So we are already 2 categories into the Emmys and I’m 1 for 2. Let’s see how the rest of these go…

I just watched the Chuck finale and I have to say that the writers are really on it. It wasn’t the most amazing finale yet (so far, Grey’s Anatomy may clinch the title for that one) nor was it the most anticipated (Lost took that trophy home), but it was the most satisfying as an ending as well as raising the level of anticipation for next season.

Recap:

Chuck’s finale finds him on the fritz with the Intersect in his head so that, instead of flashing and kicking ass, he’s flashing and passing out. This gives Shaw, back from the dead, the perfect opportunity to come out of hiding, pretend to be a triple agent but actually he’s a quadruple agent for the Ring. He uses Chuck’s instability and the need of the other agents to protect him to convince the convening spy council that the Intersect project is a wash and that Chuck is treasonous. Chuck tosses a letter opener at Shaw, just as his father does to him, but Shaw realizes his plan and takes the stabbing, guaranteeing that Chuck will see the inside of a cell for a long time… well, that is until he kills him.

Meanwhile, Ellie is finding out all the dirt on Chuck’s super secret spy life from Captain Awesome and Morgan. She realizes she didn’t do a good job of protecting him. With the help of his dad, Chuck escapes from the prison and thinks to run, against Sarah’s wishes, but he leaves anyway to protect her. Sarah confronts Shaw, he uses words that will incite her and she pulls a gun on him, just as C.I.A. agents burst into the room. There’s a cell waiting for Sarah as well. Casey goes to protect his daughter, who he’s been visiting at the restaurant she works, since he found out that she existed. One of the agents threaten her, so Casey deals with him in that way only Casey can, but it gets him tossed into a cell as well.

Shaw then goes after the escaped Chuck, who’s on the run with his dad. A call from Morgan, however, makes Chuck realize that his family and friends are not safe. They go to where Ellie would meet Justin. She leads them to the ultra secret Metro station that is the Ring base. Shaw and Justin are alerted and rush over. Ellie sees them go in and follows them. To upset Chuck, Shaw shoots (and possibly kills) Papa Bartowski and Ellie sees it as well. Chuck sort of gives up, but Ellie galvanizes the remaining members of the team to rescue Chuck, Sarah and Casey before Shaw can have them killed.

The second part deals with Chuck slowly losing it with the Governor keeping his Intersect brain on the straight and narrow. There is a lot of Buy More activity, a Jeffster music video, a missile, Morgan breaks his thumbs to escape ropes, an explosion, a flashback to why Chuck is so special, a grand fight scene where Chuck’s good-guy-ness is still there because he doesn’t kill Shaw for revenge. When it’s all said and done, Chuck agrees to give up the spy life for Ellie (and because he feels guilty about the part he played in his father’s death, which I don’t think will hold up) and asks Sarah if she can still love a normal guy.

The end of the episode has Chuck receiving a posthumous (supposedly) message from his dad which leads Chuck back to their childhood home, the super secret underground spy cave, which points to a fourth season reconciliation with his mother.

Thoughts:

This season of Chuck was really good. Not only did they successfully get a two and a half season of romance together, but they kept the show interesting despite uniting the two people in love. That’s because this show was not a clever gimmick to get two characters together. It was always secondary to the plot of the goofy computer guy who knows all the government secrets. His life, trying to hide his new found gifts, etc., is what makes this show the show most of us have come to love.

Unlike most people, I was okay with Chuck and Sarah falling in love with other people. As most shows go, when you have to deny your love for someone else, that love eventually is put on someone else, for a while. These two characters needed the distraction of other love interests, especially if the writers planned on dragging out the love story. Also, the personal connection/link to Shaw was necessary for it to be something more than a job when he goes rogue. I think the flirting and actual relationship should have started sooner, especially with the way she was feeling towards Chuck, and been of a longer duration so that when Shaw says he has no problem, we believe him because they’ve been together for so long. I do like, however, that when they finally wrote Sarah and Chuck together, they didn’t make them break up over something arbitrary. They kept them together to try to work out how romantic feelings and spy work could fit together. I think it has been the best thing for the show and for those longing for the relationship between the two, but also for those who wanted to see more spy stuff, to get that goofy love story out of the way.

