Chuck review

This show aired while my sister was in college and while I didn’t watch it religiously with all my friends every week, I managed to catch up once my sister bought all the seasons. Chuck is the perfect combination of spies, adventures, comedy, and nerds. Netflix never should have given up this goldmine, but thankfully Amazon picked it up.

Chuck Bartowski is a nerd herd engineer living with his sister and her awesome boyfriend. He’s been at a dead end job and in love with his college girlfriend for the five years after he was kicked out of Stanford for allegedly cheating.

He lives a pretty regular life of fixing computers, playing video games with his best friend, and having family time with Ellie. His life holds no surprises, until he gets a birthday email from his old roommate Bryce Larkin AKA the guy who accused him of cheating.Chuck’s brain downloads the intersect, a compilation of all the CIA’s secrets.

As Chuck becomes the CIA’s new intersect, his life changes forever.

He has two handlers who take him on semi dangerous missions and use his brain to gain information on the CIA’s enemies. He learns how to interact with mobsters, when to wait in the car and when to disobey orders, and even how to tango.

For the first couple of seasons, Chuck bumbles around his new spy life with geeky awkwardness and an endearing optimism. The fact that he is so different from your average spy is exactly why Sarah warms up to him.

I like how it took the creators so long to find the perfect actress to play Sarah Walker. They wanted to find someone who could be both tough and sweet, someone who could have warm fuzzy moments with Chuck while also beating up the bad guys.

Sarah is one of CIA’s best agents, raised by a conman and determined to keep everyone at arm’s length… possibly further.

But that changes with Chuck. Once she and Chuck become closer, she gains his small but solid group of friends and family. She and Ellie manage to bond between her pretending to be Chuck’s girlfriend and actually being his girlfriend.

I love Chuck and Ellie’s sibling moments. They really had to raise each other, even when their parents did manage to be present. They celebrate the day their mother left them because it’s the day they truly started relying on each other. Ellie is the last one to find out about Chuck’s new life status, despite the fact that she’s prettymuch the smartest person he knows.

They have fun little chats and encourage each other through Awesome’s overwhelming family and the fact that Sarah is so out of Chuck’s league, then later when their parents crash back into their life and get to meet their new granddaughter.

Chuck seems to not only be presently surrounded by spies, but originated from them as well.

The action and mayhem really picks up when Chuck’s parents come into the scene, and Chuck’s life becomes even more tangled in danger and lies. Good thing Chuck has such good handlers… and impressive/downloaded skills.