When NBC released the trailer for their new comedy TV show Chuck, I did not know if I should be offended, accept the show for what it is, or just ignore it. Why did I feel that way? Well, it is very clear that the show is poking fun at geeks/nerds, something that could offend me, because I am a geek.

The premiere episode air date came and I forgot to watch, I was prepared to just let it go and forget about the show. However, NBC had a sinister plot to gain as many viewers as possible…

The following weekend, NBC flooded their Saturday night time slot and two cable channels during the afternoons with re-airings of their newest Fall shows, Bionic Woman, Journeyman and Chuck. So, I got my second chance at seeing what this TV show is all about.

above: Morgan and Chuck at work.

What is the TV show Chuck about? The show is about a computer wiz who works for the Nerd Herd, which is part of a large retail store called Buy More. Clearly, the naming is poking fun at Geek Squad and Best Buy. One day, Chuck’s world gets turned upside down when he gets an email from an old friend from college (that friend went on to become a spy for the CIA), the email contained thousands of stolen subliminally encoded government secrets. The encoded secrets end up in Chucks brain, downloaded upon him opening the email. Supposedly, the CIA only had these secrets on one computer, which was destroyed, and there were no backup copies anywhere. Chuck automatically becomes the most valuable national asset. A CIA and NSA agent are assigned to protect and work with Chuck when the spy secrets are recalled. All while, Chuck is to resume his normal social life and working at the Buy More.

above: Sarah, Chuck, and Casey defuse the bomb in the pilot episode.

To my surprise, I liked Chuck after watching the first episode. To me there are elements from spy shows that I have enjoyed watching in the past. There is action, hilarious comedy, hip pop culture references, and cameo appearances of tech gadgets (Chuck’s cellphone is a Nokia N80 and gotta love it that OQO computers are the top choice of CIA and NSA agents). There are also moments that are so far fetched and ridiculous that it adds a large amount of campiness to the show. I love campy entertainment, but for me it goes way beyond all that. Over the six episodes that have aired there was a weird nagging feeling since I started watching and it didn’t occur to me until a few days ago. The TV show is almost like what has happened in my own life! I am not kidding! Well, excluding the spy stuff, Chuck’s life events are almost like mine. Let us compare:

Chuck:

• underachiever
• was expelled from Stanford
• had his heart broken by the first love of his life when he was at Stanford
• works in a big retail store
• fixes computers for a living
• has an immature friend who tags along and at times causes trouble
• has a nemesis at work
• pressured into applying for the assistant store manager position
• loves video games

Me:

• underachiever
• dropped out of college
• had my heart broken by the first love of my life when I was at college
• has worked in big and small retail stores
• fixes computers for a living
• has an immature and sometimes annoying friend who would pop up when not wanted and at times causes trouble
• had a few nemeses when I worked in retail
• got stuck with getting the assistant store manager position when I worked in retail
• loves video games

So many points in common, this is such a weird and freaky coincidence!!!

Who would have guessed that the life of a geek/nerd would make for entertaining TV if you throw in spy action stuff?

above: Chuck, Lester and Jeff at the Nerd Herd desk of the Buy More.

NBC and Chuck’s creators have a golden TV show on their hands to target the geek/nerd in the viewing audience. I can only imagine how long they can keep the show going with stories revolving around Chuck, his friends and family, the Buy More, the Nerd Herd, and spy stuff. I am hoping that NBC keeps Chuck around for at least a few seasons. This is one new TV show I will keep watching.

And now for some video goodness, here is a funny promo video:

And this is the trailer that let the world know that Chuck was coming to NBC:

The following funny video clip is from the pilot episode, a ninja tries to steal Chuck’s computer:

You can also watch full episodes on the NBC.com website to catch up if you’ve missed any so far.