I hate that Ellie didn’t know earlier, but it served the character and the storyline well to have her only find out at the end. Also, they couldn’t have pulled off getting close to the Bartowskis if Ellie had known earlier. I’m glad she knows now and I think that if they keep her in the dark about their mom next season, I’m going to be more than a little pissed.

I LOVED Morgan  Grimes this season. Loved the new cut, the new confidence, the addition to the spy stories. I loved him and Awesome working together. they’re the new buddy cops. As civilians, they go about this spy business completely different. Awesome took to it because he’s, well, awesome while Morgan is being trained by Casey. Yet they bring their own set of talents to the table. My favourite moment between Awesome and Morgan was when Morgan was asking about a typical day with Ellie. He started out knowing something had to be wrong and ended up wanting to be married to Awesome too. It just perfectly sums up how awesome Devin is and adds another reason to why I love Morgan.

As I said earlier, while this episode was not the best in the finale run this season, it’s definitely not the worst, but it does one thing that I like. It makes me want next season to happen now. I’m interested in learning about their mother and what actually happened that left these two as their only family. I want to see if their father is really dead. I want to see Shaw make a comeback, escaping from his maximum security prison… there’s so many places my imagination can go based on the finale. The same can not be said for other finales I’ve watched. This finale was fun, touching, sad, and lots of other emotional things, but it was also satisfying. I can’t wait for Chuck Season 4. I’m glad I finally caught up.

There are several shows that have had their best seasons yet this season. We’ve talked about those shows. The flip side, however, is that there are a few shows that are having their worst season. Some we still watch (or watched) and some we have decided to just let go. Here are the shows we think should reassess during the summer hiatus (or whichever hiatus they went on…)

House – Dull, dull, dull. Without the delicious thrill of watching House walk the edge of breakdown, our Sherlock Holmes is ridiculously boring. One of the best parts of House has been watching him spar with Wilson and while we do get more of that, the edge that was once part of  it feels like an already lost battle. House has lost because he can’t win. His drugs don’t work, his leg doesn’t work and without him, his team can barely work. I really did like his interaction with Wilson’s ex-wife, Sam (played by Cynthia Watros – who is very convincing). She seems so sweet, but there is an edge there, the first bit of edge we’ve seen since Chase killed James Earl Jones.

Murderer.

Anyway, the part of me that is a nice person doesn’t want the character of House to put himself in mortal danger, but the drama-loving tv watcher in me wants to see him walk that fine line again, hoping his intelligence will keep him from tumbling over.

24 – I have not watched every episode from this season, but what I did see was dreckitude. And yes, I’m using a word I learned on America’s Next Top Model. Deal with it. Coming off of last season, which started with an awesome made for television movie, I expected the writing to start getting better. They even got more terrific talent involved (love Katee Sackhoff), but it does not seem to have helped. People are still whiney and acting as if they don’t have the ability to do the jobs they are paid to do. Oh well, espionage and being double agents can make you look like a jerk.

Dexter – Shouldn’t it be good television to finally watch a character get the father-figure he always wanted before discovering he’s not all he should be and then having to make the decision to put him out of his misery. Most people would blanch at the thought of watching a son kill his father (or father figure), but on a show like Dexter, that’s just what we expect. As Dexter deals with the fact that he was the cause of his father’s death, is reeling, still, from having killed his brother, Dexter meets the “father” of his dreams in serial killer Arthur Mitchell, who has been killing for a very long time and who also has a family. Dream come true for the character, but is less than exciting for us. Season 3 was also a bit dull, especially after the excitement that was the Bay Harbour Butcher (Doakes is missed) in Season 2, but while I wanted to watch every episode of the previous seasons when they aired, I found myself letting two or three go buy before finally settling down to watch. Here’s hoping the aftermath of this season’s shocking ending will lead to some really dynamic television.

