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Chuck (TV series)

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Chuck
Chuck logo
Created byJosh Schwartz
Chris Fedak
StarringZachary Levi
Yvonne Strahovski
Joshua Gomez
Ryan McPartlin
Mark Christopher Lawrence
Julia Ling
Vik Sahay
Scott Krinsky
with Sarah Lancaster
and Adam Baldwin
Opening themeCake: "Short Skirt/Long Jacket" (instrumental version)
Country of origin United States
No. of seasons2
No. of episodes30 (list of episodes)
Production
Executive producersJosh Schwartz
McG
Running time42 minutes (without commercials)
Production companiesCollege Hill Pictures
Wonderland Sound and Vision
Warner Bros. Television
Original release
NetworkNBC
ReleaseSeptember 24, 2007 –
present

Chuck is an action-comedy television program from the United States created by Josh Schwartz and Chris Fedak. The series is about an "average computer-whiz-next-door" who receives an encoded e-mail from an old college friend now working in the CIA; the message embeds the only remaining copy of the world's greatest spy secrets into Chuck's brain.[1][2]

Produced by College Hill Pictures, Wonderland Sound and Vision and Warner Bros. Television, the series premiered on September 24, 2007, on NBC, airing on Monday nights at 8PM/7c leading into Heroes.[3][4] On November 26, NBC announced that Chuck received a full season pickup.[5] On February 13, 2008, it was announced by NBC that Chuck had been picked up for a second season in 2008/2009.[6] The second season started on September 29, 2008, with a full 22-episode season order.[7] NBC released the first episode of season two a week before its air date via multiple online distribution methods, and cable on demand.

Plot

Chuck Bartowski (Zachary Levi) is a socially awkward twenty-something in Burbank, CA who works as a computer expert at the Nerd Herd at his local Buy More (a parody of Best Buy's Geek Squad), a local electronics retailer (a CompUSA store was used), with his best friend, Morgan Grimes (Joshua Gomez). Chuck's sister Ellie (Sarah Lancaster) is a doctor who is constantly looking out for his best interests and wants to help him find a girlfriend. Also joining the cast is Ellie's fiance, Devon "Captain Awesome" Woodcomb (Ryan McPartlin), also a doctor looking out for Chuck's social life. On the night of his birthday party, Chuck receives an e-mail from his former Stanford University roommate, Bryce Larkin (Matthew Bomer), who is now a "rogue" CIA agent. When he opens it, the entire database of all the US government's secret information — a neural supercomputer called the Intersect — is subliminally embedded into his brain. Both the National Security Agency and the Central Intelligence Agency want the intelligence returned to them and dispatch agents of their own — Major John Casey (Adam Baldwin) and Sarah Walker (Yvonne Strahovski) — to retrieve the data.

Since the disk with the government information was stolen by Bryce and destroyed in his attempted escape, and since Chuck experiences "flashes" of information from the database activated by certain triggers around him (such as faces, guns, watches, and other objects), he must use the knowledge he now possesses to help the government thwart assassins and international terrorists — upending his previously uneventful life. In order to preserve their safety, Chuck must keep his new-found occupation a secret from his family and friends, forcing Casey and Walker to establish an uneasy alliance and secret identities; Walker poses as Chuck's girlfriend and takes a cover job at the local restaurant next to the Buy More (formerly Wienerlicious, currently Orange Orange) while Casey gets a job at the Buy More, with the shared goal of protecting Chuck at all costs.

In the meantime, the government is in the process of rebuilding the Intersect computer. As it nears completion, Casey is ordered to kill Chuck as soon as the new Intersect is ready. However, in the premiere of season 2, it is destroyed using a computer virus, keeping Chuck alive. As the series progresses, it is revealed that Bryce is still alive and that a rival agency called "Fulcrum" is in search of the Intersect, which they believed to still be in the possession of Bryce, not Chuck. It is also discovered that Fulcrum are the ones who destroyed the new Intersect. In the episode "Chuck vs. Santa Claus" (season 2, episode 11, aired 12/15/08), a Fulcrum agent known as Mauser discovers that it is Chuck, in fact, who is the Intersect. This discovery, however, does not last long, as Sarah kills Agent Mauser before he is able to notify anyone else in Fulcrum. (This sparks a subplot in the following episode involving Chuck coming to terms with the shooting.)

