Fall TV Preview/Review: NBC's "Chuck"

A show that can only be described as a cross between Alias, the 40 Year-Old Virgin, and Jake 2.0, this fantastic new action dramedy from Josh Schwartz, creator and executive producer of The O.C., stars Less That Perfect's Zachary Levi as a normal, everyday computer geek who becomes the target of every major branch of the U.S. government. Airing on NBC on Monday nights at 8:00, Chuck faces heavy competition from returning and new CBS sitcoms How I Met Your Mother and The Big Bang Theory, FOX's returning Prison Break, and the ratings-winning Dancing With the Stars on ABC. However, if the superb pilot is any indication, the show will be more than capable of holding its own.

In the hilarious, action-packed, and surprisingly feel-good pilot episode, airing as the show's premiere on September 24, Chuck Bartowski (Zachary Levi) is introduced as a stereotypically smart, yet geeky guy working as a member of the "Nerd Herd," an obvious spoof of Best Buy's infamous Geek Squad. Also introduced are Chuck's gorgeous and engaged older sister Ellie, played by Sarah Lancaster, and best friend and fellow geeky "nerd herder," Morgan, portrayed by Joshua Gomez. In trying to set up her little brother with the perfect date Lancaster's Ellie throws a major birthday bash for Chuck, inviting everyone that could be potential hook-up material. Failing to score a date after trying to be himself, Chuck feels dejected and turns to his computer for comfort. Receiving a strange email from a former college roommate turned CIA Agent, one that was sent in a previous scene depicting a CIA operation that leads to the character's death, Chuck is bombarded with a seemingly unending barrage of digital images that is literally absorbed by his brain.