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'Chuck' Versus NBC: Cult Spy Series to End on January 27

By Steven Bryan | Yahoo! Contributor Network – Mon, Jan 23, 2012 3:48 PM PST

During a January press event for the Television Critics Association, NBC President Robert Greenblatt confirmed that "Chuck" will end on January 27, bringing a five-year saga to a close. Like "Star Trek" and "Quantum Leap," two NBC shows that preceded it, this series about an unlikely spy survived thanks in large part to a devoted fan base.

"Chuck" versus the 2007 Writer's Strike

"Chuck" made a successful debut at the 2007 San Diego Comic-Con, packing one of the smaller conference rooms at the San Diego Convention Center. On the streets outside, NBC promoted the show with free T-shirts and cards emblazoned with the question "What is Chuck's Secret?"

Zachary Levi plays the title role, a brilliant electronics whiz who is a wage slave at a discount electronics store called "Buy More" in Burbank. Although he had a promising future, his expulsion from Stanford University sent him on an emotional and career tailspin into the retail sector. His life is at a virtual standstill.

Things change, however, when his college roommate sends him an email containing a secret computer download called the Intersect. This neural program loads Chuck's brain with classified government information that his mind can now cross-reference. Visual and audio stimulation triggers what Chuck calls "flashes," which help him identify enemy agents, as well as clandestine weapons and technology.

"Chuck" joined the airwaves at the same time as the rebooted "Bionic Woman" series and ABC's quirky "Pushing Daisies," which have long since been canceled . The 2007 Writer's Strike did, however, cut the first season of "Chuck" in half, but NBC brought the series back for a second season in the fall of 2008.

"Chuck" has always been a 'bubble' show'

Despite great characters, especially Adam Baldwin's no-nonsense Colonel John Casey, "Chuck" has always been a 'bubble show' for the network, hovering between renewal and cancellation each year. NBC even delayed the show's third season debut until January 2010 and, thanks to stronger ratings, ordered more shows for that season.

Like "Star Trek" devotees during the show's original 1960s run, "Chuck" fans also mounted successful campaigns to give the show additional seasons. As TV Guide reported, the show's supporters bought foot-long Subway sandwiches in 2009, stuffing suggestion boxes at Subway outlets to plead for another season.

The "Quantum Leap" connection

Fan devotion for "Chuck" brings to mind the letter-writing campaign for "Quantum Leap," another NBC show with a solid fan base. Series star Scott Bakula talked to SciFi Wire about a 1990s promotional commercial showing NBC President Warren Littlefield buried under an avalanche of letters. Littlefield is shown agreeing to return "Quantum Leap" to the Wednesday night lineup and asking everyone to stop writing.

Appropriately enough, Bakula joined the "Chuck" cast in its second season as recurring character Stephen J. Bartowski, Chuck's long-lost father. Stephen invented the Intersect and, with his help, Chuck was able to finally get the computer out of his head. By the end of Season 2, however, Chuck voluntarily uploads an upgraded Intersect, one that he didn't know contains built-in spy skills.

Saying goodbye to "Chuck"

Thanks to syndication, movies and spin-offs, "Star Trek" fans have never really had to say good-bye to their show. After getting some closure in the final episode, "Quantum Leap" fans continued to organize conventions and get-togethers to share memories about the series.

In many ways, "Chuck" fans have already been given extra time to grieve. In 2011, NBC ordered a fifth and final season and, as Robert Grenblatt said to the TCA, "Chuck" is over. The stage has been set for the January 27 finale and fans are hoping for some closure to the series. ChuckTv.net, one of the best resources for the show, even offers some possible endings and fates for the characters.

Devoted fans kept "Chuck" alive through strikes and fluctuating ratings. At the 2011 San Diego Comic-Con, the "Chuck" cast came back to say goodbye, packing a huge space at the San Diego Convention Center with thousands of fans. Here's hoping that the show goes out the way it came in, as something original and special.

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3 comments

RepublicanHippy65 • 2 months ago
To call Survivor, Jersey Shore, Housewives of (fill in the blank) and other shows like them "reality" is at best laughable. If these shows were truly reality they would be called documentaries .These types of television shows have been done to death. This formula has been exhausted. I personally believe that this kind of television is lazy and mindless. It also rewards bad behavior with serious money and fleeting notoriety (15minutes) to the detriment of those on the shows. If you were to take a moment to think about your invitation to watch someone's pain, their private moments and of course the gambit of human and animalistic emotions included in every episode, would you still watch? Have you ever consider what this says about your personal character? Can you imagine what would happen to cable if all these shows were to go away? I think most of us would be back to the three or four channels we were watching before cable was available in our areas, think of the money we would save not surfing the extra networks. Do you remember going outside or reading for pleasure or having a conversation, you know activities that don't require watching television as though it were oxygen? Please don't get me wrong, I love television, it was my favorite babysitter/past-time when I was growing up in the 70" and 80's. I will say this, I still remember a time when quality television was more important than quantity, when the persons responsible for our viewing pleasures were still responsible to the viewers and the sponsors not just the sponsor of the highest bidders.
Mike • Birmingham, Alabama • 4 months ago
Chuck has been a really good show. I'm tired of dancing and surviving and aranged marriages and other stupid shows requiring no thpught. Are there no writers left or are the networks just unwilling to pay for talent?
Please bring back television for those with IQ's above 80. It's getting hard to find.
- Robert C 4 months ago
  I second that. I personally am done with singing competitions, 3 seasons of weight loss a year, shows about singles that will never make it, or wives who are unhappy. I loved Heroes (while it was good), Chuck has been a campy but good show (plus Chuck's wife is hot), stupid comedy like The Simpsons and Family Guy, and even the show Life had some thought to it.
Mike • Norfolk, Virginia • 3 months ago
Agrees with Mike from Birmingham...these reality shows are reaaallllyyy getting old. I think if I have to go thru another season of "Survivor" I am going to get sick...just an overglorified Gilligans Island, and now they come out with the 3rd or fourth singing show. Sure "Chuck" was a little "corny" but it was entertaining. A hell of a lot more entertaining than some of the ridiculous sitcoms...