In the episode "Chuck vs. The Suburbs" (2/16/09), Chuck had the implant of all Fulcrum secrets that they had developed implanted into his head.

Episodes

Main article: List of Chuck episodes

Cast and characters

Main article: List of characters in Chuck

Production

Conception

Josh Schwartz and newcomer Chris Fedak wrote the script for the first episode which was initially given a put pilot commitment by NBC before a pilot order was green lit by the network in January 2007.[8] Schwartz and Fedak both attended the University of Southern California and the latter pitched the idea to Schwartz who agreed to develop the project with him.[9] Joseph McGinty Nichol, Schwartz's fellow executive producer on The O.C., directed the first hour of the series and consequently became an executive producer via his production company, Wonderland Sound and Vision. Fedak, Peter Johnson, Scott Rosenbaum, Matthew Miller and Allison Adler also serve as co-executive producers.[10] NBC gave the series an early pick-up and a thirteen-episode order on May 10, 2007.[11] On November 26, 2007, TV Guide reported that NBC had picked up the series for a full, 22 episode season.[12]

Casting

Zachary Levi and Adam Baldwin were the first two to be cast in February 2007 in the roles of Chuck Bartowski and veteran NSA agent Major John Casey, respectively. Fedak always had Baldwin in mind for the role of John Casey and the producers found that the actor was a "perfect fit" for the character during the first casting session.[9][13] Relative newcomer Yvonne Strahovski, an Australian, was chosen for the female lead role of CIA officer Sarah Walker in the same month.[14] Casting continued throughout March with Sarah Lancaster, Joshua Gomez, and Natalie Martinez landing the parts of Dr. Ellie Bartowski (Chuck's older sister), Morgan Pace (Chuck's best friend), and Kayla Hart (Chuck's neighbor and love interest), respectively.[15] The Kayla Hart character was dropped before filming because creators Chris Fedak and Josh Schwartz found it unlikely and too complicated to the storyline that two women would be pining over Chuck. Morgan's surname was later changed to "Grimes" and Sarah's surname was changed to "Walker" as it was previously "Kent".[citation needed]

On September 14, 2007, Rachel Bilson, of The O.C. (which executive producer Josh Schwartz also created) signed on for a multi-episode arc which aired in late October 2007.[citation needed]

On November 24, 2008, TV Guide reported that Tricia Helfer will guest-star on the show as Chuck’s new handler.[16]

Broadcast history

Main article: List of Chuck episodes

The first showing of the pilot occurred on July 27, 2007 at Comic-Con International in San Diego.[17] The series was originally slated to air on Tuesday nights at 9PM/8c as announced at the 2007 Upfronts but this was later changed to Monday nights at 8PM/7c as announced during the 2007 Television Critics Association summer press tour. The season premiere aired on September 24, 2007 on NBC.[4][18] The pilot was leaked onto torrent websites on July 22, 2007.[19] All thirteen episodes produced before the 2007 Writers Guild of America strike have aired. The last two episodes of the original thirteen aired on January 24, 2008, with episode 12 airing at 8PM/7c and episode 13 at 10PM/9c, three days after they aired in Canada. Season Two premiered on September 29, 2008. While the series originally had a 13 episode order, NBC went ahead and ordered another nine, ensuring the series will get the full 22-episode treatment.[7] The theme song is Short Skirt/Long Jacket by Cake.

