Joel Murphy

Charles Carmichael is a hard man to kill. On the show Chuck, The Ring, Daniel Shaw and Alexei Volkoff have all tried to take out the lovable spy. And in real life, the powers that be at NBC have almost canceled the show more times that you can count. Yet somehow, after five years and 91 episodes, it all comes to an end tonight.

When you stop to think about it, it’s pretty amazing we’ve made it to this point. After season two, every episode we’ve gotten has been a gift. It was only thanks to a grassroots campaign by dedicated fans who all went to Subway en mass to show their support that we got a season three. (Chuck himself, Zachary Levi even served sandwiches to patrons on that day.) The show has been on the brink of cancelation ever since. The writers have had to come up with a variety of midseason and season finales that could serve as a series finale if the show didn’t get renewed. (By some counts, the show has had five different “series” finales.)

But tonight the show gets what it deserves and it gets something most shows don’t, which is to go out on its own terms. This season, the writers went in knowing it would be their last and they were able to gear these final 13 episodes toward one final, definitive end. And they’ve come up with something great. Chuck’s final battle, which will play out in a two-hour finale tonight, is against the love of his life Sarah Walker, who has the Intersect in her head and no recollection of her relationship with her husband.

While I’m excited to see how it all plays out tonight, I can definitely say the show will be missed. I’ve written about the show at length over the years during various “Save Chuck campaigns” and also I’ve had the good fortune to interview cast members Mark Christopher Lawrence (Big Mike), Scott Krinsky (Lester) and Bonita Friedericy (General Diane Beckman). I’ve loved the show’s quirky blend of comedy and action and I’ve always thought it had a surprising amount of heart in an era when television often seems quite cynical and bleak.

The show has always felt to me like a throwback to a long gone era of television. It feels one of those campy shows from the 70s or 80s where an everyman is given some type of gift (like an alien supersuit, a talking car or six-million dollars worth of bionic implants). But what I’ve enjoyed most is that while the show has always been a bit silly and ridiculous, it has also built this complex mythology that has unfolded over the past five seasons, revealing why Chuck Bartowski was chosen to have the Intersect in his head and what the powerful database can do if it ends up inside the wrong person.

What I’ve also really loved seeing is the evolution of Sarah Walker and how it has paralleled Chuck’s in this really fascinating way. While Chuck’s journey has been from compassionate, brilliant slacker to a formidable spy (who now can get by on his own without the Intersect as a crutch), Sarah has gone from a detached, unstoppable spy to someone who relies on and empathizes with those she cares about. Her decision to retire from active field duty so she can raise a family with her husband doesn’t seem like a cop out, it’s an ending this show has earned five years in.

I’ve also enjoyed the expanded cast of characters they’ve given us. Sarah is a great character in her own right, but watching her and Chuck together has been a joy (and I’m not someone who generally enjoys “Will they or won’t they?” relationships on shows.) Seeing Adam Baldwin, who I loved so much as Jayne Cobb, sink his teeth into a role as juicy as John Casey has been a lot of fun too. (He can convey so much with one simple growl.) Morgan Grimes, who was a bit of a problematic character early on in the show, has evolved into a really great sidekick and has taken over the role Bartowski had early on of “guy in way over his head in the spy world.” Eli and Awesome are both such perfect supporting characters. Jeff and Lester have provided some fantastic comedic moments, though they are best utilized in small doses. And Diane Beckman’s personal life has proven to be a fertile ground for comedy.

I’ve also enjoyed the high profile guest stars they’ve been able to snag. My Scott Bakula man-crush knowns no bounds thanks to his role on Quantum Leap. Having him play Chuck’s dad is such perfect casting. I honestly can’t think of anyone else who would have been a better fit. Having Linda Hamilton as his mom turned out to be wonderful casting as well. And the role of Alexei Volkoff became one of my favorite things Timothy Dalton has ever done and I’m a big fan of his work.

So thanks so much to the cast and crew for bringing these characters to life. Thanks so much to the writers for building the complex mythology of this show and giving us all moments like the Jeffster “Mr. Roboto” montage, Chuck outmaneuvering Volkoff in their showdown inside the cabin and everything involving the Giant Blonde She-Male of Thailand. And finally, thanks to NBC for letting this show go out on its own terms. (Now do the same thing for Community.)

