When asked about whether his character Casey would be programming Chuck with a safe word so that Chuck could be turned off if he poses a threat to others with his newly-programmed abilities, actor Adam Baldwin exclaimed, ““Now that’s a great idea! Where’s a producer so I can have them write that in?!”
As producers Josh Schwartz and Chris Fedak emphasized, Chuck will not only be a potential danger to his handlers, Sarah and Casey, he could be a threat to the entire world. Josh Schwartz stated that, “it has always been Sarah’s mission to protect Chuck from the world, now she will have to protect the world from Chuck.” Especially as Chuck now has access to these amazing abilities, but does not know how to use or control them, Schwartz exclaimed, “he could potentially blow up the world!”
The new skills that Chuck has been programmed with are not without glitches and side-effects — particularly as the physical combat skills were designed for an agent more like Chuck’s frenemy Bryce Larkin, than for the average guy like Chuck. Thus, Chuck could experience computer-glitches from the new and improved version of the Intersect that he downloaded into his brain last season. For as Schwartz explained, “Chuck’s physical powers don’t necessarily last. The new Intersect was designed for Bryce Larkin, super spy. Unfortunately they got into Chuck Bartowski, an emotional guy with a lot of issues.” There also could be a cost or a side-effect, such as unexpected drowsiness, which as Zachary Levi noted, Chuck “can’t know Chuck-Fu all the time. It would make Chuck’s handlers obsolete and we can’t have that. So our very talented and wise creators have structured it so that the Chuck-Fu and any of the other physical powers that I may have, have a window – a shelf life.” Fedak further explained that Sarah and Casey were not going anywhere as they “will be serving as [Chuck’s] Senseis.”
Another wrinkle that will manifest early in the season is changes in the characters’ relationships. For Chuck and Sarah, there will be an unresolved expectation that will not be met that will drive a wedge between them. As Schwartz put it, “Something very emotional and traumatic is going to happen between Chuck and Sarah” and before the fans could react in outrage, he hastened to add, “but it’s going to be really good!”
Additionally, now that Ellie and Devon are married, they have moved out of the apartment and into their own place. Schwartz also revealed that “now that Devon [aka: Captain Awesome] knows Chuck’s secret, you will start to see him submerge into the spy world.” To which McPartlin gleefully added, “Much to Josh Gomez’s chagrin! I’m really excited to be in the spy world, I can’t wait!”
The other major change is that Chuck and Morgan are now roommates, which is certain to ensure that the bromance high-jinks will continue. As for what is going to be happening at the Buy More, all Schwartz and Fedak would confirm was that the Buy More would continue to be featured in each episode. As Fedak succinctly put it, “it’s our most expensive set; we’re definitely going to use it.” Fedak also assured the fans that the Buy More will still be apart of the show. “No matter how much action we put on, the show is never going to lose its sense of humor.”
Which was clearly demonstrated last summer at Comic-Con, when they nearly brought-down-the-house with a live performance by Jeffster, featuring vocals by Vik Sahay and Scott Krinsky, to the tune of Queen’s “Flat Bottomed Girls.” (Per Schwartz, look for more of the musical talents of Jeffster to be featured on the “Chuck Me Out” website.)
“Chuck” will return on Sunday, January 10, 2010 for a 2 hour special at 8 p.m. on NBC. Then returns to its regular time slot starting Monday, January 11, 2010 at 8:00 p.m. on NBC.