International distribution

Country TV network(s) Weekly schedule (local time)
Australia Australia FOX8 Unknown, was supposed to air 21 January,2009, supposedly confirmed to air on Fox 8 on April 1st at 8:30.
Fiji Fiji Maitv MONDAYS AT 8:00 PM
Belgium Belgium VT4 6:35pm Sundays
Brazil Brazil Warner Bros. Television (Pay-TV)
SBT (Free-to-air)		 11:00pm Tuesdays
11:00am Sundays
Canada Canada Citytv
Space		 Simulcast with NBC broadcast
10:00pm Thursdays
Croatia Croatia RTL Televizija TBD
France France TF1 2:15pm Sundays (starting November 9, 2008)
Germany Germany ProSiebenSat.1 Media TBD
Greece Greece Star Channel 5:45pm Sundays - Premiered 21 September
Iceland Iceland Stöð 2 9:10pm Tuesdays
India India AXN 10:00pm Wednesdays, 7:00 pm Saturdays
Indonesia Indonesia AXN 8:00pm Mondays
Republic of Ireland Ireland TV3 6:00pm Saturdays — Premiered 7 June
Israel Israel AXN TBD
Italy Italy Steel (Pay-tv)
Italia 1 (Free-to-air)		 9:00pm Sundays — Premiered 22 June
TBD
Malaysia Malaysia AXN 9:00pm Mondays
Hong Kong Hong Kong AXN (Pay-tv)
TVB J2 (Free-to-air)		 10:00pm Mondays
1:00pm, 10:30pm Sunday — Premiered May 2008
Latin America Warner Channel 11:00pm Tuesdays, 1:00pm Thursdays UTC
New Zealand New Zealand TV2 9:30pm Wednesdays — Premiered 18 June 2008
Netherlands The Netherlands RTL 5 8:30pm Thursdays

Premiered 2009

Norway Norway Viasat4 9:35pm Mondays — Premiered 18 August 2008
Pakistan Pakistan AXN 9:30pm Wednesdays, 6:30 pm Saturdays
Philippines Philippines AXN
C/S		 11:00pm Mondays
8:00pm Thursdays
Poland Poland TVN Siedem 9:00pm Tuesdays
Portugal Portugal RTP2 (Free-to-air)
AXN (Pay-tv)
RTP1 (FTA reruns)		 10:40pm Wednesdays
10:25pm Mondays
3:00 pm Sundays
Singapore Singapore AXN 9:00pm Mondays
Spain Spain TV3
Calle 13		 10:50pm Thursdays
9:30 pm Thursdays
South Africa South Africa M-Net 7:30pm Wednesdays — Premiered June 4, 2008
Sri Lanka Sri Lanka AXN on DialogTV 06:30pm Mondays — Premiered 5 May
Sweden Sweden TV6 8:00pm Mondays
Taiwan Taiwan AXN 9:00pm Tuesdays
Thailand Thailand AXN 9:00pm Mondays
Trinidad and Tobago Trinidad and Tobago NBC-e 8:00pm Mondays (Season 2)
Turkey Turkey CNBC-e 8:00pm Tuesdays (Season 1)

8:00pm Mondays (Season 2)

United Kingdom United Kingdom Virgin1 10:00pm Mondays — Premiered 7 April - season two set for 2009
United States United States NBC 8:00pm Mondays, 7:00pm Central time
Venezuela Venezuela Venevisión 7:00pm Thursdays — Premiered 10 February

Online distribution

In the U.S., the entire first season is available for purchase on the iTunes Store, as well as the Playstation Network and Xbox Live Marketplace. In an aggressive marketing campaign by NBC, the pilot episode was released across a broad range of mediums from satellite broadcasting to popular social networking websites such as Facebook, shown on United Airlines flights, freely distributed on video on demand on about 30 cable and satellite systems including Comcast, Time Warner Cable, Cox Communications and Dish Network, on Yahoo, and from Amazon Unbox.[20] Also, prior to the airing of Chuck in the United Kingdom the pilot episode was released as a free temporary download on iTunes. A full week before the second season premier in the US, iTunes offered a free download of the first episode as a 'pre-aire premiere', this promotion was also available on the Xbox live marketplace.