It’s been a great five years. And while I will definitely miss this show, I’m happy that they have given us 91 episodes of this quirky, fun little show. It will certainly live on in my DVD collection for years to come.

Joel Murphy is the creator of HoboTrashcan, which is probably why he has his own column. He loves pugs, hates Jimmy Fallon and has an irrational fear of robots. You can contact him at murphyslaw@hobotrashcan.com.

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Man on a Ledge Release Date: January 27, 2012 Director: Asger Leth Writer: Pablo F. Fenjves Stars: Sam Worthington, Elizabeth Banks and Jamie Bell MPAA Rating: PG-13 HoboTrashcan’s Rating:

Man on a Ledge is by no means a good movie. It is, however, a fairly entertaining one.

Borrowing heavily from the 1998 Samuel L. Jackson movie The Negotiator, the film stars Sam Worthington as Nick Cassidy, a police officer facing a 25-year jail sentence for a crime he didn’t commit. However, instead of taking a room full of people hostage, Cassidy climbs out onto the ledge of the 21st floor of a hotel and threatens to jump off. Playing the Kevin Spacey role of the police negotiator who believes the wronged cop’s story and decides to help him is Elizabeth Banks as Lydia Mercer. Cassidy requests Mercer by name, knowing that she is haunted by a case one month earlier in which she failed to talk a police officer down from a bridge.

Cassidy was convicted of stealing a $40 million diamond from ruthless businessman David Englander (Ed Harris). Nick uses his ledge stunt as a distraction to draw attention to himself while his brother Joey (Jamie Bell) and his brother’s girlfriend Angie (Genesis Rodriguez) break into Englander’s vault to find the diamond, which Cassidy believes never actually left the premises.

By adding the diamond heist element and by giving us a flashback to Nick’s prison escape, the film finds ways to keep the action moving while Nick is perched up on the ledge. Not that the scenes on the ledge are boring. Director Asger Leth chose to put Worthington and Banks on the actual 21st story ledge of a New York City hotel, which undoubtedly added an extra level of realism to the performance and gave Leth the ability to get some really captivating shots. Any of you with a fear of heights will definitely get that queasy feeling in the pit of your stomach several times throughout the film.

The performances are mostly solid too, which helps sell the film. Worthington and Banks have a good chemistry and their scenes together work well. Harris unfortunately isn’t asked to do very much, but he makes the most of the scenes he’s in by chewing just the right amount of scenery. Titus Welliver, Anthony Mackie and Edward Burns are all really enjoyable in their supporting roles. The only two weak links are Bell and Rodriguez, who give underwhelming performances. (Leth does his best to distract you from this by having Rodriguez show off as much cleavage as humanly possible in all of their scenes together.)

The story is fairly formulaic and every “surprise” twist is easy to spot a mile away. Still, it all works well enough until the end. The climax of the film, however, is a complete mess. The story falls apart and no matter how much suspension of disbelief you are willing to apply, the films gives you an ending that is in no way believable. Even overlooking the completely unrealistic action movie hijinks that ensue in the end, the resolution itself makes little sense when you stop for even one second to think about it.

The film also has two flaws in its design that it struggles to overcome. First, since Cassidy is an escaped convict and has no hostages, the police don’t really have a compelling reason to let him stay out on the ledge threatening to jump off and creating a huge spectacle. The film is fairly successful in handling this problem in two ways. Number one, Cassidy checks into the hotel under a fake name and wipes down his room for prints, so it takes a while to positively ID him. And two, once the police know who he is, Nick has Mercer on his side keeping the tactical unit from swarming in and forcibly removing him from the ledge.

Unfortunately, the film never really finds a way to address the second problem, which is Nick’s overall plan. Cassidy has his brother break into Englander’s vault to find the diamond, proving Englander had possession of it all along. But why would anyone be convinced that Cassidy and his brother didn’t simply plant the diamond in Englander’s vault in order to clear Nick’s name? A jury didn’t believe his story once, so why would anyone believe him now? The film never really addresses this. The most frustrating thing is that there are actually several outs they could have used to overcome this problem, but writer Pablo F. Fenjves failed to utilize any of them.

