Chuck Versus the Dream Job
Encyclopedia
"Chuck Versus the Dream Job" aired on April 6, 2009. It is the 19th episode of the series' second season. Chuck
interviews at Roark Industries to investigate a possible virus, while his father, Stephen J. Bartowski, (Scott Bakula
) returns home.
meeting with Chuck's father. Stephen catches up on his and Ellie's life, and Chuck confronts him about coming to Ellie's wedding. Stephen is reluctant, but finally agrees to return home. Chuck brings him back to the apartment, but the reunion with Ellie doesn't go as planned. She retreats to her room after being overwhelmed by seeing their father again, but Chuck convinces her to forgive him for leaving. The reunion becomes more awkward when Stephen rants about many things he claims to have invented that were stolen by Ted Roark (Chevy Chase
). Among his father's possessions is an advertisement for a major tech show where Roark's latest computer operating system is to be released, which Chuck flashes on.
At Castle, Beckman briefs the team. Chatter has led them to believe a virus is being released in the operating system, and she orders them to investigate. A job interview is arranged for Chuck, under his own identity, which Sarah encourages him he's more than qualified on his own for, even though it's just for the mission. The next morning Chuck arrives at Roark Industries and performs well at the interview. He is immediately hired and introduced to Roark, whom Chuck had dreamed of working for since Stanford. As he's leaving, he's spotted by Jeff and Lester, who will be attending the launch. They tell Morgan they just saw him leaving Roark's headquarters as a new employee. That night at dinner, Morgan lets slip about Chuck's new "job," which upsets Stephen as he believes Roark destroyed his life.
At the launch the next day, Casey and Sarah attempt to break in to stop it, but are unable to bypass security. The situation becomes more serious when Chuck flashes on a Fulcrum agent on stage with Roark. With no other options, Chuck bursts on stage in an effort to warn Roark that his operating system is believed to contain a virus, but he doesn't believe him. Chuck grabs the controls that will initiate the launch and attempts to escape, but fails. Stephen and Ellie were watching the conference on Stephen's laptop when Chuck attempts to disrupt the launch, and Ellie is angered because she believes Chuck threw his dream job away for his father, even though Stephen denies putting him up to it.
Upset with the way the Intersect has ruined his life, Chuck goes through the documents left to him by Orion to piece together what he was supposed to do to free himself of the Intersect. Stephen interrupts to tell him he didn't want Chuck to ruin his own career just for him, and if he wants to work for Roark it's ok with him. As he leaves, Chuck notices that the layout of Roark's offices matches the diagram in Orion's documents. He realizes that Roark is building a full-scale Intersect system for Fulcrum, but Casey and Sarah don't believe him without solid proof. He takes it upon himself to infiltrate the office to investigate himself after tranquilizing Casey when he tries to stop him.
Chuck breaks into Roark's campus, but before he can get far, he has to take cover when his father barges in demanding to speak to Roark and set things right for his son. Roark tells the Fulcrum agent Chuck flashed on earlier that he'll deal with Stephen personally. After the agent punches Stephen in the gut Chuck bursts from cover and starts shooting with his tranquilizer guns. He runs out of ammunition, with Roark's security staring at him for a moment before they all collapse. Chuck tries to get his father to leave when they encounter Vincent, (Arnold Vosloo
) who tells them it's good to see them both again. Stephen then takes control of the security door with a wrist-mounted computer and uses it to incapacitate Vincent before revealing the truth to Chuck that he was Orion all along, and left Chuck and Ellie to protect them once he realized what the government wanted the Intersect for, and that there were others who wanted it just as badly.
He leads Chuck deep into the heart of Roark's complex, and teaches Chuck that he can flash intentionally to open a door locked with a cipher. There they find the nearly complete Fulcrum Intersect. Stephen prepares to use it to remove the data from Chuck's brain but they are interrupted by Roark and Vincent. Roark is about to have Chuck killed when Stephen steps in on his behalf, telling Roark that Chuck is his son, and promises to help as long as he's allowed to walk away. Roark agrees and lets Chuck leave while Stephen is taken to a helicopter. Just before the door shuts between them Casey and Sarah arrive, and Stephen tells him he was wrong when he told him not to trust his handlers. Back at Castle, Beckman makes clear the consequences of Roark escaping both with the Intersect and Orion, but tells them that she will put the government's best team on it. Chuck stands up to Beckman and tells her that Operation Bartowski is her best team, and demands to be part of the effort to rescue his father. Beckman relents when Casey sides with Chuck, but warns him not to allow his personal feelings to get in the way.
