Chuck is back...we can all rejoice!!!!

Ok, so it has been a very long time since my last post!  Sorry humble readers, but life got in the way of my beloved television addiction!!!  (weird, I know, but it happens!) So basically I'm now a temporary writer for CinemaBlend.com and if I do well I might grow up to be a real one...only problem is that I'm having a bit of writers-stage-fright-block.  So I thought I'd come and do a warm up lap in my little home made kiddie pool!  yay!!!!

So this is basically my new favorite pic of Chuck....and my new desktop background!!!

So Chuck was on tonight!  Yes, yes, my lovely, wonderful, always awesome Chuck Bartowski graced the screen once again with his kung-fu fighting, awe inspiring, fan-girl squeal inducing presence.  And let me tell you, it was not at all a let down.  I mean, we got to see him with his shirt off (always great fun...do you remember Chuck vs. the Final Exam? Cuz I know I sure do!)

K, quick recap before I get into the nitty-gritty:  At the end of last season Chuck promised Ellie he'd be done with the spy life after shutting down the Ring, but he then discovers his dad's secret lair under the house and vows to complete his father's wish to find his mom, after his father's death.  So he's all spy-less life and he's officially dating super spy Sarah.  He gets stir crazy and he and Morgan go from place to place to place trying to find his mom.  They don't find her, they use up all their money (plus a ton), and they get their car repossessed, so Chuck looks for a job.  When that doesn't work out he goes to the newly rebuilt Buy More (after it kind of got destroyed last season) which happens to be run by Beckman and is now fully government operated and more or less a secret lair of sorts.  His intersect skills are then used (by force) to help the CIA/NSA with their problems but also help Chuck with his own resulting in both the Chuck/Morgan team and the Sarah/Casey team ending up in Moscow and Chuck saving Sarah and Casey's lives, rejoining the ranks of spies, and getting promised help with the finding of his mom from Sarah and Casey.  In the end, when he is about to tell Ellie that he has decided to become a spy again she tells him she's pregnant and goes on about how perfect life is so he rethinks telling her.  (Yeah, that's not gonna come back to bite him.)  And now for the part of this little entry that really matters (ie my opinions!)

It is unfortunate that this wasn't the best episode ever.  I don't think it was as good as the season finale of last season...or even the last few episodes (over which I did get pretty darn excited).  And why, you might ask, was tonight's not as good?  Well, it may have something to do with the fact that I'm feeling a little under the weather, but I'm not thinking so.  I think it might have more to do with Chuck's new haircut (not sold yet...still adore him and pretty much want to marry him all the time, but not yet sold on the hair), the fact that we didn't see him do any awesome fighting, the fact that he didn't flash at all till nearly the middle of the episode, or perhaps the rather ho-hum feeling that seemed to unfortunately permeate most of the episode.

Ok, with that all said and out of the way, I did love it!  First of all Chuck and Sarah are officially, officially together (yay).  We also got a few great Casey moments like when Sarah was talking to him on the roof and then later with him forcing Chuck to flash on the EMP when he didn't want to.  And speaking of which, the use of an EMP kind of totally brought out my inner nerd which got way excited with that one (I may or may not have written a short story in which the bad guys used something like EMP when I was 13 and had no idea what one was...so yeah, that was fun.)  I also loved the interview montage with Chuck.  How terrible would it be to go through a series of interviews and witness seizures, never ending coffee breaks, vomiting, and escorted out by beefy security all in the same day?  But it was all worth it when Beckman turned around in Big Mike's chair and you realized the whole Buy More was a kind of secret  headquarters (before it was even said) and that Chuck would most definitely return to spy life (before it even happened).  Personally, it all brought a sense of security to the episode.  It made the Chuck 'verse settle back into it's safe, good, happy place...the place where Chuck is one awesome, adorable, kind of geeky spy.

