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Chuck Bartowski

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Charles Irving "Chuck" Bartowski is the main character of the American fictional television show Chuck on NBC. He is portrayed by Zachary Levi. His name is a reference to the writer Charles Bukowski.Template:Fact

Contents

[edit] Character profile

At the outset of the show, Chuck Bartowski is presented as a twentysomething underachiever who works at the local Buy More in its Nerd Herd division (a fictionalized Geek Squad). Chuck's life stalled after his college roommate, Bryce Larkin, planted test answers under Chuck's bed and then reported him to the officials, which led to Chuck's expulsion from Stanford University in 2002 — only twelve credits shy of completing his bachelor's degree. He also lost the love of his life: college girlfriend, Jill Roberts (Jordana Brewster).[1] Following his expulsion, Chuck moved in with his sister and began working at the Burbank, California branch of Buy More.[2] At some point over the next five years Chuck became the Nerd Herd supervisor. In the pilot, which picks up five years later, the viewers are introduced to the key persons in Chuck's current life: his older sister, Eleanor Fay "Ellie" Bartowski, M.D., (Sarah Lancaster), her live-in boyfriend, Devon "Captain Awesome" Woodcomb and Chuck's best friend since childhood, Morgan Grimes. Little else is known about Chuck's family except that his mother left when he was in fifth grade and that his father Stephen Bartowski was "never really there,"[3][4] and left for good sometime before Chuck completed high school.

On his birthday in 2007, Chuck opens an email from Bryce Larkin that downloads the entire Central Intelligence Agency/National Security Agency database into his brain, a database known as the Intersect. Unbeknownst to Chuck, the Intersect computer has been destroyed, making his brain the only location of this top-secret information. The government learns that Chuck Bartowski was the last known person that Bryce Larkin contacted, and so both the CIA and NSA (independent of each other) send agents to find him. The CIA dispatches field officer Sarah Walker (Yvonne Strahovski) to find him, while the NSA sends Major (now Colonel) John Casey (Adam Baldwin) to assassinate him. The two agents eventually cross paths, and Sarah fends off Casey's assassination attempts when they discover that Chuck is a human version of the Intersect and sees a rapid-fire series of images (or "flashes") whenever he sees something that is in the Intersect database. The two agencies conclude that Chuck must be protected and assign Sarah and Casey jointly to the task.[1]

[edit] Series Development

Chuck is the lead character on the show. Thus, major seasonal plot arcs generally revolve around the weekly missions that Chuck, Sarah and Casey engage in, as well as Chuck's relationships with Morgan Grimes (his best friend and co-worker), his fellow Nerd Herders and co-workers, his sister Ellie and her boyfriend (later fiancé) Devon "Captain Awesome" Woodcomb, M.D. (Ryan McPartlin). Chuck is also very worried about his future and wants desperately to remove the Intersect from his brain. Chuck is often involved in the major and secondary episodic plots and the two sometimes intertwine.

[edit] The Intersect

Flashes from the original Intersect,(top) FULCRUM Intersect (middle) and Intersect 2.0 (bottom)

Events in the series largely revolve around intelligence Chuck "flashes" on via the Intersect. Initially, Chuck is in possession of the original version destroyed by Bryce in the pilot. It is later upgraded in "Chuck Versus the Breakup." Chuck is forcibly uploaded with the FULCRUM Intersect in "Chuck Versus the Suburbs." Afterwards, flashes consisting of FULCRUM data are differentiated by a slight reddish tint. By the end of season two, Chuck chooses to download Intersect 2.0.

In many episodes Chuck, Sarah, and Casey work with other federal agents, or occasionally agents of allied foreign governments. Unless compelled to reveal the truth, Casey and Sarah almost always identify Chuck as an "analyst," not trained for field operations (to cover his lack of spy training); the Intersect information is so highly classified that even among federal government employees the knowledge that Chuck Bartowski is the Intersect is on a need-to-know basis. When initially trying to determine if the Intersect information could be removed from Chuck's mind in "Chuck Versus the Helicopter", they contacted Dr. Jonas Zarnow, who had worked on the Intersect project, and set up an elaborate system that allowed him to test Chuck's Intersect abilities without learning Chuck's real identity or even seeing his face; this proved a wise precaution because the doctor went so far as to fake his own death and kidnap Sarah Walker in an effort to force her to reveal the Intersect's identity. Chuck is painfully aware that possessing the Intersect information not only potentially puts him in great danger, but also threatens the lives of his family, friends and those around him.