DVD and Blu-Ray release

On May 12, 2008, Warner Home Video announced the release of the first season of Chuck on DVD.[21]

Name # Episodes Region 1 release date Region 2 release date Blu-ray release date DVD extras
The Complete First Season 13 August 18, 2008 September 16, 2008[22] November 11, 2008 Deleted scenes, bloopers and commentaries from Chuck stars Zachary Levi and Joshua Gomez, and the show's creators Josh Schwartz and Chris Fedak.

Reception

Weekly ratings

# Episode US Air Date Timeslot Households (Rating/Share)[23] 18–49 (Rating/Share)[23] Viewers (m)[23] Weekly Rank (#)
1/01 "Pilot" September 24, 2007 8:00 P.M. 6.0/9 3.6/9 9.28 #42
2/02 "Chuck Versus the Helicopter" October 1, 2007 5.1/8 3.1/8 8.22 #46
3/03 "Chuck Versus the Tango" October 8, 2007 4.5/7 2.6/7 7.12 #54
4/04 "Chuck Versus the Wookie" October 15, 2007 5.0/7 3.2/9 8.23 #47
5/05 "Chuck Versus the Sizzling Shrimp" October 22, 2007 4.4/7 2.8/7 7.14 #62
6/06 "Chuck Versus the Sandworm" October 29, 2007 4.2/6 2.7/7 7.03 #57
7/07 "Chuck Versus the Alma Mater" November 5, 2007 4.6/7 3.2/8 7.70 #52
8/08 "Chuck Versus the Truth" November 12, 2007 4.6/7 3.0/7 7.56 #52
9/09 "Chuck Versus the Imported Hard Salami" November 19, 2007 4.6/7 3.1/8 7.80 #44
10/10 "Chuck Versus the Nemesis" November 26, 2007 4.9/7 3.3/8 8.36 #40
11/11 "Chuck Versus the Crown Vic" December 3, 2007 5.2/8 3.2/8 8.48 #32
12/12 "Chuck Versus the Undercover Lover" January 24, 2008 4.4/7 2.7/7 6.88 TBA
13/13 "Chuck Versus the Marlin" January 24, 2008 10:00 P.M. 4.5/8 2.9/8 7.02 TBA
--- First season average --- 4.8 7.76
Season 2
14/01 "Chuck Versus the First Date" September 29, 2008 8:00 P.M. 4.0/6 2.6/7 6.60 TBA
15/02 "Chuck Versus the Seduction" October 6, 2008 3.8/6 2.2/6 5.90 TBA
16/03 "Chuck Versus the Break-Up" October 13, 2008 3.8/6 2.4/6 6.01 TBA
17/04 "Chuck Versus the Cougars" October 20, 2008 4.1/6 2.6/7 6.70 TBA
18/05 "Chuck Versus Tom Sawyer" October 27, 2008 4.0/6 2.5/7 6.48 #57
19/06 "Chuck Versus the Ex" November 10, 2008 TBA 2.3/6 6.34 #54
20/07 "Chuck Versus the Fat Lady" November 17, 2008 TBA 2.6/7 6.80 #50
21/08 "Chuck Versus the Gravitron" November 24, 2008 TBA 2.5/6 6.62 #43
22/09 "Chuck Versus the Sensei" December 1, 2008 4.4/7 2.5/6 7.25 #47
23/10 "Chuck Versus the Delorean" December 8, 2008 4.4/7 2.4/6 6.93 #41
24/11 "Chuck Versus Santa Claus" December 15, 2008 4.7/7 2.6/7 7.66 #27
25/12 "Chuck Versus the Third Dimension" February 2, 2009 4.9/7 3.0/7 8.47 #34
26/13 "Chuck Versus the Suburbs" February 16, 2009 4.0/6 2.3/6 6.89 #43
27/14 "Chuck Versus the Best Friend" February 23, 2009 4.0/6 2.3/6 6.61 #42
28/15 "Chuck Versus the Beefcake" March 2, 2009 4.0/6 2.4/6 6.70 #49
29/16 "Chuck Versus the Lethal Weapon" March 9, 2009 3.5/5 2.1/5 5.80 #56
30/17 "Chuck vs. the Predator" March 23, 2009 3.7/6 2.2/6 6.16 TBA
31/18 "Chuck vs. the Broken Heart" March 30, 2009 TBA TBA TBA TBA
32/19 "Chuck vs. the Dream Job" April 6, 2009 TBA TBA TBA TBA
33/20 "Chuck vs. the First Kill" April 13, 2009 TBA TBA TBA TBA
34/21 "Chuck vs. the Colonel" April 20, 2009 TBA TBA TBA TBA
--- Second season average --- 2.4/6 6.73

