Help Me Save Chuck! Please!
I know I've written about Chuck before, but I guess I haven't really gone into why I love it so much yet. And considering there are rumors that it's in danger of cancellation, I thought I'd try to do my part to help spread The Word of Chuck - i.e. why it is awesome and you should watch it, love it, and then do something to help make sure we don't lose it.
What is Chuck about?
Chuck is about a loveable guy named Chuck, of course. Who happens to be really smart, but got kicked out of college, and is now stuck working in a Best Buy-type place with his childhood best friend and an assortment of other truly strange nerdy folks. He has a sister named Ellie who's a doctor, and she's dating a guy named Devon who is rarely called by his actual name, and that's that. EXCEPT then his former friend emails him an attachment that contains millions of pictures encoded with secret information belonging to the CIA and the NSA, and Chuck watches the attachment, and suddenly, WHAM, Chuck has all these secrets in his head. By accident. And all other copies of the images are destroyed. And Chuck can actually put the images together in his head, in "flashes" triggered by words or images, and use that info to help the government. And so the NSA and the CIA send their best people after him, and they end up being assigned to protect him while the government tries to build a new computer to hold all their secrets. And things just get wackier from there.
Why I love Chuck
Well, first off, because it runs the gamut of fun, funny, lighthearted, serious, sad, exciting, suspenseful, action-y, nerdy, surprising, and more, often all in one show. The writing is clever, with a minimum of plot holes, and ties together things from the very first episode with an episode seasons later. It's also the kind of show where I watch it halfway through, think I know what's going to happen, and am then surprised, in a good way, by what actually happens. This, to me, is awesome. I hate predictable shows, and Chuck, no matter how much you might think, "Oh, they're going to go on another mission and be in danger" goes way beyond its formula to give you a really good story, with twists and real heart and everything.
Second, the actors are all fantastic and work really well together in bringing the characters to life. Zachary Levi shines as Chuck. The show needs the main character to be believable as a guy who is a little bit goofy and nerdy and not always sure of himself, but who has a good heart and will try to do the right thing and is really, an all-around good guy. And Zac pulls it off, managing to evolve as a character without changing the fundamental elements of Chuck that make the show work. I'm not going to go into every single other character, but suffice it to say that there really isn't a weak performance in the bunch, and the actors who play Sarah, Casey, Ellie, Awesome, Morgan, etc. are extremely good. (Pls. note: this show contains awesome Adam Baldwin, and now, awesome Scott Bakula. For that alone, I will love it forever.)
Third, and I have to mention this, the music is fantastic and the nerd references are totally fun. Whoever is in charge of the score does a great job fitting songs to the moments, and has already caused me to go and search out songs like Cobrastyle and Signs. And the nerd references, while frequent, are never ham-handed. Some are extremely subtle, but always totally fun to catch.
Fourth, there's just an indefinable *something* about this show - it's not fluffy, it's not shallow, but even in the deepest sad moments or the most emotional episodes, there's something warm and enjoyable about this show, something that leaves me satisfied after watching every episode. I am not sure what it is really - but I guess we could call it the Force of Chuck. The Force is strong in this show, and it would really be a shame if we let The Dark Side (aka the execs who are thinking about canceling the show) take our Chuck away.
What can I do to help?
1. Watch Chuck! Monday nights, 8pm, NBC. OR on NBC's website. I know you can find it elsewhere, but watching on the website will make your numbers count. So go forth and watch!
2. Write to NBC. Go here, select Chuck, and then write NBC and tell them you don't want to lose Chuck. OR, write to them via:
Ben Silverman
Co-Chairman
3000 W. Alameda
Admin Building
Burbank, CA 91523
or
Angela Bromstad
President of Primetime Series
100 Universal City Plaza
Bldg 1320, 4th Floor
Universal City, CA 91608
3. Get creative. There are a lot of folks out there who've already gotten creative with other ideas such as the "Finale & Footlong" idea, talking about Chuck on Twitter, blogging, and other good things. Here are some links:
- Give Me My Remote suggests blogging, digg, commenting, letter-writing, Twitter, Facebook, postcards, and more, with links and images provided.
- ChuckTV.net suggests "Watch, Buy, Share" and includes info. about the "Finale & Footlong" idea of buying a Subway Footlong on the night of the finale to show the sponsor that we care.