The CIA and NSA were working on replacing the destroyed intersect, at which point the government would no longer need him. Chuck believed that when that day came he and Sarah would be free to pursue a "real" relationship and he would have his "normal" life back. However Casey was secretly assigned by Graham and Beckman to terminate Chuck once "Operation Bartowski" was completed. When the new electronic intersect was about to be activated in "Chuck Versus the First Date", Casey's orders reverted to the elimination of Chuck to protect the information in Chuck's brain. Although Casey appealed the mission and noted Chuck's honorable service, he reluctantly prepared to assassinate Chuck and was visibly relieved when the mission was canceled at the last moment following the destruction of the intersect computer. As revealed in "Chuck Versus the Suburbs", the NSA and CIA have officially abandoned the Intersect project, however the series has not established whether Casey's termination orders are still in effect.

General Beckman made it clear to Chuck in "Chuck vs. The Predator" that she doesn't want the Intersect removed from his brain, and that she expects him to become a spy. Chuck promptly begins this new phase of his life by hiding intel on the original design of the Intersect sent to him from Orion (later revealed to be Stephen Bartowski, his father). Orion also indicated that the Fulcrum Intersect could possibly be used to remove the Intersect from Chuck's brain.

In "Chuck vs. the Colonel", Chuck locates the base where Fulcrum has hidden the newly-developed Fulcrum Intersect Cube that was being programmed under duress by Stephen Bartowski. His father is able to remove the intersect from Chuck's brain using this Intersect Cube. However he subsequently downloads it again before destroying it in "Chuck vs. the Ring", this time uploading physical skills as well, such as advanced martial arts.

[edit] Sarah Walker

A major thread throughout the series is that Chuck is in love with his CIA protector Sarah, who is pretending to be his girlfriend as part of her cover story.

Sarah's own feelings for Chuck are a recurring side plot. She maintains that it would be unprofessional of her to actually engage in a real relationship with Chuck while she is serving as his CIA handler. Sarah and Chuck have shared kisses under unusual circumstances in "Chuck vs. the Imported Hard Salami" and "Chuck Versus the Seduction." In the latter case, Seduction trainer Roan Montgomery (John Larroquette) quickly discerned that there was more than a working relationship between Chuck and Sarah. Complicating the developing relationship between Chuck and Sarah is Chuck's nemesis Bryce Larkin, who was previously partnered with Sarah and developed a romantic relationship with her which he still wishes to pursue. During Bryce's return in "Chuck vs. the Nemesis", Sarah is clearly conflicted between Larkin and Chuck. However, when he later reappears in "Chuck vs. the Break-Up," the situation has changed. Sarah chooses Chuck's safety over their assigned mission objectives, and when later confronted by Captain Awesome (who correctly and unknowingly recognized that Sarah's feelings for Chuck are genuine and not part of her cover), Bryce realizes that Sarah has chosen Chuck. At the end of the mission Bryce warns Chuck that her feelings nearly got her killed, and may reach the point that they interfere with her ability to function effectively. Chuck later tells her regardless of how they feel towards each other, they could nonetheless never be together. Whether or not Bryce's motives for keeping Chuck and Sarah apart were truly in their own best interests or his own has not yet been revealed. Despite this decision, Chuck and Sarah's feelings for each other remain. The conflict with Bryce and the relationship between Chuck and Sarah was brought to a close in the season two finale when Sarah tells Bryce she won't be going with him on their next assignment.

Sarah's feelings for Chuck and their ramifications for their mission are the focus of "Chuck vs. The Broken Heart", when Beckman decides Sarah and Chuck are too close emotionally, leading her to temporarily replace her with Agent Alexandra Forrest (the 49B). After the mission takes a turn for the worse, it becomes clear that the strong emotional bond between Chuck and Sarah is an asset rather than a liability, leading Beckman to reinstate Sarah's position.

