Q&A με τον Chris Fedak!!

Το Q&A του SpoilerTV με τον Chris Fedak έγινε. Μπορείτε να το δείτε παρακάτω, επειδή το κείμενο είναι τεράστιο δεν μεταφράστηκε. Αν κάποιος έχει πρόβλημα σε κάποιο κομμάτι μπορεί να ζητήσει βοήθεια στα σχόλια.

There are a lot of big changes this season. Can you kind of talk about you know, how those changes came about and what it means for the future of the series?
When we built the season finale last year we really wanted to go out with a bang, and in doing that and taking down Volkoff Industries and going up against the CIA, we thought it’d be cool to kind of like take us into kind of more an A-Team you know, direction with our crew.

So it’s certainly a shift for the show, but it’s also - you know, it’s also still the Chuck show. It’s still you know, action comedy with this team of characters.

We didn’t know this would be the final season of the show. We didn’t know that was the dynamic, but it was still fun for us to come into this season and know that we were going to be building something a little bit different.


Is Chuck going to be without the Intersect for the entire season it’s really interesting to see the new dynamic with Morgan having the Intersect. But will we get to see Chuck in action before the show ends?
Well, I don’t want to give anything away so I’m a little bit hesitant to actually tell you if he’s going to get it back or not. However, I think that one of the things that we kind of looked at and that we were thinking about in last season was you know, Chuck with the Intersect was a little bit too easy you know.

And, I think that you know we wanted to have more fun this season going back to the Season 1 and Season 2 Chuck where things were difficult and complicated and he had to come up with his own Chuck solutions to problems.

I saw the first episode this season and it was great that you had him use his computer skills again just to remind everyone that Chuck is still a computer geek at heart and everything like that.When you started to conceive this show, did you really forecast how it was going to evolve like this?
Well first I want to tell you two things. One, I totally agree with you in regard to the Chuck computer skills because we had Chuck doing more and more - you know, (Chuck Fu) and fun Intersect stuff was we got away from the computer side of Chuck.And here in the first couple of episodes of the season we’re going to have a lot of fun with you know, going back to Chuck as being the amazing computer guy.

Zachary Levi directed an episode - Episode 5 of this season which is called Chuck vs. the Hack Off and it’s got - it’s probably one of the nerdier episodes we’ve ever done but it’s got some amazing hacking sequences. You know, we really took our lead from Swordfish. We actually learn that Chuck was known as the Piranha and that the movie Swordfish was based on him. So there’s some really fun computer stuff coming up.

In regard to planning it all out - Josh and I, we always had an idea. You know, we had a world that we wanted to go into and we had shapes for the show that we were excited about. And the idea of the private spy team was something that we kind of imagined as far back as Season 3 and how much fun that would be to kind of go out into that world and have Chuck kind of put together a sneakers-like operation.


You're wrapping up the series and hitting the final days of writing, is there any people or storylines you really hope to bring back in those final few hours?
Chris Fedak: You know, it’s - you know right now we have Episode 13 up on the board and it’s kind of like my panic attack that’s just waiting for me every day. the second half of the season really drives us into the Chuck finale, and it’s some big, emotional epic things and we still have mysteries we’re going to learn about you know Sarah, and Casey, and Chuck.


In a lot of ways, is this an ideal situation? Because you know, there are so many shows out there- that got canceled at the end of the season and you never knew what happened.
No, I love it. I mean I got to say that I love the ability to actually finish out a show - a network television show, and that’s something that you usually don’t get to do. you know we’ve built this season to be a final chapter. You know to take our characters to you know, a really exciting end point you know. Comic. Tragic. Exciting. And, that’s the great thing, it’s the best of both worlds to be able to take a fifth season of the show and to tell that - you know, tell the final story on it. I couldn’t be more excited.

Well when I talked to he was still doing Men of a Certain Age. Is Scott Bakula going to be making any appearances?
Well, I can’t promise anything, unfortunately Stephen J. Bartowski is dead, which I think - I still think is amazing because Scott Bakula is the most fantastic person to work with. He is dead.

what we can expect with Cheryl Ladd coming on as Sarah’s mom and Tim deKay as Sarah’s old handler and kind of peeling back the layers of what is a pretty mysterious character.

we first started working on the season of the show I didn’t think we’d have time, I didn’t think we would have the ability to tell that story. It was something that we had built out over the course of the years you know kind of just touching upon it in very kind of small ways. And I thought that would be one of the story lines that we wanted to be able to address.

