Chuck Versus the Third Dimension

Season 2, Episode 12, Aired
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Episode Summary

Chuck has to protect rock star Tyler Martin, while Morgan wins two backstage passes to Martin's concert, so he needs to decide who will become his "plus one".''''This is a special 3D episode.
8.4
out of 10
EPISODE RATING: Great
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Fan Episode Reviews (19)

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  • I don't understand why this got a lower rating..I loved it!

    10
    "Perfect"
    By mmmshuddup, Nov 05, 2011 Report Abuse
    I guess I'm just a fan of Charlie from Lost haha. That guy is too classic. I unfortunately don't have 3D glasses so I was forced to watch the entire episode with too much green. But that's ok. I thought it was a good episode overall and a classic ending.. We all know Chuck secretly almost needs the missions now.. it reminds me of the movie Confessions of a Dangerous Mind...only obviously less serious haha.

    Cool when Chuck gets serious and actually does a good job...that was a smart move with the phone. Nice!

    These last few words are only to get up to my 100 word minimum as I have nothing left to say about the episode.moreless

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    4 0

  • Chuck's Day Off

    7.0
    "Good"
    By saleblanc, Jul 20, 2010 Report Abuse
    Not my favorite episode. The 3-D affects were unnecessary and simply gave me a headache. The script as a whole was actually okay and believable. Everyone needs a day off now and then, even spies. Chuck's simply request turns out to be Chuck learning his purpose and that he's okay with it. Helping a rock star help others, Chuck learns that he's actually okay with being a spy and saving the world. A rockstar having tattoos that he doesn't understand was actually pretty clever and the twist that they mean something to others was kinda interesting. However, I wonder if he realizes the pain he's going to indure getting them removed??moreless

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    3 1

  • Chuck set the table with the Super Bowl, but served botulism when the guests arrived

    2.0
    "Terrible"
    By swagvalance, Jul 20, 2010 Report Abuse
    I have been following it since its inception. While in winter hiatus, I was surprised to learn both that a) the show had been generally struggling to find an audience, and b) found its audience as recently as December as bloggers et al started playing up its praises.

    So NBC uses the promotional vehicle of the Super Bowl to put Chuck into overdrive, since it seems worth their airtime investment now. So they slap on some 3-D hype to take it up a notch further. But there's something about Super Bowls that turn everything good into rubbish. To quote The Simpson's Comic Book guy: "Worst episode EVER."

    The big problems were in the script. It was about as contrived as I have ever seen this show. And where there are often redeeming clever moments, almost none could be found in this episode.

    Start with special guest star Dominic Monaghan exhuming his Charlie Hume rockstar persona (which was never that convincing to begin with) from "Lost". Add robotic interplay and dialog between the characters. Add forced mayhem on a hotel elevator, complete with a pretty routine stunt where the director could not be bothered to hide the black nylon knee straps securing the stunt man to the glass elevator. Even the supposed international incident of a rock star being blown up (by unconvincing bad guys, no less) lacked much of the usual mystique and intrigue behind a typical Chuck mission.

    The show mostly came off as a bad self-parody. And even bad TV series really don't start this hard down the self-parody road until at least season 3.

    Trying to think of anything redeeming, the writers did not drag out the usual "missed important personal conversation" routine (between Chuck and Sarah re: a certain shooting), though they came close. But when they did put an end to it at the conclusion of the show, it came off as a murky, less-than-meaningful, unresolving cop-out. The "revelation" seemed to change little between either character.

    And the sophomoric stunts back at the Buy More were at some of their gross-out worst. The audience to show capable of being this clever deserves more than to be bludgeoned with eating contests and consuming urinal cakes.

    This episode needed more of the rational influence of Chuck's sister, Ellie, and less self-indulgence as a second-rate nod to Tom Green. John (Adam Baldwin) was about the only character to escape from this show with some dignity in tact still.

    Hopefully the producers of Chuck have not pulled an on-air Budd Dwyer in their first big chance at the spotlight. And hopefully with the Super Bowl dementia cleared away, it can get back to its old, good habits.moreless

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    10 15

  • A message I sent to NBC.

    1.0
    "Abysmal"
    By Mickey73, Jul 20, 2010 Report Abuse
    I'm totally disappointed, as usual, in NBC. This 3D idea was a total crap, very distracting, very stupid. We know that NBC has become very desperate lately, but to ruin a perfectly good show like this, come on.
    We don't have those stupid 3D glasses, you also changed the colors so the ones we had from previous shows don't work on this one. Plus, for someone who wears glasses, it doesn't really work. At least, rebroadcast this episode in 2D at a later date.
    And, to top it all, your online show is not available for us because we're on another planet called Canada. You know, where we're so retarded here we can't get your shows. It's a wonder I'm able to communicate with you, you might need a translator to read this message.....
    It's our fault for watching American TV, or even American shows. Maybe we should stick to our 3rd. world Canadian TV.
    Just show us 2D shows, don't get too fancy, you're not good enough. If I wanted fancy, I'd go on the internet.moreless

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    11 20

  • Chuck in 3D...