At the end of "Chuck vs. the First Kill", Beckman orderes Sarah to lure Chuck to Castle so he could be taken into custody and returned to Washington. Faced with betraying him, Sarah instead warns Chuck of the plan and reveals that they thus have to flee. They nearly have sex in "Chuck vs. the Colonel", but a series of circumstances, including the arrival of John Casey, interrupts them. Josh Schwartz and Chris Fedak have suggested Chuck re-uploading the Intersect may have implications for his developing relationship with Sarah.[5]

[edit] Spy Life

Chuck discovers he learned Kung Fu from the Intersect

In many episodes Chuck has adopted a fantasy alias, "Charles Carmichael," who is endowed with all of the characteristics he believes a super-spy should have, except he doesn't really have the physical abilities to go with the skills. "Imagine Clark Kent removing the eyeglasses, but still wearing kryptonite underwear."Template:Fact Carmichael has been referred to as where Chuck thought he would be by this time in in his life had he not been expelled from Stanford: a millionaire semiretired software magnate.[6] Ironically, his fantasy alias has gained actual respect in the spy community: in "Chuck Versus the Predator," Fulcrum agent Vincent told Chuck he's heard of him. His operational aliases are numerous; various false passports and identity documents are stored in a shoebox under his bed, as seen in the beginning of "Chuck Versus Tom Sawyer."

While police and operational backup personnel have supported Casey and Sarah in various episodes, Chuck is revealed near the climax of "Chuck Versus the Ex" to have gained the contact information required to summon such teams on his own initiative. Moments later, it is further revealed that Chuck carries a badge and credentials which give him some degree of authority over local and federal law enforcement agencies, including the police and FBI. This is demonstrated in the episode when, upon arriving at an emergency situation where an assassin released a biological weapon on a scientific conference, Chuck promptly assumed command of the operation without dispute from the senior officer on-site.

Chuck has been charting every piece of information he can find on Fulcrum and the Intersect on a board hidden behind the Tron poster in his bedroom,[7] and continues to express a desire to have the intel removed from his brain.[8] Using the data, Chuck built a bot to search the web for Orion, which he can be seen using in the opening scenes of "Chuck Versus the Predator." He succeeds in doing what the CIA and NSA could not; he gets the attention of Orion who recognizes Chuck as the Intersect and thus wants to meet him. Orion reveals it is possible to remove the Intersect from Chuck's brain before being apparently killed when he turned his MQ-9 Reaper drone on the helicopter he was being loaded aboard after he was captured by Fulcrum. It was later revealed in "Chuck vs. the Dream Job" that not only did Orion survive, but was actually Chuck's father.

In "Chuck vs. the Ring",Chuck downloads the modified Intersect 2.0 after Bryce was killed before destroying the computer system. When confronted by agents belonging to The Ring intent on taking control of the system, he uses the knowledge received from the Intersect to quickly disable them in hand-to-hand combat. Earlier in the episode, Ted Roark reveals that Fulcrum has specifically ordered that Chuck be killed regardless of whether they recover the Intersect.

[edit] Family Life

Chuck had been attempting to locate his father for Ellie's wedding but had met with limited success, as Stephen Bartowski didn't want to be found. However, his search ends in "Chuck vs. The Broken Heart" when Sarah uses her access to the CIA databases at Langley to run her own unauthorized search. She successfully locates him in a trailer in a field 100 miles east of Barstow, CA and takes Chuck to see him. In "Chuck Versus the Dream Job," Stephen reveals his identity as Orion and said he had allowed Sarah to find him. Chuck went to work for Stephen's rival Ted Roark to help the CIA stop a major virus attack. After Stephen's capture by Roark he convinced Beckman to assign them the mission to rescue him.