Problematic writing aside, the film is paced well enough that it never really overstays its welcome. While the story ends up being quite ridiculous, it is never boring. If you are looking for a mindless January action film, you probably won’t be disappointed. Though with a few added tweaks to the story, this one could have been a lot better.

Written by Joel Murphy. If you enjoy his reviews, he also writes a weekly pop culture column called Murphy’s Law, which you can find here. You can contact Joel at murphyslaw@hobotrashcan.com.

Even spies have to
deal with the Human Resource Department. On Archer, the ISIS crew is stuck dealing with Pam Poovey, a rotund, dolphin puppet-wielding gossip. Luckily, while Pam herself isn’t much fun to be around, Amber Nash, who voices the outlandish character, couldn’t be nicer and more pleasant to deal with.

Nash, a lifelong Georgia native, got her start on television on creator Adam Reed’s previous show Frisky Dingo. We recently talked to Nash, who had just begun a European tour with her theatre group Dad’s Garage, about voice work, Comic-Con and what’s in store for Pam this season.

Where are you originally from?

I grew up in the suburbs of Atlanta, a little north of the city. My mom’s from Atlanta and my dad’s from the midwest, so I grew up in Atlanta and have been there pretty much my whole life.

How did you get into acting?

When I was in college, I was studying psychology. That’s what I got my degree in. I was going to school and working in restaurants. A friend of mine went to see an improv show and they were like, “You’ve got to go see this because you’ll really like it.” So I went and saw this improv show and I really liked it and I started taking improv classes. This is when I was like 19. I took the classes, then I kept hanging around and taking more classes and bartending at the theater, cleaning toilets and whatever I could do.

I eventually started doing sketch comedy there. They were doing a sketch comedy show at the time. And then started improvising with the theatre and then became a regular and quit my regular job and decided to start acting full-time.

How long have you been acting full-time?

Since 2005.

Before Archer, you worked on Frisky Dingo. How did the voice work come about?

There is another guy that is an improvisor at the theatre I work at – his name’s Christian Danley. Christian is an animator. He was working with the 70/30 guys on Frisky Dingo – or maybe even before that, he was working on Sealab, I think. So some of the guys – actually Matt [Thompson] and Adam [Reed] – knew that Christian came from an improv theatre and would come and check it out.

So I guess they had seen me in an improv show and when Frisky Dingo was being created, it was actually a different show from what it became. The original idea was something very different. I think it was more of a family. So they were looking for a teenage girl. They had me come in and audition because they knew that Christian knew me, and I was totally wrong for it. It was not at all something I would have done. So they were like, “Well, you’re not going to play this part.”

Then the show ended up becoming something totally different. When the character of Val popped up, they asked me to come in and read for it. I did and they liked it. I think actually on the first episode, Val might have been voiced by a different actress. I’m almost positive. So they had me come in and do Val later for the rest of the series.

Once that series was over, they took a big break and they really weren’t doing a ton of stuff anymore. When they came up with the idea for Archer, they actually had me come in and I guess I was doing pick ups for something – they needed me to do something. And they were like, “We want you to look at this.” The first time I saw what Pam looked like, they had Pam’s head on the screen, but she was delivering a line that I had recorded as Val. It was pretty much the same voice, it was just a little different because it’s my voice, you know?

They were like, “This is what we want you to do for this new show.”

Where does Pam’s voice come from?

Val is just my total regular voice. And then Pam’s is just a little bit different. And so the voice is actually when I tell stories as my mother, that’s the voice I use when I’m talking as my mom. And it’s kind of midwestern and my mom’s not from the midwest. So my mom doesn’t actually sound like that at all. It’s actually me when I’m making fun of my mother, that’s the voice I use.

When you record your lines, you just go in a booth alone and record them, right? You never actually interact with the other actors.

No. The good thing for me, because everyone else is in LA, is that I actually get to go in and I’m in a booth and outside of the booth is Adam and then another guy named Casey. So I get to actually interact with them instead of just being on the phone with them.