    8.0
    "Great"
    By vman85, Jul 20, 2010 Report Abuse
    Well I couldn't really get into this episode; reason probably being it was in 3D and I didn't have the Specs to see but still enjoyed it. You can still watch the episode without the glasses, and, a couple of moments aside, it looks fine the colours are a bit off, but it's not blurry or fuzzy. And the episode itself is another entertaining one with a great guest performance by Dominic Monaghan as Rock Star Tyler Martin. Tyler comes into the story when he does a signing at the Buy more and it turns out some shady characters are after him for reasons unknown. Chuck is asked to keep a eye on him by Sarah and Casey, which turns into Chuck going out to party with him something Chuck isn't that resistant too, feeling like he's losing any time of his own thanks to being pulled into the spy world, and still reeling from seeing Sarah kill a man. Of course, the danger Tyler is in comes into play, turning Chuck and Tyler's excellent adventure into a very dangerous night.moreless

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    4 2
 

Trivia, Notes, Quotes and Allusions

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  • Trivia

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    • In the scene where Achmed Gambir is attacking Chuck, the knife that came out of Achmed's sleeve has a bank handle and a serrated blade. When Achmed places the knife down, it has a gold handle and smooth blade. When Achmed goes for the knife the last time, it again has a black handle and serrated blade. Edit
    • Dominic Monaghan also played a rock star in the ABC series Lost. Edit
    • In this episode, the singer Tyler has a tattoo in Arabic which is supposed to contain information about a terrorist plot. In reality is just a decorative medallion you can find inside a mosque that says, among other stuff related "Allah (God) in his supremacy and majesty", all of it is from the holy book for Muslims, the Qur'an. Edit

  • Notes

    ADD NOTES
    • International Episode Titles: Czech Republic - Chuck a třetí dimenze (Chuck and the Third Dimension) Edit
    • Original International Air Dates:
      Turkey: April 13, 2009 on CNBC-e
      United Kingdom: August 25, 2009 on Virgin 1
      Latin America: August 30, 2009 on Warner Channel
      Australia: September 17, 2009 on Fox8
      Czech Republic: February 16, 2010 on Prima COOL
      Finland: August, 5, 2011 on Sub Edit
    • The background for the theme song in this episode was altered to have more of a 3D effect. Edit

  • Quotes

    ADD QUOTES
    • Big Mike: Where's my boy Butterman? Morgan: Um, he kinda took off suddenly. Big Mike: Hmm. Can't blame him. A man's gotta run free after being locked up for so long. Morgan: Yeah, Uummmm...Big Mike, you mind if I ask you what Butterman was in the can for? Are we talking robbery? Drugs? MURDER? Big Mike: Butterman? Morgan: Yeah. Big Mike: God no! Bank fraud - insider trading. The man's a white collar criminal. Why, he take you fools for some money? Morgan: (nodding) He said he was going somewhere. Big Mike: Zihuatanejo? (Morgan looks away) Hehe. That's Mexican for Philadelphia. HAHAHAHA. Morgan: I knew I should've learned Spanish. Edit
    • (Casey and Chuck rush to the back of the store, knocking over a cardboard cutout in their way.) Lester: Hey that's my Tyler Martin display! He is a hero of mine, John-- (Casey shoves Lester into the refrigerator he's showing a customer) Chuck: Sorry Lester, emergency! Lester: (muffled) 'Tsalright. (Chuck slams the door) Edit
    • Casey: Look, if you're worried about Chuck, I can talk to him, scare him straight. I'd actually enjoy that. Edit

  • Allusions

    ADD ALLUSIONS

    • The grenade planted in the Buy More in an attempt to kill Tyler is an IG-88 model, identical to the number of a bounty hunter droid in Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back.

      Edit
    • Tyler: ...Nelson Mandela, God rest his soul... An allusion to US President George W. Bush referring (possible rhetorically) in September 2007 to Nelson Mandela being dead. The full quote is: "I heard somebody say, 'Now where's Mandela?' Well, Mandela is dead. Because Saddam Hussein killed all the Mandelas." Edit
    • Repeated references are made to the 1994 film The Shawshank Redemption, including the song "Cazonetta Sull'aria", an operetta which is played twice when the guys are discussing Butterman's institutionalization by the prison, and his subsequent freedom. In the film, Andy Dufresne is a prisoner who plays this song to remind fellow prisoners of a time when they were free. Butterman says that the money he got from the ticket is his way to Zihuatanejo - the city in Mexico where Andy planned to go if he ever got his freedom. Jeff also says "get busy living or get busy dying", a famous line from the movie. Edit

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