Back at home, Ellie is heartbroken thinking that their father has left them again, but Chuck tells her not to give up on him.
Bakula and Chase were announced to be playing the roles of Stephen Bartowski and Ted Roark, respectively, in January, 2009 as part of an extended arc to close out the season. Besides their resemblance to each other, Bakula was cast for Stephen Bartowski because Josh Schwartz
and Chris Fedak
consider themselves "huge Quantum Leap fans, and found Bakula's ability to jump from comedy to drama to action reminiscent of Zachary Levi
's.
Numerous small references are made to previous episodes, especially the pilot:
Roark's company is called two different names during the episode. The majority of the time, Ted's company is called Roark Instuments. For example, when Morgan first confronts Chuck over his 'new job', he calls the company Roark Instruments, as does the side of the file Chuck received when he started at RI. At the unveiling of RIOS, the caption of Ted's presentation on the webcast Ellie and Stephen watch says Roark Industries.
IGN.com rated the episode a 9/10, praising the gravity Chase brought to Ted Roark, and the offbeat and semi-crazy angle Bakula uses to approach Stephen Bartowski. Chuck's proactiveness in taking control of his situation was also appreciated, as were the character-building moments between Chuck and Ellie, and that the events of Devon
's bachelor party weren't just thrown out. The Futon Critic also praised the renewed focus on Chuck and Ellie's relationship, and the additional complications of Stephen Bartowski's return, while Televisionary similarly praised Bakula's performance, citing him as ideally suited for the role.
Chuck Bartowski
Charles Irving "Chuck" Bartowski is the main and titular character of the American fiction television show Chuck on NBC. He is portrayed by Zachary Levi.-Character profile:...
interviews at Roark Industries to investigate a possible virus, while his father, Stephen J. Bartowski, (Scott Bakula
Scott Bakula
Scott Stewart Bakula is an American actor, known for his role as Sam Beckett in the television series Quantum Leap, for which he won the Golden Globe Award for Best Actor – Television Series Drama in 1991 and was nominated for four Emmy Awards. He also had a prominent role as Captain Jonathan...
) returns home.
Plot summary
The episode opens with Chuck and SarahSarah Walker (Chuck)
Sarah Lisa Bartowski is the alias of one of the main characters of the fictional television show Chuck on NBC. She is portrayed by Yvonne Strahovski and is one of two agents assigned by the NSA and CIA to protect Chuck Bartowski after he unwittingly downloads the secret government computer known...
meeting with Chuck's father. Stephen catches up on his and Ellie's life, and Chuck confronts him about coming to Ellie's wedding. Stephen is reluctant, but finally agrees to return home. Chuck brings him back to the apartment, but the reunion with Ellie doesn't go as planned. She retreats to her room after being overwhelmed by seeing their father again, but Chuck convinces her to forgive him for leaving. The reunion becomes more awkward when Stephen rants about many things he claims to have invented that were stolen by Ted Roark (Chevy Chase
Chevy Chase
Cornelius Crane "Chevy" Chase is an American comedian, writer, and television and film actor, born into a prominent entertainment industry family. Chase worked a plethora of odd jobs before moving into comedy acting with National Lampoon...
). Among his father's possessions is an advertisement for a major tech show where Roark's latest computer operating system is to be released, which Chuck flashes on.
At Castle, Beckman briefs the team. Chatter has led them to believe a virus is being released in the operating system, and she orders them to investigate. A job interview is arranged for Chuck, under his own identity, which Sarah encourages him he's more than qualified on his own for, even though it's just for the mission. The next morning Chuck arrives at Roark Industries and performs well at the interview. He is immediately hired and introduced to Roark, whom Chuck had dreamed of working for since Stanford. As he's leaving, he's spotted by Jeff and Lester, who will be attending the launch. They tell Morgan they just saw him leaving Roark's headquarters as a new employee. That night at dinner, Morgan lets slip about Chuck's new "job," which upsets Stephen as he believes Roark destroyed his life.
At the launch the next day, Casey and Sarah attempt to break in to stop it, but are unable to bypass security. The situation becomes more serious when Chuck flashes on a Fulcrum agent on stage with Roark. With no other options, Chuck bursts on stage in an effort to warn Roark that his operating system is believed to contain a virus, but he doesn't believe him. Chuck grabs the controls that will initiate the launch and attempts to escape, but fails. Stephen and Ellie were watching the conference on Stephen's laptop when Chuck attempts to disrupt the launch, and Ellie is angered because she believes Chuck threw his dream job away for his father, even though Stephen denies putting him up to it.
