marvyng's TV Reviews

Being one that doesn't watch TV often, this series did catch my attention due to the premise of geek meets beauty. (Although, it might have also been all the massive media blitz of commercials, but we'll move on.)

First, this series is definitely carried by the central character Chuck, who is played by Zachary Levi. His situation/role sort of reminds me of Topher Grace from "That 70s show." A very likable character with qualities that all, especially the geeks, can relate to.

Secondly, the plot is so straightforward and easily laid out that anyone can be brought up to speed relatively quickly. Geeky guy gets smart. Beautiful CIA agent protects him. Done. Some people might find this as a drawback, but for someone like me who misses episodes every now and then, that's a plus.

Thirdly, the support characters do a great job by not feeling out of place and forcing their lines. Yes, I do agree that there have been wanton scenes of a scantily clad Sarah, played by Yvonne Strahovski, but who am I to complain? I'm a guy.

In summary, it's a simple series with interesting characters. The writers do a great job with that. I personally found it hilarious with all the similiraties and references of the fictional Buy More store, where Chuck works, to the real-life Best Buy. I also liked how they worked in a Tron poster and video games in Chuck's room and the selling of Astrodiapers in a store. Very cerebral. Definitely, the ladies will love Chuck and the men will like Sarah.

Understandably, people will pre-judge the show due to the fact that the show's storyline revolves around religion. Someone once told me that religion is one of two things that people should never get into an argument about. The other is politics. The point is that even until this day, the subject of religion has been fought over for thousands of years. This show is NOT an hour long philosophical debate. Now that we've acknowledged the 300lb Gorilla in the room, let's move on with the review.

This show quickly gets past the religious argument to establish the series' key point. The Devil tells Sam, the main character, to either do his bidding or his mother loses her soul. That's about as technical as it gets.

Sam is played by actor Bret Harrison. Sam comes across like a lost soul, stuck at dead-end job and seemingly not heading for a goal in his life. A very likeable character to which many can relate to. He is at a period in his life when he should be preparing to be independent, but instead moves back in with his parents. Now Sam does have one good friend, Bert. Nicknamed Sock , Bert is played by Tyler Labine. Sock is also kind of a loser , but he doesn't seem to mind. He provides a lot of comedic relief for the show. Although he won't increase Sam's social status, he is a loyal friend for life. The wise-cracking Devil is played by Ray Wise. The Devil is also a source of comedic relief, but at a flip of a coin, he also can become a serious antagonist. He can quickly turn a humorous moment very tense.

With these three good characters, played by good actors, the hour went by fairly easily. The special effects presented in the show surprised me, and a few scenes did make me laugh out loud. The show left me interested enough to find out when the next episode will be.

Unfortunately, the only problem with this show is the time slot that it is in. It is up against some pretty good shows. I'm afraid that if it isn't given a chance to thrive that it may get cancelled. For example, this review is almost a week old from when the pilot was released because I watched it from a recording. I do give it a thumbs up, and I am definitely going to keep recording. If I could have, I would have given this series a four and a half star rating.