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« Chuck
Episode Recap: "Chuck vs. the Alma Mater"
I am going to start right off by saying this was a fantastic episode. It wasn't as amusing as some of the others, but it made up for that with a tight story and some really great information that explained so much. It wasn't just another bad guy of the week, it was a solid piece of the whole "Chuck as Intersect" premise.
Chuck learned that the professor who booted him from Stanford is actually an operative, and Chuck was assigned to "bring him in" for protection from an Icelandic assassin with some wicked crossbow skills. That part of the mission didn't go so well, but the road trip to Stanford proved to be very successful in more ways than Chuck imagined. There he found a disc that contained all the intel on the students recruited to the agency, including an entry on himself. Back home he opened his file and learned that Bryce got Chuck expelled to save him from becoming a agent.
I absolutely loved the way this episode tied up some plot points. Turns out it wasn't a random act to send Chuck the Intersect info; Bryce knew Chuck's scores for subliminal pattern recognition, so he had to have known that Chuck would respond the way he did to the e-mail. This sets up a very interesting twist: Bryce the "rogue agent" ended up being a really good guy, so, as Chuck wondered, maybe stealing the Intersect was for the greater good, too. I'm sure we will be seeing more of this storyline later on.
The flashbacks to Chuck's college days were bittersweet. You could tell it meant so much to him to be there, and you could see how much Bryce's betrayal hurt him. At first I thought it was going to turn out that Bryce set up Chuck out of jealousy, that he didn't want someone better than he was brought into the agency. That he did it for Chuck's own good was unexpected and a really nice touch. And it gave Chuck his friend back: through all the flashbacks of the happy times he had with Bryce, you got the feeling he missed Bryce's friendship more than he missed being a Stanford student.
As a break in the action, the Buy More crowd engaged in a power struggle against the overlord Tang. Morgan was actually effective (and annoying only once!). Most of us have worked with someone like Tang, and I admit I get some measure of vicarious satisfaction when he is outsmarted by the others.
I’ll just get right to some of the moments worth mentioning:
• The flashbacks. I already talked about them, but they bear repeating as standouts. It was a great way to shed light on Chuck’s past and fill in some gaps.
• Chuck figuring out Bryce’s hiding spot, then coming up with the plan to call the active student agents for back up. That is what sets Chuck apart from the original Intersect computer: Chuck came up with all that, and I doubt the computer would have devised those actions.
• The look on Casey’s face when Sarah admitted she had only one shot left instead of the half clip she claimed; and the look on Sarah's face when she saw what Bryce had done for Chuck.
• Shirtless Awesome. Need I say more?
I leave the rest of this amazing episode to you guys. Did you like it as much as I did, or think it was a bit contrived? Let's hear what you have to say!
For more Chuck, see our Online Video Guide.
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Nov 5, 2007 9:56 PM
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all I have to say is that I am loving Chuck more and more each episode, and am glad it gets better and better and strayed slightly from its formula. It'll be interesting to see how Sarah's feelings for Chuck will play out now that she knows that Bryce is a nice guy and not an @$$ like she thought he was.
This episode is little bittersweet with the writers' strike going on, if only because I know there are limited episodes....
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Nov 5, 2007 11:33 PM
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Oh yeah, one more thing, I REALLY hope that the ratings improve andthat it gets a full season and second season pickup.
NBC if one of your staff is reading this: please change day/time of airing Chuck... Once DWTS finishes, it will compete against the Sarah Connor Chronicles, which will have the same fanbase as Chuck and will affect Chuck's ratings even more than DWTS IMO... 
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Nov 5, 2007 11:36 PM
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This is one of my favorite shows, especially because it is the only one my husband will watch with me aside from football. It's also the only show on network TV that he watches. He's in that coveted younger male demographic - are you listening NBC beancounters???
It's funny and sweet and even my daughters can watch it with us and enjoy it. How many scripted shows are like that anymore?
The Buy More storyline was hilarious and I was glad to see Morgan get the upper hand for once. He doesn't annoy me like he does so many of you.
The guy who played Brice was on another great show that the networks cancelled, where 2 guys were accused of bombing a museum. It was just last summer or spring and I forgot the name already. What was it?
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Nov 5, 2007 11:50 PM
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I think the show you're thinking of is "Traveler" - I never saw it, but I remember hearing about it.
As for "Chuck" - last year, on Monday night, you couldn't get me to do - much less watch - anything until I'd had my "Heroes" fix. Now you can even get me to watch "Heroes" until I get my "Chuck" fix. I just love the show.
Tonight was really poignant. I wasn't expecting that at all, and it was great for Chuck to get his friend "back" in a way, and to understand why Bryce got him kicked out.
I absolutely LOVED the way he called in the other students who were recruited - that was brilliance, and also unexpected. Usually, something like that I can smell from a mile away, but they set this up without tipping their hand, and I *always* enjoy that.
Thanks for the recap!
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Nov 6, 2007 12:36 AM
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This show is really growing on me. I loved the story tonight of going back to Stanford. BTW, we never found out if the professor lived or not, did we?
One thing I have noticed is that in the first few episodes, there seemed to be a dead spot about 35 - 40 minutes into the show. It's like they didn't know what to do and gave us 5 minutes of filler. I haven't noticed that problem the last 2 episodes.