So yeah, when I go in it’s just me in the booth. They don’t even read the scene with me. I usually just deliver the line three different ways and if I’m not getting it right, Adam will be like, “Well think about it like this” or “Try it like this.” For all the lines I have in an episode, usually it only takes 30 minutes. It’s the best job in the world.

As someone who does improv, does it make a difference to you not being able to interact with other people? Was that challenging to adjust to at first?

At first, it was different and Casey, the other guy who is there, would read me in so I would have something to react off of. I used to definitely do it that way because I wanted to have that interaction with somebody. At first, I would just stand in front of a microphone and talk. But then, I got a really good note from a friend of mine. He was like, “Move your hands. Act. Do what you would do if you were on stage.” So now in the booth I’m just like wacky and crazy and I move around so I can actually get that voice to sound right.

At first, it was definitely a little weird as an improvisor. Now I’m used to doing it. And a lot of times, Adam will be like, “Just try some stuff” or “Make something up” or “Say what you think Pam would say.” I actually get to improvise lines pretty regularly. He’s really good about it. He enjoys having actors do that.

How was the character of Pam originally described to you?

I think they described her as “the HR lady that everybody hates.” When I went in for the first record, that was what I was going with. Everybody kind of hates her and everybody kind of mistreats her. I think that’s how it kind of was at first and then the characters changed a bit. The overweight HR lady that everybody hates. And I didn’t even know that she was bisexual at this point. I think that came out later.

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Camille Crimson

[Editor's Note - This is the first installment of a new monthly feature by Camille Crimson. Next month Camille will be answering reader questions. Check by Friday for this week's Murphy's Law.]

TL;DR version: you do! Hopefully that’s not all you came here for, though. Let me back up a bit.

My name is Camille Crimson. You may remember me from a little feature on here a while back where I taught you all how to make one of my favourite meals. I’m many things – a geek, a gourmand, a motorcyclist, a musician, a budding filmmaker, a loving long-term girlfriend/common-law wife. I’m also a pornographer with a very rich and fulfilling sexual life. If I had started off with that bit of information, I have a feeling it would have made you look at everything after a bit differently, like I was a pornstar trying to justify myself. That’s not quite it.

The vast majority of the population has some really hard lines in their minds about sexuality and how it interacts in our lives. We’re told that there’s a certain way to have and enjoy sex – as privately as possible! Anyone flagrantly exposing their sexual life, especially for financial gain, must have something wrong with them, right?

Wrong! (At least as far as I’m concerned.) I can’t speak for everyone, but my journey into the world of sharing my sexual self came very naturally and has left me whole and validated in my life.

There is no real reason why sex should be private. Our culture has had a very damaging effect when it comes to segmenting our “private” parts and our “private” moments. Our sexual education comes from on high, skewing the information for entertainment or for wholesomeness.

There’s very little real, frank talk about sex, especially its potential for good in relationships and just for ourselves. Without sounding too lofty and optimistic, that’s something I’m trying to undo in the world. It’s a big goal, but I’m not alone.

It’s unfortunate that so few of us are connected to this side of ourselves and I feel that part of it comes from the stigma we attach to others who dare to share. Whether porn performers or simply outspoken, sexually liberated friends, don’t judge them by what they do. It’s probably not nature that makes this seem wrong. It’s nurture. Instead, try to see all sides of the situation and perhaps turn your gaze inwards to see how adopting a more liberal approach in your own life could create room for growth.

To put my money where my mouth is, I want to help. If you have questions about any aspect of sexuality, of sensuality, of relationships, of love, then send them my way. By getting more of this out in the open in a safe environment, we can all learn a little something and hopefully increase the amount of positive dialogue out there about our sexual selves.

Camille Crimson will be back on the site next month answering your questions. Please direction questions to murphyslaw@hobotrashcan.com or leave them below in the comments. You can check out her (NSFW) site at CamileCrimson.com.

“When a person spends enough time lying for a living, it gets to the point where you realize the only thing he doesn’t mean is what he’s actually saying.”

- Winona Hawkins

After last week’s premiere episode, which showed us the fallout from season two’s finale and set up the overarcing story for season three, this week we get a standalone episode with the serialized moments existing only on the perimeter. Unfortunately, the overarcing bits proved to be much more interesting than the standalone plot.

