Morgan Guillermo Grimes | |||||||||||||||||||
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Morgan as he appears in Season 5 | |||||||||||||||||||
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Man down! I've been tazed! I can't feel my legs. Bring a stretcher, wheel barrow, possible change of pants!
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Morgan Guillermo Grimes is a main character on the NBC television series Chuck. He is the lifelong best friend of protagonist, Chuck Bartowski. He is portrayed by Joshua Gomez.
Along with Captain Awesome and Chuck's sister, Ellie, he is one of the handful of loyal keepers of Chuck's secret, and was the second civilian to learn about the Intersect.
Biography[]
Morgan is the son of Bolonia (Patricia Rae), but nothing is known about his father other than that he and Bolonia are no longer together.[1] The only references to his father occurred in Chuck Versus the Aisle of Terror when Casey told Morgan that he was “either exceptionally smart or incredibly stupid,” to which Morgan replied “My father used to say the same thing. Without the 'smart' part.” Morgan has implied, in at least one episode, that even his mother has been disappointed by him.[2]
Morgan and Chuck Bartowski have been best friends since they were six. Chuck has always looked out for and protected him, both from school bullies and Morgan's own shortcomings. Morgan, for his part, has always been there for Chuck as well, through many of the most difficult moments of Chuck's life. When Chuck's mother left when the boys were in the fifth grade, Morgan was there, even though they were both too young to understand; he stayed with Chuck sharing cherry cheesecake and playing Zelda for as long as Chuck needed him to.[3] As a child, he was teased with the nickname "Organ," a name Chuck swore never to repeat, and didn't until given permission from Morgan so that he could answer a question posed in a game they were playing[4].
He provided support for Chuck when the latter was expelled from Stanford, and when Jill apparently dumped Chuck for Bryce Larkin. He learned second hand about Bryce, and despised him without ever having met him, for Chuck's sake.
As close as he is to Chuck, Morgan's relationship with Chuck's sister Ellie has been more complex. His long-time crush on Ellie is widely known,[5] and in 1998, she established a "No Touch" policy.[6] He is known to have hidden under Ellie's bed as a boy in hopes of seeing her undress.[7] Unable to get Ellie, he took her pillow with him to the prom, and and for a long time, told everyone that he is love with Ellie.
After leaving at the end of season two to pursue a career in Hawaii as a chef at Benihana, Morgan returns in Season Three, having washed out of hibachi school.
His timing is sound because he then helps Chuck, who is devastated by his break-up with Sarah, and from losing his position with the CIA after failing spy school. Morgan, himself recently broken up with Anna Wu, who ran off with a prep chef after Morgan failed his Benihana training, commiserated with Chuck, and did him one better, showing Chuck that he was living as a squatter in the Home Theatre Room at the Buy More. Chuck rescues Morgan once again and lets him stay at his place.
When Chuck regains his CIA position, Morgan, who is still ignorant of Chuck's secret life, feels left out when his friend no longer confides in him. In "Chuck Versus the Beard", Morgan 'fires' Chuck as his best friend. When the two are then captured and threatened by Ring agents, and Morgan has a razor to his eye, Chuck confesses to being a spy in order to save him; Morgan is thrilled, “This is the best news I've ever heard! Holy smokes, it makes perfect sense, too. Why we stopped hanging out and talking. I thought I lost you, buddy. I thought I lost you. But you were out saving the world? Chuck, you are officially rehired as my best friend.” He then finds out that the relationship Chuck has with Sarah is just a cover, which he finds, “awful that you had to pretend to be in the relationship with somebody you clearly love.” When Chuck denies it, Morgan, who knows him well, scoffs, “You're a good liar, Chuck, but you're not that good...you lied to me for three years, but I always knew you loved that girl.” Chuck realizes Morgan is right, and is extremely grateful he finally can open up with Morgan. As a result of the return of his emotional release valve, his ability to 'flash' is restored because he no longer had to bottle everything up. Shaw, however, wants to send Morgan underground into protective custody once he knows Chuck's secret. Chuck refuses outright, however, saying he needs Morgan, “I'm a spy again because I have my best friend back. You need the Intersect, and I need him, so Morgan Grimes is staying exactly where he belongs....”