I thought it was pretty fantastic that Chuck, Morgan, Sarah, and Casey all ended up in the same building in Moscow (not that it was surprising.  In fact, come to think of it, this episode was actually fairly transparent.)  I love, love, loved how Casey told the Russians to run when he realized that Chuck was still alive.  And poor Sarah, thinking Chuck was dead.  I just wanted to hug her and say, "It's alright, don't worry.  He's the main character.  They won't kill him in the season premiere.  It's gonna be ok.  Trust me."  But that probably would've been a little odd...

And the Ellie/Chuck moment at the end...it was touching.  I have always had a soft spot for those moments since I am the oldest and have a little brother just younger than me.  I just smiled when Chuck just grabbed Ellie and hugged her and then quickly pulled back for fear that he was going to hurt the baby.

Over all, this was a good episode and a season premiere that was worth the wait.  There's lots more to say about it (like dude, Chuck didn't wear his Chucks most of the time--sad, and some of the mom stuff, Sarah stuff, the hilarious Morgan/Sarah sexting), but there just always seems to be more things that I love about Chuck than I have time to write about.  (I'm pretty sure that if I wrote about all of them each entry would be so long that by the time you finished reading them the next episode would have already aired.)  So with that, I'm pretty sure I'll get used to Chuck's hair, and I can't wait for the twists and turns that Josh Schwartz and Chris Fedak are going to give us in season four!  (And hey, that wasn't too bad...maybe I'll just pretty much use this for my article...might as well try!)

Adios readers!  If you read this, then I pretty much already adore you!

~Manda

Guh, research! Yay, the O.C.

 So, I haven't even had time to watch Fringe this week...I'm afraid that I'm going to let my TV shows down and they'll start thinking I don't love them or something...but I will be back, and hopefully soon.  I've just been seriously SWAMPED with school right now!  This past week I realized I had a huge project that was due soon, so I've been spending every waking moment not at rehearsals, work, school, or performances working on this project.  But one thing happened this week that I'd like to share.

I was sitting in my now permanent spot on the couch working on said project and my roommate, Hannah, came in and saw I was listening to the commentary of an episode of the OC.  She wanted to sit out here and work on homework with me but she thought I was INSANE for watching (and loving) commentary (I really wanted to know if I'd enjoy Josh Schwartz's commentary as much as Joss Whedon's...still not sure, cuz I wasn't really paying attention), and said that the only way she would sit and work on homework with me is if I allowed her to change it to an actual episode...I reluctantly agreed.  Afterwards I told her how I hadn't posted in a while and the only TV I'd watched was an episode of Chuck and a couple episodes of the OC (which I'd already seen so I just had them playing while I researched)...and she said I needed to blog about our little conversation about commentaries...so, this is for you Hannah!!!

To everyone in school, good luck with the end of the semester and finals and stuff!  And to those of you not in school, hope you enjoy yourselves, and hope you all are looking forward to summer and the fun and joy it brings!!!  Love all of you who read this!  Sorry it's occasionally a little boring!

~Manda

Happy Thanksgiving: TV style!

So, after (and before) the turkey, stuffing, potatoes, and pie, we need to remember why we really have this holiday: to remember to be grateful for what we've got! This (thank goodness) means we can show our gratitude for television too! So I decided I'd put together a little thanksgiving list of the top ten things I'm grateful for that couldn't be possible without the great invention of Philo T. Farnsworth's (now granted, all of mine are probably going to be from my lifetime, and probably from the last ten-ish years of it...I haven't been alive all that long...I need to learn!!!)

10. Heroes - I was keeping up at the beginning of the season, but then I got really busy with school and other stuff. Now granted, it has gone a little down hill, but my obsessions with loving comics, Milo Ventimiglia, Zachary Quinto, the really cool characters with really cool powers, among other things keep me watching!

9. J.J. Abrams - even tho I haven't been keeping up on Lost, this man is incredible. His stories are so intense, and his characters so complex. He tends to snowball out of control a lot, but that's fun too! And in addition to his TV-ness, he did a wicked awesome job on Star Trek (wow, that was an AWESOME movie!!!)

