Chuck Me Baby One Last Time

It’s been a fun five years for the average guy turned super-spy! I've invested so much in "Chuck", and it's given me so much back, I'm grateful to blog about it one last time...

I’m not going to say that Season Five of NBC’s “Chuck” was as great as past seasons (especially the remarkable Season Two), but it certainly was an entertaining victory lap for our favorite characters! This season confirmed that Chuck doesn’t need the Intersect to be a super-spy, Sarah doesn’t have to be alone and Casey doesn’t have to be unloved.

This also didn’t mean that there was no growth this season. Casey's relationship with Getrude Verbanski added a new facet to his character, while Morgan and Sarah showed how the Intersect affected people differently. Yet my favorite character growth this season has to be Jeff. Once he stopped sleeping in his van (and no longer inhaling the carbon monoxide fumes inside), he became Smart Jeff, able to figure out Chuck’s secret life all on his own!

And it wasn’t as if the guest stars stopped appearing. There was that guy from Star Wars, the guy from "Farscape", the lady from "Charlie’s Angels" and the gal who got cut up (literally!) in Turistas, but the one guest star that really impressed was Carrie Ann Moss (from The Matrix) as Verbanski. She was tough when she had to be, funny when she wanted to be and loving despite herself. In short, she was the female equivalent of Adam Baldwin’s Casey, and thus worthy of his (and our) love!

Despite Chuck not having the Intersect for virtually all of this season, it played an important part. The Intersect made Morgan a jerk, gave Sarah amnesia and provided motivation for the two main villains, Shaw and Quinn. By the series finale (Chuck vs. The Goodbye), with one last Intersect upload left, Chuck opts to save the day by using it on himself, not to restore Sarah’s memories -- leaving Sarah ignorant of the love she felt with Chuck. Yet we are left with the impression that Sarah will regain her love for Charles Bartowski. She fell in love with him despite the Intersect, not because of it!

“Chuck” being equal parts action, comedy and romance, a big part of the show’s success was the acting of its three stars. Yvonne Strahovski (Sarah) was an action revelation. Baldwin did a great job balancing action with comedy. And what can you say about Zac Levi (Chuck)? His ability to bare his emotions onscreen gave “Chuck” its heart!

Chuck has done something Batman, Wonder Woman and Captain Kirk never could: enable his/her show to never get cancelled! I’ll leave you with that thought…

… after this: did anyone honestly think that “Chuck” would end without one last Jeffster! performance? Germany beckons!

My Favorite Episode: Chuck vs. The Santa Suit

My Favorite Line: “Canada?”

Coolest Moment (I’m claiming three): 1) Shaw outthought, then outfought by Chuck, 2) Casey out-drawing a six person hit squad without them firing a single bullet, and 3) Jeffster!'s final performance

Charah Moment: “Chuck, tell me our story.” - Sarah

Previous Chuck Entry

Update: Someone was bold enought to upload Jeffster!'s entire performance. Contrast that with the original sequence on "Chuck" last friday.  Vik Sahay (Lester) has an amazing singing voice!

Coming Soon!

Perfectly preserved, living in a state of suspended animation.

Change and decay are strangers to her, and radiation cannot affect her. In a Midwestern silo, Still Life managed to do it -- freeze Gigi Gutierrez inside a cryo-tube.

With previous Pretty Vacant stories, a plot twist like that would have ended Gigi’s tale immediately. Yet with Pretty Vacant: Final Repose Part I, the alluring ex-athlete’s freezing serves as a logical stopping point.

A two-part story is liberating! One can build upon previous stories and give them a new feel. More pages for characterization are available, especially in the cases of Hans and Mindy. And everything can build up to a menacing cliffhanger!

A two-part story is also hindering! One has to be careful not to lose the reader with the added pages. Characters can still be crowded out (how did Diane only appear in one panel?), and balancing explanation with action is tricky...

... but doable!

Pretty Vacant: Final Repose Part Two is coming soon, and the fun doesn’t stop, even if the conclusion takes place halfway around the world!

Best,
John Villalino

Note: This was supposed to be my opening post for the 2012, but it didn’t turn out that way. Damn my low self-esteem and David Beckham!

Whither David? The New Cool

Hey... who photoshopped David Beckham's face on my body?

Los Angeles > Paris

Last month I told mes amis on both sides of the Atlantic Ocean about my feelings on David Beckham contemplating a move from the Los Angeles Galaxy to play soccer for Paris Saint Germain -- that Becks was using the $18 million offer from Paris to get leverage on a better deal in LA.

I was right.

Why would anyone take a lower paying job when there is another job offer promising higher pay? There are many factors, but one thing that’s been heavily reported is that Beckham didn’t want to move his family to Paris… because the Southern California area is just too cool!

Beckham’s star power helps legitimize the sport in this country. In the past, kids would play soccer and move on to other “cooler” sports, like American Football, Baseball (which even I still play) and Basketball when they got older, because of a combination of entitlement and dates with cheerleaders. Now kids may see Beckham and fellow Galaxy teammate Landon Donovan with their high salaries, beautiful women and recognition that they have and may be more likely to play soccer professionally.

I see comics the same way.

Twenty years ago, kids would read comic books and move on to “cooler” media, like television, movies and novels that included vampires. Now they see the recognition and pretty ladies coupled with high wages in top comic book creators. Comics can’t compete with other media in terms of exposure or spending, but comic books have an undeniable influence on their counterparts (San Diego’s Comic-Con for example), leaving kids more willing to create the comics of the future!

Page 10 pencils for the upcoming PV: FR Part II

I will grant that other places may have more history (Paris), hipness (London) or sights (New Zealand), but one will be hard-pressed to find a cooler place than SoCal, a hotbed for comics…

… which by the way are cool!

Previous Beckham/Comic-Con/Babes entry

Crazy Beat

Think big. Act simply. Stay focused.

I had everything figured out three years ago, but without going through the details, it all fell apart. It didn’t mean that I was a failure, but it also did not mean I had to be content with how things were. Putting my life back together has been a struggle, but everything is now set in motion.

I don’t like giving advice, since the only life I would like to screw up is my own. However, 2012 is a transition year, and I only want to give advice to me, so it’s okay this once! Follow along if you like; it is good advice.

Think big. Act simply. Stay focused.

Create a Pretty Vacant app. Not only will you get that Amazon rep off your back, but also your fans with iPads and Kindles. Granted, you have to learn new software (I know you hate that), but focus on the extended reach with new fans and helping publishers with their bottom line as well.

Hit the curveball to the opposite field. I know you want to hit home runs, but if you use Moneyball principles with your comic book, you can use Moneyball where it’s supposed to be applied. The shortstop who bats ahead of you helps you see better pitches in the batter’s box -- enable her to cross home plate more often.

Be grateful. Grateful for the cool house by the beach, the bosses that hired you, your hands-off publishers, the new friendships replacing the ones lost, the lady jock who’s secretly a closet geek, and yes -- your family! Show your loyalty not by putting in more hours, but by working hard in the time you do have! Someday they might appreciate it.

Think big. Act simply. Stay focused.

Last year you were angry and depressed. You had good reason to be, but it’s time to get past that. Think ahead to the places you will be (San Diego, London, Paris), the people you will see (Courtney, Sandra, Maud) and the things you will do (summer movies, Comic-Con, Pretty Vacant: Final Repose Part II). And above all, have fun…

I dare you!



(Note: I worked on the top pic as a present. It's on this blog solely due to her kind permission!)