In Chuck Versus the Other Guy Morgan insists that his unofficial role in Team Bartowski should be upgraded, telling Chuck, “I could be your second in command slash personal assistant. Batman needs Alfred. Bond needs Q.” When Chuck later becomes convinced that Shaw cannot be trusted, and that he is planning on hurting Sarah, Morgan confirms his doubts by pointing out Shaw pulls his punches in a fight with Ring Operatives. Chuck then enlists Morgan's help to save Sarah. It was then Morgan who points out they still had the option of recruiting the now civilian John Casey as well. In the aftermath, with the Ring Director in Casey's custody, he negotiates his own reinstatement with his “...old rank back, and a new Crown Victoria....and a request you're probably not gonna like,” which is making Morgan a CIA sanctioned member of the team.
Eventually, even General Beckman would acknowledge the 'odd co-dependency' between the Intersect and Morgan, and made use of it in Chuck Versus the Honeymooners. It was in this episode Morgan comes into his own as an operative, tracking Chuck, exposing the terrorists, and assisting in the take down.
In Chuck Versus the Tooth Anna Wu returned to Burbank and because of his new life and its various commitments, Morgan put her off several times; when she sees him dressed for a night at the opera, she is astonished. When she says she wants him back, realizing Anna only wants him because she thinks she cannot have him, he gently tells her that it only means she isn't the person he wants.
In Chuck Versus the Living Dead Chuck's nightmares convince him that Shaw is still alive, and he goes to Morgan with his concerns rather than to Sarah.
Sarah, of course, manages to get the information out of Morgan. When Casey intercepts a message Ellie left for Justin Sullivan he becomes suspicious Ellie is hiding something; it is Morgan he approaches about her, knowing him to be the resident expert on Ellie Bartowski. When he asks if Ellie would ever cheat on Devon for any reason, Morgan replied, “John Casey, if I had the height, or the will power, I would slap you across the face right now!”
In Chuck Versus the Subway, with the rest of the team taken, the civilian secret keepers, Morgan and Devon, talk to General Beckman, the video signal breaks up and repeats, with Beckman saying "You're our only hope." Morgan, assisted by Devon and Ellie successfully rescue the others using Casey's well armed Crown Vic in Chuck Versus the Ring: Part 2. It was Morgan who later spotted Shaw planting bombs in the Buy More, and when he was handcuffed in the storage cage by Shaw, he followed Casey's directions and broke his own thumbs to escape. With his thumbs splinted, he also was the one to find the detonator for the Buy More bombs, and drops it, as Chuck predicted he would, arming the bombs. Everyone clears the store before the explosives go off, destroying the Buy More.
In Chuck Versus the Anniversary Morgan stays with Chuck, now a civilian again, during his unsanctioned pursuit of his mother, in effect, playing the role of Chuck's Alfred. The pair follow leads all over the world, wracking up $43,000 in debt which led to the repossession of Morgan's $900 car. Eventually the unofficial pair cross paths with the official spies when they must rescue Sarah and Casey from a Volkoff facility in Russia. By the end of the episode, both men return to the CIA and the Buy More sub-station, now wholly run by the Agency.
It was Morgan's experience that is invaluable in Chuck Versus the Suitcase when he begins to notice a serious flaw in the new Buy More. The government personnel are so well trained that their excessive efficiency, pleasant demeanor, and helpful service, all of which is diametrically opposed to the general perception of how a Buy More is run, renders the store's cover virtually transparent. His correction of the problem led to the rehire of all the Buy Morons of old including Jeff and Lester. General Beckman rewards his insights and makes him the manager of the Buy More.
In Chuck Versus the Cubic Z, Morgan gives Big Mike permission to marry his mother and promotes him assistant manager. In the following episode, he points out to Chuck that he and Sarah are crap communicators, and suggests a book that Chuck might want to read: 101 Conversations Before I Do. Meanwhile, he begins seeing Alex McHugh, John Casey's daughter. It is in Chuck Versus the Couch Lock Morgan's particular brand of loyalty and courage are demonstrated when the team is being held by TI, Mackintosh and Packard, Morgan grabs a power cable and electrocutes them and himself by jumping into standing water as the others pull themselves out. He was told he went into cardiac arrest, and they lost him for about three seconds, but his team revived him, and Chuck told him, “Buddy, that was the single bravest thing I've ever seen anyone do. Don't ever do it again.”
