The Zack and Kelly Award- Best Couple

Named For: Zack Morris and Kelly Kapowski played by
Mark Paul-Gosselaar and Tiffani Thiessen on Saved by the Bell
Awarded To: The best couple on television from June 1, 2009 - May 31, 2010
Last Year's Winner: no award

Place. Couple (Show) Points (My Vote)

10. Cappie and Casey (Greek) 2 points

9. Jeff and Jordan (Big Brother/Amazing Race) 4 points (5th)

8. Rigsby and Van Pelt (The Mentalist) 7 points

7. Joe and Stella (Jonas) 8 points (3rd)

6. Hank and Karen (Californication) 9 points (4th)

5. Andy and Erin (The Office) 14 points

4. Andy and April (Parks and Recreation) 14 points

3. Chuck and Sarah (Chuck) 26 points (1st)

Runner-Up
2. Mitchell and Cam (Modern Family) 28 points

and the Poolie goes to...
1. Desmond and Penny (Lost)
39 points (2nd)

'Happily Ever After' and 'The Constant' were my seventh and third favorite Lost episodes, respectively. Why were they so good? Because they revolved around Desmond David Hume and Penelope Widmore Hume. These two were so good together. They went together like lamb and tuna fish. Desmond was such a stud since we first met him, so to see him finding his one true love in the sideways universe during 'Happily Ever After' was fantastic. It's a testament to how much the fans love these crazy kids that this was the only episode of the season that the two of them were in together. Henry Ian Cusick and Sonya Walger had such great chemistry on Lost that it hindered my enjoyment of Flash Forward. I really couldn't see Olivia Benford with Mark or Lloyd Simcoe, because all along we all knew she was supposed to be with Desmond. So congratulations on winning the Zack and Kelly Award during your last season together. I'm sure you'll both enjoy the afterlife together.

Chuck- Last Action Beardo

Morgan Grimes- "Reach for the sky dirt bags!"

In one of many moments of this two hour finale where Josh Gomez made his case for renaming the show "Morgan", the bearded wonder screamed this as he wildly waved his machine gun around attempting to capture the Elder leaders of the Ring.

When the show began it was about Chuck as a nerdy guy who helped out a couple of CIA and NSA agents. Sure he had a mega-computer implanted in his brain, but he also helped out by using his geek knowledge and sometimes simply by accident.

That's exactly the role Morgan has taken on since Chuck has become a real spy. Like Casey said, "Don't know when it happened, but our boy became a man." And as Chuck became a man, Morgan became a CIA boy. He's helped out the team immensely. Probably better than Chuck in his first year with the company.

And Morgan definitely is more inclined to make things dramatic as he claims, "No plan? Never stopped me before." Obviously Awesome shuts him down immediately. But the two work together to save the day, if only by arbitrarily pushing buttons a la the guy in the background of Goldmember.

His love for action hasn't stopped him from yukking it up as the crew embarks on their mission to take down the Ring. Chuck pondered stoically stated "the only ones who could pull it off would have to be the best spies in the world." To which Morgan squeamishly accepted the compliment with "Chuck...you're embarrassing me."

With the final bit of Morgan love, I'll just say that it was sweet how much props he gives John Casey on multiple occasions during the episode. First to Ellie and then to Casey's daughter Alex. The student to mentor love is awesome. It was great foreshadowing for when Morgan valiantly accepted Casey's order to break his own thumbs in order to escape from handcuffs. Great partnership there.

(Buy) More Thoughts

- I love that everyone close to Chuck now knows about his spy life. It was a necessary step to make sure the series stays fresh. Ellie has always been the most important person in Chuck's life. If she can accept it than everything will be fine. Woops, she doesn't accept it.

- Speaking of Ellie not accepting Chuck's spy life. Can he really just give it all up because his sister wants him to? Does the CIA allow that sort of thing? Doesn't he have to be killed or go into hiding at least?