Also, I find the entire Tang storyline totally annoying. I find Tang totally annoying. Can he just die from a stray bullet in a shootout at the Buy More?
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Nov 6, 2007 4:53 AM
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I can't say it enough: this is such a well crafted show from all aspects, whether it's the writing (give them all a share of the profits!), the sets or the acting. It's fun, it's funny, it's touching, it's exciting!
I think the "Morgan" concept was further revealed last night. It seems to me that the writers are comparing/contrasting Morgan's trials and tribulations vs. Chuck's. While Chuck is battling the bad guys in the spy world, Morgan is battling the bad guy in the real world.
One of my favorite bits was the girl geek (sorry can't remember her character's name) getting the keys from Tang. Using a "Sara" tactic (like in Chuck vs the Wookie) to foil Tang.
Next week looks like it's going to be interesting.....Chuck: "Hot coffee." I nearly choked, I was laughing so hard. Can't wait for next Monday!
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Nov 6, 2007 5:38 AM
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I really liked this episode. It wasn't just bad guy of the week, and it showed how valuable Chuck is and can be. Question though, will the CIA see how Chuck was manipulated by the professor and Bryce to not be recruited and now that he's the intersect, make him an employee? Shouldn't they fix his school record and let him go back to Stanford where they'd have an easier way of working with him that having him schlep at the Buy More?
I also liked that Morgan and the bisexual Asian gal worked against Tang. I can't believe the one crew member was "bought off" by the yellow shirt.
This show is a real winner and I hope it gets a full pickup and renewed for next year. I don't know what NBC has to do to get this show better ratings, but they need to do something.
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Nov 6, 2007 7:39 AM
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I thought I heard Ellie refer to Awesome as "Dennis", but previously his name was "Devon". Did I just mishear this?
Great episode. Casey was super as always.
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Nov 6, 2007 7:55 AM
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This is probably my favorite episode of the season so far. I just like how it finally got away from the "who do I trust" thing and gave us a lot of information on Bryce and how it basically got Chuck expelled for his own good. It was a great way to give us some exposition. I would have like to have seen more college Chuck though.
And I loved how Chuck's stable of Hos were called to action tonight. I love seeing the Nerd Herders on a mission.
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Nov 6, 2007 8:11 AM
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Awesome episode. From the pilot, you knew at some point Chuck was going to have to go back to Stanford and exercise those demons. The way they managed it was completely fresh to me. I think that maybe Bryce underestimated Chuck when he got him kicked out of Stanford. I think no matter what, Chuck would be Chuck. We're seeing that now with the decisions he makes. He didn't have to help that operative from China, he chose to.
Great, GREAT episode. I think this show is doing just fine as a lead in for Heroes. I know that DWTS will be over and Sarah Connor will start, but 8PM for SCC? I think that's too early in the evening for that show. It's a 9PM'er at least.
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Nov 6, 2007 8:24 AM
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So was Chuck a sophomore or a senior when he was kicked out? In previous episodes he said it happened when he was a sophomore (although the closed captioning said senior), but if he and Bryce met in 1999 and he left in 2003, he must have been a senior. I hope they clear this up.
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Nov 6, 2007 8:54 AM
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I really liked this episode. However I am concerned about the whole premise of the disc. Doesn't anyone else think that it is a little too convenient that the professor kept information incriminating to himself for four years and them copied it to a disk to give to Bryce - now! Could it be a set-up by Bryce or even Sarah to gain Chuck's sympathy for other plans?
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Nov 6, 2007 9:09 AM
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Nice Office Space moment when Tang arrived with his coffee mug. And I want to say there was at least one more pop culture shoutout, but right now I'm blanking on it. The guy who plays Tang does it just right - he's so obnoxious its fun to root against him. Go Morgan!! Here is the perfect outlet for his energy. I love the Buy More Battles.
So Bryce was a good guy after all. I'm still wondering if he's really dead. Hm. And I'm looking forward to meeting Jill. I get the feeling we'll run into her somewhere along the line.
And yay for shirtless Awesome!
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Nov 6, 2007 9:40 AM
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I must agree...Awesome episode (sort of says it all.) This may be my favorite of the season so far. We really got decent dose of the backstory.
At first I was a bit irritated that Chuck used that exact time to play the disc. I mean, c'mon...run now, play disc later. He realizes that he has made some bonehead moves in the past and playing the disc while the bad guys are chasing you could certainly qualify as one also. However, when he used the info off said disc to call the campus agents, I was cheering for him.
Casey got a bit more screen time (yay!) and got to do a couple of his signature badass moves. As usual, he was pretty funny tonight as well. One was when he told Chuck to leave the quips to him after Chuck joked, "Way to blend into the crowd..." My other Casey favorites:
"Oh, you wanna save our environment, huh? Take a shower hippie!"
"Sorry I couldn't wipe the idiot grin off your face with Photoshop."
I also enjoyed the blending of the "spy games" with the Buy More storyline. I cannot stand Tang, but I guess someone else had a point. He is a guy that is easy to dislike and though I have never had a problem with Morgan, it sure makes it easier to root for him against Harry.
emily86 - I actually heard Devon when she said his name.
Almost forgot, I also loved the scene with Awesome's frat buddies at the beginning. So stereotypical frat, but very funny; especially when Chuck got hit with the football "right in the pills!"
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Nov 6, 2007 10:07 AM
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