Awards and critical reception

Chuck is mentioned multiple times in IGN's 2007 year in review awards. Along with winning the honor of best New TV Series, Sarah Walker won the award for best TV character, and Chuck & Sarah as a couple won the "Couple That We Rooted for the Most" award. Chuck was also nominated for "Best New TV Comedy Series" at the 2008 People's Choice Awards which aired on January 8, 2008 but lost to Samantha Who?.[24]

The series stunt coordinator Merritt Yohnka won 2007 Primetime Emmy for "Outstanding Stunt Coordination". Chuck was also nominated for "Outstanding Main Title Design" that year, but didn't win. [25]

In December 2008 Time magazine named the show as one of the top 10 TV series of the year.[26] It also made the year-end top 10 list of Chicago Tribune,[27] Television Without Pity's list of TV Shows We Wish More People Watched,[28] The Star-Ledger's Top TV shows of 2008 (#4),[29] The Miami Herald's TV's Top 5 list,[30] The New York Observer's Top 10 TV Shows of the Year (#6),[31] and the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette mentions Chuck as one of the few bright spots in television in 2008.[32]

The Chicago Tribune's Maureen Ryan praises the show's ability to blend comedy with storytelling: "the show pays attention to the mechanics of storytelling and doesn't just try to coast on the comedy. ... [Given] the level of attention paid to all those other things -- emotion, suspense, plotting, character -- Chuck ends up being one of the TV scene's greatest pleasures at the moment."[33]

Other media

Marketing

In May 2007, NBC announced that their official website would launch "MyNBC" allowing users to be more interactive with selected shows. MyNBC will allow fans to delve inside Chuck's "brain" which will host hot spots of top-secret government information that the title character possesses. It will also have bonus video features.[34] In addition, NBC further announced in July 2007 that tie-in micro websites where fans who log onto Buy-More.net would be directed to NerdHerdHelp.com giving them access to exclusive content of the show and a blog written by the title character's best friend and sidekick, Morgan, would be launched in September 2007.[35] NBC is reportedly expected to spend about $8 million in total promoting the show. [36]

Comics

Wildstorm, a DC Comics imprint, will be producing a six-issue mini-series written by Peter Johnson and Zev Borow (series co-executive producer and writer, respectively), with art by Jeremy Haun and Phil Noto. It will start in June 2008.[37][38][39] It also includes a public service announcement on brushing one's teeth from Captain Awesome and two gag adventures with Morgan based on film noir and The Odyssey.

