that in, because I asked him.

I loved being able to finally meet Chris Fedak. He is a wonderfully fun guy, and loves to play with his audience. One thing that I found interesting/frustrating/fun, was that he mentioned a couple of times that there may or may not be a wedding this season. However, that being said, it was always his intention that Chuck and Sarah end up together because the chemistry between the two actors was always there and worked. He compares them to Nick and Nora Charles on “Chuck”, which is why putting them together works for the show.

That’s about the jist of the press room! It was a long day for me, but well worth it. I’ll finish by saying that the rest of this season is going to be spectacular, and “Chuck” fans will not be disappointed.