Chuck: "Chuck Versus the Helicopter"

Since I first reviewed Chuck a week ago, I've thought about the show and it's premise a little bit more. The plot is pretty thin, really - random geek has government secrets downloaded into his mind. Even if the acting is decent and the writing works out - how far can we really go with this plot?

So this week's episode wasn't revolutionary. Chuck is still working at Buy More. His government handlers are a good cop/bad cop combination: the pilot sets up some assumptions, like Sarah as the hot good cop and John as the bad cop. This episode is really about questioning that premise - but it feels like a really transparent attempt to buy more time in order to figure out the shows real plot.

Near the end of the episode, there's a hint that Chuck may only have 6 months of utility. Will they take Chuck out of the Buy More setting and into the field?

There was a classic moment that made me chuckle (pun intended?) as Chuck was recalling the government secrets and blurted out Oceanic flight 815 was shot down by the US government. Ha! I hope the show can continue to hide little nuggets like this one - and that it finds a real plotline soon!

Chuck: "Pilot"

Every now and then a new show pilots and you think "hey - this might actually be good". Anybody remember Little Mosque on the Prairie? Yea, me neither... (they can't all be winners)

Anyways, tonight I watched Chuck. Fearing the show was going to be as boring as its name, I wasn't really sure what to expect. Ally had it dog-eared as one of the shows to record in the fall lineup - since we didn't have conflicts with the other recordings tonight, Chuck happily made itself some room on my PVR.

I'm not really sure how to describe the pilot - it might be brilliance, but it might be coincidence, too. The show has an Alias meets The Office sort of vibe to it, which is very sexy and geeky at the same time. I actually had to do a double-take - I thought that Chuck himself was being played by John Krasinski for a minute - as Chuck has a very Halpert sort of way/look about him.

Here's a quick plot synopsis that doesn't really give anything away... Chuck works at Best Buy Buy More as the lead geeknerd/supervisor for the Geek Squad Nerd Herd. Parodies aside, Chuck comes across as your average nerd, preferring to spend more time with motherboards than on dates and has his own unique awkward/uncomfortable sense of humor. Unfortunately, Chuck happens to find himself in possession of some pretty secretive information. Information that certain individuals don't want public. Information worth killing for. I'm betting Chuck wishes he marked that email as spam ;)

The pilot was a really well executed and thought out episode - I think NBC might have another winner on their hands, here. Chuck is blessed (or maybe cursed) with having the lead slot to Heroes, too. That's sure to pull in a viewer or two!

According to NBC's website, Chuck is getting a replay on Saturday night at 9pm... I suggest you schedule your PVR, because this one might just work out.

Rating: (7.3512+π)/11.333