After Chuck is taken by The Belgian in Chuck Versus Phase Three Morgan joins Casey and Sarah in rogue operation to rescue him. He was the one who revealed that Anand Chanarong (James Lew), the man who does the Belgian's "dirty work," is at the Thai Embassy in Los Angeles, giving them their first lead. He also gently pointed out to Sarah she never told Chuck how much she loved him, and that to save him she had to; “Tell him what you told me before, okay? He'll hear that, I know it. This is your chance. Don't be Sarah Walker the spy, be Sarah Walker the girlfriend.” He later told Chuck how much Sarah loved him, that she would literally do anything for him, “...seriously, anything, okay? I had to pick a Thai tooth out of her arm.”
In the season finale, Chuck Versus the Cliffhanger, it is Morgan who stays with a poisoned Sarah while Chuck is working to save her life, he tells her stories of Chuck's tenacity and protectiveness. When she finally recovers, thanks to Chuck's efforts, Morgan officiates at their wedding. With the CIA no longer an option for them, he then becomes one of the core members of Carmichael Industries. In a tag scene, Morgan sees a pair of sunglasses in a box of objects that was left for Chuck. When he put them on they uploaded the Intersect, and he became the new and unexpected human Intersect.
During the course of Season Five, initially, Morgan was thrilled with being the Intersect, telling Chuck, “For the first time in my life I sort of feel as cool as you,” but it eventually became obvious that the Intersect was corrupted and was having a deleterious effect on Morgan. His personality altered and he became an obnoxious ego-maniac, self serving, and selfish. Chuck recognized the change as something he'd gone through in seventh grade. Chuck reminded him about Meredith Lester, the queen of the eight grade, and how she had pantsed him, and how they had gotten back at her. When Morgan managed to cut through the fog of the Intersect and pulled up the memory Chuck held out to him, he remembered who he really was almost instantly; "...we shaved off my first mustache and sprinkled in on her sandwich. I remember - that's who I am!" Beckman later arrived to remove the Intersect from Morgan's brain, but he suffered some memory loss, significantly, all his movie lore, including Star Wars.
Development[]
For much of the first season, Morgan was primarily used for comic relief, and was a self confessed 'man-boy' whose goal in life was to do as little work as possible. As the series progresses he began to develop and gained more independence, and was less of Chuck's foil. Much of Morgan's development as a character has continued to center around his friendship with Chuck and a mature relationship with Alex McHugh.
Once he was privy to Chuck's secret, Morgan was drawn into the main story more often, whereas prior to Chuck Versus the Beard is participation was inadvertent or peripheral. In Chuck Versus the Wookiee, Sarah agreed to get him a date with her DEA friend Carina, in part to distract her from getting too curious about Chuck, and Carina later hid the diamond she stole in Morgan's bag. He was inadvertently involved in the events of Chuck Versus the Crown Vic and Chuck Versus the Marlin . Morgan's biggest role in the main plots were in Chuck Versus Santa Claus, where he played a key role in helping Awesome and Big Mike subdue Ned, and in Chuck Versus the Best Friend, when he is misidentified by Smooth Lau as a spy. Morgan has also at times unwittingly given Chuck ideas that allow him to complete a mission.[8][2][9]
Morgan is often the focus of the Buy More subplots, and as the series progressed he began to see more responsibility in the store. He was asked by "Big Mike" to help Poppy Tang pick out a gift for Harry,[10] and was twice placed in charge of preparing the store for Black Friday.[11] Morgan was also involved with helping Chuck interview candidates for the assistant manager's position in the first part of season two, before deciding the position by pitting Jeff and Lester against each other in a Thunderdome-style fight in the storage cage.[12] Morgan also led revolts against Harry Tang[13] and Lester[14] when they each exceeded their authority as assistant manager. Ironically, he became assistant manager himself under Emmett, until he quits the Buy More to pursue his dream of becoming a Benihana chef in Hawaii.[15] During Chuck Versus the Beard, Morgan discovers the CIA underground base Castle, after a group of Ring operatives compromise it, and reveals its existence to Chuck. The two are later captured, and Chuck is forced to reveal to Morgan that he, Casey, and Sarah are spies.
