The Wounded Racoon

Chuck's Buy More side-schtick Morgan (Joshua Gomez) has been, up to this point, fairly annoying, so the prospect of a "Night of Morgan" seemed rather torturous -- not nearly as much as having "Afghani warlords bleed me from my liver" as Major John Casey (Adam Baldwin) so succinctly put it, but you get the point. But last night's Chuck turned me around on Morgan, and he's officially grown on me. His desperate behavior was given a more human side, and as a result, lines that once annoyed, now seem more endearing.

Like this rattled off nervous response while getting a Glengarry Glenn Ross-like sales competition rundown (which is even funnier when you imagine it being said by Jack Lemmon's character Levene):

Don't even say small pizza, alright, 'cause that's not even a prize... that's a punishment. I eat a small pizza and not only am I still hungry, but I'm angry. And you don't want me hungry and angry 'cause then I get kind of cranky... and I get a little mean.
...and then I get sleepy

Morgan's most sympathetic moment was squashed by the Geek Squad's 'wounded racoon' sales tactic, and yet, it was pretty hard not to laugh. If Chuck can continue to house Morgan in that realm of 'tragicomedy' he'll be a much more valuable character to the show. Back to pop-culture references, besides the Glengarry Glen Ross homage, other films brought up were Big Trouble in Little China (villain Lo Pan,) the defection story of White Nights and, of course, Chinatown ("forget it Bin, it's Chinatown").

Musically, Hall & Oates' "Private Eyes" goes out on another memorable stakeout. You may remember Vinnie Van Lowe (Ken Marino) singing it to Veronica Mars at one of her many stakeouts. And earlier this year, it was used as the Knights of Prosperity gang were on a stakeout of Mick Jagger. Strangely enough, the song never loses it's charm (or intended humor).

This weeks' song for reflection comes courtesy of Rogue Wave, with their waltzing "Lake Michigan." Rogue Wave are veterans of The O.C. soundtrack, so it's no surprise to hear them in this context. Especially when that other Josh Schwartz show is so veinly referenced with the lines "it's a Mother's Day miracle" -- "it's a Chrismakkah miracle" anyone? I liked this little insight into the Bartkowski home, as the sister has an unneeded character until now. Knowing why the siblings are so reliant on each other helps anchor better the three-pronged setting (spy world, Buy More store, home).

In other Monday night on TV music moments, it was nice hearing M.I.A.'s "Boyz" on Heroes, blasting in the background while Monica used her copy-cat skills jumping rope. M.I.A. draws inspiration in a lot of her rhymes from the rope skipping rhymes of the playground, so it's a fitting use.

Playlist: Chuck - Ep105
1. "Private Eyes" - Hall & Oates - Chuck sings along during stakeout
2. "Sister In Love" - Envelopes - Ellie bails out Morgan in the sales competition
3. "Lake Michigan" - Rogue Wave - the Bartkowskis celebrate Mother's day

Previously: A Tango and a Title Sequence (Episode 1.03)

tags: music, television, soundtrack, chuck, hall and oates, rogue wave, mia, glengarry glen ross, heroes, playlist