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Chuck -2x22 -"Chuck vs. The Ring"-Discuss/Grade <SPOILERS>

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Oh GAWD! If they choose smelly old drooling granny show Medium over wonderful, wonderful Chuck, I will BITE SOMEONE IN THE LEG! :klingon:

Commenter Nick C says he hears NBC is now narrowing down to a decision between Medium and Chuck, but I hope commenter David is right that it is merely a ploy to negotiate licensing fees down even further.


In the event the information is correct (and though I trust Nick did hear this, it still should be considered rumour) looking at both shows, if it’s one or the other I’d probably give a slight advantage to Medium.
 
Oh GAWD! If they choose smelly old drooling granny show Medium over wonderful, wonderful Chuck, I will BITE SOMEONE IN THE LEG! :klingon:

Commenter Nick C says he hears NBC is now narrowing down to a decision between Medium and Chuck, but I hope commenter David is right that it is merely a ploy to negotiate licensing fees down even further.


In the event the information is correct (and though I trust Nick did hear this, it still should be considered rumour) looking at both shows, if it’s one or the other I’d probably give a slight advantage to Medium.

I call shenanigans. Nick C is a poster who claims to work for NBC. He's rarely right(like 20%) and his take on Chuck seems to change daily. One week it was a sure renewal. Then it was 90% canceled. Now it's a tossup with Medium. I think it's an act.

Besides this is more trustworthy IMO:

http://www.variety.com/article/VR111800307...yid=14&cs=1
 
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Even if it is an act, the article brings up good points if NBC approach this purely as a business decision. Medium makes better ratings and its 95 episodes give it syndication leverage.

On the other hand, they can cancel it since it's already met syndication requirements and that will free up some schedule space and money. The question is, are they big enough on Chuck to drop a veteran show for a still-unproven one? Obviously I hope they are, but the fact that no announcement will be made until next week makes me think they're not too hot about it.

I just don't understand it. They have a great show that holds its own in the ratings, a show that integrates a little of EVERYTHING and has mass appeal (or the potential for it). It makes similar numbers as 30 Rock, which is already renewed. And the producers have said all along that the storyline is self-contained and was designed to last only a few seasons anyway. So why not order one more season?

Under normal circumstances I'd say that "SyFy" or USA could easily pick it up were it canned by NBC, but I just realized that Chuck isn't made by Universal which could prove problematic.
 
Medium gets better numbers only because it's not in Chucks time slot. Medium is also co-owned by Lifetime and the only reason they renewed it this season was so they wouldn't get the rights. It's also more expensive then Chuck. And the article I posted from Variety seems to think we'll get a third season. I hope they're right.

It could go to CW, as Josh Schwartz is like a hero there.
 
Subway still has people in corporate who oversee the franchises and part of the franchise fees the stores pay the corporation go to collective advertising. This is how you see Subway ads on television, as no single store could afford such things.

And when you have your franchises all telling your advertising department of their increased business traffic and how well sponsoring Chuck has paid off for each of them, they will regard that money as well invested. And when you get a payoff like that, you clamor for more.

Also, other advertisers cannot help but notice how well the Subway product placement worked for them and will get on NBC's case to get on the Chuck-moneytrain themselves. This lets NBC made additional advertising deals than your standard commercial, making more money for the network than a similar show without those placements are able to make.
 
If they're serious about losing the Chuck's-a-nerd notion then they've ruined the show's theme which is that Chuck triumphs for being a nerd and doesn't need to know kung-fu to win.
This.

He still IS a Nerd.. no Intersect in the world can undo that. Honestly i'm fed up with the usual shtick of Casey and Sarah springing into action while Chuck has to wait in his car (which he never does) or hiding behind a desk.

Apparently his new abilities only activate when needed and there's maybe a few more than Kung Fu. I'd like to Chuck become more active and the new Intersect gives him the opportunity but i believe they'll keep the Nerd angle active. Though they seriously need to send him to martial arts school.. as cool as Chuck suddenly knowing Kung Fu it was very apparent that the actor never was in a fight or has any other experience in that area. They need a good martial arts coordinator if they want him to do stuff like that and not have it look like an actor pretending to be a martial arts expert (Matrix proved that it can be done very convincingly though they trained their ass off and had Yuen Woo Ping as fight choreographer).

