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Jodi Chang is the niece of Walter Chang and the current owner of Chang's Market in Perfection, Nevada, and, for some time, was taking advantage of it being a Graboid hot-spot.
Jodi is the deuteragonist of Tremors 3: Back to Perfection (where she was played by Susan Chuang) and a minor character in Tremors: The Series (where she was played by Lela Lee).
Biography[]
Tremors 3: Back to Perfection[]
Jodi Chang in Tremors 3: Back to Perfection
Jodi is introduced as Walter Chang's niece and the owner of his store. She sells supplies to Jack Sawyer for his tours and is annoyed when he doesn't pay her. She is upset when the government says they will really evict the residents if nessacary and tries and fails to buy the Graboid egg off of them. After Melvin Plugg comes to warn the town that Burt and Jack were attacked by a Graboid, she rushes to Burt's house to find out what happened and is shocked to discover Jack cutting open a Graboid with a chainsaw and pulling Burt out. Jodi agrees to never speak of what happened with anyone, but decides that she needs to join the hunt with the two and Miguel as she now thinks they need to be watched. When the government scientist arrives, she's the one that spots him and is shocked when he dies of Shrieker injuries. Jodi gets trapped on a rock for the night with the others when El Blanco, the last remaning Graboid arrives and is furious that Jack is buying supplies from both her and a store called Food Mall. Jody spends the night with Jack's jacket as a blanket and escapes in the morning with the others and is given a rifle to use against the Shriekers. After discovering the husks of the Shriekers, Jodi expresses her sympathy to Burt over the destruction of his truck and helps shoot down the Ass Blaster, though Miguel is killed. Jodi recignizes the Graboid egg its carrying and names it as she and the others head back to Burt's house. There, another Ass Blaster attacks and Burt blows up the house to keep it from eating all of his food while they escape through an escape tunnel. To Burt's horror, Nancy radios to alert them that feeding the creature will knock it out and Jodi, taking the radio from the stunned Burt, thanks her for the update. The group escapes to the nearby junkyard where they drop a refrigerator on an Ass Blaster and Jodi is briefly relieved until they see four more Ass Blasters circling and have to hide in an outhouse. After coming up with a plan to create a weapon, Jodi is cornered by an Ass Blaster and lures it into a shed filled with gas where it is tricked into blowing itself up, leaving Jodi pleased with herself for having killed one. After the group reunites, Jodi helps make and fire the new weapon, killing another creature. When the next one doesn't fall for the same trick, Jack lifts Jodi through the skylight and she shoots the creature, killing it and causing Burt to comment that he and Jodi should go hunting sometime. Another one crashes in and Burt kills it, leaving them relieved as they believe they got them all. However, El Blanco shows up and they realize Burt's watch is attracting him. Before they can get rid of it, El Blanco knocks them out of the mobile home they are in and Burt gets tangled in mattress springs. Jodi tries to cut him loose as Jack uses the watch to lead El Blanco away, but the Ass Blaster they crushed under the fridge rises again and as he gets too close, Jodi grabs a shovel to defend Burt while he tries to get her to leave him. Luckily, Tyler wraps tape around the watch and throws it onto the Ass Blaster, causing El Blanco to eat it and leave. Later, Jodi is seen warning kids not to get too close to the Ass Blaster Nancy and Mindy caught.
Tremors: The Series[]
Jodi appears somewhat more practical and rational than Walter, but can be just as quirky as her hustler uncle. Chuang’s portrayal is a bit more humorous (especially in the TV series), than Lee’s reserved, book wise version. Both possessed the Chang family frugalness, and were not above playing any situation to their financial advantage. Jodi coined the term "Ass Blasters".
She runs a tab on everybody in Perfection; gets a finder's fee for any tourist she strong-arms onto Tyler Reed's tour jeep; negotiates for the valuable remains of whatever nasty creatures Burt Gummer and Tyler might destroy; manages Burt's survival school; and runs the online part of Nancy Sterngood's souvenir business.
Although Jodi is identified strongly with her store, she has a wealth of talents that she shares with her neighbors. She is experienced in fighting every form of Graboid mutation. She's fluent in Mandarin Chinese. She has extensive computer skills. And her business acumen has taught her to "follow the money" — a mantra that helps her spot the corporate crooks and small-time hustlers who frequently blow into the valley looking to get rich quick at the expense of the locals.
Tremors: A Cold Day In Hell[]
By the time of the movie, Perfection appears to be deserted and demolished aside from Chang's Market. Travis B. Welker mentions that Jodi now works at a law firm and is allowing Burt to squat in the old store though he claims to be managing it for her.
Personality[]
Jodi's reliance on the Harvard Business School case-study approach to any situation contrasts with Tyler's instinctive, gut-level response to things. She's full of good business advice for him and gets jealous when he trumps her with an occasional, casually tossed-off brilliant idea, such as "Burt Gummer's Survival School." And although she'd never admit it, Jodi's also jealous of Rosalita Sanchez, whom Tyler clearly finds pleasantly distracting. Overly organized, Jodi was on the corporate fast-track in San Francisco until she discovered that she couldn't stand to work for anybody else. Facing her life's first big crisis, she bailed out to take over her late, eccentric Uncle Walter's general store. It's her chance to prove herself, and she dedicates her life to "growing the business of this theme-related retail outlet." As soon as she arrived she renovated the store and got rid of abandoned buildings and trailers. She also cleaned up the old junk yard, moving it further away from the town, which provided a great hiding place in the third movie. All of this was in the name of attracting tourists.
Appearances[]
Trivia[]
- She is the as of known, third person to own the Chang Market.