Due to his "exceptional field service," Chuck received his Bachelor's Degree in Engineering from Stanford, a degree he was only 12 credits short of earning when he was expelled.[9] Sarah and Casey both played a significant role in this development. In "Chuck Versus The Dream Job," we learn that Stephen (his father) is really Orion, the Intersect's creator. Although Stephen Bartowski would appear in "Chuck vs. the Dream Job", no real information about their mother has been given, except that she left them at a young age. Chuck and Ellie celebrate "Mother's Day" each year with dinner to celebrate the day they both learned to take care of each other.[10]

In the finale of Season 2, Chuck quits the Buy More finally as a wedding present to Ellie, who has been encouraging him to live up to his potential, which she doesn't believe he can accomplish there.

[edit] Character development

Zachary Levi was the first actor cast for the series, and was announced as staring in the title role on February 7, 2007. On January 16, 2009 it was announced that Scott Bakula would be appearing as Chuck and Ellie's father in a three-episode story alongside Chevy Chase. Mr. Bartowski is being identified as a software genius, with Chase's Ted Roark as his rival.[11]

SciFi Wire reports that English actor Jonathan Cake will be joining the cast for a three-part arc as Mi-6 agent Cole Barker, described as a "James Bond" type. Unfortunately for Chuck, Agent Barker will be catching Sarah's eye, and will be leading to a heated rivalry between the two. This will most notably be on display in Part Two of the arc, in which each will be actively trying to "Out Hero" the other. Chuck will also be involved in a mission to track down the creator of the Intersect, a man who may be able to help him find a way to remove the computer from his head and give him back his normal life.[12]

Previews for a future episode following the initial airing of "Chuck Versus the Lethal Weapon" show Chuck taking a much more active role, including donning body armor and confidently wielding two guns.

Zachary Levi has indicated that by the beginning of Season Three, if the show continues, two characters will have discovered Chuck's secret life.[13] In "Chuck Versus the Colonel," Chuck reveals his work as a spy to Captain Awesome, but implores him to keep it secret. [14]

Interviews with Chris Fedak and Josh Schwartz have likened Chuck's development in the first two seasons to an origin story, describing Chuck as Luke Skywalker and born into his role as opposed to Peter Parker who stumbled into it. Season two especially has focused on Chuck's evolution from a regular guy to show that he has the potential to be a true hero.[15]

Zachary Levi has suggested that the new skills Chuck learns from Intersect 2.0 will fade again after use.[16]

[edit] Personality

Chuck is intelligent, kind, and personable. Despite the danger and reality of his secret life Chuck continues to struggle with maintaining his honesty and integrity, and has frequently been at odds with the deceptive side of his government work. Chuck typically plays the role of a peacemaker and to some degrees a negotiator, preferring to find a peaceful resolution to conflicts (such as during the hostage situation in the Buy More in "Chuck vs. Santa Claus.") He also has a deep sense of personal responsibility, leading him to facilitating the defection of a Chinese agent after mistakenly allowing her brother to be taken hostage.[10] Chuck strongly believes in doing the right thing, but objects to means that violate his ethics, especially when he has been asked or ordered to take advantage of his personal relationships.[17]

Chuck is highly skilled with computers and can solve any puzzle.[2] It is implied that he has genius-level intellect and has the ability to retain vast amounts of visual information, possibly suggesting he possesses a photographic memory.Template:Dubious Chuck has shown the ability to mentally download the Intersect and the Fulcrum program (which had killed or mentally damaged all previous subjects). He has excellent problem-solving skills. Even without the Intersect information, Chuck is highly observant, and he has a great deal of familiarity with a wide variety of electronic devices, their capabilities and limitations due to working at the Buy More rather than the Intersect information, and demonstrated the ability to recognize advanced surveillance equipment while casing a mansion for a mission (because they sold that model of surveillance camera at the BuyMore). Chuck has admitted to a low tolerance for pain in several episodes, and is particularly afraid of needles. Although he tends to be visibly frightened in situations involving guns and danger, he has a deep reserve of courage, and almost always summons the nerve to risk his own life during the course of a mission if he deems it necessary (such as if Sarah Walker's life is at risk).