I didn't have room for everyone, so I just put these two cuz I found pic with both of them

8. Great actors that make great TV - I didn't really know where to put this, but it is a necessity. Although actors aren't my favorite part of TV, they do make it awfully enjoyable! So I'm grateful for Eliza Dushku, Hugh Laurie, Tahmoh Penikett, Summer Glau, Nathan Fillion, Alan Tudyk, Kristen Bell, David Boreanaz, Alyson Hannigan, Nicholas Brendon, Zachary Levi, Adam Brody, Lea Michele, Cory Monteith, as well as others mentioned in this post (and I could seriously go on and on...there are some awesome actors!!!)

7. sidereel.com - I actually think this could have a number one spot being that it is the way I watch most of my TV, but it just seems wrong for it to be ahead of all my shows and my favorite TV geniuses!!! But I am very grateful for the wonderful invention of sidereel!

6. House - I became a fan of this great show over the summer and if I'm not watching Glee or the Office (or Battlestar Galactica) I am so watching House! It has managed to stay pretty awesome even tho House has kicked the vicodin habit. Love that show!

5. The Office - I still say that season 2 is my favorite, but there is something about this show that calls me back week after week. I kind of have a feeling this something's name sounds like Kohn Jrasinski or Him Jalpert, but I'm not sure (hahaha, I'm a dork, yes!). Regardless of the reason, I have had many a laugh (and surprisingly a cry) over this show! It is a great show!

4. Battlestar Galactica - this was going to be number six (it just seemed so fitting...hahaha) but I couldn't have it be after the Office and House. I started watching it this semester and have on more than one occasion found myself watching it instead of doing something I actually should be doing (don't tell my mom...hahahaha). It had to have a higher number this Thanksgiving!

3. Glee!!! This show has made this season of television so amazing! I love the music, the actors, the stories, and the fact that they are starting to show a little consistency in all those things. It also makes me not hate FOX quite so much! hahahaha

2. Josh Schwartz - He created the O.C., Gossip Girl and Chuck. I had never even considered watching the O.C. till I had already fallen in love with all things Chuck. I have since then actually seen just about every episode and have come to love his humor and wittiness, and I've now been able to see a lot of it in Chuck (in addition to the O.C./Chuck crossover actors -- I love it when that happens!!!)

1. Joss Whedon - Ok, I don't think this number one spot surprises anyone! He created the best shows and has helped with the whole turning television into an art form. I believe he is on the frontier of the television world with this Dr. Horrible business. He's my hero and I hope to meet him someday. (And this number one spot includes him and all the great things he has created...especially Buffy the Vampire Slayer!!)

Ok, in addition to this little list I want to share two of my favorite Thanksgiving episodes I've seen on television (and actually remember).

Pangs: BtVS season 4. I don't think I could ever forget how many funny moments are in this episode, but one sticks out in my mind always: Spike tied to a chair getting hit over and over by arrows that are flying through Giles's house. Also the touching-ness of the help Angel feels he needs to give and how he tries to hide his presence from Buffy. Awww...so sweet (and the follow-up episode in Angel where she goes to LA, he becomes human, realizes it's a bad idea, and erases the day from everyone's memory but his is very awww-worthy too).

The Homecoming: the O.C. season 1. Now granted, I don't know this as well as Buffy (and that's kind of a "thank goodness" sort of thing) but I've been thinking about the beginning of this episode a lot this Thanksgiving. The nearly incoherent ramblings of the darling Seth Cohen make the show, and they make this episode as well. In the beginning of this episode he begs his mother to not cook the dinner at all and she wants so badly to make the holiday unforgettable for Ryan. He also works on dating Anna and Summer at the same time (which in so many ways make season one so incredibly enjoyable). Oh, Seth Cohen on Thanksgiving, great times!!!

So, Happy Thanksgiving to all! Lets be grateful for all we get to have, and in addition to all those great blessings, let us not forget to be grateful for our television!!!

~Manda