Monday, February 16, 2009

Gotta Love Stepford

I don't know whether I've had occasion to mention just how much I love "Chuck." It's like a "Get Smart" for the new century--instead of a Karmann Ghia, the spy drives a bug that's the Buy More equivalent of the Truly Nolen mouse.

I like it every week--its fun, it's clever, and the characters, even the peripheral ones, are sweetly compelling. The cast is so darn likable you could just spit--Zachary Levi is the charming nerd, Adam Baldwin's spy is a more abrasive version of Han Solo, and Yvonne Strahovski is the hot girl-next-door spy. Chuck's friends from his job at the Buy More are a cornucopia of weirdness, led by Joshua Gomez as Chuck's best friend Morgan (but I'm always waiting for scenes with Jeff Krinsky, whose beaten-down-stoner character makes me wish I had a quote board, and Vik Sahay, whose character's sleazy machinations are familiar to everyone who, you know, works with humans).

But nothing makes me quite as gleeful as a sinister suburb, particularly as I prepare to move to one again myself. I think "Arcadia," where Mulder and Scully pose as the Petries and infiltrate a suburb where people are killed by a supernatural beastie for violating the neighborhood's by-laws, may be my favorite X-Files episode ever. Tonight's "Chuck" was their version of the suburb that has something scary under the surface, and it was very funny.

Plus, it had Andy Richter. He was the carnie in Bones earlier this season, and tonight he was that neighbor who creeps you out when he jokes about wife-swapping. Andy, I miss you. Kidnap Paget Brewster from Criminal Minds and get yourself a regular time slot. Please?

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