One of the best fan videos for Chuck. . .ever! Love the editing with the timing of the music on this video. 

I love both shows equally, although Scarecrow and Mrs. King still edges out Chuck as being my favorite television series of all time. Nonetheless, I thought it would be fun to take a moment to discuss the similarities between the two shows. 

Scarecrow and Mrs. King was a American action-comedy/spy-drama television serial that aired between 1983-1987. Usually somewhere in the middle of the Nielsen rating numbers, it did quite well in it's time slots until the lead actress was diagnosed with cancer and the show was not renewed. The show ran successfully for four seasons and finished with 88 episodes. Chuck was an American action-comedy/spy-drama television serial that aired between 2007-2012. Always on the cancellation bubble, it struggled to stay on network television, but after successful fan-mounted campaigns, the series ended with 91 episodes. Although, there is no proof the creators of Chuck watched Scarecrow and Mrs. King, I find many of the similarities quite humorous and a bit suspect. 

To begin with, the whole premise of the show. Both revolved around ordinary people becoming paired with the loner spy and being thrust unexpectedly into the world of espionage. Amanda, a mother of two and a homemaker, is passed secret government information by a spy who is in trouble. While Chuck is a young man working at a computer store, who is passed secret government information by a spy who is in trouble. Both Chuck and Amanda help the agents they are paired with by often thinking outside the box and using unconventional ways of taking out the bad guys. In addition, both Chuck and Amanda dislike guns, although both as they progressed as agents learned how to handle them. I also have to add a similar plot device, in Scarecrow and Mrs. King Amanda put sugar in a gas tank to help her and Lee escape, while in Chuck, Lester put sugar in the gas tank to stop the baddies from kidnapping Casey's daughter. 

Both shows focused heavily on relationships. For Amanda it was her mother and two boys, while Chuck had a close relationship with his sister. For both of them family meant everything.  While Lee and Sarah were the hardened agents, both with circumstances that lead to them growing up in a hurry and each having to deal with the element of abandonment. Of course, these tough agents were never supposed to fall in love with their partners for it was against the cardinal rule of spying; however, cover kisses lead to real kisses, and denial lead to dating others and finally them getting together and getting married. Both shows also had a great ensemble cast.There are several other reasons; i.e. both shows were filmed at Warner Bros. Studios, both shows moved to Friday nights their last season and lost viewers, and both shows ended before they should have. In addition, most fans feel the last three or four episodes do not exist; Scarecrow and Mrs. King, because of Kate's illness and the star being unavailable to film those last episodes, and Chuck, because the final story line had Sarah losing her memories and forgetting Chuck and the five years they had together. Of course, the series finale, fans cried in agony as we did not get closure or our "happily ever-after." I feel the same way about Scarecrow and Mrs. King because us fans never got closure or had the chance to say goodbye to the characters we had grown to love over the years.  

Finally, both shows have the brilliant and talented Bruce Boxleitner. In Scarecrow and Mrs. King, he was of course Lee Stetson, codename Scarecrow, while in Chuck he was Dr. Woody Woodcomb, also known as, Captain Awesome's dad. Then the most humorous coincidence was the house on 4247 Warner Avenue. In Scarecrow and Mrs. King this was Amanda's house on the fictional street of Maplewood Drive in Arlington, Virginia, but in Chuck the same house was used as Sarah's dream house. The house she longed to live in with the white picket fence and red door, where she and Chuck could grow old together, and she could finally live the normal life she had always dreamed about.

For those who have watched both shows, I would love to hear your thoughts. 

>>>A little nod to Star Trek and William Shatner and just play-on-words regarding comic conventions or what most of us attendees just refer to as cons. I know I have said it before, I never expected to ever attend a con, let alone enjoy it; however, I have had some great fangirl moments and memories that will last until. . . umm. . . the fall of the Empire.  Yeah, that will work. For me, I did not think I would comfortably wear the persona of fangirl, but now I wear my badge with pride. 

