Chuck: You’ll Fall in Love With This Quirky Spy Show

“Hi, I’m Chuck. Here’s a few things you might need to know or maybe just forgot.”

I’m sure there are some people that use Netflix for movies, but for me, Netflix is a dream for getting a chance to check out shows that I somehow missed the first time around. A couple of years ago, I finally watched Chuck, and I fell in love.

Chuck is a funny spy show. Sometimes you just aren’t in the mood for a doom and gloom kind of a show. Don’t get me wrong; I love those types of shows too. I absolutely adore Nikita, but there are just times where you want the intensity of a serious show, but you also want to laugh.

That’s Chuck.

It’s got all the action and intensity that comes from chasing bad guys and defusing bombs, but you get it with a twist. For example, Chuck defuses a bomb by giving it a porn star virus that has recently been troubling a surprising amount of computers at the Buy More. What other show could you get a shoot out set to the sound of Mr. Roboto played on the keytar?

Chuck is about Chuck Bartowski (Zachary Levi), a sweet, hilarious, and adorable Nerd Herder (see: Geek Squad) at the local Buy More (see: Best Buy) who was full of potential until he got kicked out of Stanford. To be fair, there were larger things at play, but that’s not the point.

Since then, Chuck has lived a normal underachiever life, surrounded by amusing characters that populate the Buy More on a daily basis.

That all changes when he opens an email from Bryce Larkin, his old college roommate who was responsible for getting him kicked out of Stanford. Oh, and he stole Chuck’s girlfriend. Even though Matt Bomer plays him, we don’t like Bryce. I know, it’s a struggle not to adore Matt anytime he appears on screen, but trust me, we don’t like Bryce.

For some reason, Chuck opens the email, and BAM, all of the CIA and NSA’s secrets and files are in Chuck’s head thanks to this nifty little program called the intersect. Now, he’s forced to help the CIA and NSA out, and he’s got two handlers that serve as his team and his protectors.

There’s Sarah Walker (Yvonne Strahovski), his cover girlfriend, and John Casey, his slightly scary new coworker at the Buy More. Casey is a diehard patriot who will do anything for his country, even if it means living in a wall for two weeks (it’s a long story).

While Casey may mainly communicate in grunts, at heart he is a cuddly teddy bear that somehow survives working at the Buy More without killing anyone.

Sarah Walker is a badass spy who is always looking out for Chuck. The whole cover girlfriend situation obviously gets complicated. It’s hard to just pretend to be in a relationship with someone when you actually love them. Chuck and Sarah’s romance begins in episode one, and it manages to survive some pretty insane obstacles.

There’s so much to love about Chuck. Even though you’ve got spies running around, it’s a show all about relationships and family. You have epic friendships (Chuck and Morgan, Jeff and Lester), and you slowly watch Sarah and Casey, spies who are used to never being in one place for too long, become a part of Chuck’s family.

Morgan is one of the lovable dorks that work at the Buy More, but his most important job is as Chuck’s best friend. They are practically connected at the hip or by a giant sandworm costume. Morgan is always there to help Chuck out.

Whether it’s cluing Chuck in on what his heart is saying or by helping him solve a crisis at work, Morgan always has Chuck’s back.

Chuck lives with his sister, Ellie, and her boyfriend, Captain Awesome who are both doctors. Okay, that’s not actually his name, but everyone calls him Awesome because everything he does is, well, awesome.

Seriously, at one point he does a commercial for the Buy More, and his nametag reads “Captain Awesome.” Ellie and Awesome bring normalcy to the show, and Chuck’s relationship with his sister is sweet.

The abnormal part of Chuck has nothing to do with his secret life as a spy. Oh no, it’s his very public life as a Buy More employee.

There’s not a normal person who works at the Buy More, and that’s why I love it so much. The Buy More is a great home base for the show. It provides a comical backdrop to a surprising number of invasions, shoot outs, and other life and death situations that occur.

At one point, bad guys pose as potential buyers for the Buy More, and they threaten to fire anyone who is not essential. Naturally, the Buy More employees decide to revolt. They barricade the door, arm themselves with nerf guns, wave the Buy-Moria flag (seriously, there’s a flag), and Jeffster performs Fortunate Son.

What’s Jeffster, you ask? Well, it’s Jeff and Lester’s terrifying extracurricular activity. Their musical styling is so ridiculous and hilarious, and more often than not, their music is the soundtrack to quite a few of dramatic situations. Sometimes they even end up helping to save the day.

Even when they aren’t singing and rocking the keytar, Jeff and Lester are always around causing trouble and being entertaining as hell.

You get to the point where you notice whenever they haven’t been in an episode, and it makes you sad. They are definitely one of the reasons why I love Chuck so much.

If you’re looking for a new show to fall in love with, I highly recommend Chuck. So, I guess the only question left is, “Are you coming to the toga party?”

Have something to add? Want to share a favorite moment from the series? Share your thoughts in the comments below!

Follow us on Twitter @telltaleTV_

Want more from Tell-Tale TV? Subscribe to our newsletter here!