However as we kind of got into the season, especially the second half of the season -- and you're talking about Episode 8 -- that we just - you know, we decided to kind of - to do the focus on Sarah for that episode. And I have to say for those fans who love Sarah Walker, it will be your favorite episode ever. it is an amazing that reveals a lot of amazing secrets about Sarah that you know, you could never have imagined that you know, are actually back there.

So we have Tim as Sarah’s original handler, and Tim is fantastic in the show. He brings incredible gravitas to this back story. And it’s not our funniest Chuck story. We’re going into epic land in regard to you know, Sarah’s past.And Cheryl is wonderful and warm and caring and fantastic as her mother. And this is an episode we’re cutting at the moment. And yes, for the Sarah Walker fanatics out there, it will be your favorite episode ever.

So tell us about some of the other guest stars that you've got coming up this season.
Well you know this week we have Carrie Ann Moss for the first time playing Gertrude Verbansky and she runs Verbansky Corp. And Carrie Ann is the competition to Carmichael Industries, Chuck’s new private spy company. And we have a lot of fun with that kind of intermingling of these two companies. Carrie Ann is wonderful. She’s funny and she’s scary, and she has the most amazing relationship with John Casey and Adam Baldwin. It’s like the chemistry in between Adam and Carrie Ann is amazing. In our third episode we have a fight between the two of them which is the most erotically charged thing we’ve ever done on the show.

We have some really exciting people coming onto the show. For example we have Bo Derek, and Angus Macfadyen. We have Stan Lee doing a cameo in one of our episodes.


So a lot of my fans have been really, really not so happy about Morgan. And knowing what in the next few episodes, they probably still won’t be happy. However, what can you say to kind of assure them to stick with the ride?
Well, I think that you know when we - I think that you know you have to imagine that we’re telling the first - these are the first two chapters of the final season of the show. So with the Morgan story - and I love you know, Josh Gomez and the Intersect, and I think that you know what he’s done with it has been really, really funny, and we have some incredibly funny stuff coming up, but it’s testing the bounds of the show.

You know especially here in the first half of the season, the Chuck/Morgan bromance is what the show - is very much at the heart and the center of the show and how Morgan getting the Intersect affects that is a real change for the show. So of course you know if your fans, you know we’re looking at a show that’s changing and also at a relationship which has been the same - for the most part you know, the same since Morgan learned about Chuck’s - you know, being a part of the spy world and joining the team.

And so things are changing and that relationship is going to be - there’s a lot of very - you know, and having seen Episode 3, you can see that there’s a really big difference in what’s happening to Morgan and you know, what he - and how that effects the Morgan/Chuck relationship.

So you know, the first half of the season is certainly - the first half - especially the first three episodes of the season are certainly about that. And we have - you know, and that’s the first part. That’s the first chapter. The first kind of section of this season.

It’s not - and I don’t want to give anything away, but it’s - you know, it’s like we wanted to address all of our big stories here in the final season of the show. And I think that kind of considering where we left last season, focusing on Chuck and Morgan and how this affects them was - you know, is something that is certainly important. It’s not the entire season. You know, we have the - we have Casey. We have the Chuck/Sarah relationship. But it’s certainly you know, where we began.

And the - where we start now, each episode will change. From the episode that comes on Friday night, we will end in a far different place than where we began at the beginning at (5:01), and by the end of (5:03), things will have changed again. So it’s like this season of this show, every episode will be different, and by the end of each episode, the dynamic and the core dynamic of the show will be changing.

So there’s not - it’s not as if we’re settling in. The only - in respect of (unintelligible) settling is going this is the show from here on out. There’s 13 episodes. We will be trying to blow it out each episode this season. So it’s like - you know, if this feels like we’re pushing the story and we’re being dramatic and we’re messing with the foundations of the show, the answer to the question is yes, we’re doing that because it’s the final season of the show and we want to. You know, we want to tell the most exciting story possible.

