"Chuck" x5

Since it seems like “Chuck” has been on forever, I’m starting to believe that I can do these posts in my sleep! However, I’m happy to do it, because “Chuck” is still my favorite American TV show, a comedy-action-romance that has a regular guy become a super-spy.

The start of Season Five is as far away from the Series Pilot as can possibly be: Chuck has gone from well-meaning computer geek to spy billionaire, Sarah is no longer Chuck’s handler but is now his wife, and the one thing that made Chuck special -- his ability to access the Intersect -- is now in the head of his best friend, Morgan.

I must admit that I’m looking forward to Morgan antics with the Intersect, but I also like the back-to-basics approach with Chuck. It isn’t the Intersect that made Chuck special, but his ability to come up with an unusual solution to the life-or-death problems all good spies face.

And with Morgan’s new-found super powers, most of the characters have now reached their full potential, except one. I’m happy that my favorite character on the show, Casey, is finally getting a romantic partner! Casey (played by Adam Baldwin) was the lynchpin in the first two seasons, being the only character who could be both lethal and funny. His role has diminished the past two seasons, but it’s cool that the producers haven’t forgotten about him.

With Chuck vs. The Zoom kicking off the new season tonight, “Chuck” enters its final year. Yet there is already speculation that after all that’s been said, the show could still be renewed! For whatever reason, NBC’s primetime is still a mess, and “Chuck” consistently makes money for the network. I myself am going to take a wait-and-see approach, just being grateful that we’re being given another thirteen episodes with these characters!

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In My Song There Rings A Melody -- An Overview Of Doctor Who Series Six

I held back posting this because my friend Rachel had yet to see this year’s finale of "Doctor Who", but if she hasn’t seen it by now, I doubt she ever will.

Yes, you probably knew all along that River Song (i.e. Melody Pond) was the daughter of Amy and Rory. And you probably knew that River was in prison due to killing The Doctor. Yet I don’t believe many of us knew how The Doctor was going to cheat his own death, a fixed point in time!

This year’s series of The BBC's "Doctor Who" revolved around The Doctor dying in the first episode and circumventing his death in the last, The Wedding Of River Song. Showrunner Steven Moffat did a wonderful job leaving the clues for the viewer throughout the series that enabled the last of the Time Lords to escape his fate.

Despite the overall story arc, there was still plenty of good old-fashioned time and space adventure! Even super-sexy Amy got into the fun, being a swashbuckling pirate (The Curse Of The Black Spot) in one episode to a futuristic robo-fighter (The Girl Who Waited) in another.

I truly enjoyed the diversity of the episodes for this series, with the comedic (Let’s Kill Hitler), the touching (Closing Time), and the just plain odd (A Good Man Goes To War). And like Series Five, my favorite episode this year was not written by Moffat. The honor goes to Neil Gaiman’s superlative The Doctor’s Wife, where The Doctor comes face-to-face with his oldest and most faithful companion: his own Tardis.

Just when I think that Moffat can do no wrong, we get the wedding of River (the amazing Alex Kingston) and The Doctor. That’s okay in-and-of-itself, but didn’t we have the wedding of Amy and Rory last year? However, Moffat did give us The Silence, the creepiest set of villains since Moffat created The Weeping Angels. And he did give The Doctor the direction for next year’s series, where the question hidden in plain sight, “Doctor who?” may finally be answered.

I am going to miss Arthur Darvill (Rory) and Karen Gillan (Amy), but I have become absolutely enamored by Matt Smith’s portrayal of The Doctor. The BBC must feel the same way, picking up Smith’s option, ensuring the he will be The Doctor through the show’s fiftieth anniversary in 2013.

That’s at least two more years of a mad man with a blue box on a show created for ten year old British kids. That's cool!

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