10 Things I Hate About You – Granted, though we are not dealing with a separate season, the writing is a lot less dynamic. While the Chastity character is a little less annoying, the individual storyline are showing signs of weakness. Cat is no longer convincing as the driven feminist. Bianca’s shallowness is dull and the times she tries to step out of it does not feel liberating. Cameron’s heartbreak also feels artificial, his sidekick friend is no longer needed, and the edge that was Patrick Verona has softened now that they are semi-dating or whatever. And poor Mandella, who continues to suffer in silence in a wasted friendship with Cat, is also slightly depressing in the new woman she has found for herself. Well, I hope she’s happy anyway. Just 4 episodes into the second half and I’m just not feeling the show like I did when it premiered.  Larry Miller is still fabulous as the father and Joey is much more likable, but in the end, it hasn’t even been funny enough to justify continued watching.

Heroes – GACK! I’m still watching this? Yes, I am. I hate myself for it. I can’t leave a storyline unfinished and I do so love Hiro. But this season was pretty much the suckiest season ever.

The Office – There have been some very good moments for this show, but, unlike the shows on the cusp of being either good or bad, this has had too many boring moments. The wedding and birth was amazing. Watching Andy woo Erin has also been amazing. But the takeover, the revamp, the plotting against Jim as manager, the revival of Monkey and Dwight… boring. There wasn’t enough sass in it and the uncomfortable things have been toned way down. Also, not enough Kelley.

Smallville – Clark Kent, you are not Batman.

True Blood – The Maryanne storyline dragged on much too long. Knowing that there is something that could kill vampires opens it up for other supernatural beings that can handle the “outed” creatures.  While the exciting, nail-biter of a season ender comes as a great relief compared to the rest of the season, if Bill is locked away all next season, True Blood may find itself on this list again.

What do you think? Which shows are having their worst season yet? Did we get these right, or are we being short sighted? Let us know!

The Top 3. There something about being in the top. These shows are not necessarily the best shows on television, but after having a season or two playing, they’ve decided this is the year to bring their A-game. Shows like Modern Family, The Good Wife, and Treme, shows that I think are really good this year, have to get to their second season and be better than the first. If the writers make that happen next year for some of these freshmen shows, I will be a happy tv camper. The Top 3:

3. Parks & Recreation – The biggest turnaround of any comedy has been Parks and Recreation. It started out as a mildly funny comedy about an awkward deputy director with a crazy, assorted cast and has become a complex, wildly hilarious show about an deputy director of the parks department who wants everything too much. This character, Leslie Knope, played with precision by Amy Poehler, started out as a Michael Scott-esque screw up, but became her own entity in the 2nd season. The other characters became less shallow as well, and the depth that has been added to them, especially Ron MF Swanson, has made their characters more believable, more likeable, and much, much more funny. The antics of Aziz Ansari’s Tom Haverford as he tries so desperately to be cool. The excessively put down Jerry, the forever bored April, who has a crush on Andy, who is in love with Ann who is dating Mark – that’s a square you don’t want to be a part of! If you’re watching the show, you know what I mean. If you’re not, you’re missing out. Every episode has had an element that was so crazy, so funny, that I walk away wondering how the writers can live with themselves. They are killing me. To be serious for a moment, though, if I wrote a comedy, Parks and Recreation is where I aspire to be. Here’s hoping that next season sees an increase in the comedy and the writing stays just as big as it is now.

2. Chuck – I caught up on Chuck a few days before Season 3 aired. By the end of my marathon viewing, I was amazed that I had not been watching this show live. Because House had been my number one wife on Monday nights, I was reluctant to trade a show that had, for 5 seasons, been so great to a show that was growing in spectacular. I was fortunate because I was able to watch a number of House episodes before Chuck aired in January. However, it only took about three episodes before I realized that Chuck was turning out way better than House this season. So I switched. I DVR House and I watch Chuck live. It has revolutionized my Mondays. I have not had any qualms about the way the story followed the thwarted love between Sarah and Chuck. I loved how they used those storylines to create a chilling episode that forced Chuck to choose between his squeamishness in using deadly force and his love of Sarah. Love won. Love and Subway. Also, Morgan and Casey are awesome and I look forward to watching them together.  (squeal!) I’m so excited!