As to the episode:

"Chuck me!" <-- that one had me rolling on the floor :guffaw::guffaw::guffaw:

How hot was Anna Woo at the wedding without the extravaganza style she usually sports at the buy more. For me she's even hotter than Ivonne Strahovski and that's not a small feat.

The episode itself was good.. not as good as last weeks but a very good season finale. Set up new villains, advanced the characters and ready for season 3.
Keep fingers crossed for renewal (they'd be foolish not to) and see you next season.

P.S.
Did anyone notice that tiny Matrix sound effect when Chuck was in Kung Fu mode? :lol:
 
Man, I just hope those poor employees were warned beforehand that Zach would be bringing a few hundred people by. Cool of him to hop back there and help out, though.
 
If they're serious about losing the Chuck's-a-nerd notion then they've ruined the show's theme which is that Chuck triumphs for being a nerd and doesn't need to know kung-fu to win.
This.

He still IS a Nerd.. no Intersect in the world can undo that. Honestly i'm fed up with the usual shtick of Casey and Sarah springing into action while Chuck has to wait in his car (which he never does) or hiding behind a desk.
So am I. But this is going from one silly extreme to another.

I'm glad that it sounds like the flashes aren't going to be voluntary or permanent, but it still seems like it has the power to kill suspense in the show (like how the writers on Heroes ended up spending all their trying to keep Peter or Hiro from using their powers).
 
Encouraging news!

Two of the industry's biggest trade magazines are now reporting that Chuck's chances for a third-season pickup are better, probably because of the incredible Internet support in recent weeks. Says The Hollywood Reporter, "…the chances of survival for the quirky soft-rated series have improved slightly."

We won't know for sure about NBC's 2009-2010 schedule until Monday, when the network presents the new slate for advertisers in New York. Until then, keep buying those Subway sandwiches!
 
Encouraging news!

Two of the industry's biggest trade magazines are now reporting that Chuck's chances for a third-season pickup are better, probably because of the incredible Internet support in recent weeks. Says The Hollywood Reporter, "…the chances of survival for the quirky soft-rated series have improved slightly."

We won't know for sure about NBC's 2009-2010 schedule until Monday, when the network presents the new slate for advertisers in New York. Until then, keep buying those Subway sandwiches!
"Chances improved" doesn't make me any more optimistic. I still think it could go either way, just by virtue of the fact that we haven't heard anything. I think the decision has already been made and they're just making us wait (while on the other hand, they have already renewed a bunch of shows before the Upfronts on Monday).
 
I've heard they're trying to extort more cash from Warners because of The Subway thing.
 
That's right, even if you are half dead leaking blood like a fire hydrant bathing a couple dozen slumdog kids, bare your teeth, ball your fists and never back down... Talent Agents, they're like Knights of old become manifest today ain't they?
 
Well it's either that, or they've canceled it and are doing everything they can to avoid that bad press that is sure to come. Like holding off the announcement.

Or they've renewed it but are trying to find the right place for it because of Leno and all the new pick ups.

The fact is, no one knows what the hell NBC is doing.

They have no excuse to not renew this show. None. Nada. Zero. Ziltch. The fans are rabid for it. The critics are openly writing letters to NBC for renewal. All the advertisers are asking NBC for renewal. It does better then their crown jewels My Name is Earl, 30 Rock, Friday Night Lights, very soon Southland(which continues to tank) and sometimes Heroes. It's the only show they've introduced in 2 years that hasn't tanked ratings-wise. It's the only new show on NBC that has consistent ratings. Unlike most of their big shows, it hasn't lost that many veiwers in comparison this season. Sure, over all, it's ratings do suck. But so do ALL of NBC's shows. Chuck's ratings have everything to do with the network, and nothing to do with the show.
 
With five hours a week being hogged by Leno, the biggest threat to Chuck now is how the upfronts go. Maybe that's the delay - NBC upfronts are Monday. Depending on how many promising shows they end up with, Chuck could live or die.

Here are the candidates:

Drama

Comedy

Reality - a gratifyingly short list. :bolian:

And early word on how they're doing.

Fortunately, none of them sound very interesting so I'm comfortable rooting against all of them. :rommie: A little conflicted about Day One, being sf and all, but I haven't heard of anyone in the cast except Xander Berkeley and he's just a guest star so phooey. Katee Sackhoff's show is Yet Another Cop Show, double-phooey.
 
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