11 Responses to “Chuck, the reluctant hero?”

1. 1 jaxim Nov 2nd, 2007 at 1:50 pmI think they could make a slight tweek to the show and really improve the show.The show has an air of being like the movie “40 Year Old Virgin” or “Knocked Up”. In those movies, they also had geeks/nerds, but they didn’t look down at the characters. I’d like to see a Morgan character that was proud that he’s a nerd. I’d like to see the Buy More cast interact more. Right now the Buy More cast is Chuck, his friend Morgan and his other colleagues. I’d like to see that his other colleagues were also his very good firends too, not just Morgan. This way the gaggle of nerd friends could hang out (outside of work) and talk about Nerd stuff.Eventually they could probably do away with the Spy stuff and it would probably still be a good show if it was a bunch of geeky friends interacting and getting into normal day situations. Like Seinfeld, but nerdier.
2. 2 sixftunda Nov 2nd, 2007 at 9:00 pmMy favorite line from Chuck is when Chuck says “Why do I have to go out on all the Linux service calls?” The reply is “I am a Mac guy, Chuck, I’m an IT artist”
3. 3 aggie75 Nov 3rd, 2007 at 11:15 amI had a feeling I would like “Chuck” when the first trailers were subliminal. I had to use my TiVo to re-run in slow motion to see the trailer. It was not really clear what “Chuck” was about from those first trailers but I’m sure only the Nerd/ Geek types even knew about “Chuck” based on those subliminal ads. I’m now a loyal “Chuck” fan - hoping there will be a big audience to keep the episodes coming.
4. 4 aggie75 Nov 3rd, 2007 at 11:22 amBTW, one of my favorite lines is the skater dude watching the Nerd Herd VW running down the steps - “Ohhh,Computer Emergency.”Also, how can a geek have such a hot sister?
5. 5 bryus Nov 5th, 2007 at 12:00 pmI didn’t get the subliminal ads, I had trouble watching them, even on my TiVo. But, the regular ads got me right away. I was interested in the show and watched the free iTunes download.I love that it’s a show that is light, fun, and doesn’t take itself too seriously. The writers have given themselves permission to be goofy and not get bogged down in serious spy plots.My son loves the “computer emergency” line and recites it whenever he sees a commercial for the show. My wife has been reluctant to get into the show but I think she seems to like it when she does watch with me.
6. 6 Judie Lipsett Nov 5th, 2007 at 10:42 pm
   

   I’d like to see the Buy More cast interact more. Right now the Buy More cast is Chuck, his friend Morgan and his other colleagues. I’d like to see that his other colleagues were also his very good friends too, not just Morgan. This way the gaggle of nerd friends could hang out (outside of work) and talk about Nerd stuff.

   Eventually they could probably do away with the Spy stuff and it would probably still be a good show if it was a bunch of geeky friends interacting and getting into normal day situations. Like Seinfeld, but nerdier.

   Jaxim, are you watching the Big Bang Theory on ?

   I’ve watched all the episodes of Chuck. At first I wasn’t sure how they would keep it going, but they have managed to surprise me and keep it fun. I agree that more Nerd Herd interaction would be entertaining. And you’ve got to love C.S. Lee’s obnoxious Buy More character; I like watching him on Dexter, too.

7. 7 jaxim Nov 6th, 2007 at 7:53 amWhich one is C.S.?Last night’s episode of Chuck, had more Buy More employee interaction, but there’s still something missing. I’m not sure what. Maybe it’s because Chuck seems to be just a colleague to the other employees and not a friend. In any case, I still like the show even though I may not be loving it.I’ll check out “Big Bang Theory”. I just check and it’s on CBS.
8. 8 Judie Lipsett Nov 6th, 2007 at 8:42 amSorry! C.S. is the fabulously power-hungry TANG!
   And he was in rare form last night, wouldn’t you say?
9. 9 Allen Hong Nov 6th, 2007 at 9:19 amI think the creators of Chuck, rolled many things into the show to capture as wide a range of audience as possible. This may cause some dislike to some, and others will find things to like.Got to have and keep the spy stuff, that is what the show is all about and last nights episode “Chuck vs. the Alma Mater”, explains why the spy stuff is the focus of the show.I do not know about having the Nerd Herd or other Buy More employees all being a large group of friends instead of colleagues. That just does not seem realistic. Retail employees are not hired based on how well they will be friends with each other, hence the range of colleague-ness depicted.

   Chuck and Morgan were friends long before working at the Buy More. The other Nerd Herd members, Anna, Lester, and Jeff (scary that I know all the names of the characters, huh?) expressed how they had personal life things when they were asked to help Chuck fix all those computers in the pilot. From my point of view, the interaction of the Buy More employees is very much like that of retail jobs that have I worked. There would be maybe a few who are friends (ranging between 1-4 persons) and would spend time outside of work, there would be most who only want to come to work and do the work and only see others as their colleagues. There are even some who do not even want the colleague part, they just do their jobs alone. And yes, there always is the power-hungry employee who is willing to back stab and step over everyone else.

10. 10 Allen Hong Nov 7th, 2007 at 12:48 pmOne of the tag-lines for the show is “Saving the world…at $11 an hour.” I sure hope that our favorite character Chuck is getting paid extra for moonlighting as a spy and valuable government asset. I wonder how they would get the money to him? He does not have a made up government cover job to explain the extra pay if does get any. Maybe they are sneaking the extra pay into Chuck’s Buy More paycheck? That would mean that tag-line is wrong.
11. 11 jaxim Nov 7th, 2007 at 2:08 pm>sure hope that our favorite character Chuck is getting paid extra for moonlighting as a spyI was thinking the same thing.