Chuck Versus the Intersect

"Chuck Versus the Intersect"

"Chuck Versus the Intersect" is the pilot episode of the television series Chuck. It originally aired on September 24, 2007. The series follows the adventures of Chuck Bartowski, a computer geek, and member of a Geek Squad-type (Nerd Herd) retail computer tech, who has downloaded a top-secret government database into his brain.

Main Plot

The episode begins with Chuck Bartowski attempting to escape his own birthday party with his best friend, Morgan Grimes. Before they can make good their escape through his bedroom window, Chuck's sister Ellie interrupts them. Despite Chuck's objections, that everyone there is Ellie's and her boyfriend Devon's (aka Captain Awesome) friend and a doctor, Ellie has invited "real women" for him to meet and forces him to join the party. The party is less than successful, as Chuck is still hung up on his ex-girlfriend Jill and ends up driving away any other woman he talks with by dwelling on his past relationship and his friendship with his former college room-mate, Bryce Larkin. Bryce Larkin (not an accountant, as Chuck believes) is shown breaking in to a top-secret government computer center and begins downloading a vast amount of data to his PDA. He finishes and sets a charge to destroy the computer and escape. Before he can, he is shot by NSA agent Major John Casey. Bryce sends an e-mail and his PDA self-destructs as he dies.

Chuck receives the e-mail on his computer and successfully solves a puzzle left by Bryce, after which he views a rapid series of images which lasts all night before he finally collapses. Chuck then begins experiencing a series of "flashes" of data from the images he viewed, triggered by things he sees and conversations he overhears, including a strange man he sees at the neighboring Large Mart.

In Washington DC Casey is briefed by the National Security Director (Wendy Makkena) and CIA Director Graham on the nature of the computer Bryce destroyed. It is a government database called the Intersect, which the NSA and CIA used as a joint resource to identify threats to the government. Casey is ordered to California, where Bryce's email was traced, and track down his contact there.

At work at the Buy More, Chuck is approached at the Nerd Herd counter by a woman named Sarah, who is having problems with her phone. Chuck helps her correct the problem before being pulled away to help a customer who forgot to use tape in his digital camcorder. She leaves him her phone number, but Chuck decides not to call her. He arrives home to find the place been broken into while he, his sister and Awesome were away and the intruder is stealing Chuck's computer. The intruder flees when the computer is destroyed and after escaping, is revealed to be Sarah, who works for the CIA, in disguise.

Sarah later returns to Buy More to ask him on a date to find out what he knows and the two go out. Unknown to both, Casey and an NSA hit team are following them with orders the team to take Chuck alive, but Sarah can be killed. Sarah spots and quickly dispatches the NSA team but flees with Chuck when she spots Casey himself. She leads Chuck up to the top floor of a skyscraper and attempts to call in an evacuation. Chuck asks again what's happening, and when asked by Sarah if Bryce sent him anything he reveals he received an e-mail from him with a lot of pictures. Sarah warns Chuck she has to aim her gun at him, as Casey arrives on the roof.

Sarah warns Casey that Chuck viewed the e-mail and the pictures, and tells Chuck that Bryce is dead. Chuck flashes on the building where the visiting General Stanfield is giving an address and puts together all the pieces from the flashes he'd been having: the stranger in the Large Mart is a demolitions expert who set a bomb to destroy the conference. They locate the bomb in the conference hall with Chuck's help, and he deliberately infects the machine with a computer virus to shut it down and stop the pending detonation.

Sarah reassures Chuck that he'll remain where he is for now, while she and Casey watch over him. He is to work with them until they can discover a way for the Intersect to be removed from his brain. All she asks is that Chuck trust her.

Production

Wendy Makkena as the National Intelligence Director.

Chuck premiered on broadcast TV at 8pm EST on September 24, 2007, after having been screened to overwhelmingly positive reception at Comic-Con.

Zachary Levi was the first cast, in the title role of Chuck, followed shortly by Adam Baldwin as John Casey. Baldwin was announced as joining the cast on February 8, 2007. On February 12, 2007 Australian actress Yvonne Strahovski was announced for what was then the role of "Sarah Kent," joining Levi and Adam Baldwin. Prior to beginning of filming the character's name was changed to Sarah Walker. Strahovski was unable to come to the US for audition so the producers allowed her to make her audition via the internet.

In March, Sarah Lancaster, Joshua Gomez and Natalie Martinez were cast as Ellie Bartowski, Morgan Pace and Kayla Hart, respectively. Morgan's last name was changed to Grimes, and Kayla Hart was dropped before filming.

Alongside Tony Todd portraying CIA Director Graham was Wendy Makkena as the National Intelligence Director, General Mary Beckman. She appeared only in the pilot, and was replaced in the following episode by Bonita Friedericy as General Diane Beckman.

Numerous concepts that became staples of the program debuted in this episode. With the exception of Friedericy all the regular cast members appeared. The manner in which Chuck "flashes" on the Intersect data begins with "Chuck Versus the Intersect" remains consistent throughout the series, while Sarah's proficiency with throwing knives is also established. The Herder makes its first appearance in the episode, and this is the only episode in which it appears in its "stock" configuration before being rebuilt as a "spy car" after being wrecked. The Nerd Herd desk and the Buy More video wall are also prominently featured, and Big Mike's Marlin also makes an appearance.

Actress Natalie Martinez was originally cast as Kayla Hart, the owner of the club where Sarah and Chuck first encounter Casey. She was intended to be a rival for Chuck's affections, however was later dropped even though she appeared in some of the show's promotional cast photos, citing too many characters. Additionally, Captain Awesome was originally planned to be an enemy agent but was so well received that this was also abandoned.

Flashes

• Chuck's first flash comes while listening to the radio in the shower, when the news report discusses a security cordon being set up on the highway.
• He flashes again when General Stanfield is giving a speech on TV.
• Chuck identifies a Large Mart patron as a Serbian demolitions expert.
• While on his date with Sarah, he flashes on Stanfields's car and police escort.
• Chuck flashes on the building where Stanfield is giving his address.
• At the end of the episode when Casey and Sarah arrive at the Buy More, Chuck flashes on Sarah's ring and sees a security tape of her fighting and killing two assailants.

Reception

The pilot episode received an estimated 9.23 million viewers.

Music

• "Cobrastyle" by Teddybears
• "Cellphone’s Dead" by Beck
• "Put Your Money Where Your Mouth Is" by Jet
• "See the World" by Gomez
• "Into Your Dream" by Foreign Born
• "Any Way You Want It" by Journey
• "A Comet Appears" by The Shins
• "For A Fistful of Dollars" by Ennio Morricone
• "The Missionary" by Brothers Martin

External links

• "Chuck Versus the Intersect" at IMDb
• Template:Tv.com episode