Chuck Amok

Has anyone else noticed that the writers of the TV series Chuck (Josh Schwartz, Chris Fedak, Matt Miller, and others) have been having a little fun this season naming the show’s characters? 

Chuck scripts are always sprinkled with obvious references and homages to pop culture favorites, including Chuck and Morgan dressing up as the sand worm from Dune for Halloween, the Buy More gang getting their Call of Duty 5 and Madden 09 on just after the real-life release of those games last year, and guest star Nicole Richie appearing as Sarah’s high school rival who starred in a TV commercial where she “ate a really messy cheeseburger” (an obvious allusion to Richie’s real-life former co-hort, Paris Hilton, and her infamous Carl’s Jr. ad (below.)



But things on Chuck have gone a step further this season. It seems many of the guest characters have been named after famous pop culture icons. Case in point:

Melinda Clarke guest starred as Soviet agent "Sasha Banacek". "Banacek" is a Polish name and a possible reference to the 1970’s TV series of the same name about a Polish-American detective played by George Peppard. 

In the previously mentioned episode with Nicole Richie, her character’s name is "Heather Chandler" -- the same as Winona Ryder’s nemesis, played by Kim Walker (below right), in the 1989 black comedy, Heathers. 

In the same episode, Heather’s husband is a geek named "Mark Ratner" -- same as the geek who crushes on Jennifer Jason Leigh in Fast Times at Ridgemont High. 


Want more?... Jordana Brewster (The Fast and The Furious) just completed an arc as Chuck’s old girlfriend, "Jill Roberts", which is also the name of an upscale women’s boutique in Beverly Hills. 

Jill’s boss’ name is "Guy Lafleur" -- who was a Hall of Fame hockey player for the Montreal Canadiens in the 70s and 80s.

And a new regular joined the Chuck cast this season. Tony Hale plays the Buy More’s new efficiency expert "Emmett Milbarge", which is an obvious mash-up of Chevy Chase’s "Emmitt Fitz-Hume" and Dan Aykroyd’s "Austin Milbarge" characters from the 1985 comedy Spies Like Us. 

There’s more, but you get the idea. I guess it’s cool if the writers wanna have a little fun this way cause Chuck is one of the liveliest shows on TV, with fun plots, lovable, charismatic leads in Zachary Levi and Yvonne Strahovski, and a great ensemble of supporting actors.