So - and nobody’s safe. You know, it’s like there’s no part of the show that isn’t you know - that isn’t - you know, isn’t game right now, and that’s been a fun part of breaking the show and writing the show and watching what our actors do with it. So it’s certainly there’s a lot of things that are going to be changing even here in the beginning of the season.

When Chuck is done, has there been talk of continuing it in another medium like comic books or something like that?
Chris Fedak: Well you know, we did comic books in our first season of the show, and that was great. I - you know, I would love to - you know, if Chuck survives Episode 13. I love the character and I love the show, and if there was another way to do it, you know that would be awesome.

But right now we’re just focused on delivering you know, an epic finale to the show and - but you never know. You never know what would happen out in the future, but then again that’s of course if Chuck and Sarah and Casey and Morgan and the rest of the team survive Episode 13. You never know how cruel a writer I could be.
 

So while - going off of what you just said there, just from a show runner perspective obviously it’s wonderful that you get a chance to finish this on your own terms and how you want the show to end, but do you prefer to have a show that ends with a definitive ending so it kind of feels like a book end, or do you prefer to have an open-ended show where the mythology -- as you said -- could go on depending on how you choose to finish it for movies or even just for fans to kind of you know muddle and decide where there characters go next?
Chris Fedak: In the past I’ve always been a person who enjoys a ending that feels more like a prologue than an epilogue. You know, I love those endings and I think that that’s what we’ve always - that’s what we’ve done in each season of the show.

The real question right now is will we do that for the finale, and I have to be honest with you; that’s what we’re working on at the moment up on the board in the writer’s room. This isn’t - the room that I - it’s like that I know I have to go in there and I know I have to work on that episode and I know we need to do it, but it’s an - it’s quite an emotional thing to try to find that perfect ending and we have a number of them right now.

So it’s a - I have a natural inclination to love those - you know, those moments of you know, thinking - of the - what’s the exciting story that’s going to happen next that we can imagine? But we also have a unique opportunity to actually do a proper you know, epilogue ending here at the end of Season 5. So I am - my - you've found a man in debate with himself at this moment.


Hey, going back to what you said about sort of you know, changing the dynamics of the show almost episode to episode this season, how has that been just as a writer and a show runner? Like making sure that all the pieces fit? Is that - you know, is it more difficult than in past season maybe or...
You know what? It’s - I would say that it’s challenging - it’s a challenge, but it’s a challenge that we’ve always embraced. It - the weird thing about the Chuck show is that if you've noticed that with each one of our you know, opening episodes - you know, the opening couple of episodes we’re always kind of rebuilding from where we started at the end of the previous season. You know, from Chuck learning Kung Fu at the end of Season 2 to the mom story at the end of Season 3, and to the spy company at the end of Season 4.

So this has always been kind of something that we prided ourselves on. It was like coming up with you know, a slightly new show each season. And I know that that’s not usual, but because we’ve always been an unusual show that has you know kind of skirted cancellation and come back each year - it’s been one of the challenges, but also that’s an exciting for writers.

You know, it’s like we - and as well as our actors on the show. It’s like so many shows you have - there’s the show and it’s the show and it’s always the show. For us, we love the opportunity to be able to come back and do Carmichael Industries. Even though we have 13 episodes, coming up with how Carmichael Industries works and who their competition was, that for us was a great opportunity to kind of do something new. And I think that you know here in network TV you're not always allowed to do something new, so it’s the fun of it is what I’m saying.


One of my favorites on the show is defiantly (Jeffster), and I was wondering are we going to see any more -- they’re so great -- from Lester or Jeff in maybe like a spin-off or a Web series, or maybe even like mini-comic book?
Chris Fedak: I love them all. I love them all. And I think that I’m - I love watching Vic and Scott together. They’re an incredible duo. And I - and in regard to the band, you know, we don’t - we have - the - you're going to - their story is going to change in a very big way in the next couple of episodes. And we’re going to like - like everything else I kind of described in regard to the changing dynamic of the show, everything will change inside the Buy More, especially in regards to Jeff and Lester.

