If you’ve been following along on Facebook or Twitter, you may know that I had the chance to visit the Chuck set yesterday. This brings up the chance for a whole bunch of spoilers. What spoilers, you ask? Many things were seen. Crazy things. Wondrous things. Semi-naked things.
WARNING: There are some big spoilers in here. Don’t read if you would like to stay ignorant of many super-cool things coming from Chuck.
First of all, the basics. The Chuck production team was in the process of shooting episode 5 of the upcoming fifth season. Entitled “Chuck vs. the Hack-Off,” the mission of the week takes Chuck and Sarah into a new-agey cult compound in search of a missing scientist with possibly devastating secrets. Chuck star Zachary Levi will also serve as director on the episode.
Click here for a description of what happens on a Chuck set.
So much for the basics — now we move on to the spoilery details!
Cult Couture
I have to admit that the first thing I noticed upon walking onto the outdoor set for “Chuck vs. the Hack-Off” was the clothing. Chuck, Sarah and all of the various cult types were attired in lovely, beaded, loose, Indian-style tunic-shirts.
And nothing else.
Seriously, not one costume went below mid-thigh. While this did look comfortable, in a nightshirt sort of way, it wasn’t exactly your normal spywear. The reason for the clothing is the cult, called “The Church of the Eternal Wind”. Apparently, they like to keep a healthy breeze flowing throughout — all the better to let the spirits enter.
And the tunics may count as formal wear at the cult. When Zachary Levi stopped by to chat, he mentioned that filming the day before had occurred in a state of near-nudity. How that will work at 8pm on NBC, I can’t wait to find out.
Geek Guests
It’s not like there are many episodes of Chuck without geek-friendly guests. And Episode 5 is no exception. At least four major guest stars will appear in the episode in various roles.
First up, we have Carrie-Ann Moss, who will appear in her recurring role of Gertrude Verbanski. The espionage entrepreneur will somehow be involved with the cult activities, but she definitely isn’t part of the peace and love bit.
Another guest star of note: Eric Lange. Lange, best known to TV geeks as Dharma scientist Radzinksy on Lost, will appear in the episode as Colin Davis, a scientist responsible for a potentially-devastating virus (Computer or biological? Not sure about that …). Chuck and Sarah will need to track down Davis in order to complete their mission. I’m fuzzy on the details, but the work does involve a great deal of crashing through trees in pursuit of their target.
The third guest star is Beau Garrett (Gem in the recent TRON: Legacy), who will play Valaria, the leader of the Church of the Eternal Wind. She seemed peaceful and lovely on set, so that probably means she’s secretly a violent psychopath of some sort. That’s how it works on Chuck.
And the final guest star spotted at Chuck? Danny Pudi, better known to many as Abed from Community. I’m pretty sure Pudi was just at the set to say hello, since he was dressed more like a Buy More employee (or maybe a Mormon missionary) than a semi-naked cultist.
Want more Chuck? BuddyTV’s Chuck Ultimate Fan Page has everything you could want about our favorite spies!
Are those enough spoilers for you? Probably not. But that’s OK, we’ll be posting a conversation with Yvonne Strahovski in the next few days, plus more spoilers to come on Monday. Check back to learn more about Chuck season 5!
(Images courtesy of NBC)
Senior Writer, BuddyTV
Laurel grew up in Mamaroneck, NY, Grosse Pointe, MI and Bellevue WA. She then went on to live in places like Boston, Tucson, Houston, Wales, Tanzania, Prince Edward Island and New York City before heading back to Seattle. Ever since early childhood, when she became addicted to The Muppet Show, Laurel has watched far too much TV. Current favorites include Chuck, Modern Family, Supernatural, Mad Men and Community. Laurel received a BA in Astrophysics (yes, that is possible) from Colgate University and a PhD in Middle Eastern Studies and History of Science from Columbia University before she realized that television is much better than studying.
