By Tom Comi
Follow @ChannelGuide
Fans of the NBC show Chuck have been given the diagnosis that the end is near, so we’ve gathered you here today to offer the last rites.
Nobody can ever claim that the NBC spy drama wasn’t a fighter. It battled poor ratings up until the bitter end. Sadly, with no hope or cure in sight, Chuck has been transferred to that depressing place where shows go to die (Friday night), and we regret to inform you that there won’t be any last-minute donors to save the day.
With all options exhausted, maybe saying goodbye isn’t such a bad thing. Chuck had a great run, and viewers should be happy that it lasted as long as it did — largely in part because of a die-hard fan base and some generous businesses (Subway and Toyota, to name a few).
And maybe it really is time. A huge part of the reason the show resonated was because we loved the idea of a nerd like Chuck Bartowski (the very underrated Zachary Levi) becoming a James Bond-like spy due to a super-computer called the Intersect being inserted into his brain.
But when viewers tune in tonight for the first episode of the final season (8pm ET), they will experience what has all the makings to be a jump-the-shark moment for the show. Simply put, Chuck is no longer the agent he once was. In last season’s finale, viewers will recall that the Intersect was transferred from his head to that of his best friend, Morgan Grimes (Joshua Gomez).
MORE: Joshua Gomez on Morgan Grimes and saying a bittersweet goodbye
Without his superhero-like powers or the support of the government, Chuck and his team take on a rich thief (Mark Hamill) and a conniving investor (guest star Craig Kilborn). According to NBC, we also get subplots involving Chuck’s relationship with Sarah (the beautiful Yvonne Strahovski) and his fellow nerds at his place of employment (the Buy More).
Chuck has always been about an entertaining diversion, and we’re hoping that continues for the final stretch. Levi, Strahovski, Adam Baldwin and Gomez have created a great chemistry together, which has made many of the completely implausible storylines fun to watch.
NBC had every right to pull the plug on a show that’s barely alive, but that won’t make the loss any easier to accept. With that in mind, I’ll be tuning into tonight not with sadness but with the memories we shared together.
RIP.
It’s not like NBC has had that many good shows in the last 5 years. It was actually one of their better comedies for the anti-30 Rock/Parks & Rec crowd, and has a lot of the same mutual-interest audience as “Big Bang Theory” (without being moved to death, of course).
Fortunately, with a 100+ episode run, “Chuck” will be an instant “cult classic” someday. DVDs and reruns should more than pay back NBC for their patience.