Chuck vs. the Podcast Turns 5!

Can you believe it’s been five years since we launched Chuck vs. the Podcast? In December 2007, Gray approached Mel & Liz about a possible collaboration, and from there Chuck vs. the Podcast was born (original title ideas included “ChuckFan” and “ChuckCast”).

Those early days were full of trial and error, but as the seasons progressed we got better at bringing you exclusive interviews, thoughtful episode discussions, special reports, and the occasional silliness. In honor of our fifth anniversary, we’ve put together a list of our favorite episodes. Think  of as The Essential Chuck vs. the Podcast.

• Episode 001: Yvonne Strahovski – We launched the podcast with an exclusive interview with Yvonne Strahovski. The audio quality, Mel’s stuffy nose, and the slightly awkward interviewing style are both slightly embarrassing and rather endearing five years later.
• Episode 011: Julia Ling – We love Julia Ling, plain and simple. As Morgan’s first (real) girlfriend, she played Anna with a confidence and commitment that we soon discovered was pure Julia. Incredibly talented and crazy smart, Julia’s interests and skills make her a modern day Renaissance woman.
• Episode 017: Norman Buckley – We went behind the scenes in this terrific interview with director Norman Buckley to discover the secrets of creating a show like Chuck, get the scoop on storylines that were scrapped way back at the beginning of the series, and find out why Norm’s cat appeared in an episode.
• Episode 020: Rally Time – As the season 3 renewal campaign forged on, we decided to give it a push with a special podcast featuring 16 special guests from Chuck, including Adam Baldwin, Ryan McPartlin, Scott Krinsky, Ali Adler, Tony Hale, Bonita Friedericy, and many more. With more than 80,000 views, this is our most popular episode of all time. (Spoiler alert: we got the renewal.)
• Episode 023: Bonita Friedericy – Bonita was a fan favorite in the Rally podcast, so we knew we had to follow up with a full interview, and she did not disappoint! A veteran of the industry, Bonita has lots of stories to tell and insights to share. Plus there’s a cameo from her husband, Star Trek: Enterprise alum John Billingsley.
• Episode 032: Vik Sahay – Mel’s first interview with Vik Sahay is still one of her all-time favorite interview experiences. Get a glimpse of the man behind Lester in this extended, very funny podcast.
• Episode 055: Rafe Judkins & Lauren LeFranc – They were still the new kids on the block when we talked to them at the end of season 3, but Rafe and Lauren were already fan favorites. The writing team talked about the instant classic “Chuck vs. the Honeymooners”, season 4 renewal, and gave us a glimpse of what makes them tick. (Hint: they’re hilarious.)
• Episodes 057 & 058: Jeffster! Parts 1 & 2 – The musical stylings of Jeff Barnes and Lester Patel, aka JEFFSTER!, were a fan favorite from their very first appearance in season 2. In this two-part podcast, we interview Scott Krinsky and Vik Sahay about playing the iconic duo, and go behind the scenes with Chuck composer Tim Jones to find out what it takes to become a rock star.
• Episode 76: Holiday Extravaganza – For the 2010 holidays, we wanted to do something extra special for Chuck fans to celebrate the season. Brainstorming sessions, emails flying back and forth, tons of phone calls, and some silly photo sessions resulted in the Holiday Extravaganza, a retro-style visual podcast featuring holiday greetings from 35 special guests, including Zachary Levi, Yvonne Strahovski, Timothy Dalton, Scott Bakula, Adam Baldwin, Matt Bomer, Julia Ling,  and many more. This was hand’s down the most fun podcast we ever produced!
• Episode 090: Robert Duncan McNeill – We had a lot to discuss in our season 4 finale podcast – wedding! renewal! Winterbottom! – and special guest executive producer/director Robert Duncan McNeill joined us to talk about what went down and what we could expect in Chuck‘s final season.
• Episode 103: Goodbye, Chuck – Our final podcast to include episode discussions, this one got a little emotional. We spent a lot of time dissecting the divisive series finale episodes, sharing comments and reactions from other fans, and saying goodbye to the show.
• Episode 104: The Man Behind the Music – Chuck composer Tim Jones has been a friend to the podcast from the beginning, so it was only right to have him back on the show for the end. In this extended episode, Tim joins us from his studio to talk about scoring the final episodes, working with JEFFSTER!, and answers fan questions.
• Episode 105: Chris Fedak – Continuing our wrap up of the series, we opened the floor to fan questions for Chuck co-creator/executive producer/writer Chris Fedak. And boy, did you have questions! Another great supporter of the podcast and ChuckTV.net, we were honored that Chris took the time to give us the whys, hows, and wherefores of the series as a whole and the final episodes in particular.

These 12 episodes are just the tip of the iceberg! We recorded 106 full episodes (and one special alert when Chuck was renewed in 2009), including more than 80 interviews, coverage of multiple Comic Con appearances plus WonderCon, C2E2 and other cons, and episode discussions. Access the full Chuck vs. the Podcast library on our Blip channel and relive the magic!