Ever since Star Wars came out in 1977, I have been hooked on sci-fi. I, of course, loved the three original Star Wars movies (bur don't even get me started on the prequels), Tron, Star Trek and the continuing sagas, Battlestar Galactica, Quantum Leap, Babylon 5, and the Stargate-verse. I also love the Back to the Future movies and the television series Sliders and Voyagers. I am even going to throw Chuck into the mix, since it had the elements of science fiction. Yes, I am a sci-fi geek and I don't care who knows it! I thought it would be fun to touch on some of the highlights of all the cons I have attended over the past few years. 

DragonCon (Atlanta, Georgia): Billed as the largest on the east coast, it certainly lives up to the hype. Total geek chaos, but in a good way. Lots of cosplay and a large parade in downtown Atlanta. Met Bruce Boxleitner, Dirk Benedict, Richard Hatch, Peter Jurasik, Bonita Friedericy, and Dwight Schultz.  Attended several panels including; A-Team, Battlestar Galactica, Patrick Stewart, Leonard Nimoy and William Shatner, Chuck, Buck Rogers, and Babylon 5 (which Bruce Boxleitner missed because he slept in - but still was fun listening to Peter Jurasik, Steven Furst, Claudia Christian, Julie Caitlin Brown, and Tracy Scoggins). Mine and my sister's favorite panel was Chuck with Bonita Friedericy. She is nothing like the character she plays and she is a little stick of dynamite. Her husband, John Billingsley (Star Trek: Enterprise), emceed the panel. Laughed so hard, I had tears running down my face. I also attended a couple writing workshops. Ran into John Schneider and Alan Ruck walking through the hallways.Alan Ruck nodded and said "hello" to me and all I could do was stand there slack-jawed and star stuck. No, "I loved you in Ferris Bueller's Day Off" or anything. *Facepalm* However, I had a terrific time at the con and it was also great getting the chance to hang out with my baby sister for the extended weekend. 

Emerald City Comic Con (Seattle, Washington): The first year I attended, I went with my oldest son, Michael. He really wanted to meet Stan Lee. Spent most of the con, standing in line waiting for his autograph. Michael then had the opportunity to meet him and get his picture taken. I waited in line to meet Leonard Nimoy (although, I saw him in Atlanta, I did not get a chance to get his autograph there). We also attended Leonard Nimoy's panel. The second year I attended, I went with my friend, Elaine. I was only able to attend the one day, and we spent it getting autographs from Bruce Boxleitner, Brent Spiner, and Jonathon Frakes. We spent several moments talking with Bruce before and after his autograph session. We then attended Jonathon Frakes and James Masters panels. The third year, I volunteered as a minion, although I did have time to get Adam Baldwin's (Chuck) autograph, do a photo-op, and attend his panel. My oldest son came with me to meet Summer Glau the second day. Had a great time being a minion that year, although, I only volunteered that one day in the photo-op area. However, it was great "seeing" Christopher Judge, Adam Baldwin, Jason Momoa, and Lia Thompson walk right past me as I stood guard near the door. Lots of fangirl moments. :) I "minioned" the con again this year, mostly dealing with crowd control, but did get a moment to get autographs from Christopher Lloyd, Michael Shanks, and Jim Cummings. For more details regarding the adventures of being a minion, click this link. In addition, I have already been asked to return as a minion in 2014. 

Pop Con LA (Los Angeles, California): Had a FANtastic time attending this con, although I felt bad for the actors, because it was poorly attended. However, it was great for us fans, because we had a lot of one-on-one time with the actors. I have already blogged about this con, so click on this link for more details regarding the weekend. Highlights included Cindy Morgan, Richard Anderson, and Bruce Boxleitner. 

Wizard World (Portland, Oregon): Also already blogged about this con and again click on the link for more details. Highlights included Henry Winkler, Dean Cain, and Bruce Campbell. 