Upset with the way the Intersect has ruined his life, Chuck goes through the documents left to him by Orion to piece together what he was supposed to do to free himself of the Intersect. Stephen interrupts to tell him he didn't want Chuck to ruin his own career just for him, and if he wants to work for Roark it's ok with him. As he leaves, Chuck notices that the layout of Roark's offices matches the diagram in Orion's documents. He realizes that Roark is building a full-scale Intersect system for Fulcrum, but Casey and Sarah don't believe him without solid proof. He takes it upon himself to infiltrate the office to investigate himself after tranquilizing Casey when he tries to stop him.
Chuck breaks into Roark's campus, but before he can get far, he has to take cover when his father barges in demanding to speak to Roark and set things right for his son. Roark tells the Fulcrum agent Chuck flashed on earlier that he'll deal with Stephen personally. After the agent punches Stephen in the gut Chuck bursts from cover and starts shooting with his tranquilizer guns. He runs out of ammunition, with Roark's security staring at him for a moment before they all collapse. Chuck tries to get his father to leave when they encounter Vincent, (Arnold Vosloo
Arnold Vosloo
Arnold Vosloo is a South African American actor, best-known for playing Imhotep in The Mummy and its 2001 sequel The Mummy Returns, as well as the role of the superhero Darkman in the sequel Darkman II: The Return of Durant and its 1996 sequel, Darkman III: Die Darkman Die...
) who tells them it's good to see them both again. Stephen then takes control of the security door with a wrist-mounted computer and uses it to incapacitate Vincent before revealing the truth to Chuck that he was Orion all along, and left Chuck and Ellie to protect them once he realized what the government wanted the Intersect for, and that there were others who wanted it just as badly.
He leads Chuck deep into the heart of Roark's complex, and teaches Chuck that he can flash intentionally to open a door locked with a cipher. There they find the nearly complete Fulcrum Intersect. Stephen prepares to use it to remove the data from Chuck's brain but they are interrupted by Roark and Vincent. Roark is about to have Chuck killed when Stephen steps in on his behalf, telling Roark that Chuck is his son, and promises to help as long as he's allowed to walk away. Roark agrees and lets Chuck leave while Stephen is taken to a helicopter. Just before the door shuts between them Casey and Sarah arrive, and Stephen tells him he was wrong when he told him not to trust his handlers. Back at Castle, Beckman makes clear the consequences of Roark escaping both with the Intersect and Orion, but tells them that she will put the government's best team on it. Chuck stands up to Beckman and tells her that Operation Bartowski is her best team, and demands to be part of the effort to rescue his father. Beckman relents when Casey sides with Chuck, but warns him not to allow his personal feelings to get in the way.
Back at home, Ellie is heartbroken thinking that their father has left them again, but Chuck tells her not to give up on him.
Production
"Chuck Versus the Dream Job" continues on the arc begun with "Chuck Versus the Lethal Weapon," particularly referencing Orion and furthering Chuck's quest to have the Intersect removed from his head. It also advances the general arc of season two, which has focused heavily on Fulcrum's desire to obtain the Intersect for its own purposes. Additionally, Arnold Vosloo reprises his role of Vincent from "Chuck Versus the Predator."Bakula and Chase were announced to be playing the roles of Stephen Bartowski and Ted Roark, respectively, in January, 2009 as part of an extended arc to close out the season. Besides their resemblance to each other, Bakula was cast for Stephen Bartowski because Josh Schwartz
Josh Schwartz
-Film school at USC:In 1995, Schwartz realized his boyhood dream of attending film school to study screen and television writing at the University of Southern California...
and Chris Fedak
Chris Fedak
Chris Fedak is a co-executive producer of Chuck. He has also co-written several episodes with Josh Schwartz.Chuck is Fedak's first television credit.Schwartz says that the idea for Chuck originally came from Fedak:-External links:*...
consider themselves "huge Quantum Leap fans, and found Bakula's ability to jump from comedy to drama to action reminiscent of Zachary Levi
Zachary Levi
Zachary Levi Pugh , better known by his stage name Zachary Levi , is an American television actor, director, and singer known for the roles of Kipp Steadman in Less than Perfect, Chuck Bartowski in Chuck, and Flynn Rider in Tangled.- Early life :Zachary Levi Pugh was born in Lake Charles,...
's.