And so the - there’s a lot of really kind of interesting things that are happening there. It’s one of the things I’m really exciting to see what you guys think of when we actually see - when those changes start to happen.

So in regard to the band, we - the band - we will not see for quite some time because of those changes, so yes. So but it’s - I don’t want to give away too much, but there’s a lot of really crazy things happening there. by Episode 5, and you know, we’re going to see Lester in prison.


As we’re heading into the final episodes here, who’s story do you think has the greatest payoff?
Chris Fedak: Oh, well you know - that’s a very interesting question. I have to say it’ll be the Chuck/Sarah story will be the story that you're talking about.


Chris Fedak: And (unintelligible) that doesn’t mean that there aren’t crazy things happening in the world of every other character in the show. But I still think in the end - you know going back to the question on like you know, what did you learn about the show as you began to work on it is that when we began to work on the pilot it was like you know, we were the - it was a show about a guy who gets a computer in his brain and it’s the adventures that he goes on.

And very soon after that, we realized there was a love story between Sarah and Chuck. And so kind of keeping that in mind and knowing the show that you know, that the - you know, the Sarah/Chuck relationship will be the huge epic emotional payoff in a good way or bad way at the end of the season.


Okay, well which episode are you most excited for fans to see this season?
Chris Fedak: Well I’m excited for - I mean, they’re all crazy. Each one of our episodes this year is kind of pushing the kind of bounds of what we do on the show and they’re all - they all have just outrageous components. So I’m really excited for each and every one of them.

I love Episode 4, which is a very - you know, it’s a very different type of show. It’s about Chuck and Sarah going undercover at a Buy More convention at the - and I love it. It’s a very sweet, very different type of show.

I think we’ve got - you know, Zach directed an epic episode in Chuck vs. the Hack Off. In Episode 3 this year, we’ve got a - we’ve got the Chuck/Morgan relationship - it comes to an amazing head and I’m excited about - you know, so it’s like - so we have - each episode really just kind of takes the show in a new and exciting different direction.

Episode 7 which is our Christmas episode, which currently is airing after Christmas, is also an incredible, you know high intensity episode. And just - and I’ll say it again. Episode 8 this season, the Chuck - of Sarah Walker’s back story is for those fans of the show who love Sarah, and I certainly count myself as one of them. It is a - it’ll be a jaw dropping episode.

CJ: Hi Chris. It’s nice to speak to you.
Thanks.

CJ: Hi. I’m a massive Chuck fan and I was absolutely devastated when they announced it was the final season. Every - I know I was awe struck. I’m glad that we’re kind of going to get a finish, but I was devastated because I just wanted it to keep going.

And the reason why I rate Chuck so highly is the fact that I can keep watching it over and over again and never get bored because of the characters. And I think a lot of fans are kind of like that. Why do you think the fans have such a loyal connection to the show?
Well you know, I think that our fans - and I think that - and I’ll speak generally. And I know that each and every person that watches the show watches the show for - you know, for different reasons. You know, it’s like we have so many amazing characters that when we built the show we kind of knew that Chuck was - sure, we knew Chuck was the star of our show, but we also had Sarah Walker who could be the star of her own show, and John Casey who could be the star of his own show as well.

And, I think that this show gives everyone an opportunity - a different opportunity to come into it. That it’s a different show for different people. And I think that’s really exciting and that’s what I kind of like about doing a hybrid show which is part comedy, part spy show, part action/comedy. And I think that you know, everyone has a different thing that they kind of love and that’s the - that’s a really neat thing.

And I think that in talking to our fans, you'll see that - you know, we went to Chicago with Vic and Scott and (unintelligible) and it was amazing in Chicago at the convention there. The passion for Jeffster. The passion for Jeff and Lester and for Ryan’s character, and that makes me - that’s amazing for me, which is like the idea that these characters who that when we did the pilot you probably could count you know, their number of lines on my left and right hand.

That - you know, that they’ve kind of - they’ve created - there’s an audience for them as well and the people that are passionate about their characters, much like you know we are on the writing staff and the actors.

And so, I think that that’s you know, a neat part of the show, and I think that’s why - and the other thing - part about the show is that it’s a show about spies and it’s about spies stuff, but it’s also about their home lives and it’s about their families, and the fact that Adam Baldwin who plays John Casey is not only amazing in the spy role but also in his relationship with Alex and his back story.

