CHUCK

Co-created by Josh Schwartz (The OC and Gossip Girl), CHUCK is one of the few brighter spots of NBC. A mix of action and comedy, CHUCK has an offbeat spy humor reminiscent of Burn Notice, except that the main character doesn't wear tan Armani suits, have a preference for blueberry yogurt, and isn't a spy. Chuck Bartowski is a civilian working at the Buy More for $11/hour (Best Buy without even squinting) as part of the Nerd Herd, a select group of techies who have enough eccentricities and tics to fill a medium sized city. An affable guy with a big heart (my friend wants to date him), Chuck leads a monotonous life until his once best friend turned nemesis sends him all of the spy secrets in the US in the form of a program, the Intersect, which installs itself into Chuck's brain. The clueless nerd is suddenly shoved into the complicated (and dangerous!) dance of espionage, complete with two handlers, NSA Casey of the Neanderthal variety, and CIA Sarah of the totally hot knock your pants off variety (shown above).

Chuck bumbles through every episode without mad karate skills or even the ability to shoot anything properly (except for tranquilizer darts), but he always saves the day with his huge noggin, or just plain hard work combined with oodles and oodles of luck. CHUCK is not for those who prefer their TV shows to be realistic, but it's fun to watch. The supporting cast is mostly bearable with Chuck's overprotective sister Ellie and her boyfriend, Captain Awesome. The Buy More employees are slightly less bearable just because everyone is beyond weird. I suppose it is personal preference, but I can get weird anywhere in Philly, not just on TV. I love Chuck's handlers, Casey and Sarah. Sarah is sweet and vulnerable despite her bad ass spy skills, and Casey is an emotionally stunted bear who chooses guttural grunts over words.

The show is fairly bright with a warm orange tone, although nothing as extreme as CSI: Miami. My only worry is that CHUCK will go downhill in its third season when all good ideas are exhausted. Chuck has a computer in his head. Chuck wants to get rid of said computer. Chuck can't get rid of computer. Rewind and repeat. How many times can we rehash the same theme? And what happens to the show once Chuck does get rid of the Intersect? The nerd needs to get rid of that computer or else...he might explode or something.

CHUCK is not the best show on TV by far, but the execution is very good and the main characters are appealing. The storyline is predictable at times, and sometimes annoying when the producers think that the audience is stupid and rehash content over and over again, like Casey's kill order on Chuck once a new Intersect comes online and the fact that Chuck's family will find out at some point that he is a walking piece of prime government property. Nonetheless, CHUCK's a fun romp, although I predict stagnation on the near horizon.