Sometimes television shows just have the worst kind of luck, and they end up with a small viewer base because of things outside of their control. Maybe they have an awful time slot, or they are up against an incredibly popular show, or like NBC's adorable show Chuck, their first season started the same year as the WGA strike in 2007-2008. The show was a darling of sorts, embraced by critics and fans alike, but it didn't get a full-length first season because of the strike and by the time the second season came around, Chuck had fallen through the cracks a little. An excellent partnership with Subway, plus the belief and support of NBC and fans, have gotten it on the air for a third season which just started this past weekend. The release of the second season DVD was perfectly time with the third, providing fans and newcomers alike the opportunity get caught up with the series. But, who is Chuck anyway and why does he even matter?
Chuck Bartowski (Zachary Levi) is an everyday genius slacker who works in the Nerd Herd at Buy More (a play on Best Buy). He went to Stanford and once had a great deal of ambition, but his best friend Bryce Larkin (Matthew Bomer) betrayed him by claiming Chuck cheated on exams. He was thrown out of Stanford and then found out his girlfriend left him for Bryce as well. Lost and broken, Chuck started working at the Buy More and living with his sweet older sister, Ellie (Sarah Lancaster), and her fellow doctor boyfriend, Devon, aka Captain Awesome (Ryan McPartlin). Everything changes for Chuck when Bryce reappears; it turns out Bryce was brought into the CIA and then went rogue. He sends Chuck something called the Intersect, an information computer that has all the secret knowledge of the American government. When Chuck opens an e-mail, the entire Intersect downloads into his brain, and Chuck becomes the most dangerous and important piece of American intelligence in the world.
Chuck is allowed to keep his life in order to provide a safe cover as the CIA builds a new Intersect. He is assigned two agents to protect him: John Casey (Adam Baldwin) from the NSA, and Sarah Walker (Yvonne Strahovski) from the CIA. In the first season, Chuck deals with being a spy and going on missions with his protectors. He also deals with his developing feelings for Sarah, and tries to grapple with what he wants for the future. The second season continues that story, both broadening and deepening plot lines. Chuck stops being impressed by the glamour and excitement of the spy life and becomes more interested in getting the Intersect out of his head. He wants a normal life.
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