Although he does not hold a management position at the Buy More, both the sales associates and Nerd Herd staff look to him for guidance and leadership. Co-worker Anna Wu (Julia Ling) explained to a corporate efficiency expert that the store's chain of command is "There's Chuck, then there's the rest of us. Oh, and then there's Jeff," and Lester Patel (Vik Sahay) reports that when unsure in a situation, asks himself, "WWCD, what would Chuck do?" When asked "Who personifies the Buy More ideal? Who makes the trains run on time? Who provides your moral compass? Who holds the team together?" the staff unanimously answer "Chuck."[2] Even Big Mike holds Chuck in high regard, and has frequently turned to Chuck when he has things that need to be done and done right, and would have preferred him as Assistant Manager over Harry Tang.[18] When his new girlfriend revealed her son worked at the Buy More, Big Mike could be heard pleading that it was Chuck.[19]

Chuck's friends and family are very important to him. He has disobeyed orders in order to protect Ellie,[20] Morgan and Anna,[21] and his own fate was of secondary importance to finding the ring Awesome intended to use to propose to Ellie when a Fulcrum agent stole it while recovering a listening device.[22] Once, when Ellie, Chuck, Sarah Walker and Casey had all been exposed to a substance that would kill them, and they had recovered only enough antidote to save one individual, Chuck, without hesitation, stated that he would use it to save his sister's life, though that would mean he would die; Sarah and Casey refused to let him do this, because his death would mean the loss of the Intersect secrets in his head (though Casey expressed admiration on a personal level for Chuck's willingness to sacrifice his own life to save Ellie's), so Chuck ran to Ellie and administered the antidote to her before they could stop him. He is highly sensitive and caring, and particularly in Season Two has been close to Sarah when she needed emotional support.[23][24] Chuck has also attempted to help Casey reclaim the woman he loved.[25] He has promised his sister that no matter what it takes, he would make sure their father was present at her wedding.[26]

Although often a strength, Chuck's affable, trusting nature has also gotten him into trouble. He almost allowed Laszlo Manhovski to escape custody,[18] and on numerous occasions been tricked into helping an adversary. Casey has also taken advantage of Chuck's naivete for his own purposes.[26]

Chuck frequently wears Chuck Taylor All-Star hightop shoes and enjoys "indie rock" music. Music supervisor of Chuck, Alexandra Patsavas, describes Chuck as a guy who might like The Republic Tigers and The National (both bands have contributed music to the show)[27][28], and the character himself has made references to liking The Arcade Fire (Chuck versus the Sandworm). Chuck is a very big video game nerd. He has been seen reading Nintendo Power, playing Missile Command, Gears of War, Halo 3 and Call of Duty 4, and he is assumed to be a fan of The Legend of Zelda. He has demonstrated several other 'nerd' interests throughout the course of the show, such as an interest in (and extensive familiarity with the plot, characters and details of) comic books and graphic novels, genre movies (such as the James Bond films), and other typical 'nerd' entertainment interests. In the episode "Chuck Versus the Sandworm" Chuck's best friend, Morgan Grimes (Joshua Gomez) reveals that Chuck has a "wicked vinyl collection", part of which is seen in "Chuck Versus the Alma Mater".

[edit] Evolution

File:Wrist Computer.png
Wrist computer given to Chuck by his father

Chuck has continued to evolve over the course of the show. He was initially reluctant to participate in missions, but now has begun to look forward to them and has even been disappointed when they didn't have a new assignment for him.[29] He has also slowly begun to grow in confidence and is becoming increasingly more capable and self-sufficient. Although inexperienced, Chuck's natural intelligence and observational skills has steadily been making him a more effective agent. Sarah has frequently encouraged him in this regard, and even Casey has made observations on Chuck's abilities.[30][24] Even General Beckman was impressed that Chuck made contact with Orion, though she only admitted it to Sarah and Casey.

For most of the series Chuck has been strongly pacifistic. He specifically told Sarah he dislikes guns[22] and showed a preference of avoiding or preventing conflict. Until the season finale he has displayed little fighting ability, and was deeply disturbed by Sarah's execution of Fulcrum agent Mauser.[31] During the events of "Chuck Versus Suburbs" Fulcrum was attempting to refine their own version of the Intersect. The device was flawed, and until it was tested successfully on Chuck either killed or inflicted lasting, if not permanent, brain damage on the victims. After the team was captured investigating the Intersect, Casey escaped FULCRUM custody to the system' control room while Sarah was being strapped into the device. Although fully aware of what would happen to the Fulcrum agents, Chuck signaled Casey to activate the Intersect.

