NBC's Chuck: A Primetime Anti-Hero
Zachary Levi Plays a Retail Clerk Recruited by the NSA and CIA
Executive Producer McG has created a new NBC series about a electronics store clerk who learns every secret of the CIA and NSA.
Capitalizing on last year’s success with “Heroes,” NBC bolstered its Fall TV lineup with “The Bionic Woman” and other new and reimagined “superhero” shows. The one exception here is “Chuck,” a tongue-in-cheek secret agent spoof that, based on the pilot episode, looks quite promising. Unlike the other new NBC primetime entries, this one deals with an anti-hero.
Instead of Best Buy, Chuck Earns $11/Hour at "Buy More"
Zachary Levi plays Chuck Bartowski, an employee at “Buy More,” a discount electronics shop that looks suspiciously like another popular chain of retail stores. As part of his employer’s official "Nerd Herd," Chuck helps customers who are not technologically savvy, but he still dreams of doing bigger things with his life.
Is That E-Mail Attachment From Someone You Know?
Bryce Larkin (Matthew Bomer), Chuck’s old college roommate, sends him an email message that's locked with a cryptic password that only Chuck could possibly know. He opens an attachment on the email, unleashing a flood of data directly into his brain. After hours of this, Chuck’s mind then contains just about every official and unofficial government secret.
Yvonne Strzechowski is the CIA Angel on Chuck’s Shoulder
Yvonne Strzechowski plays Sarah Kent, an agent for the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) who lets Chuck know exactly what he’s carrying in his head. Strzechowski, an Australian import with a limited amount of television and movie credits, slips into the role of secret agent quite nicely and could become a potential love interest as the series progresses.
Adam Baldwin as the NSA Operative
Adam Baldwin, who isn’t related to all those other Baldwin brothers, takes on the role of NSA Agent John Casey. While Sarah sees the value in training Chuck to work with the government, Agent Casey would rather put a bullet between the store clerk’s eyes and be done with the whole mess. Baldwin, who got his start as the troubled Ricky Linderman in “My Bodyguard,” has been doing guest shots on TV for years but “Chuck” looks like Baldwin’s first real chance of starring in a series with a long shelf life.
While Working for $11/Hour, Chuck Uses His New Abilities
In the title role, Zachary Levi (“Less Than Perfect”) makes Chuck a likeable guy whose life is stuck in neutral; he even has trouble summoning the courage to apply for an assistant manager’s job, preferring instead to sit comfortably as king of the “Nerd Herd.” Levi does show another side of the character, though, when Chuck realizes how valuable he has become to the free world.
A Modern-Day Ralph Kramden and Ed Norton
Executive Producer McG (“We are Marshall”) keeps much of the action in the pilot at Chuck’s workplace, allowing for some real comic interaction with Joshua Gomez, the actor who plays his Buy More co-worker Morgan Pace. At times, Chuck and Morgan act like a modern-day version of Ralph Kramden and Ed Norton from the 1950’s sitcom “The Honeymooners.”
Going forward, if McG can maintain that balance between the dramatic and comic elements, “Chuck” has a good chance of making it through its Freshman season.
"Chuck" debuts on NBC on Monday, September 24 at 8:00 p.m. EST.
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