- The Chicago Tribune provides more links, including why they think the show should be saved.
So, in summary, PLEASE watch the show and help save it from extinction. Zachary Levi thanks you.
What is Chuck about?
Chuck is about a loveable guy named Chuck, of course. Who happens to be really smart, but got kicked out of college, and is now stuck working in a Best Buy-type place with his childhood best friend and an assortment of other truly strange nerdy folks. He has a sister named Ellie who's a doctor, and she's dating a guy named Devon who is rarely called by his actual name, and that's that. EXCEPT then his former friend emails him an attachment that contains millions of pictures encoded with secret information belonging to the CIA and the NSA, and Chuck watches the attachment, and suddenly, WHAM, Chuck has all these secrets in his head. By accident. And all other copies of the images are destroyed. And Chuck can actually put the images together in his head, in "flashes" triggered by words or images, and use that info to help the government. And so the NSA and the CIA send their best people after him, and they end up being assigned to protect him while the government tries to build a new computer to hold all their secrets. And things just get wackier from there.
Why I love Chuck
Well, first off, because it runs the gamut of fun, funny, lighthearted, serious, sad, exciting, suspenseful, action-y, nerdy, surprising, and more, often all in one show. The writing is clever, with a minimum of plot holes, and ties together things from the very first episode with an episode seasons later. It's also the kind of show where I watch it halfway through, think I know what's going to happen, and am then surprised, in a good way, by what actually happens. This, to me, is awesome. I hate predictable shows, and Chuck, no matter how much you might think, "Oh, they're going to go on another mission and be in danger" goes way beyond its formula to give you a really good story, with twists and real heart and everything.
Second, the actors are all fantastic and work really well together in bringing the characters to life. Zachary Levi shines as Chuck. The show needs the main character to be believable as a guy who is a little bit goofy and nerdy and not always sure of himself, but who has a good heart and will try to do the right thing and is really, an all-around good guy. And Zac pulls it off, managing to evolve as a character without changing the fundamental elements of Chuck that make the show work. I'm not going to go into every single other character, but suffice it to say that there really isn't a weak performance in the bunch, and the actors who play Sarah, Casey, Ellie, Awesome, Morgan, etc. are extremely good. (Pls. note: this show contains awesome Adam Baldwin, and now, awesome Scott Bakula. For that alone, I will love it forever.)
Third, and I have to mention this, the music is fantastic and the nerd references are totally fun. Whoever is in charge of the score does a great job fitting songs to the moments, and has already caused me to go and search out songs like Cobrastyle and Signs. And the nerd references, while frequent, are never ham-handed. Some are extremely subtle, but always totally fun to catch.
Fourth, there's just an indefinable *something* about this show - it's not fluffy, it's not shallow, but even in the deepest sad moments or the most emotional episodes, there's something warm and enjoyable about this show, something that leaves me satisfied after watching every episode. I am not sure what it is really - but I guess we could call it the Force of Chuck. The Force is strong in this show, and it would really be a shame if we let The Dark Side (aka the execs who are thinking about canceling the show) take our Chuck away.
What can I do to help?
1. Watch Chuck! Monday nights, 8pm, NBC. OR on NBC's website. I know you can find it elsewhere, but watching on the website will make your numbers count. So go forth and watch!
2. Write to NBC. Go here, select Chuck, and then write NBC and tell them you don't want to lose Chuck. OR, write to them via:
Ben Silverman
Co-Chairman
3000 W. Alameda
Admin Building
Burbank, CA 91523
or
Angela Bromstad
President of Primetime Series
100 Universal City Plaza
Bldg 1320, 4th Floor
Universal City, CA 91608
3. Get creative. There are a lot of folks out there who've already gotten creative with other ideas such as the "Finale & Footlong" idea, talking about Chuck on Twitter, blogging, and other good things. Here are some links:
- Give Me My Remote suggests blogging, digg, commenting, letter-writing, Twitter, Facebook, postcards, and more, with links and images provided.
- ChuckTV.net suggests "Watch, Buy, Share" and includes info. about the "Finale & Footlong" idea of buying a Subway Footlong on the night of the finale to show the sponsor that we care.
- The Chicago Tribune provides more links, including why they think the show should be saved.
So, in summary, PLEASE watch the show and help save it from extinction. Zachary Levi thanks you.