Don't Chuck This Review!

I just posted this on IMDB and I thought, why should readers here be deprived? So...

Big laughs, intelligent scripts, gripping suspense, and great action!

With Chuck, everything old is new again - and better! Written for an intelligent audience, it should also play very well to those who crave mindless action (though I wouldn't know, ha-ha)

The casting couldn't be better...

Zachary Levi is so good (and generous) as the lead that you'd hardly know he was one, but he can be both hilarious and sincere, geeky yet brave, and always believable. Chuck Bartowski is truly a geek's geek and the kind of guy you'd love to have as a friend.

Yvonne Strahovski may be the most alluring woman alive today, and in one of the funniest scenes in the series, Chuck acknowledges her as such when Sarah approaches his service desk for the first time. He's talking on the phone and going through a manual, but when he looks up and sees the stunning Sarah, the phone and manual fall like dead weight as the phone customer becomes something less than insignificant. But Strahovski can act too. And she makes action scenes look, as David Schwimmer said in Friends, like "dance karate... it's a deadly but beautiful sport." So is "Weiner Girl."

Adam Baldwin is a guy who takes the killer elite to a new -comedic- level. He's literally seething in his every waking moment, and who wouldn't be if you're used to offing people for fun and profit, and you suddenly find yourself working as a stock boy and protecting a nerd? But Baldwin as John Casey also gives credit where it's due and he acquires a certain respect for Chuck that only a licensed to kill NSA agent could have.

Joshua Gomez plays Morgan, and you've seen his sort dozens of times, but never like this. He's a dork's dork. that is to say, he may be the only TV dope in history who's not irritating. Barney Fife could be hilarious, but he could also be infuriating. Morgan is totally human. His idiocy is touchingly funny, and you find yourself not only pulling for him but wishing you could be there for him when Chuck is off "on assignment."

Sarah Lancaster is Chuck's (and every guy's) dream big sister - pretty, nurturing, expressive and warm. She's a wonderful diversion from the main plot, and she's what keeps Chuck focused on the real when he's not engaged in the surreal life of an intelligence agent. Even her name, Ellie, makes you want to have her hold you and tell you a bedtime story... even if you're at work!

Finally, there's Ryan McPartlin as Devon... or Captain Awesome as he's better known. He's Ellie's love interest, and your first impression is that he's your standard jock. Not so. I mean would Ellie love such a guy? Devon is a jock all right - with a heart and a mind. He teaches Chuck how to dance, for God's sake! Dare I say he's a jock's jock?

OK, I apologize for that, but the point is, none of the characters are stereotypes. They're all human, even if Casey hasn't realized his humanity yet. But he will, because he's already shown some.

I'd like to elaborate on some of the other cast members because they're perfect in their roles as well, but I'm more tired of writing than you are of reading. Suffice it to say that I think Chuck is one of the best shows ever produced, and even if you don't, I dare you not to get involved with each character and each episode. If you don't, I'll buy you a hot dog!?!

Catch past episodes on Friday evening on the Sci-Fi channel. It should be back on NBC any year now that the strike is settled.