Wait through the first two acts of Chuck. It may seem sketchy at first but by the end of the first hour, it proves it could be the next great action show.
The pilot demonstrates the many different styles the series can employ. There is graceful Parkour style martial arts. There are car crashing stunts. There are slapstick comedy fights and efficient superspy fights. I've seen a lot of action, and I can honestly say there were some things in Chuck that I'd never seen before. The car sequence compares to the tunnel sequence in Live Free or Die Hard.
Now, there is a whole lot to set up, and the pilot doesn't quite lead with the best. First, they need to establish that Chuck (Zachary Levi) is bad with ladies because he's hung up on his college girlfriend. So the kick ass action show begins with very standard dating nonsense. They have to establish that he's a computer nerd so they introduce him at work in Buy More (i.e. Best Buy) at the Nerd Herd (i.e. Geek Squad) desk. Those fake names are cute, but not the most insightful humor.
There is a nice moment where Chuck shows that he's good with kids, so he's not a total loser. His sister (Sarah Lancaster) and best friend (Joshua Gomez) fill in one dimensional stereotypes, the doting mother figure and the loser hanger onner.
Somewhere in that first section, we get the first action scene with Bryce, the real spy, obtaining secret files that he e-mails to Chuck. The file is a Clockwork Orange style montage of images that keep Chuck mesmerized until seven in the morning. Throughout the next day, he starts to flash back to them, knowing things he shouldn't about visiting war heroes and terrorist operatives.
Soon enough the hot CIA agent Sarah (Yvonne Strzechowski) and the bitter NSA agent Casey (Adam Baldwin) come looking for Chuck. Throughout the action scenes it is explained that after 9/11, all the inter-agency information was encoded in pictures. Chuck saw all the pictures so has all the secrets, and the files were destroyed so he's the only one with all the intel. This will provide many opportunities for more adventures.
It also establishes that Chuck will have to keep his action-packed life a secret to protect his family. The agents must stay to keep their eye on Chuck, with Casey taking a job at Buy More. By the end, you do feel enough for the sister and friend that you don't want them killed in the crossfire, and you see the weight that Chuck will bear throughout the series. It's just enough gravitas like Heroes or Buffy to make the silly stuff matter.
There is plenty of female eye candy with Sarah in her undies twice in a single episode. Gamers will have to vouch for the accuracy of all the video game banter, but I dug the old Zork references. Some of the lamer elements, like a porn star themed virus, ultimately pay off in the episode. The woman trouble thing will remain to be dealt with.
Chuck is scheduled to premiere on September 24, 2007 on NBC.
