6/4/2020

I've been a fan of Chuck since it first aired and bought the Blu-ray with all the bells and whistles when it became available. It was a nice blend of adventure, drama, comedy and romance with a great cast (and fun guest stars) that played their characters very well. I loved the show, but it disappointed and infuriated me in equal measure. And I've never watched the blu-ray.

So if I had so many issues with Chuck, why am I here, you ask? Well, seeing Shazam! in 2019 put Chuck back on my radar, but I didn't do anything about it at that time. Then the lockdown happened and I noticed the YouTube about the Chuck table read event. As you might expect, from what I've already said, I didn't watch the table read video, but I did start to check out some of the YouTube clips people had posted over the years depicting some of the show's highlights and the show's music. Lockdown boredom led me to Google Chuck stills/pictures and one of those pictures had a link to Rachel Smith Cobleigh's story Sarah vs The Caveat Emptor here on FanFiction.net. I clicked on it, started reading, and fell down the rabbit hole back into Chuck.

Rachel's story and others continued the story beyond 5-13 and/or filled in the gaps left offscreen. Other stories have gone the AU route to alter what I've always felt were poorly thought out character traits or actions.

Chuck and Sarah having the emotional development of 6th graders, for example. I'm surprised the writers didn't have them passing notes. Chuck being unable to hold even a casual conversation with pretty women due to a bad breakup 5 YEARS ago, not 5 days or 5 months. Seriously? Chuck being one of the most skilled hackers in the world, but he couldn't finish his degree somewhere after 5 YEARS? Like getting kicked out of Stanford would blackball him from life. It's not like he committed a felony or something. Being a couch potato? OK. Being shy around women you're attracted to? Fine. Hanging around your childhood friend because you're a bit afraid to grow up? I've known people like that, so sure. Being clumsy? Absolutely. Feeling like a fish out of water since being thrown in to the deep end of secret intelligence operation? Makes sense. Ship Chuck down to Camp Pendleton or somewhere for an intense, crash course in Basic Training called Getting Your Shit Together. Or you could just have him stay in the car or run around like Urkel for over two years. All the while having the world's most sensitive intelligence data locked in his head? Riiiight. Maybe the writers knew stuff we don't know and that's how the real US government actually works. Given how things have been for a while, it wouldn't surprise me in the least.

Sorry for the ranting. Let me put this in some context. Like Chuck, I had a golden opportunity for college that I had worked towards since I was 10 years old. Bigger than Stanford. I got the opportunity, but about three weeks in, I lost my nerve. Being afraid to fail, I left. You can't kick me out, I quit. Makes sense when you're an idiot 18 year old kid. I didn't mope around for years, my parents wouldn't let me. The way they wrote Ellie, I can't imagine she would have allowed Chuck to do it either. If the writing was in any way logical. Anyway, I enrolled in another school immediately and finished my degree in 4 years. Not as prestigious as my first choice, but I was able to get a good job and, eventually a masters degree. I've been in IT/software development for 40 years. Been married 39 years and, yes, I was a shy, tongue-tied kid with a history of being publicly embarrassed by my "friends" over romantic desires. My wife spent 30 years as a 6th grade language arts and In School Suspension teacher. So I had lots of dinners with conversations about middle school emotions with her. Raised two kids, boy and girl. They turned out pretty well and no laws were broken. So far. Do I think about the opportunity I threw away? To this very day, yes. But I also know that the life I have with my wife and kids would never have happened if I had stayed. Who knows what that other life would have been? I'm at peace with it.

In some ways, the actual show seems a bit like the show pitch meeting or first draft of the show. Here on FanFiction some very talented people have taken those core ideas and spun some amazing, wonderful tales that are much more satisfying than the original. Maybe one day, I'll re-watch the show. In the meantime, to all you wonderful, talented artists: keeping writing and I'll keep cheering you on. I promise to post reviews more regularly.