And we’ve found that our back story episodes are so much a part of the show that - you know, that - you know, we’ve really kind of used this - the show as a way to explore these characters. And so I love it because the show’s - it just shows a lot of things.

And I think that Chuck fans are people also that you know, are fans are people that watch TV, and they know TV, and they know movies, and they know music. And so I think that in some ways the show is also kind of a conversation about things that we love.

So sometimes it’s in jokes and references, and sometimes it’s just like the structure of the show and also what are we doing? Like are we telling a Superman story? Or are we telling a - you know, it’s a - even the show itself is an illusion to other things that we - you know, I think Chuck and the Chuck family is sort of passionate about.

CJ: Yes.

And like I said, I watch it quite a lot. Can we expect anything special for the DVD’s with it being the final season?
Right now the DVD people at Warner Bros. DVD are working on some really kind of cool stuff, and most of it will - you know, it’s kind of tied to the idea that this is our final season of the show. So you know, we’ll have some really emotional stuff there.

You know, I think that - it was - I was - I think I was talking to Yvonne and she was talking - it’s that every night when we wrap our episodes and we go home from work it’s an emotional experience because we know that there’s an end date - an expiration date on the fact that we won’t be doing this you know after the new year. And so yes, I think that the DVD extras will be - will certainly kind of reflect that.

CJ: Thank you. Good luck with the rest of filming and I’m looking forward to seeing how it all ends. Thank you.
Thank you. Thank you for being a fan of the show.


Mad props on however you got the toes in the sand acronym to through sensors. I don’t know how you guys did that. That was all kinds of awesome.
It’s all about the periods. You know, we had - we actually - you'll be amazed at how many times I spend - you know, a guy spends quite a bit of time talking to really, the really nice end of some fantastic people and standards and practices at NBC. They’re such a - really, really nice and fantastic for us.

But it was all about the periods that we had to - so long as it was an acronym. And then our guys felt that - and then there was a point where we had to argue that we wanted to be able to spell it out, but you know, it’s - so long as it was an acronym and we weren’t you know, doing a really spot on joke.

But yes, I assumed at some point we would pull out one of those references, but that’s a fun part of my job is doing things like getting T.I.T.S. and words like pussy on the show.

The last thing - my main last question would be you said there were some things that you were hoping to try to bring back in this final season, some characters. Now I recently rewatched all the shows on Blue Ray, and you know, I - of course I love it. One of the things that you guys sort of mentioned but then leave it open for you know - that you could come back is that you guys sort of cover up Tony Hale’s desk who play Emmett from - at you know, Best Buy - yes, it’s not Best Buy. Sorry. The Buy More.
Yes. Yes. Yes.

And is that something that might come up, or is that something that there are other things from the past that might be coming back with (unintelligible)?
I think there’s other things from the past that will come back to haunt Chuck. We’ve heard quite some time because Tony Hale is a national treasure, we for the longest time tried to figure out a way to kind of bring him back into the show. And we had come up with idea of he would have a brother and we had a great name, and I don’t remember the name, but he would have a brother who would be searching for him, and he would of course an identical twin played by Tony Hale.

But, we could not - we never found the perfect place to kind of do that story. But just imagine a - you know, it’s not (cannon) but you know that he did have a brother and he’s still trying to figure out what happened to his brother.

Oh, well - and will - you also said before (unintelligible) that you - you know, you might not be as nice as a writer finishing up the season. Will that be something that you're going to go (unintelligible) on everybody kind of thing or - in terms of killing off characters I should say?
You know what? You know, I’m always very gun shy about killing off characters. It’s like you know we’ve done it in the past and it’s been these you know, epic moments with Tony Hale and Steven J. Bartowski. You know...

Oh, yes.
You know, I - you never know if we certainly have some you know, very big epic things and I don’t want to give anything away.

Oh, of course. Yes.
But the - you know, it’s I’m always a little gun shy about killing off characters and - but you know, then again, it is the final season of this show, so you know we certainly want it to be you know - you know, everything will change by the end of the season so you know...

