Pilot Review: Chuck

Chuck
NBC. Mondays at 8
Cast: Zachary Levi, Yvonne Strahovski, Adam Baldwin, Joshua Gomez, and Sarah Lancaster

To be fair, watching Chuck after recently watching the Pushing Daisies pilot (again) is going to put Chuck at a disadvantage. But really, the same can be said for any show. Chuck, which is about professional nerd Chuck (Levi) and the two federal agents (Strahovski and Baldwin) sent to protect and watch over him after he downloads the joint NSA/CIA database into his head accidentally. Throw in an aggravating sidekick/best friend and a seemingly useless sister character and you’ve got the basic premise and characters of the show.

That’s not to say that Chuck is bad. In fact, there’s quite a bit to like about the show. First, the premise itself is kind of funny and could lend itself to some good television. Secondly, Zachary Levi definitely has enough charisma and charm to maintain his own series. He and Strahovski are the two compelling members of the cast, which saddens me because I’m a big Adam Baldwin fan. Alas, he seems to have nothing much to do here but grimace and try to act gruff, something he normally does well. Lancaster is given pretty much nothing to do besides acting sisterly and looking nice. And Gomez, as aggravating best friend Morgan is, well, aggravating. Who decided that the new hip trend on TV would be to have a really aggravating sidekick who’s supposed to be funny but isn’t? Because I’d really like to find that person and smack them.

Also, at least in the pilot, the action is there in just the right places and is well shot and fun to watch, particularly in the club scene between Chuck and Sarah (Strahovski’s character) where the, while dancing very sexily, takes out four NSA agents. What’s also really good about the series is that they’ve managed to keep the tone at just the right level, light but not blatantly comedic or overly dramatic. What remains to be seen is if they can continue this balance after the pilot.

Chuck, however, certainly has its weaker moments. As previously stated, Lancaster and Baldwin seem to be almost sleepwalking through their roles, and Gomez is so annoying at times that you wonder why Chuck, who is nice and relatively charismatic and attractive, is even friends with him. The character of Ellie (Lancaster)’s boyfriend ”Captain Awesome” is entirely too reminiscent of Keith Dudemeister on Scrub. Also, the hint of romantic tension at the end of the episode between Chuck and Sarah is definitely something I can do without. Can there please be two leading male and female protagonists who don’t have a romantic connection? Is that so much to ask TV? All together, though, Chuck is a fun show, with a charismatic lead, well timed action, and a well-balanced tone, which is why it garners the rating

Rating: Definitely Worth Another Viewing