References

  1. ^ "About Chuck"
  2. ^ Chuck from NBC
  3. ^ Chuck television listings on The Futon Critic
  4. ^ a b "NBC Showcases Fall Primetime Entertainment Series Beginning Week of September 24". 2007-07-16. Retrieved 2007-07-17.
  5. ^ http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20071127/tv_nm/nbc_dc;_ylt=AmodmDuvWsLJKzfH.Li7NTJxFb8C
  6. ^ NBC. "NBC RENEWS DRAMA SERIES 'CHUCK, 'LIFE' AND 'HEROES' FOR 2008-09 SEASON". Retrieved 2008-02-13. {{cite news}}: Text "date + 2008-02-13" ignored (help)
  7. ^ a b [1]
  8. ^ Development Update: Wednesday, January 3, The Futon Critic
  9. ^ a b "PopGurls Interview: Josh Schwartz". PopGurls. 2007-07-18. Retrieved 2007-07-23. {{cite news}}: |first= missing |last= (help)
  10. ^ Development Update: Thursday, January 25, The Futon Critic
  11. ^ Sullivan, Brian Ford (2007-05-10). "NBC to Keep 'Lights' on for Second Season, Adds Newcomers". The Futon Critic. Retrieved 2007-07-13.
  12. ^ Exclusive: NBC Extends Chuck, Life for Full Season!, [2]
  13. ^ Development Update: Thursday, February 8, The Futon Critic
  14. ^ Development Update: Monday, February 12, The Futon Critic
  15. ^ Development Update: Friday, March 16, The Futon Critic
  16. ^ Battlestar’s Tricia Helfer to Handle Chuck" TV Guide. November 24, 2008. Retrieved on November 26 2008.
  17. ^ "Full Comic-Con Schedule Online!". ComingSoon.net. 2007-07-09. Retrieved 2007-07-13.
  18. ^ NBC delivers the quality once again this fall, introducing five ambitious new dramas, an inventive comedy and a variety of innovative unscripted programs for its 2007-08 primetime schedule, The Futon Critic
  19. ^ "Massive Leak of Pre-Air TV Shows: Piracy or Promotion?". TorrentFreak. 2007-07-24. Retrieved 2007-07-24.
  20. ^ Schiller, Gail (2007-08-27). "New media, new ideas tout shows for fall". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved 2007-08-27.
  21. ^ Chuck - Details and Artwork for Season 1 DVD (DVD)
  22. ^ Chuck DVD news: Announcement for Chuck - The Complete 1st Season | TVShowsOnDVD.com
  23. ^ a b c "Your Entertainment Now Blog". Word Press.
  24. ^ "IGN Best of 2007". Retrieved 2007-12-23.
  25. ^ "60th Primetime Emmy Awards".
  26. ^ James Poniewozik (2008-12-08). "The Top 10 Everything of 2008: Top 10 TV Series". Time. Retrieved 2008-12-08.
  27. ^ Maureen Ryan (2008-12-17). "The Top TV shows of 2008". Chicago Tribune. Retrieved 2008-12-17.
  28. ^ Angel Cohn (December 2008). "Year in Review: TV Shows We Wish More People Watched". Television Without Pity. Retrieved 2008-12-20. {{cite news}}: Unknown parameter |yhtv&par= ignored (help)
  29. ^ Alan Sepinwall (2008-12-26). "Sepinwall on TV: Top TV shows of 2008". The Star-Ledger. Retrieved 2008-12-26.
  30. ^ Glenn Garvin (2008-12-21). "The year in review: Television". The Miami Herald. Retrieved 2008-12-26.
  31. ^ Christopher Rosen (2008-12-17). "OMFG: The Top Ten Television Shows of 2008". The New York Observer. Retrieved 2008-12-26.
  32. ^ Rob Owen (2008-12-21). "Tuned In: Gifts of the season". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. Retrieved 2008-12-26.
  33. ^ Maureen Ryan (2009-02-23). "Please, think of the children! Watch tonight's 'Chuck'!". Chicago Tribune. Retrieved 2009-02-23.
  34. ^ NBC Digital Entertainment announces second season of cutting-edge interactive entertainment, The Futon Critic
  35. ^ "NBC Digital Entertainment launches new tech and content features". The Futon Critic. 2007-07-16. Retrieved 2007-07-17.
  36. ^ Grossman, Ben (2007-07-23). "NBCU Effort Aims To Keep 'Lights' On". Broadcasting & Cable. Retrieved 2007-07-25.
  37. ^ "Details and Artwork for Season 1 DVD". TVOnMedia.com. Retrieved 2008-05-13.
  38. ^ Chuck #1 at Wildstorm
  39. ^ Exclusive First Look: Chuck, the Comic Book, TV Guide, May 19, 2008
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