Furthermore, they have a stupid tree
Chuck 1.07 - "Chuck Versus the Alma Mater"
I appreciate the way all of the backstory that the previous episodes set up came together in this episode, and connected Chuck's past to his present. The defining moment of his life so far, Bryce's betrayal and his expulsion from Stanford, turned out to be a backhanded act of friendship, and now he has to readjust the lens he's used to look at his life and his relationships. Bryce emailing him the Intercept files becomes less a final screw you and more an act of trust. And now Chuck has no excuse for killing time at the Buy More because he has decided that the world has decided he's a loser. He's not just the subject of forces beyond his control: when Bryce tells him that he did it to himself--got himself expelled from Stanford--it was a twisted truth, because Chuck's abilities and potential have been guiding him all along, and belief in Chuck's good heart has guided Bryce's agenda, whatever it is, in sending him those files. And Chuck, standing up to Casey, starting to think for himself and resolve his own problems, is starting to realize that. I also like that Sarah and Chuck's separate relationships with Bryce, both complicated, converge here, and that they both have a new reason to mourn Bryce.
Harry Tang's reign of terror is something to fear, but it's also a sign that Chuck's secret identity--which cost him the managerial position--has real-world consequences for himself and his friends.
BUT what is up with the epic UCLA/Stanford rivalry? Stanford's big football rivalry is with Cal. There's an axe and everything.
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Hopefully, by the time I get done voting and then running tonight, I'll have a chance to catch up on this week's Heroes. I had a really hard time motivating to run when it started getting dark before I got home, but I think I've overcome some of my psychological reluctance, the part of my brain that insists I should be sitting on the couch in my pajamas because the sun is gone.
The WGA strike is probably--unless it's resolved very quickly--going to make for a weird television season, but I get why the writers are doing it. Their current compensation is tied to an increasingly obsolete television delivery model; the future belongs to DVDs and downloads. In the meantime, there are probably going to be a lot of weird politics around which shows survive the season, and I'm pretty confident that the SciFi network will prove its bone-headedness yet again by not airing BSG early when everybody else has run out of original scripted programming.
Variety just ran an interesting article about the dilemma faced by people who wear multiple hats--like the writer/actors on The Office.
My emergency strike plan is to finish due South and take up Babylon 5. Since I'm doing well to squeeze in more than an hour of TV on most weeknights (see above re: Heroes), that should last me a while. And I am now the proud owner of an approximately 5,000-DVD Stargate set, so. Boy did I not see that coming when I first tuned in to "Children of the Gods."
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pellucid is hosting an anonymous love meme. Go forth and love!
