new show review: Chuck
September 26th, 2007 by screenwriterguy
Start with a Stanford grad who majored in engineering yet doesn’t make a lot of money. So far, I can identify. Very, very well, in fact. Then make him romantically reclusive because he’s hung up on a girl named Jill, and give him finger injuries from excessive video gaming. Hey… This is getting creepy… Next, infuse him with ungodly intelligence, providing him insight that helps him navigate any situation. Ahh. The similarities are over.
Chuck is about a nerd whose old roommate–secretly a super spy–sends him an e-mail attachment that secretly contains information from various government agencies. From viewing it once, Chuck’s brain now contains the sum total of U.S. intelligence. Images begin to burst information at him whenever he needs it.
That’s a lot to swallow. Still, if it were executed well perhaps a viewer could look past the ridiculous concept that Chuck has essentially BECOME the computer, and just enjoy the fun.
Unfortunately, while that viewer can tell that it’s SUPPOSED to be fun, there isn’t much enjoyment to be had in Chuck. I had heard good things, so it was disappointing that so many moments came across as so contrived. The worst is an unfortunately long sequence in which Chuck goes waaaay out of his way to save the evening of a ballerina girl whose father didn’t manage to tape a recital for his mother. Well, they manage to hammer home that Chuck sure is a swell guy, and his potential love interest sure did notice how swell he is. We get it already.
As an action comedy TV show, creators had a big task ahead of them getting the tone right. They don’t, entirely. The potential is there for the show to hit a groove as it becomes comfortable in its own conceit and stretches its comedy wings, but the pilot simply delivers thin characters and a lot of illogicality.
Best aspect: Underwear-clad foxy spy strapping on weapons before a date. Also, Adam Baldwin.
Worst aspect: Obnoxious computer interfaces: Screens that go all melty when computers get viruses. The white room of a thousand monitors from which the initial superspy downloads the super mystery code images thing.
Verdict: Someone will have to tell me it got a lot better before I’d watch again.
Odds of success: Small. That tone issue will be a problem. There’s a reason we’ve only ever had a few shows like Monk or Moonlighting.
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Oct 1st 2007 at 8:32 pm
CHUCK is frustrating me. I gave it two weeks — really, I gave it a good try. And they did, once or twice, manage to actually capture the fun of a regular dude stuck in the middle of a spy movie.
But, why they are being all “mysterious” (read: convoluted and vague) about “the rule” of the series just makes no sense. I ask… what the heck is it about? After two hours, I still don’t know. Granted LOST makes no freakin’ sense, but at least at the outset they told us what they basic journey was.
It’s just frustrating… I wanted to like it. Ah, well.