- Shaw is alive (I dislike this, but I'll go with it because he's such a fantastic villain). He killed Papa Bartowski which makes him even more of an evil monster.

- So many epic Chuck episodes have been graced by a Jeffster performance. This season's finale had the honor of showcasing the first ever music video by the talented duo.

- So Chuck downloaded a mini-intersect when he was a kid? I'm sure we'll get answers to this next season, but what kind of info did he get from that? And did he ever flash?

- As Chuck doesn't have the ability to murder Shaw with his bare hands the villain claims, "That's what makes you weak" Sarah, like the rest of us, explain "No. That's what makes you great."

- So I guess Schwartz and Fedak didn't think they were getting canceled, because that was quite the little cliffhanger they had there at the end. Papa Bartowski had been looking for Chuck's mom for a long time and now Chuck himself is going to start searching for her? Since he promised Ellie he wouldn't work for the CIA, he'll be doing this all rogue I assume.

Chuck- I Can't Kill It

Big Mike- "You have the hips of a six year old girl."

This marks the second week in a row where I've had a problem with a storyline in Chuck. Last episode it was all of the dream stuff and this time around it was Daniel Shaw still being alive. We never actually got to see his face, so if we find out next week that it is an impostor, I will be relieved. But if Shaw is still alive that will be disappointing and Heroes-esque. When you have an epic, heroic moment like Chuck did when he saved Sarah and killed Shaw, it's time to move on to the next stage. Don't bring him back just because you liked the job the actor was doing. This is just another example of why it wasn't a smart move to give Schwartz and Fedak six more episodes. What can you do with six episodes? Come up with silly ideas like bringing Shaw back to life apparently.

On the other hand, we got the return of Chuck's dad. Scott Bakula doesn't really bring much to the table in this role, but it was nice to see him getting all gung ho about making Chuck a governor 2.0 to keep his brain under control and out of dementia.

One of Chuck's best attributes is the way they cut from a semi-serious moment to something completely ridiculous that parallels the previous conversation. We got two of these great moments this week. The first was when Morgan is specifically told to not touch anything when he gets to hide out in Castle and then we cut to Morgan trying on bullet proof vests and playing with the guns. The second was when Chuck was lying to his dad via a serious convo about not being a spy anymore, and then they cut to him struggling with climbing up the face of a building. Brilliant work.

Finally, my favorite moment of the night was the convo between Awesome and Morgan in the kitchen. I can't figure out which was better, Awesome rambling about all of the ridiculously awesome stuff he does for Ellie, or the trance that Morgan gets in listening to the whole thing.

Let's hope that the end of this six episode season 3.1 ends with some sort of cliff hanger now that we know we're getting a fourth season next year.

Chuck- What the M Stands For

Captain Awesome- "Babe, this didn't happen by accident."

The last time we all watched Chuck, we were reveling in the moment of Chuck saving the day and getting the girl. We come back after a short hiatus to Chuck Season 3.1 and we are exactly where we left off. That is, with Chuck and Sarah simply enjoying each others' company without the worries of the spy world they're planning on leaving behind.

When there is a major change in the main relationship of a show, you can sometimes run into problems. Because these two have been in a fake relationship for so long, this real one doesn't make the series feel all that different. We still got all the silliness, suspense and action we come to expect from an episode of Chuck.

Other than Sarah's act of continually disrobing, Morgan was the star of this week's ep. He has proven to be as good if not better than Chuck was as the spy helper with nerdy knowledge. The way he showed Casey what was what in Castle was fantastic. The CIA needs M Grimes. After all, who else was gonna know that Chuck wasn't gonna leave without picking up the latest Justice League comic book?

We also got a good bit of Ellie and Awesome in our Chuck return. Ellie was just getting hammered and Awesome had the great line, "Babe, this didn't happen by accident" when Ellie ponders why he packed dumbbells in his luggage.