The self-contained story ended up giving us a few nice moments for Art and Rachel, but overall it was a bit of a dud. Terry Powe wasn’t a very memorable villain and his plot to get cash by selling out his fellow relocated witnesses was a bit too convoluted and implausible. Even if he followed Nichols to one of the other witnesses’ houses, how would he know who the woman was or which gang to reach out to to give her location? It would seem idiotic to put Mary Archer and Terry Powe in close proximity to each other if there was any chance of either one of them figuring out the other one’s true identity. I just don’t buy that Powe would be able to put two and two together and sell her out to Alazar’s people simply by following Nichols to her house. I guess we could assume he got the information out of Nichols before he put the second bullet in his head, but that certainly wasn’t his original plan. And his original plan doesn’t make much sense. Also, when did he have time to get the cash from Alazar’s people if they hadn’t even gotten to town to put the hit on Archer yet?

That being said, it was nice to see Art quickly figure out Terry was Nichols’ killer and to use any means necessary to find out who Terry sold out. I also liked Rachel getting to protect Mary and her kids in the attic with a well-placed shot to the hitman’s head. Spotlighting them again allowed Raylan to have more of a supporting role this week as he continues to convalesce, which was nice.

Having Carla Gugino as a guest star certainly helped as well. Her role as Assistant Director Goodall was clearly a tribute to her role as Miami-based US Marshal Karen Sisco in the short-lived TV series based on an Elmore Leonard book. Making it clear Goodall was the character’s married name allowed the writers to imply the character was Sisco without coming out and saying it. And, either way, the moment where she and Raylan simultaneously took down the two thugs in the hotel hallway was a thing of beauty. Hopefully this isn’t the last we see of Gugino.

Still, most of the most interesting moments in the episode had to do with the larger overarcing plot. First we had Raylan figuring out Boyd’s ulterior motive for getting incarcerated and quickly springing into action to protect Dickie Bennett. I loved the scene with Raylan and Boyd where they both talked about the strange and twisted particulars of their current romantic relationships. Plus, it was great seeing Boyd clearly flustered as he realized Raylan was one step ahead of him. Of course, Boyd’s desperation move to get himself beat up and put in a cell next to Dickie was a nice Plan B.

We were also introduced to Ellstin Limehouse, the man holding what’s left of Mags Bennet’s fortune. While Neal McDonough got a whole episode last week to introduce us to his as-yet-unnamed villain, Mykelti Williamson gets just one scene to sell us on Limehouse. Thanks to great writing, the scene had him butchering a pig and threatening to burn an underling’s hand with lye, which Williamson was able to take and run with. His calmly delivered but absolutely chilling speech was a thing of beauty.

Overall, this is an episode that is likely to be forgotten as the season unfolds. But there was at least enough fun moments with Art, Rachel and Goodall to make it watchable and enough extracurricular activity that advanced the season-long plot that this didn’t seem like a wasted episode the way some of the season one standalones did.

And another thing …

• Like Neal McDonough, both Mykelti Williamson and Frank John Hughes (who played Powe) had roles on Graham Yost’s former show Boomtown. Williamson had a starring role as Fearless and Powe had a two-episode guest stint playing Vincent Manzani, a cop who turned mole.

• Was I the only one who thought of Tyler scalding Ed Norton’s character with lye in Fight Club during the Limehouse scene?

• I like that Art referred to Hughes’ character as Terry in the beginning of the episode and then Walter (his pre-witness protection name) once he knew he shot Nichols. That was a nice little detail.

• Also, apparently Art and cops everywhere who enjoy giving out old school beatings are all lamenting the decreased popularity of phone books.

• Interesting to note that Raylan and Winona are now staying in her place after the incident at the motel with Ice Pick Nicks. Also, it’s funny that the relator mistook him for Winona’s current husband. I guess that’s easier than having to explain what’s really going on to her.

Written by Joel Murphy. If you enjoy his recaps, he also writes a weekly pop culture column called Murphy’s Law, which you can find here. You can contact Joel at murphyslaw@hobotrashcan.com.

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