In the events of Chuck Versus the Other Guy, Morgan is able to contribute to the team by spotting a choreographed fight move, revealing Agent Shaw to be working for the Ring. Following the mission, Morgan is given a position on Team Bartowski, much to General Beckman's chagrin. Morgan's first mission with Team Bartowski was to help locate Chuck and Sarah with Casey's help. After that mission, he starts spy training under Casey and although he fails every test, Casey passes him for having nerve to go up against a tiger unarmed in Chuck Versus the Role Models.
Morgan is integral to the take down of the Ring, since he was the only member of the team not arrested after the return of Daniel Shaw. Morgan and Devon rescue the team, and he helps capture the Ring Elders. During this time, Morgan becomes acquainted with Casey's daughter Alex, and their budding relationship creates conflict with Casey.
In Chuck Versus the Suitcase, Morgan is promoted to manager of Buy More after noticing that the spies Beckman placed undercover are too efficient. Therefore, he and Casey go and rehire all the former employees in order to make the Buy More a place no one really wants to spend a lot of time. In Chuck Versus the Coup d'Etat, Morgan begins to date Alex McHugh.
As of Season 4, Morgan becomes an official agent in Team Bartowski. Throughout Season 4 he proves to be an excellent intelligence analyst. In Chuck Versus the Honeymooners, Morgan helped Casey find Chuck when Chuck and Sarah went on the run by using his knowledge of Chuck and Castle's software. During Chuck Versus Phase Three, Morgan was able to help locate Chuck, as the CIA were not able to, by analyzing intelligence on Anand Chanarong, revealing he does the Belgium's "dirty work" and is in Los Angeles. He also knows how to use Castle's software extensively such as using it to get detailed information on any location. Morgan also serves as the team's morale-booster. He lacks any field skills and is often used as "The Magnet," or distraction.
Although Morgan has few field skills, it is compensated for with his bravery shown in Chuck Versus the Role Models and in Chuck Versus the Couch Lock which is acknowledged by Casey in both episodes. In the end of Chuck Versus the Cliffhanger, Morgan mistakenly uploads the Intersect, at first thought to be sent by General Beckman. His field skills in the beginning of Season 5 increased dramatically, but the Intersect corrupted him, almost making him lose his identity before he was saved by Chuck. But because he had told anyone who would listen that he was the Intersect, a hit was ordered on him by Decker. After he got the Intersect removed by General Beckman, the hit order was rescinded.
Relationships[]
Anna Wu[]
Throughout Season One and Season Two, Morgan was in an on and off relationship with his coworker Anna Wu, who was with the Nerd Herd.
They began a relationship after Morgan had revealed to Jeff and Lester that he had only accidentally kissed Anna when he assumed that she liked him.
In the Season Two episode Chuck Versus the DeLorean, Anna pushes Morgan into renting a place for them to live together. With the money Awesome invested to help Morgan get a place with her, he instead uses the money to buy a DeLorean. This causes the two to breakup. They get back together again in Chuck Versus the Best Friend, and in the second season finale, Morgan decides to pursue his dream in becoming a chef at Benihana, and Anna goes to Hawaii to be with him. At the beginning of Season Three, Morgan returns from Hawaii and reveals that he had just broken up with Anna, who left him for a sous-chef.
Alex McHugh[]
Morgan first meets with Alex in the Season Three episode, Chuck Versus the Subway. Alex visits the Buy More after her father John Casey, had left a means for her to escape and go into hiding from the Ring who are currently hunting her. Morgan, who is now assistant manager, leads her to Casey's locker in the staff room when she tells him that Casey is her father. In Chuck Versus the Ring: Part 2, it is revealed that Morgan has her phone number, much to Casey's annoyance.
Morgan and Alex are officially dating as of the Season Four episode, Chuck Versus the Coup d'Etat. Throughout Chuck Versus the Couch Lock, Alex pushes Morgan into telling Casey about their relationship as she does not want to lie to her father. Morgan finally tells Casey in an attempt to make him angry and free Casey from being under a "couch lock". Casey slowly begins to accept Morgan, and asks Alex to go back to him. In the Season Five episode, Chuck Versus the Frosted Tips, he dumped Alex via text because of the corrupted Intersect. He apologized to her later but she said that they cannot be together again but they can still be friends. In the end they reconcile and eventually move in together.
