NBC Fall TV Preview, Part 2 of 3: Chuck – Season 1, Episode 1 – “Pilot”

Welcome back for part 2 of my NBC fall preview, a look at the pilot episode of Chuck, which premieres tonight at 8 pm. If you missed my whole bit about pilots and their indications for the rest of the series, take a look at Part One of this three-part post. All that stuff taken into consideration, this pilot was…wait for it…great! An excellent start to the series, the pilot pretty much had it all. I’m going to analyze thi uber-pilot in typical Media Maven breakdown fashion:

1. Premise– simple, yet unique.  Nerd by trade Chuck (played by the immediately likable Zachary Levi) unknowingly downloads a supercomputer’s worth of secret information into his brain.  N.S.A. wants him, C.I.A. wants him, and he’s stuck in the middle.  That’s it.  Again, it’s pretty straight-forward, but still totally compelling and original.
Unlike the Bionic Woman pilot, which gives us no indication of the series’s tone, style or direction, Chuck delivers all of these in spades.

2. Tone– brought to you by O.C. creator Josh Schwartz and exec-produced (and directed) by Charlie’s Angels/Fastlane/O.C.‘s McG, Chuck delivers the same bright, fast-paced, action/comedy tone we’ve come to expect from these two.  Plus, if Schwartz’s past work, as well as this pilot itself, tells us anything, this show won’t be without it’s share of genuine dramatic and emotional moments, although luckily, this one is about as far from a teen soap opera as you can get.  There were plenty of serious or scary moments here (usually when my man Chad from Day Break, aka Adam Baldwin, is around).  The show’s tone/style is basically a manifestation of it’s main character, Chuck, who is basically Seth Cohen in 10-15 years.  He is witty and charming, a bit nerdy in a “video games/superhero/spy stuff is nerdy/actually cool” way, an atypical hero relatable, and above all, funny.  My favorite joke of the episode is how Chuck works at a Best Buy-esque store called “Buy More.”  How do you like that for tone?

In my experience, shows without a distinct style/tone, well, suck.  This lack of a style/tone usually means the show is either a) unoriginal and has nothing new to introduce/say, or  b) confused about what it is (high drama? absurdist comedy?) and thus can’t decide on a style/tone.  Style/tone can be difficult to articulate, but like bad porn, you know it when you see it, even if you can’t describe it.  Chuck certainly has both.  Bionic Woman has no distinct style to speak of.  This bodes well for Chuck in the long term.

3. Characters– We immediately get to know Chuck in an intimate way and by the end of the episode, he feels like our best friend.  We know what makes him happy (his sister, his best friend, technology, Converse), we know what makes him sad (thinking about his old girlfriend, Jill), what know what kind of man he is (nerdy, but ready and willing to be the hero and not a push-over), and we know he has room to mature and grow.  All this from one episode.  As Chuck’s sister’s boyfriend would say, “Awesome!”

Also, we a have a bunch of great supporting characters.  Chad (Adam Baldwin) is an awesome bad/good guy (why is he always playing ambiguously moral guys?!), Musaka from Dexter is hilarious as Chuck’s in-store rival, Sarah Lancaster is smokin hot as Chuck’s sister (she’s way hotter than Chuck’s love interest) and Chuck’s best friend Morgan (Joshua Gomez) is pretty funny, though I can see him getting old fast if they don’t save all the best lines for him.  Can you even name a supporting on Bionic Woman?

4. Direction– It’s clear where this show is going, in a good way.  My guess is that we’ve got a classic Veronica Mars episodic/serialized split here, my favorite format for television.  Each week, Chuck will help his new C.I.A./N.S.A. buddies avert some self-contained disaster (episodic), while the overall arc of the show will continue throughout the season, exploring the budding relationship between Chuck and Sarah, the mysterious killing of Bryce, Chuck’s ability to keep his new life a secret from his sister and friends, and most importantly, Chuck’s ability to keep it all together while being an unsung national hero.  Sounds pretty damn interesting to me.

All in all, we’re off to a great start here.  Is it a Lost caliber pilot?  No way, but few shows can attain that level of intrigue and perfection.  And again, this good beginning doesn’t necessarily mean a great series, nor does it guarantee millions of viewers, which is what all new shows require in droves to stay on the air.  McG’s show have never lasted more than 3 years on the air, and never more than 2 years without starting to suck hard.  But, as part of the awesome/geeky new Monday night line-up on NBC (Chuck @ 8, Heroes @ 9, Journeyman @ 10– not to mention Prison Break, Weeds and Californication on Monday’s as well– good God what a night!), it has a good a chance as any of making a real splash this fall.  Definitely worth checking out, for fans of all genres.

Episode: A- (could’ve picked a less bland female lead, Morgan could’ve been less cliche)  Series Outlook: Good.