Full Season Review - Chuck

Plot: An everyday geek has important government secrets accidentally implanted in his head. He now holds down two jobs, his first as a member of the Buymore superstore’s Nerd Herd AND his second job - secret government agent.

Cast: For a full list go here.

Pros:

Jayne from Firefly (Adam Baldwin) is in it. He plays Casey, a semi-psychotic NSA agent who happens to behave a lot like a certain mercenary from a cancelled sci-fi show. He manages to growl his way through each scene and his exchanges with Chuck are often hilarious.

There are pretty girls in this show. And they spend a lot of time wearing various ‘outfits’. And as for the ladies in the audience there’s Captain Awesome. Or Chuck himself if you like the awkward but good looking nerd type.

The principal characters are all likeable. Over the course of the first season you get to know the characters well, this is mainly due to the majority of the scenes in Chuck being social situations rather than action set pieces. The show resembles a sitcom in the way it promotes characterization over action movie humour. This show has a big adorable heart at its centre as Chuck and his friends are all good people.

Masuka from Dexter (CS Lee) is in it as Chuck’s Buymore store nemesis. CS Lee is great in this show and he gives a different version of his obnoxious-guy performance in Dexter.

There are overarching storylines and past histories that actually pay off. The season starts with some mysteries (e.g. Why was Chuck kicked out of Stamford ?) but you’re supplied with answers by the end of it. I like prolonged stories and mysteries but I also want answers within the same season, I don’t think any good can come of holding out on answers for years.

Chuck is an everyman nerd and doesn’t become a kick ass secret agent over the course of a training montage. Seeds are planted so that maybe one day Chuck will be able to participate in a mission but for now he’s the comedy relief who occasionally comes up good against all the odds (usually due to some pop culture knowledge he possesses).

Cons:

The concept is pretty daft. A nerd becomes a human hard drive for government secrets and they don’t lock him up. Okay, this is explained by having two agents guard Chuck at all times but really he should be locked up. It also means that secret agents and terrorists are constantly traveling through Chuck’s store, which is also a bit silly.

The action sequences are a bit tame at times. There are a few car chases and crashes and a bit of TV style gunplay here and there but I don’t think the budget can stretch to Hollywood levels of spectacle. That said, the stunt men earn their pay in this show as people generally fight and throw themselves around a lot.

Tony Todd is in it but he doesn’t do a whole lot. Give him something to do!

Overall:

Chuck is a very pleasant way of wasting 45 minutes. You won’t learn anything from it (apart from the occasional bit of nerd talk) and it won’t challenge you as a viewer. But you will make new friends as you come to know the characters and get cosy with them. This show is an entertaining diversion and you could do a lot worse than spend time at the Buymore with the Nerd Herd.

Arbitrary Score Out of Ten: 7.5/10