Personality[]
Morgan begins the series as very immature, calling himself a 'man-boy'. He says he took the job at the Buy More so as to do the least work possible while hanging out with Chuck, and playing video games. He is involved with numerous antics in the store, including "Mystery Crisper," where he can eat anything found rotting in the break room refrigerator.
He has also skipped work to visit an arcade.[16] He has destroyed a store display computer by picking up a virus when surfing for porn,[8] is frequently involved with misuse of store equipment, such as running a TV show guessing competition on the video wall[13] and using the storage cage for a Thunderdome match to determine the new assistant store manager.[14] Chuck has told Morgan he's not allowed access to Chuck's advanced demos of new games without "adult supervision."[17] Morgan has been known to "borrow" Buy More's DVDs off the shelf, copy them, and then re-shrink wrapping them before returning them.[14]
When Morgan and Anna first explored moving in together, he borrowed $2,500 from Captain Awesome for a deposit on an apartment, which he then impulsively spent on a used, broken-down Delorean.[18] He later tried to repel Anna when she found an apartment lease intended for Chuck and himself, mistakenly believing it was for them.[19] Morgan is the best Call of Duty 4 player in the store.[20]
He later, however, shown signs of growing responsibility. Big Mike placed him in charge of the store for Black Friday in both seasons.[11][21] Morgan himself is not a very good salesman.[7] After initially trying to dissuade Anna from moving in with him, he realized he truly did want to be with her and accepted.[19] However, Morgan has evidently never finalized living arrangements with Anna and the only time they lived together was during the brief period in Hawaii before she left him.[22] Morgan supported Ellie when she went through a rough spot with Devon[6] and worked with Lester, Jeff, and Emmett to try to find Big Mike a date after his divorce.[1]
Morgan's most important relationship through the series is his friendship with Chuck, and he has shown himself willing to go to extreme lengths for his friend.
Like Ellie, Morgan can be highly protective, and when she tried to push Chuck into moving forward with his life, Morgan got into an argument with her on what sort of five-year plan he needed.[23] When they were kids, he was there when Chuck's mother left them, and also helped support Chuck when he was expelled from Stanford. Morgan was distressed to learn that Ellie supported Chuck's intent to break up with Sarah late in the second season, and quickly reminded her that Sarah was the best thing to have happened to Chuck.[24] He was also upset when he thought Chuck was cheating on Sarah with Jill.[11] Morgan stood up to Emmett Milbarge to protect Chuck,[9] and when Chuck skipped his job interview to stop a rogue government asset from setting off a bomb, Morgan tried, unsuccessfully, to interview on his behalf.[16] He is also very nosy about Chuck's personal life and believes his approval of Chuck's girlfriends is supremely important.[20]
One of the first signs of Morgan's impeding maturity was his relationship is with his on again/off again girlfriend Anna Wu, who also works at the Buy More as a member of the Nerd Herd. Although Morgan's behavior at times borders on stalker-like,[2][3] he cares about her a great deal. In Chuck Versus the Colonel, he asks Anna to accompany him to Hawaii while he trains to be a Benihana chef.
A recurring thread throughout much of the first season is Morgan's obsessive love for Ellie Bartowski, which is not reciprocated. As the series progressed, the two came to an understanding and developed a friendship after bonding over an "I miss Chuck" moment.[7] Morgan has admitted that he sees Ellie as a sister, albeit one with whom he wants to have sex.[6] Morgan's crush on Ellie generated some problems with Anna Wu in Chuck Versus the Nemesis when he brought Anna to Thanksgiving dinner at Ellie's apartment.
A more mature relationship eventually developed with Alex McHugh, as evidenced by his happily moving in with her during the series finale.
Skills[]
Despite never becoming a master Benihana chef, Morgan has demonstrated that he has cooking skills. He has been shown to be able to cook Teriyaki Surprise, French Toast, and several other dishes. He has often been seen to be cooking in Casey's apartment.
In Chuck Versus the First Kill Chuck introduces a move he calls "The Morgan." It is performed by twisting the body to the side and raising one knee to cover the groin, while covering both face and groin with his hands. According to Chuck, Morgan used this stance to protect himself from being hit in school, often by girls.
