STANFORD, AGAIN & AGAIN

I guess it was to be expected that sooner or later this season, 'Chuck' Bartowski would return to Stanford University for at least one episode of the new spy comedy-thriller. "Chuck vs. The Alma Mater" was yet another episode invoking the school, a list which also includes 'Moonlight', 'Boston Legal', 'Reaper', and 'Journeyman'.


The show has also made its presence known in Toobworld in past shows. Dr. Cristina Yang of 'Grey's Anatomy', for instance, was a graduate of Stanford. In the 1949 soap opera 'One Man's Family', Claudia and Cliff Barbour were students at Stanford; their father Henry was a banker in San Francisco.

On 'One Tree Hill', Haley was planning on attending Stanford, but her pregnancy may have put a crimp in those plans. And in 'Party of Five', Stanford played a major role in the life of Julia - after coming to grips with the trauma faced by the Salinger family, she planned on going back to school there. And there was a writer in her class named Adam who only pretended to be a Stanford student.

Another student at Stanford was Sam Winchester, who dropped out to help his brother in a cross-country quest to vanquish various 'Supernatural' demons while searching for their missing father.

There's one other Stanford mention that seems certain to me, but which I can't prove. On 'Too Close For Comfort', Henry Rush had a collection of sweatshirts from many different colleges and universities. I would have to imagine that living in the San Francisco area, Henry must have had a Stanford sweatshirt on at some point during the run of the series.

[And just because I like the idea, I'm going to claim that the banker Henry Barbour from 'One Man's Family' was the godfather for Henry Rush, who was his namesake. I don't think that theory of relateeveety is 'Too Close For Comfort'; it certainly can't be debunked!]

BCnU!
Toby OB
Graduate of UConn, along with Rebecca Howe of 'Cheers'

"I hate Stanford because they suck so much."
Captain Awesome
'Chuck'