CHUCK Premiere

In the spring of 2005, I knew The Office was gonna be hot. In the Fall of 2005, I knew Prison Break was gonna be hot. In 2006, I was looking forward to Friday Night Lights and Heroes (both of which I haven't watched beyond the pilot, but they got buzz from critics and fans for being high quality shows). I watched most everything new in each of those seasons, but I targeted those shows as the ones I knew I'd like.

This fall, I'm looking forward to two shows: CW's Reaper and NBC's Chuck.

My cable company's On Demand feature has some of NBC's pilot episodes, and I was able to check out Chuck tonight.

I think I got it "right" again-- this is a show I'll be watching all season.

Zachary Levi (formerly the great "Kipp Steadman" in the not-so-great Less Than Perfect) plays Chuck. He's a nerd; in fact, he's a member of the Best Buy-esque's "Nerd Herd" tech department. Chuck's old college roommate, who went on to be a CIA agent, sent Chuck an e-mail that contained all of the CIA and NSA's secrets. Chuck opened the e-mail and was flooded with the information that worked its way into his brain. Now the CIA and NSA both want him for what is contained in his mind.

The pilot had a great mix of humor, drama, and action. My only quibble is that the camerawork was sometimes disorienting (which didn't seem to have a purpose). But all in all, this pilot was a great start to the show.

I'm a bit tired of how being a tech/comic/scifi/fantasy "geek" is played for laughs the last few years, but Levi plays Chuck a little more "normal" than Hollywood usually lets its "geeks" get. That is a welcome change. And while I loved his Kipp Steadman, I can see myself growing to like his Chuck just as much.

And I can't go without mentioning Yvonne Strzechowski as the CIA agent who saves Chuck's life. She has the incredibly rare traits of both (extreme) beauty and talent. I checked her out on imdb.com. and she didn't have many entries at all, which made her all the more impressive to me. The chemistry she has with Levi is great. She's definitely got "it", and I'll be looking forward to watching her career.

Rounding out the main players are Joshua Gomez as Chuck's geekier friend Morgan (who had some good parts and some bad parts), Sarah Lancaster (playing another doctor) as Chuck's sister Ellie, and Adam Baldwin as NSA agent John Casey (who seems to be playing ally and antagonist to Chuck).

And I do have to mention one of the funnier parts of the pilot: Ellie's boyfriend, who Chuck has dubbed with an appropriate nickname. One that I'm not going to spoil here.

If you want to know the joke, you've gotta watch the pilot.

Chuck premieres on my birthday, Sept 24, on NBC at 7 pm CST. Nice present for me.

If you didn't get the hint, this show is highly recommended.

Premieres and Notables Pt 2-- Sept 13-16, 2007

And here's the rest of the week...

Thursday, 9/13

It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia; FX. 9 & 9:30 CST. 3rd Season Premiere.
It's mean-spirited-- and funny. If you gave up during Season One, check it out because Season Two was much improved. Recommended.


Friday 9/14

Out of Jimmy's Head; Cartoon. 6 pm. Series Premiere.
Cartoon Network has been hyping this like crazy as "the network's first live-action show". Why? Your network is called the freakin' CARTOON Network. [adult swim] went live action for a couple horseshit shows, so let's learn from that, and keep live action off this network.

Nashville; FOX. 8 pm. Series Premiere.
And the fall season has begun (I'm not counting gameshows that premiered earlier-- why should I?). Laguna Beach producers follow singers trying to catch a break in Nashville. Snore...


Saturday, 9/15

Mad TV; FOX. 10 pm. 13th Season premiere.
The new season begins with a clip show spotlighting the most memorable skits. I so hope the Jessica Alba/Ike Berinholtz as Brit & K-Fed skit is included. I still use the phrase "dumber than a box of hammers" in casual conversation. Anyway, check it out. Like SNL, it kinda has boring moments, but I think the cast is stellar.

Talkshow With Spike Feresten; FOX. 11 pm. 2nd season premiere.
This show got renewed?


Sunday, 9/16

The 59th Annual Emmy Awards; FOX. 7 pm. Special.
I'll DVR it, and then FF through most of it. Meh...

Finales:
Design Star, The 4400, The Dead Zone.

And don't forget, Curb Your Enthusiasm is back. Last night's premiere was awesome. Check it out. Buy/rent the DVDs.

And I can't go without mentioning Frisky Dingo. Last night's ep had me roaring, especially when Xander humiliates his girlfriend during a press conference: "That's how she sounds when I'm bangin' her."

It's much funnier than it looks on paper...

Premieres and Notables, September 10-16, 2007

Sorry for the late post. I'll try to get as far as I can.

Monday 9/10

Sin City Law; Sundance. 8 & 9:00 pm CST. Series Premiere.
An eight-part doc about the Las Vegas justice system.

Fat March, History Detectives, Greek, The Closer, and one of my favorites: My Boys, close out their seasons today.


Tuesday, 9/11

Lots of 9/11, 2001 specials-- many on The History Channel.

The Biggest Loser; NBC. 7 pm. Fourth Season Premiere.


Wednesday, 9/12

Decision House; MNT. 7 pm. Series Premiere.
This show locks troubled couples in a house for observation and intervention.

Inside the NFL; HBO. 9 pm. 31st Season Premiere.
The granddaddy of football shows begins a third decade.

Rescue Me and America's Next Top Producer wrap their seasons up.

Well, that's it for now. I'll finish the week a little later.