1. Supernatural – Oh my word, this show, this season, has been awesome. I’m not saying it’s perfect, but it’s done something good with each storyline that pushes the story forward in a foreseeable way. Every story (even if you don’t like how they went from shooting Satan in the head to chasing after wraiths and little boys possessing their bodies) has been excellent, touching on the heart of this season’s arc, the coming Apocalypse, as well as dealing with the issues of trust, faith, respect, love, and everything else that comes up when you feel betrayed by your family.  Also, Mischa Collins has become my favourite non-brother character and I hope he gets his own show. He needs to walk the earth and discover his humanity in his fallen condition, or something. Very fish out of water, don’t you think? Anyway, Kripke et. al did an incredible job of writing this season and the way they connected everything they’ve written in previous seasons in so tight a culmination is Herculean. I can’t wait for Season 6!

There are other shows that have aired. I hear Breaking Bad is really good this season. People are still raving about Mad Men and Sons of Anarchy I also heard was really good. Those are shows I just can’t keep up with if I’m watching a full slate of show now. But they are on my summer list for catching up. So what about you. If you’re watching a show that deserves to be mentioned, put it in the comments!

Continuing my countdown of shows that were the best this season, shows who are past their first season (or with the way shows run now, who had a significant enough break that you feel as if it is in a new season) and having their best written shows of any season, I give you 6-4.

6. 30 Rock – Dealing with all the news that is going on with NBC and Universal, 30 Rock has been outrageously funny lampooning the crazy decisions the company has made in the last season. And what do people who are angry at a company like to do? Laugh at them. 30 Rock has stepped up admirably while still carrying on their normal storyline. Of the comedies that are past their first season, this is one of the best written comedies this season.

5. Ugly Betty – The writing this season has been fantastic. Laugh out loud funny moments, crazy over the top moments, tender and sweet moments, crazy vaudevillian villain moments – it is everything you would expect in a spanish-style telanovella. I’m glad last season was not the last season of Ugly Betty. Not only would nothing have been solved, but we would have been left with a non liberated, braces coated wannabe who never learns to stand up for herself and make her own way as a sophisticated woman of the world. The first season gets you hooked on the telenovella, but this last season  helps you say goodbye to characters you’ve grown to love.

Losing Marc and Amanda will be hard. I’m glad he finally stood up for himself with Wilhelmina. And after all her scheming, when she gives up, she gets it all. I’m sure there’s a Christian sermon somewhere in there. Plus, I like happy endings. Good job writers!

Looks weird out of blue, doesn't he?

4. Friday Night Lights (April 30) – While this season will be starting in a few days on NBC, those of us who caught the first run on Stars know what the rest of you are in for. The stories were heartbreaking and uplifting. We lose some of our favourite people, we gain some new people, we see a Remember the Titans style coming together, as realistic as you can get on tv and we see the agony of defeat and the triumph of retribution as Coach Taylor starts the year off at a new school with a new team. There were several episodes that made me just break down because, growing up in a small, southern town is just like that, like what you see in Dylan. I don’t want to spoil the coming season for those of you who haven’t caught it yet, but this is the best season of Friday Night Lights thus far. You’re in for a treat!

So, how do these show stack up? Are they out of order, not supposed to be on the list, what do you think? Tomorrow, I’ll have my top three shows and I know you’ll agree with all of them!

I have become such a big fan of Parks and Recreation.  It could be because I mirror Ron Swanson’s love of breakfast food, maybe it’s because the writers made Leslie Knope a more realistic over-zealous character, maybe it’s because the writers have a better grasp on what makes each of the characters great and that gives us the laughs, but the second season of Parks and Recreations has been absolutely phenomenal. From the hunting lodge incident to the current episode, there has been some really big laughs, consistently big laughs. I love the storyline they are developing with April and can’t wait to see how Andy takes it when he finds out April likes him. I wish Tom had told his fake wife that he actually liked her. It will be interesting seeing her interact with Ron and I love the new guy in Leslie’s life.

I want to look into the differences from last year to now to fully see the subtle, but brilliant, changes the writers made that took this show from, “I guess I’ll watch it” to something that is a must watch, but whatever they did made this a valuable asset to the Thursday night comedy block. Though, seriously, how irritating would ghost Roomba be?

Ron Swanson was awesome this week, his irritation with Leslie for not letting him drive after a couple of drinks. Loved the scene where he shows Leslie that he can build beautiful things, like a harp, even when he’s had enough drinks to be hammered. Also, the turf and turf. Sign me up!