Mommy Issues -- "Chuck" At Winter Break

Now that I’m back eating leftovers at my sister’s house, here are some thoughts at the winter hiatus of Season Four…

It is a little depressing for me that NBC’s “Chuck” has ended for the year, since it only leaves the upcoming “Doctor Who” Christmas Special as the only thing left on television that I truly want to watch for the month of December. However, this does give me an opportunity to reflect on what has happened to Chuck (Zac Levi) et al.

Season Four has had moments where it seemed like leftovers were being served, especially when the show gave us characters that appeared in previous seasons (Heather Ratcliffe, Hugo Panzer and the Generalissimo), but it has really taken off now that the focus is back on Chuck’s mom. It may seem a stretch that the main villain this season, Alexei Volkoff, is so in love with Mary Bartowski that he is willing to assault the fully automated CIA base that is the Burbank Buy More, but it is no more of a stretch than a crazy-in-love Sarah tearing up half of Asia to find a kidnapped Chuck.

I do like that the action is less dependent on special effects. Granted, this is due to the decreased budgets “Chuck” has been given this season, but the action has held up with more hand-to-hand combat and fewer explosions.  Chuck’s new strip-kick move is fun, but the one character that has really benefited from this subtle change is Yvonne Strahovski's Sarah. She already has had two tremendous fights scenes this season: the catfight on the catwalk (Chuck vs. The Suitcase) and the contest in the kickboxing arena (Chuck vs. Phase Three).


Even when “Chuck” gets incredibly far fetched and silly, it still manages to keep its balance with the action and the comedy in large part because of the acting. Just when I couldn’t hope for another character to switch back and forth from lethal to funny like Adam Baldwin's Casey, we are given Volkoff. Timothy Dalton is so good playing Volkoff, it seems effortless for him to be funny, scary and intense at the same time!  (Disclaimer: Dalton does has a special place of honor with me as the only actor to play a part in my two favorite television shows, “Chuck” and the BBC’s “Doctor Who”.)

I have enjoyed the development of most of the regular characters this season, especially Morgan’s. However, the two characters that have surprisingly suffered this season are Jeff and Lester. Maybe it’s a backlash of their overuse last season, but I do hope that the producers can find it in their hearts to give us a Jeffster! performance next year. That would really make my season!

As for my feelings regarding a fifth season, they still haven’t changed. NBC continues to have so many problems this year that it seems unlikely for them to pull a stable, profitable and fan-favorite show like “Chuck” off its schedule, despite the low ratings. I wouldn’t stop buying Subway sandwiches or guarantee syndication yet, but I do feel better about “Chuck” being renewed than I have in years!

My Favorite Episode (so far): Chuck vs. The Couch Lock.  I choose this over Chuck vs. Phase Three because paralyzed Casey is still cooler than kick-butt Sarah.

My Favorite Line (so far): “Tonight, I ride in the back!”  Honorable mention goes to "Come with me if you want to live", because even when I knew it was coming, it still made me laugh!

Best Greta (this is new): Summer Glau

My Coolest Moment (so far): Morgan helping Casey to overcome a paralysis drug by informing him that he and Casey’s daughter Alex are dating (with highly effective and completely hysterical results)!

Charah Scene (so far): Did I mention that Sarah tore up half of Asia to find her missing Chuck?  Awww!

Previous "Chuck" entry

Hola! A Page 23 Do-Over

It’s hard to admit that a comic book could be delayed because of one page, but that almost happened with Pretty Vacant: Vegas Showcase simply because it didn't "flow" right!  That doesn't mean I didn't like the artwork that my penciller Oscar gave me. I like Oscar's art very much, but sometimes the art clashes with the storytelling.

In my original layouts, Page 22 sets up a gunman intent on assassinating an unsuspecting Barnaby who is driving his car on a coastal highway. The would-be assassin takes careful aim, but before the trigger is pulled he is beaned by a baseball. The hired gun picks up the baseball, reads the inscription (Game Over, Gigi) and with the page turn…

KRAK!

The first panel of Page 23 shows Gigi saving her friend by overpowering the gunman. The delay almost occurred because I felt that the original pencils were underwhelming:

I had two problems.  First, the flow is off. A panel on a page should flow directly into the next panel.  Normal American comics read top left to bottom right.  In the orginal pencilled page the reader has to go top left to middle right. I would have been able to fix that with a word balloon if it weren't for the second snag: the payoff wasn't exciting enough for me! A comic page is like any other artwork. The reader should see the images and read the words in a way to make him or her feel more involved.

I tweaked the page for Comic-Con, but because there are other comic book shows on the horizon, I felt the need to do a “director’s cut” on Page 23. The first thing I did was to reorganize the panels. Then I asked Oscar to redraw panel one, and was surprised to how quickly he agreed after I stated why it should be done.  I was even more surprised by how much I like the revision!

When I got the redrawn panel, I did an old-fashioned cut-and-paste job to fit it onto the page. The revised Page 23 puts the reader much closer to the action, and the panels flow much smoother! The great Neal Adams once told me that any breakdown in flow causes a disruption in the page. The key is to understand how the eye works when reading a comic page, and control the eye with your panels!

The extra effort was worth it.  Hasta luego!