How does episode 2 of "Chuck" (aired Monday, Oct 1, 2007 on NBC) compare with it's surprising and entertaining premiere? There are plenty of reasons to stay tuned.
Without a doubt, the first episode of Chuck delivered. It had humour and intrigue, plus smooth, and more importantly, believable action sequences. Though the show took some liberties with respect to technology—the downloading of thousands of encoded messages into the brain of a human, therefore burdening him with all the secrets of the US government; the foiling of a bomb plot via an internet porn virus—the absurdity only increases the fun had by all. So, how did its second episode fair?
The second instalment of NBC’s Chuck plays on the same strengths that made its premiere a success: a lot of humour, and very little drama. Staying somewhat realistic, the former no-go-getter Chuck (Zachary Levi) isn’t all that ready to take on the responsibility of diffusing bombs and saving diplomats. He needed a lot of courage to even apply for an assistant management position at the Buy More he works at. So, when CIA and NSA agents Sarah Walker (Yvonne Strzechowski) and John Casey (a deadpan Adam Baldwin) tell Chuck that there is a government doctor who can possibly remove the information from his brain, he is more than happy to undergo some testing. When the doctor is killed in a car explosion following the tests, Sarah and John Casey—always referred to by his full name—start pointing fingers at each other. Of course, Chuck is caught in the middle, not knowing whom to believe, and not knowing who may make him the next target.
Sarah and John Casey are working undercover, not so much to protect Chuck’s person, as to protect the secrets in his brain. To stay close, John Casey is now an employee at Buy More, and Sarah is pretending to be Chuck’s new girlfriend. Chuck’s older sister Ellie (Sarah Lancaster) and best friend/co-worker Morgan (Joshua Gomez) are oblivious to Chuck’s secret and the true identities of Sarah and John Casey. Hilarity is sure to ensue as Chuck and Morgan try to teach John Casey—a trained killer—the boring ways of big box electronic stores. And for all of those people tuning in, at the very least, because of sexy secret agent Walker, you will be happy to know that she is now working at a wiener house near the Buy More, outfitted in a ridiculous and revealing dirndl.
Chuck is already exhibiting a pattern common to Action-Adventure shows where the characters undergo a different obstacle or task every episode, that is, until February or May sweeps when we will probably be treated to a ‘to be continued’ or two. However, there is an interesting plot progression addressing questions about Chuck and Sarah’s past—why did he get kicked out of Stanford? Why did Bryce, the agent who sent Chuck the encoded messages, betray his partner/girlfriend Sarah and contact, of all people, his old roommate Chuck? These revelations will help in maintaining viewers’ attention, so that they watch every time, not just sometimes.
The comedic elements of Chuck outweigh, but never dominate, the dramatic. The heart-to-hearts do not last very long, but are important to a show trying to keep it real where it can, most notably, with Chuck and Ellie’s relationship, and perhaps, with Chuck and Sarah, though there is still the memory of a certain dead boyfriend to contend with.
