Comic-Con 2010: Chuck Versus Comic-Con – Panel Review
Last year I made the mistake of underestimating the demand for the Chuck panel, and by the time those of us at the end of the line made it into Ballroom 20 (where the panel is held) I had missed the Jeffster’s performance of Queen’s “Fat-Bottomed Girls.” I was determined not to make the same mistake this time. This year, armed with my Starbuck’s, I arrived early enough to get in and even get a decent seat. And yet the folks running this thing nearly found a way to screw it up again. (More about that in another article.
Well, on to the actual panel.
Present at the panel were the show’s creators Chris Fedak and Josh Schwartz and actors Zachary Levi, Yvonne Strahovski, Sarah Lancaster, Adam Baldwin, Vik Sahay, Scott Krinsky, Joshua Gomez, Ryan McPartlin and Mark Christopher Lawrence.
At the outset the announcement was made that the 3rd Season DVD will be released on September 7th and the Season Premier will be September 20th.
Like last year, the panel kicked off with a video, but this time it was a montage of season 3 followed by the question flashing on the screen: “But who will play Chuck’s Mom?” Her identity is revealed when they flash a few seconds of video of Linda Hamilton as Sarah Connor in Terminator 2 (drawing cheers from the crowd.) At this point for a few moments, “The Ring” made an attempt to try to brainwash the audience through the video screens before Chuck and Morgan hijacked the feed. They determined that the only way to counteract the damage already done by the brainwashing was to show another video. They started going through some DVD’s including Serenity (which got another big response from the audience) before settling on something that Chuck suggested might cause more damage than the actual Ring video, but he relented. The video that then pops on the screen is “take 72” of a Jeffster dance video. The song is Bad Romance by Lady Gaga. At the conclusion of the video, Jeffster leads the rest of the cast out onto the stage to the strains of the same song.
Due to the limited time for Q & A Josh Schwartz (Writer/Creator) gave out most of the information beginning with the revelation that Chuck’s search for his Mom is going to be a huge part of the 4th season. This search will serve as the source of much of the dramatic tension for the season, due to the fact that it will require Chuck to go back on his promise to Ellie that he would leave the spy world. This deception will allow for a slight variation of the ongoing theme of Chuck attempting to hide his spy life from those in his “regular” life. With Ellie having found out about Chuck being a spy, only some of the Buy More guys remain in the dark. Schwartz said that Jeff will be the last to know, but that he probably wouldn’t remember the next day anyway. Suspense as to the identity of Chuck’s Mom will not play a role as the viewers will catch a glimpse of her in the first episode of the season. Much of the ongoing comic relief will come from the chemistry between Chuck and Morgan who are going to be “good/bad” spy team.
In another development, in the aftermath of the Buy More being blown up at the end of season 3, instead of moving away from the Buy More altogether, the writers of the show have decided have the Buy More be taken over by the CIA. Every week there will be the new superspy operative playing the role of the same management “Green Shirt” named “Greta.” The first week, the agent assuming that role will be played by Olivia Munn. In the 2nd week, an agent will be played by Isaiah Mustafa (the Old Spice Guy.) That is all they know of for now. Some other guest stars lined up for the season so far are ‘Stone Cold’ Steve Austin and Dolph Lundgren.
One lesson the writers say that they have learned is that they won’t put anyone else romantically between Chuck and Sarah.
Chris Fedak (Writer/Creator) added that they thought about a spinoff series of Jeffster on the lam, but decided against it.
One thing that has not changed from last year is tremendous chemistry of this cast expressed throught the continuation of the ongoing banter between the members of the cast, the most notable of which was when Adam Baldwin (John Casey) made reference to how difficult the scenes were between he and Joshua Gomez (Morgan Grimes) due to their dramatic difference in height. He said that one of the most common things heard on the set was someone on the crew shouting out “apple box please!” Ryan McPartlin (Devon ‘Captain Awesome’ Woodcomb) chimed in that it killed Gomez when his character was introduced to the spy world first. He followed that up with the comment that ‘Awesome’ couldn’t handle it and that that world was all Morgan’s now. Zachary Levi (Chuck Bartowski) expressed extreme gratefulness to the fans for the support the show has received. When someone shouted out a request for a Chuck movie he said “do you have two or three million dollars?” He then quipped that we could “pass the hat.” He immediately followed that up with a comment that if they did indeed do that the fans really would rally to the shows cause. Vik Sahay (Lester Patel) joked that he was scared that when they blew up the Buy More that his days on the show were numbered, but Josh Schwartz quickly interjected that he wasn’t going anywhere.
Yvonne Strahovski (Sarah Walker) and Sarah Lancaster (Ellie Bartowski) were somewhat limited in their comments today, but I am further convinced that there have never been two more beautiful actresses in primary roles on a network TV show.
Well, I have officially received my Chuck fix for the summer, I’m just grateful that we only have to wait until September this year. Here’s to another great year of Chuck. Now go tell your friends.
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