This incident was the first time that Chuck has willingly and personally taken a course of action where he knew that someone was going to be hurt or even killed as a result. Additionally, Josh Schwartz has stated that Chuck will continue to evolve and gain confidence in his new role, and directly suggested that by the end of the season Chuck will have earned his first "kill."[32] This occurred in "Chuck Versus the First Kill," although ironically neither of Chuck's two "kills" were the result of direct action by Chuck. Chuck also deliberately ran down a crowd of Fulcrum operatives holding Sarah prisoner with a Dodge Challenger they were using to run from Casey in "Chuck vs. the Colonel".

Chuck finally handled a gun for the first time on an actual mission in "Chuck vs. the Lethal Weapon." Despite his aversion to firearms established in this episode and earlier in "Chuck Versus the Marlin," Chuck asked Sarah if he got to have a gun for their rescue of his father in "Chuck Versus the Colonel." He also found out General Beckman was not willing to help him get the Intersect out of his head in "Chuck vs. the Predator" and told him he needed to become a spy. Chuck responded by hiding intelligence about the FULCRUM Intersect from her and his handlers.

Upon learning Beckman doesn't want the Intersect removed from him, Chuck has used the resources of Castle and the skills he's learned to defy the government. He hid information about the Fulcrum Intersect from his handlers in "Chuck vs. The Predator" and "Chuck vs. The Broken Heart", and used CIA body armor and tranquilizer guns for a rogue operation to gain access to the Fulcrum Intersect to remove the one in his head in "Chuck vs. the Dream Job". He even shot John Casey with a tranquilizer.

After downloading the heavily-modified Intersect 2.0, Chuck becomes an expert in hand-to-hand combat and knows Kung Fu much to the surprise of Sarah and Casey.[33]

[edit] References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 "Chuck vs. the Intersect"
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 "Chuck vs. the Ex"
  3. ↑ "Chuck Versus the Best Friend"
  4. ↑ episode "Chuck Versus the Broken Heart
  5. ↑ Interview: April 27, 2009: New Jersey Star-Ledger
  6. ↑ "Chuck vs. the Tango"
  7. ↑ NBC.com: Chuck's Chart
  8. ↑ "Chuck vs. the Lethal Weapon"
  9. ↑ "Chuck vs. Tom Sawyer"
  10. ↑ 10.0 10.1 "Chuck vs. the Sizzling Shrimp"
  11. ↑ Cast Update: January 16, Zap2It.com
  12. ↑ Development Update: February 16, 2009, SciFi Wire
  13. ↑ Spoiler: io9.com
  14. ↑ Development Update, March 20, 2009: Sci-Fi Wire
  15. ↑ Interview: April 7, 2009: What's Alan Watching
  16. ↑ Interview: May 1, 2009: Entertainment Weekly
  17. ↑ "Chuck vs. the Imported Hard Salami"
  18. ↑ 18.0 18.1 "Chuck vs. the Sandworm"
  19. ↑ "Chuck vs. the Suburbs"
  20. ↑ "Chuck vs. the Truth"
  21. ↑ "Chuck vs. the Crown Vic"
  22. ↑ 22.0 22.1 "Chuck vs. the Marlin"
  23. ↑ "Chuck vs. the Cougars"
  24. ↑ 24.0 24.1 "Chuck vs. the Delorean"
  25. ↑ "Chuck vs. the Undercover Lover"
  26. ↑ 26.0 26.1 "Chuck Versus the Sensei"
  27. ↑ 1
  28. ↑ 2
  29. ↑ "Chuck vs. the Third Dimension"
  30. ↑ "Chuck vs. the First Date"
  31. ↑ "Chuck vs. Santa Claus"
  32. ↑ Development Update: February 8, 2009, IGN report on New York ComicCon Panel
  33. ↑ "Chuck vs. the Ring"

[edit] External links

Retrieved from "http://chuck-nbc.wikia.com/wiki/Chuck_Bartowski"