Character Development[]
In March, 2007, Joshua Gomez was cast in what was then the role of "Morgan Pace," Joining Zachary Levi, (Chuck) Yvonne Strahovski, (Sarah) and Adam Baldwin (John Casey).[25] Chuck refers to him as "Morgan Santos" in the Morgan's Vlog series, perhaps showing that this mini series was filmed prior to the first episode. Prior to the beginning of filming, his last name was changed to Grimes. Much like the character he portrays, Gomez is an avid gamer, and it was through this gaming connection Zachary Levi and Gomez quickly established a close friendship when production began and Levi describes them as "Two little peas in a pod."[26]
Throughout Season Two, the show involved less of the relationship between Chuck and Morgan. Morgan began to feature more into the Buy More sub-plots, and although Gomez enjoyed them, he missed the interaction between Chuck and Morgan from earlier in the series.[27] Gomez expressed an interest in being involved in more of the show's action.[28]
Trivia[]
- Emmett Milbarge and Morgan both share in the fantasy nation-state concept of Buy-Moria.
- When Chuck looks at Morgan's locker at the Buy More, there is a sticker on it from the San Diego Comic Con.
- Morgan is frequently shown to be carrying a bag with "Tyrell Corporation" printed on it, an obvious homage to movie Blade Runner.
- Joshua Gomez was nominated for the 2008 ALMA Award for "Outstanding Male Performance in a Comedy Television Series" for his portrayal of Morgan Grimes.
- Morgan's hated nickname in junior high school, a name Chuck swore never to repeat, was Organ.
- In the pilot, Sarah made a comment about the relative rarity of Chuck and Morgan's names, Chuck said that Morgan was raised by carnival freaks but Morgan assured her they treated him as one of their own.
- "Morgan" is the first word spoken in the series, and the last character referred to by Chuck in the finale.
References[]
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 "Chuck Versus the Suburbs"
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 "Chuck Versus the Crown Vic"
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 "Chuck Versus the Best Friend"
- ↑ "Chuck Versus the Wookie"
- ↑ Captain Awesome's Blog: Captain Awesome's Tips for Being Awesome
- ↑ 6.0 6.1 6.2 "Chuck Versus the Undercover Lover"
- ↑ 7.0 7.1 7.2 "Chuck Versus the Sizzling Shrimp"
- ↑ 8.0 8.1 "Chuck Versus the Intersect"
- ↑ 9.0 9.1 "Chuck Versus the Fat Lady"
- ↑ "Chuck Versus the Truth"
- ↑ 11.0 11.1 11.2 Chuck Versus the Gravitron Cite error: Invalid
<ref>
tag; name "gravitron" defined multiple times with different content - ↑ "Chuck Versus the First Date"
- ↑ 13.0 13.1 "Chuck Versus the Imported Hard Salami"}
- ↑ 14.0 14.1 14.2 Chuck Versus the Seduction
- ↑ Chuck Versus the Colonel
- ↑ 16.0 16.1 "Chuck Versus the Sandworm"
- ↑ "Chuck Versus the Marlin"
- ↑ "Chuck Versus the Delorean"
- ↑ 19.0 19.1 "Chuck Versus the Lethal Weapon"
- ↑ 20.0 20.1 "Chuck Versus the Imported Hard Salami"
- ↑ "Chuck Versus the Nemesis"
- ↑ "Chuck Versus the Predator"
- ↑ "Chuck Versus the Helicopter"
- ↑ "Chuck vs. the Beefcake"
- ↑ Development Update: Friday, March 16, The Futon Critic
- ↑ IGN.com: Chuck Versus the Lost Producter
- ↑ Interview, November 17, 2008: BuddyTV.com interview with Joshua Gomez
- ↑ Attack of the Show: Attack of the Show Video Preview
Main Characters | ||
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Charles "Chuck" Bartowski • Sarah Walker • John Casey • Morgan Grimes • | ||
Anna Wu • Alex McHugh • Alexei Volkoff • Bryce Larkin • Carina Miller • Clara Woodcomb • Clyde Decker • Daniel Shaw • Diane Beckman • Emmett Milbarge • Gertrude Verbanski • Hannah • Harry Tang • Jane Bentley • Jill Roberts • Langston Graham • Mary Bartowski • Nicholas Quinn • Stephen Bartowski • Vivian Volkoff |