Phoenix Con (Phoenix, Arizona): Looking forward to attending this con next weekend in Phoenix. I have never been to Arizona and look forward to some sun and fun, but hoping it is not TOO hot. Also super excited about the 20th Anniversary of Babylon 5 - most of the cast and J. Michael Straczynski will be there (except Bruce Boxleitner, who has a filming conflict). My girlfriends and I will be getting a photo of us and the cast. Also planning on attending the Lantern City panel, as I would like to learn more about this project. Also, looking forward to visiting with the lovely Cindy Morgan again and hanging out with my fellow girlfriend 'groupies.' :-) Ready to get my inner geek on!

I never considered myself a fangirl. I mean sure, I have my favorite television shows and favorite actors, but I never in a million years thought I would enjoy going to a sci-fi convention. Remember the SNL clip, where William Shatner pokes fun at the people attending Star Trek conventions? I guess he received some dissension from this skit, but come on, it was funny!! 

Anyway, that is kind of what I thought sci-fi conventions were all about; a bunch of nerdy people, dressed up in outlandish costumes and really needed to get out more or as Shatner put it, “get a life.”

Then it happened, I attended my first con and I was hooked. I love the energy and excitement of the attendees. I love the chance to talk to the actors, get autographs and pictures, and to walk the same halls as some of my childhood heroes. I love meeting new people and connecting with friends. I love listening to the panel discussions and hearing all the background stories we don’t see on screen.  I love the costumes and am in awe at the amount of time some of those fans put into making them (although, I admit, I will never show up at a con in a costume. No way, no how).

The first con I attended, my youngest sister and we were sitting on the floor waiting for the next panel to begin, and this man in a miniskirt and fishnet stockings, watched past us and we could see up his skirt. I don’t think my sister and I have laughed so much in our entire life.

Since that first con, I have attended several more across the U.S., some focused on a specific movie, while most focused on science-fiction and fantasy. There are those who believe the cons have lost the original draw – bringing comic book collectors together and they would like to see it go back to less about the media stars and more about the comics. I will probably get in trouble for saying this, but “get a life!” Yep, I am there for the media stars and the fangirl moments!!

In view of the fact, that today is the fifth anniversary of the premiere of Chuck – I thought I would celebrate by writing a list of my top ten favorite Chuck episodes. Egads! I just couldn’t do it – too many wonderful episodes to choose from – so I narrowed it down to my top fifteen favorites. I have no doubt everyone is going to have different viewpoints and favorites and I look forward to hearing your thoughts. Warning: lots of spoilers!!

15. Chuck versus the Intersect (Pilot episode)

This episode ranks up there with one of the best pilot episodes ever. It’s an incredibly strong, well-rounded episode –quirky with lots of exciting spy drama and does a great job setting up the characters and storyline for the up coming seasons. I was hooked. 

Warning: major spoilers after the cut. 

 I just purchased my plane ticket to Atlanta, Georgia to attend DragonCon Labor Day weekend. This will be my second time attending DragonCon and my fifth con.  I had an amazing time in 2008 with my baby sister, Cathy. I wish she were coming, too. I'll be meeting up with several girlfriends, and I’m really looking forward to spending the weekend with them and listening to panels, acquiring autographs and photos from some of my favorite actors, and attending writing workshops. I’m having a serious fangirl moment because I discovered Bruce Boxleitner and Adam Baldwin are supposed to be there. Squeal!! The only question I have is—when did I become a groupie? 

I know some are not going to believe this, but I really don’t watch much television. Sure, I have my favorites, but I much rather read or write, so don’t be surprised when I say I never even heard of the television series Chuck until a friend of mine told me Bruce Boxleitner was going to have a guest role in season two, and I needed to watch the show.

So the summer before the beginning of the second season, I found the episodes on-line, watched them, and immediately fell in love with the show. Now, I’m a faithful Chuckaholic.

Chuck is an action/comedy/romance hybrid television show, a lighthearted spy drama, mixed with comedy and romance.  The show is witty, full of action, with a spark of romance. . . in lots of ways like Scarecrow and Mrs. King, but in reverse.  You know, danger, excitement. . .  intrigue. You have an average, ordinary civilian, dragged into the world of espionage by extraordinary circumstances, but instead of a package passed to him at a train station, he is passed  government secrets via an opened email.