‘Chuck’ resumes filming next Friday; 13 consecutive new eps slated for fall
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- May
- 12
As much as I love covering “Top Chef,” which is just past its seasonal halfway point, and “American Idol,” which is coming down the home stretch, I’m looking forward to blogging more regularly about some scripted TV, specifically “Chuck,” which returns this fall.
Filming for the fall begins next Friday and, to TV Guide, the Intersect and his buddies will return to TV for 13 consecutive new episodes this fall. Nice.
Zachary Levi revealed the date to resume filming to TV Guide, but not much else about Season 2. “I have a huge mouth, so if they tell me anything, we’re screwed,” he told a TV guide reporter.
“Heroes” is expected to receive the same treatment of 13 straight new eps this fall, according to the mag.
Now, I know I’ve been critical of NBC for deciding to wait until the fall to bring the show back while allowing more established comedies (“The Office” and “30 Rock,” for example) to return for a mini-season shortly after the conclusion of the writers’ strike. But while “The Office” and “30 Rock” are critical darlings that have devout, passionate and may I say extremely intelligent fans, post-strike ratings for those shows went from strong to wrong once “Grey’s Anatomy” and “CSI” returned with new episodes. “The Office” dropped 21 percent from its season high (earned May 1) while “30 Rock” posted its “lowest-rated episode this season,” according to Entertainment Weekly. Blerg.
Perhaps the NBC execs had a point when they decided to wait a bit; “Chuck’s” ratings were slowly building an audience and collected some momentum in the fall. Bringing it back too soon only to cut it short again for summer break might have crippled any chance for the show to build or even retain its humble ratings, meaning all but certain cancelation.
What should we expect for Chuck version season 2.0? And will “Chuck” fans ever see an appearance by Natalie Martinez, who may or may not have been tabbed to play Chuck’s steady girlfriend, thus completing a love triangle with him and Sarah? Plus more teasers, minor spoilers and photos await for “Chuck” fanatics after the break.
TV Guide has lots of great candid and posed stills of the “Chuck” gang in action, some of which are posted below. But I was floored when I found a photo of a gorgeous actress by the name of Natalie Martinez, who reportedly plays “Kayla,” a character I don’t remember seeing but is in one of the show’s earliest promo photos. At the Paley Fest ‘08 convention in March, co-creator Josh Schwartz said he initially considered having Chuck torn about choosing between Sarah (played by Yvonne Strahovski) and an existing girlfriend, according to TV Guide. Could Kayla have been that girlfriend before the change was made? Hmmm.
Here’s looking at what could have been, namely Ms. Martinez:
In the same must-read TV Guide article that references abandoned plans for an existing Chuck girlfriend, Schwartz said he’d love to land Jean-Claude Van Damme to appear as a villain on the show. What’s not to like about that idea? It’d be a great comeback for him (by default) and the show would could land some buzz similar to Britney Spears’ appearance(s) on “How I Met Your Mother.”
TV Guide’s correspondent also gauged the amount of applause each guest received at Paley Fest. Even with Sarah Lancaster (Ellie) out, the results were no surprise to me as a devout “Chuck” fan:
Applause meter: No contest — Baldwin won by a landslide. Levi came in second, followed by (Joshua) Gomez and Strahovski.
In TV Guide’s latest Mitovich Mega Minute, Matt Webb Mitovich says Sarah might be moving in with Chuck, now that Sarah and Captain Awesome are engaged. Excellent. Now the bad news: I have to agree with Mitovich that plans to have Sarah change jobs to work at a “Pinkberry-type joint” means the end of the skimpy Weinerlicious uniform that has gone so well with Sarah’s kicks to the faces of endless baddies. Whatever they wear at Pinkberry, I’m sure it’s not comparable.
(Chuck/Sarah photo by Carin Baer for NBC/Universal; Natalie Martinez photo courtesy of Chris Haston/NBC; Sarah’s Weinerlicious uniform photo courtesy of Mitch Haddad/NBC Photo.)
This entry was posted
on Monday, May 12th, 2008 at 1:48 pm by Chris Serico.
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