Numerous small references are made to previous episodes, especially the pilot:
- Chuck tells Sarah he's "freaking out" while they're in his dad's trailer. Chuck previously used this line Chuck Versus the IntersectChuck Versus the Intersect"Chuck Versus the Intersect" is the pilot episode of the American action-comedy television series Chuck. The episode was directed by McG and written by series co-creators Josh Schwartz and Chris Fedak...
; first when Sarah has to point her gun at him when Casey catches them, and later at the end of the episode. - Pancakes as a late-night snack or dinner were previously mentioned by Casey in the same episode.
- Also from "Chuck Versus the Intersect," when Chuck asks Ellie how he looks before his date with Sarah, she tells him "Aces, Charles." Chuck identifies this as a "dad line." When Stephen and Chuck are breaking into Roark's office, we hear Stephen use the line himself, telling Chuck "That's Aces, Charles" after Chuck retrieves the code for a security lock from the Intersect.
Roark's company is called two different names during the episode. The majority of the time, Ted's company is called Roark Instuments. For example, when Morgan first confronts Chuck over his 'new job', he calls the company Roark Instruments, as does the side of the file Chuck received when he started at RI. At the unveiling of RIOS, the caption of Ted's presentation on the webcast Ellie and Stephen watch says Roark Industries.
Flashes
- Chuck flashes on the flyer for Roark's OS launch.
- When Roark consults with one of the men on stage at the launch, Chuck flashes and identifies him as a Fulcrum operative
- Chuck intentionally flashes to crack a Feistel cipherFeistel cipherIn cryptography, a Feistel cipher is a symmetric structure used in the construction of block ciphers, named after the German-born physicist and cryptographer Horst Feistel who did pioneering research while working for IBM ; it is also commonly known as a Feistel network. A large proportion of block...
in order to unlock the door to Roark's Intersect room. This is the first clue that the Intersect can grant abilities other than recalling intelligence.
Music
- "High School HoodlumsHigh School Hoodlums"High School Hoodlums" was released as a promotional single for The Datsuns' fourth album, Head Stunts. It was released on vinyl at their live shows in their New Zealand tour during March 2008....
" by The DatsunsThe DatsunsThe Datsuns are a hard rock band from Cambridge, New Zealand, formed in 2000. To date they have released four albums and several singles, most of which have charted in New Zealand and/or the United Kingdom... - "Around The BendAround the BendAround the Bend is a 2004 road movie written and directed by Jordan Roberts. The film is inspired by the relationship between Roberts and the absentee father he barely knew.-Main cast:*Michael Caine – Henry Lair*Jonah Bobo – Zach Lair...
" by The Asteroids Galaxy TourThe Asteroids Galaxy TourThe Asteroids Galaxy Tour is a Danish pop band consisting of vocalist Mette Lindberg and producer Lars Iversen.When performing live the band extends to a six-piece with horn section, featuring Miloud Carl Sabri , Sven Meinild , Mads Brinch Nielsen , and Rasmus Valldorf . Lars Iversen is the primary... - "Luisa's Bones" by Crooked FingersCrooked FingersCrooked Fingers is a North Carolina band led by former Archers of Loaf lead singer Eric Bachmann. The band was previously based in Seattle, Washington and Atlanta, Georgia before moving to Denver. The band released albums on WARM Records and Merge Records before going completely independent in 2008...
- "Daddy's GoneDaddy's Gone"Daddy's Gone" is a song by Scottish Indie rock band Glasvegas. The song was written and composed by the band's singer and guitarist James Allan....
" by GlasvegasGlasvegasGlasvegas are a Scottish indie rock band from Glasgow. The band consists of James Allan , Rab Allan , Paul Donoghue and Jonna Löfgren . The band received critical acclaim for their debut album Glasvegas which was released in September 2008, reaching No...
Reception
"Chuck Versus the Dream Job" has received overall positive reviews.IGN.com rated the episode a 9/10, praising the gravity Chase brought to Ted Roark, and the offbeat and semi-crazy angle Bakula uses to approach Stephen Bartowski. Chuck's proactiveness in taking control of his situation was also appreciated, as were the character-building moments between Chuck and Ellie, and that the events of Devon
Captain Awesome
Devon Christian Woodcomb, M.D., often referred to as Captain Awesome or simply Awesome, is a character on the TV series Chuck, and is portrayed by the actor Ryan McPartlin. The character's nickname comes from Chuck's assertion that "everything he does is awesome," and his frequent use of the word...
's bachelor party weren't just thrown out. The Futon Critic also praised the renewed focus on Chuck and Ellie's relationship, and the additional complications of Stephen Bartowski's return, while Televisionary similarly praised Bakula's performance, citing him as ideally suited for the role.