Chuck and Reaper: Buy More vs. The Work Bench (part two of three)

Lost? Check out my first installment in this great debate, that compares the main characters and the best friends of Chuck and Reaper!

The other go-to guy: Casey vs. Ben: It’s impossible to discuss John Casey, Buy More sales associate, without mentioning Major John Casey of the NSA. Of course, both are played by Adam Baldwin (no relation), and the similarities don’t end there. As a sales associate, Casey is aggressive, intimidating, stand-offish, elusive, and immune to repercussions. As an NSA agent … well, he’s pretty much the same thing. But, what I enjoy are the touches of humanity behind the constant scowl. Over time, Casey has clearly grown fond of Chuck (Zachary Levi). He’d never admit it, but it’s there. And never more so than when, in his unique position working inside Buy More, Casey rushes to Chuck’s aid each and every time he seems in danger. He’s like a protective papa.

So, who can match that?

Ben Gonzalez (Rick Gonzalez), on the other hand, is anything but aggressive. Shy and timid, Ben somehow found himself in a green card marriage almost without even realizing it. But, since the episode, he seems to have become more of his own man. Though he had a slightly diminished role in soul-chasing by the end of last season, I think that had more to do with his character’s development than anything else. Plus, he was in jail for eight days. And even though Casey is more of a presence, and more of a force, Ben looks like Joakim Noah, the most overrated basketball player on the planet. I get a kick out of seeing him every time he’s in a scene.

Staffers: Jeff, Lester, Anna, and Skip vs. Sara and non-Work Benchers Josie and Gladys: This one’s not even close. Jeff Barnes (played creepy uncle-like by Scott Krinsky) has been working at Buy More for eighteen years. Why is he still roaming the aisles? Well, there’s only so far you can go while watching porn at work. And that video montage of Anna Wu (Julia Ling)? Wow (shudder). The scariest part is that you can meet hundreds of Jeffs at Buy More-type stores all across the country. I’m not criticizing the job, just the disturbing guy filling it.

But for all those Jeffs that can be found the U.S. over, Lester Patel (a slimy Vik Sahay) is one of kind. There’s some indefinable quality that the character has that makes it impossible to look away. Like staring at a car crash as you’re driving past. Awesome. And he and Jeff as BFFs? Now that’s what I call priceless! Anna’s annoying, but I do like the idea of her, insofar as she and Morgan (Joshua Gomez) are together. While she’s a horrible person, and treats him terribly, the relationship has given Morgan a certain amount of growth and dimension that he’d been sorely missing. Skip Johnson (Michael Kawczynski) is a relatively new addition to the show: so far, we’ve only seen him out-duel the rest of the team in November’s sales contest. But with hair like that, he might go far.

The crew at The Work Bench is rather skimpy beyond the core four. Sara (Lucy Davis) is a horrible shrew who was really only introduced as a tool for Ben’s arc. But man, did they really have to destroy Lucy Kenwright (Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip) for that? Outside of work, Josie Miller (Valarie Rae Miller) and Gladys (Christine Willes) provide sometimes supportive roles. Josie is a lawyer in the district attorney’s office, as well as being Sock’s (Tyler Labine) ex. She can usually be called on for a piece of random information. Gladys is a demon, and a former employee at the DMV who handled all of Sam’s vessel exchanges. She (Willes) also happens to be from Dead Like Me (I’m still waiting on that contest …), so you know she rocks.

Haven’t we forgotten some pretty important people? I guess it does make sense that this is in three parts!

Clacked by Aryeh S.
on Mar 01, 2009 @ 12:00 EST5EDT