Fall TV: What's Up "Chuck"?

As is true every year, the networks have a slew of new shows to showcase this fall and lots of ways of trying to get us to watch them. Amongst this barrage of contenders, some will survive, many will fall, and a select few will become THE shows we love to watch. The critics love to try and influence this elite list by touting the shows that have the talent and the writing that we as a society SHOULD appreciate (or that the networks tell them they want us to appreciate - I haven't decided which). But we are America! WE decide what we like to watch! That in mind, I am not here to tell you what to watch, just what I will be watching and why I like it. And one of the new shows that I will definitely be tuning into is NBC's "Chuck."

By way of Blockbuster Total Access, I managed to get my hands on an NBC Fall Preview DVD that includes full premiere episodes of "Chuck", "Journeyman", "Life" and a 2-minute look at "Bionic Woman" (stay tuned for articles on these other shows as well). After watching "Chuck", I am definitely a fan of this nerd herd anti-hero. The nutshell of this show is as follows: Chuck is your average, everyday lanky geek (sorry, 'nerd') who has stumbled through life to end up approaching 30 living with his sister and her boyfriend and working as a tech expert at the local Buy More store (obviously an interpretation of Best Buy replacing their 'Geek Squad' with the 'Nerd Herd' - complete with custom painted compact cars). Then one day, his old roommate from college who happens to be a secret spy for the CIA hacks into some super computer containing all of the governments secret data and dumps the contents to Chuck in an email. The aftermath of this is Chuck's brain gets filled with all of this data, the computer system gets blown up and his spy friend killed, but not without fellow spies sniffing out the trail to Chuck's doorstep. Without giving away all the secrets, action and comedy ensue and are very well balanced.

To sum up, the episode left me ready to watch more - in a good way. I will definitely be a regular fan of "Chuck" and I hope enough others will to keep this show on the air. The Chuck character has incredible potential and Zachary Levi plays the part splendidly. Yvonne Strzechowski plays the disarmingly hot CIA agent that gets Chuck befuddled on a regular basis and Adam Baldwin is awesome as the trigger-happy NSA agent ready to take Chuck out as soon as he steps out of line. Plus Chuck's entourage is rounded out by a comedic geek best bud, a sister bent on getting him a date, and his sister's boyfriend who is referred to as Captain Awesome due to his overuse of the adjective. Combine all of these with a hearty helping of clever dialog and a dash of unpredictable action and the result is a trifecta of beauty, brains and funny.