Since the season 3.0 semi-finale was too action packed to fit in an appearance by Jeffster, we were treated to a fantastic performance this week. As Lester said, "Tonight Jeffster goes unplugged" and chugged a bottle of limejuice, I got excited. I don't know what was better, the actual performance of Leaving on a Jetplane, or the glasses Jeff was wearing during it.

Very nice return, and happy that the show seems to work no matter what the different situations the characters find themselves in.

Chuck- To Paris With Love

Sarah Walker- "Once we get back, it's all gonna happen. You and me."

Wow. We're all kidding ourselves if we think that television gets better than that episode right there. It was so fantastic that I almost wish that there weren't six more episodes this season. Needless to say, Schwartz and Fedak knew what they were doing when they originally planned out this 13 episode season. Chuck vs. the Other Guy had it all and then some.

I really don't like the full episode recap as a post, but I feel that everything that happened during this 42 minute journey was worth talking about, so I might hate myself after seeing how long this post gets.

As the title portrays, this week's ep was a battle between the lead Nerd Herder and Special Agent Daniel Shaw. We start out with Shawsy and Sarah going into a deserted warehouse where it is assumed by Chuck and me that he is going to kill her for killing his wife. After getting a gigantic strike force together, thanks to Colonel Sanders, Chuck's mission ends abruptly as Shaw in no way attempts to end Sarah's life. Was anyone fooled by this? I wrote at the time, 'he's really dragging this thing along.'

After everyone is informed on the goodness of Shaw, he heads up another mission to get the Ring Leader. This time Chuck tags along. Once inside the fortress, Chuck and Sarah find a way to get the Ring Leader in the grasp and have everything under control. That is until the elevator they are holding him in continues to open with more and more Ring agents joining the hostage situation. It soon elevates to where the spies are completely outnumbered and don't stand a chance. Who comes to the rescue? Not John Casey, but Daniel Shaw. Again I said to myself, 'very nice setup.' And what happened next? Yes all of the Ring members that Shaw just fake killed got up, while the Leader announced, "Good work Daniel...I think they bought it."

Yes they might have but I and my little bearded friend didn't. It took Morgan Grimes one watch to realize that the footage of Shaw beating up the Ring operatives was fake. The man knows his action movies. All of these CIA and NSA people on the scene and it took a lolely Buy More assistant Manager to figure out that Shawsy was working with the Ring. What does that mean for Morgan? Yes an actual spot on Team Bartowski. Although he won't play a major role in the action I'm sure, Morgan will be a part of the spy stuff from here on out I'm assuming.

So now yet a third mission to get the Ring Leader is under way. This time just Shaw and Sarah again. On their way to Paris. After Morgan let's Chuck in on the little secret about Shaw, he convinces Casey (through a fantastic motivational speech) to go and help out Mr. Bartowski. Once in "The Land of France", as I call it to a friend of mine, things continued to heat up.

Shawsy brings Sarah to the exact spot she killed his wife and he plans to return the favor. He drugs her and brings in the Ring Leader to hand over important intelligence on the Intersect. Boy things are going down hill fast. But no Chuck shows up as a waiter and gets down to business with Shaw. For the first time though, a flashed Chuck can not win in a fight as Shaw takes him out and takes Sarah with him to throw over a bridge.

Chuck makes his final attempt to save the love of his life. He draws his gun and threatens to kill the double agent. Casey calls his bluff, but it is too late as Chuck shoots Shawsy in the chest a couple times. In a last ditch effort to get revenge for his fallen wife, Shaw grabs Sarah to pull her over the bridge with him, but Chuck steps in and grabs her as Shaw falls to his death. Wow. Doesn't get much better than that.

Actually it does. It's called Sarah waking up in a Paris hotel room with the words, "You saved me" spraying out of her mouth before she commits one of the greatest "WHAT A KISS!!!" moments in the history of pop culture smooches. And they all lived happily ever after...well until they come back in a few weeks with a whole new mess on their hands.

Other Points

- Even though Chuck's first attempt to save Sarah was unnecessary she was still thankful for his extensive rescue mission, "Thank you for saving me. I appreciate the tank."