I’m going to skirt around that question.

No, I understand completely. Because you said you are (unintelligible) and that you are practically giving away you're going to mass (suicide) everyone, which you know you don’t want to do.
I just love being compared to (John Sweet) and that’s fantastic for me. I’ll go - you know, I’ll take that - he’s a - you know, he’s a hero to us here at the show, so...

Well yes - well you guys - you and (Shortis) are both a hero to us for writing such a great show, and I’m so glad you guys get to end it the way you guys want to end it. And I hope Chuck continues in some form or fashion down the line, and thanks for answering my questions.
Thanks so much dude.
We haven’t really heard much about what’s going to be going on with Ellie and Awesome in these final episodes. What can you tease about their journey?
You know, their journey is kind of like Chuck’s in a way in that you know, they started off the show being more mature than Chuck. You know, being they had jobs and careers and now they have a baby. And here at the beginning of the season, we’re certainly kind of you know clocking back in and checking in and seeing what’s going on in their kind of - you know, their family life.

But I think going into the second half of the season as well as the - kind of their big overarching story is that you know, it’s time for - you know, it’s like you know, they’ve - they’ve got big success in their future. And you know, and it’s time for them to kind of start making decisions about where they want to go and what they want to do. And for Ellie to kind of think about is it time to cut the strings and not feel like she has to take care of her brother at every turn?

And you know it’s a - they’ve got a big future in front of them, so that’s something that we’re going to be kind of getting into.

And the other part of the show too is that you know, one of the things that you know, over the course of the first few seasons Ellie didn’t know about Chuck’s spy life. This season she does and she’s probably the brighter of the two siblings, and she’s certainly - you know, it can be helpful to Chuck and the things that are going to be happening in the world of - the spy world as well as the kind of mythology of the Intersect.


So honestly, all this talk about the final season, you seem really ready to kind of close it out. But in the off chance that something happens - NBC orders more - you kind of joked about it earlier. But if the offer happened to be there, would you accept it or would you kind of tell them that this is kind of the way you wanted to finish it?
You know what? I think that you know if someone were to offer me the chance to write more Chuck stories, I would always say yes to it because I love these characters. What we would have to do is we would have to shut down our - what we’ve done in the past is we’ve kind of shut down - operate - you know, shut down the show and kind of you know reconvene in the writer’s room and start over again. We’d probably have to do that in a much bigger way.

So it’s a - it’s something we’ve done in the past and we’ve been able to figure out how to do. But, we would - you know, we would just need to kind of you know, reconsider some things and kind of start over. Essentially build out a Season 5.2 like we’ve done in the past. It’s exciting the idea that you could you know, keep going and tell more story, but it - you know, it’s a daunting task that we’ve done in the past. We could do it again, but I am you know - I don’t think about that bridge until I’m half way across it and both sides are burning down.

So you know, that’s the usual here at the Chuck show.

Well, then there’s a little hope. I mean a small flicker. But...
A small flicker, or is it the fire burning on both sides of the bridge?

But yes. So - but yes, it - yes, we adore the shore. We adore you know, we adore these characters and I would - you know, if there was a way, you know, be it comics or more episodes, or you know whatever it may be, that would be neat. But right now, we’re focusing on these 13.


Since you guys got on the air and you sort of had this hero/geek Chuck, have you guys over the years kind of marveled the fact that nerds and geeks have sort of become cool since Chuck’s on the air?
You know, I - you know, I think that Chuck came on at a very specific time where you know, everyone was really getting to know their IT officer at work. And the - that it’s a - it’s an amazing age we live in right now where everything is changing to such an extent that you know, the people that make - you know, that make computers - you know (unintelligible) computer companies and the - you know, the kind of the nerdier side of the world are famous as well. You know, that they’re people that we look up to.

So I think - as well as like just how - you know, it’s just how the Internet and the media and communications as a whole are changing the world, so it’s a really exciting time. And I think that - you know, Chuck Bartowski was you know, there in 2007 you know as - kind of like you know a hero for this group. So I think that it’s neat and it’s neat to see the things that Chuck (are) obsessed about and that you know, we were obsessed about here at the show are things that are you know, - are changing the world right now.