For those of you that have enjoyed the whimsy of Chuck for four seasons, you'll hopefully provide an "Amen" to the following post. But for the masses that have yet to latch on to this treasure, get with the program. It's currently the only thing I watch on Mondays. What is your Monday schedule like that you can't squeeze in some spy time? Yes, I'm aware that How I Met Your Mother, Dancing With The Stars and House are on at the same time. Check out my Parenthood post if you want to know how I feel about CBS comedies. How many times do you need to see D list celebrities Waltz? Oh, and if you've seen one House, you've seen them all. I'll fill you in on next week's House using my psychic powers. A patient comes in with an odd ailment, Dr. House makes a snide remark, the doctoral team feels they found a cure, but it only worsens said patient's condition, the surly limping genius has another humorous quip, they find the real cure, patient is better. Well, unless you happen to catch an episode with the infrequent occurrence of the patient dying. Roll credits, see ya next week. Second verse, same as the first. Now back to Chuck.
I'm reciting most of this from memory, so Chuck Loyalists please don't crucify me if I mess up or miss a minor detail. The series starts out with Chuck Bartowski, a nerdy, easy going guy who works at Buy More, an electronics store, where he is part of an IT team known as The Nerd Herd (yes, tongue firmly planted in cheek from the start with this show). He's a bit lost at the beginning of the show, having dropped out of college and taken the job at the Buy More where Morgan Grimes, his best friend since childhood works. Chuck lives with his sister Ellie and her boyfriend Devin, who Chuck and Morgan affectionately refer to as Captain Awesome.
In the pilot episode we see Chuck's college roommate, Bryce Larkin, running from a man we will later come to know as General John Casey, an NSA agent. Casey shoots Bryce and apparently kills him, but not before Bryce was able to email a Top Secret file to Chuck, specifically encrypted with a puzzle he knows Chuck can figure out. After receiving this email and solving the puzzle, a secret government code known as The Intersect is downloaded into Chuck's brain and the email self destructs Mission Impossible style. Chuck's brain, now full of the most sensitive secrets of the U.S. government, is now a hot commodity. Sarah Walker, a CIA operative, is sent to retrieve Chuck. Unfortunately for Chuck, so is John Casey. Unsure who should have jurisdiction over handling Chuck, the U.S. Military' decides to have Sarah and Casey come together in a joint effort between the CIA and NSA to protect Chuck and the valuable information his mind possesses.
Having read all of that, you're probably thinking that this sounds like a high speed, action thriller of a show. In some ways it is, but in most ways not. This is why I think Chuck is one of the most well rounded, widely appealing shows on television. There is action there for the blue collar Jack Bauer fan to enjoy mixed in with the eye candy Yvonne Strahovski as Sarah for, well, anyone to enjoy. However, due to the writing style of the show being as light-hearted as it is, the show never takes itself too seriously. Whenever there's an intense action sequence that may start to wear thin on the viewer who isn't interested in that type of thing, the show shifts gears to Chuck's job (which he maintains throughout the show) at the Buy More.
The Buy More brings with it another set of characters. Jeff and Lester, who make up the epic rock band Jeffster, also work at the Buy More. These are two characters so absurd they would force you to change the channel if they had a half hour sitcom, but in small doses they're wildly entertaining. The brain trust behind Chuck is wise enough to know this and adds just the right pinch of Jeffster to the Chuck stew. Chuck's friend Morgan is also quite the charming dork, and almost any scene he's in lightens the mood. More than anything though, as the show was designed, Chuck is the center upon which everything rotates. He's so quirky and awkward that adding him to the action scenes automatically makes them less dark.
One of the trademarks of the show has been its unique guest stars. The producers have done a phenomenal job of getting unexpected familiar faces on the show. Scott Bakula, Linda Hamilton, Robert Englund (yes, he was Freddy Krueger), John Larroquette, Lou Diamond Phillips, Summer Glau, Steve Austin,Timothy Dalton, Brandon Routh and many others have graced the Chuck screen.
As is the case with most shows, things change and evolve on Chuck. Chuck naturally begins to have feelings for Sarah and the cliched on again off again/will they won't they game is played, but in such a way that doesn't annoy and alienate the viewer (and I promise it gets resolved a lot sooner than most onscreen romances). Mostly Chuck is a show with a lot of heart, and has wavered very little in quality throughout its duration. Most shows can't say that.
Unfortunately, Chuck is probably more known by the non-viewer for its ratings struggles as much as anything else. It baffles me that this show has not reached more of an audience. Some of its struggles can be tied to the downtrodden times that plagued NBC's prime time line up the last few years, another part of the blame can be attributed the writer's strike in 2008 that doomed many new shows that came out around that time. Mostly though, some shows just don't find their niche (see Pushing Daisies). The viewers Chuck does have, however, are extremely loyal. You might recall a famous Save Chuck campaign that viewers got behind a couple of years ago that involved a certain sandwich franchise that sells 12 inch sandwiches for 500 pennies.
Personally, I feel that Chuck is one of the best shows on network television right now, and definitely the best program NBC has to offer (sorry The Office, your last few seasons have fallen off). It is currently in its fourth season and as of now it is still unknown whether or not it will receive a fifth. This state of limbo has been the case for the show's entire existence. If you haven't experienced the whimsical joyride that is Chuck, I strongly recommend it. Chuck airs Mondays at 8 P.M. Eastern on NBC.
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