- We didn't get much of Jeffster this week, but the little we did was great, especially them accepting Casey into their crew.

- After a drunk Chuck ties up Morgan and starts singing Morgan gets me slapping my knee with, "You are misquoting the line and you are ruining Pretty in Pink for me."

- We got a couple more great mushy Sarah lines that we've all been waiting for. "You're still Chuck.  You're still my Chuck" and at the top of the post, "Once we get back, it's all gonna happen. You and me."

- Before Casey convince Beckman to let Morgan on Team Bartowski we got this gem from the saddened Buy Morian, "My time as a spy was pretty exciting...a bit brief."

Chuck- Filling Out a Pair of Slacks

John Casey- "Shaw's not some geek who likes to talk about his feelings all day long. He's a real spy."

Now I'm not going to go as far as Larry, who said that "Last night's Chuck was better than any episode of LOST this season," because I have the ability to enjoy its nuance, but this week's Chuck vs. the American Hero was a fantastic hour of television that gave us the Chuck Triple Threat at its best.

At the heart of what was supposed to be the penultimate episode of the season, was Chuck's final plea to get Sarah to go away with him for good. And all of that, combined with the action, was great, but the highlight last night was the ensemble effort by Casey, Morgan and Awesome to attempt to help Chuck pull this achievement off.

Why would getting Sarah to fall for Chuck again be so hard? Because she saw him kill somebody and thought that he wasn't the same person she used to have feelings for? Well yeah that's one part of it, but also because she was currently involved with the stallion of a real spy that is Daniel Shaw.

The chemistry between Casey, Morgan and Awesome while staking out Shaw and Sarah's date was unbelievable. Every time one of them added a comment about how great or good looking Shaw was, I lost it. The best was when Morgan called up Shaw and used the voice alterer and goes, "We know what you look like. Six foot two. 220 pounds. Raven Black hair. Extremely good looking." Well either that or Morgan reiterating Jeff's comment about how Shaw really can fill out a pair of slacks.

Now don't get me wrong, of course all of the Sarah/Chuck stuff got me going because I'm a complete sap. He spills his heart to her for the final time hoping that she'll go away with him, but she is still hesitant because she saw him kill that dude last week. Who has to come in and save the day again? Colonel John Casey. He does it with his gun and he does it with his words. The Colonel sacrifices his freedom to help these two crazy kids make things work. After Casey admits that he was the one that killed the dude, Sarah is all smiles. She looked like CJ after a trip to the Cramptons.

Oh what's this? Another pit stop on the way to happy town? Yes of course there is another ridiculous obstacle. Shaw's suicide mission fell apart because Chuck saved him from The Ring, but it wasn't before the Real Spy was shown footage of his wife's murder...by Sarah...Dun, Dun, Dun. Shaw steals Sarah away and for all we know is ready to throw her off a cliff. This ep is setting up what would've been an awesome season finale, but instead we'll get six more episodes this spring.

Chuck- Spy Testing

Chuck Bartowski- "Wow, that just really self-destructed. Did it not? That's like in the movies. That's incredible."

Chuck vs. the Final Exam was one of my least favorite episodes of this season of Chuck for a couple of reasons. One was that the side plot was less than awesome and the other was that I'm not enjoying the speed at which Chuck's evolution to becoming a real spy has moved.

The side plot this week was absent of Captain Awesome, Ellie and Morgan so we weren't off to a good start. John Casey, Lester and Jeff have been great for a while now, but they weren't able to put everything together tonight during this side story with Big Mike. It's probably because I don't really like Big Mike that I wasn't enjoying myself. That's not to say that I didn't crack up when Casey confidently chomped into Jeff's half eaten Subway Tunaroni on wheat.

As the quote at the tops shows, Chuck was thrown a whirlwind of new gadgets, environments and required duties this week, as he prepared for his final spy test. Throughout the test he went back and forth between awkward uncomfortableness (not knowing what to do with the self-destructing dvd player, fumbling through his words with Agent Perry) and complete preparedness (setting up the stake out room, tracking down and capturing Agent Perry).

