Many television shows attempt to stitch more than one genre into their patchwork quilt, but few manage to do so as seamlessly as 'Chuck.' The spy'minus;action'minus;comedy'minus;drama just began its unlikely third season on NBC.
Chuck Bartowski (Zachary Levi) is a part'minus;time IT guy and full'minus;time nerd who accidentally opened an e'minus;mail, downloaded governmental secrets into his brain and became the CIA's most valuable possession. His handlers are CIA agent Sarah Walker (the stunning and athletic Yvonne Strahovski) and the NSA's Colonel John Casey (nerd favorite Adam Baldwin), who spend the show using their spy expertise to keep the bumbling Chuck safe.
Chuck maintains his cover life and day job on the Nerd Herd at the Buy More, alongside his even'minus;nerdier best friend Morgan (Joshua Gomez) and oddballs Jeff (Scott Krinsky) and Lester (Vik Sahay).
Like most shows that are difficult to define early on, 'Chuck' spent its first two years with a small but dedicated audience. When renewal for a third season looked unlikely, an Internet fan campaign arose that went straight to the people who could make a difference. On April 27, 2009, the airdate of the second season finale, 'Chuck' fans went to their local Subway restaurant to purchase a 'five dollar foot'minus;long' sandwich. The scheme worked perfectly; Subway, a major sponsor of 'Chuck,' subsidized much of the current season's budget for the struggling NBC and negotiated a deal for continued product placement in the show.
It's easy to paint Chuck, with his lack of coordination, nerdy good looks and quick pop culture one'minus;liners, as the Seth Cohen of espionage; the show is executive produced by 'The O.C.' (2003'minus;2007) creator Josh Schwartz, who brought his eye for quirky romance and ear for indie pop with him. Schwartz's instincts are balanced by those of executive producer Chris Fedak, who handles the show's surprisingly deft spy elements and action set pieces.
Though there's rarely a dull moment in Chuck's seemingly opposite worlds, the stakes for Chuck and his team have changed this season. Chuck unwittingly downloaded a new version of the government's intelligence computer, Intersect 2.0, which features a new physical component. Now Chuck occasionally 'knows kung fu,' along with a myriad of other random skills such as the ability to speak foreign languages fluently.
This change gave the show a well'minus;deserved reboot after a thoroughly entertaining second season. 'Chuck' newcomers shouldn't fear jumping right in with these new episodes, since the Intersect 2.0 offers a whole new set of problems for the team. If Chuck is flustered or emotional - a near'minus;constant state for him - his new powers glitch, leaving him defenseless.
Chuck, in fact, has many reasons to be emotional. His will'minus;they'minus;or'minus;won't'minus;they romantic tension with Sarah, which began in season one, intensified in the season premiere when Chuck was forced to decide between a life with Sarah and a life as a real spy. Quiet, 'we can't be together' conversations, scored by Schwartz's favorite soft rock, can grate against and distract from the deft spy sequences. And Levi, always a little too good'minus;looking to be playing a hopeless geek, makes a surprisingly convincing super'minus;spy when his powers work correctly, a new development that makes him stand out even more at the Buy More.
The show spends some of the first few episodes exploring new ways to wedge Chuck back into the civilian world. One of the more successful experiments is the new integration of Chuck's affable and jockish brother'minus;in'minus;law Captain Awesome (Ryan McPartlin), who learned about Chuck's double life near the end of last season. The newest episodes see Captain Awesome inadvertently dragged into the spy world, where McPartlin's notable charm and comedic zeal help meld Chuck's two worlds.
Joining McPartlin in the cast's square'minus;jawed ranks is Brandon Routh ('Superman Returns,' 2006), who was introduced in last week's episode as Agent Shaw, the morally dubious new leader of Operation Bartowski. Routh's inevitable function as the third prong of the constant Chuck'minus;Sarah love triangle is tiresome. Thankfully, 'Chuck' always treats its spy characters with tongue'minus;in'minus;cheek aplomb, presenting the espionage business as a revolving door of excessively attractive and incredibly skilled agents. There's no reason to think that Routh's Clark Kent wholesomeness will be misused.
So far the fun and thrills of the spy world in season three have overshadowed the other dimensions of the show that made 'Chuck' so appealing in the first place. The fourth episode, 'Chuck vs. Operation Awesome,' integrated Morgan, Lester and Jeff with a long'minus;form parody of 'Fight Club' (1999), but there weren't enough laughs to stand up against scenes of Chuck and a bumbling Awesome infiltrating a CIA office.
Once the show establishes exactly what Chuck can and can't do with the new Intersect 2.0, he'll hopefully start to seem like a nerd again. 'Chuck' needs its Everyman back so that the audience isn't alone in watching all the cool spy stuff with starry eyes.