Of course I was much happier when he failed to live up to snuff, because I do not want to see the day when Chuck is actually a real spy and no longer needs his handlers. Why? Well because whether we lose Sarah and Casey for a while, or they have to work in different capacities, I don't want to lose the greatness that this team brings. Yeah I know that two weeks ago I said that change is necessary, but not this fast.

When Chuck became Intersect 2.0 and learned Kung Fu, we were supposed to get similar dynamics, only with Chuck having some new skills to help his pals with. If Chuck is going on solo missions and Sarah is off living the life in D.C. with Shawsy and who knows who else, I'm gonna be an unhappy camper.

When Chuck needed to pass his Red Test (kill some dude) to become a real spy, I got pumped because I knew my man Chuckles can't shoot a guy. But then civilian John Casey had to come in and save the day once again. He's not even a government agent anymore and he's still saving Chucky. This time he shot Chuck's target just as Chuck was supposed to, making it look like it was the Nerdherder who did it.

On one hand, I'm relieved that Chuck couldn't actually do it. On the other, I'm mad and/or scared that Chuck is now a real spy. The unknown frightens me. What will happen between him and Sarah now that she thinks he's a cold hearted killer? After all when she killed her first person, it was the worst day of her life. If this causes Sarah and Shawsy's relationship to grow, I'm gonna have to have a chat with John Casey.

Other Points

- Loved that the Russian dude in the steam room used Ivan Drago as his alias.

- Another great Chuck quote as he hung from the side of the hotel in a towel, "This woulda been easier in underpants."

- How 'bout earlier in the episode when Chuck spills his heart to Sarah on the stake out, she eats it all up, they lean in for the kiss and Shawsy comes in on the earpiece and ruins the whole thing? What a jerk.

- I also didn't really like the fight scene between Chuck and the guy from Worst Week. The camera movement was weird and they've done a lot better.

The Frank Pembleton Award (2009)

The Frank Pembleton Award for
Best Lead Character in an Action Series

Rank. Character (Show)- Total Points...(My Rank)
10th. Peter Petrelli (Heroes)- 0 points

9th. John Connor (Terminator: TSCC)- 3 points

8th. Friday (Crusoe)- 5 points

7th. John Locke (Lost)- 6 points

6th. Gabriel Sylar (Heroes)- 8 points...(3rd)

5th. Benjamin Linus (Lost)- 9 points

4th. Patrick Jane (The Mentalist)- 9 points...(2nd)

3rd. Chuck Bartowski (Chuck)- 15 points...(4th)

Runner-Up
2nd. Jack Bauer (24)- 16 points...(5th)

The Poolie Goes To
1st. James 'Sawyer' Ford (Lost)- 16 points...(1st)
And with no guest spot, you are stuck with me on this one...

With all of the ups and downs, ins and outs, curve balls and game changers over the past five years on and off the Lost island, one thing has remained constant. Sawyer is an absolute stud. In the time we’ve spent with James on the island, we’ve witnessed him hoard supplies, kill the real Sawyer, shack up with Jack’s woman and give out plenty of nicknames.

In season five, the con-man really got a chance to shine. With the departure of the Oceanic Six it was Sawyer’s turn to step up to the plate and lead this group of idiots. With time travel happening all around them James is the strong, take action leader that the pastaways need. Time stops in the mid 1970s with the Dharma Initiative in full swing. When the pastaways are captured by Dharma, Sawyer takes the opportunity to put his conniving skills to good use as he comes up with an elaborate story in which his name is Jim LaFleur and his group was on a salvage vessel looking for the Black Rock. Three years pass and Sawyer is sly enough to become head of security at this joke of an Initiative, woo Juliet into a relationship, in which she makes him dinner every night, and live happily ever after in Dharmaville. That is until Jack, Kate and the gang come back and ruin all of his fun.