Friday, January 27 , viewers were forced to say good-bye to one of television’s most original and truly funny shows. At seven o’clock, the two-hour series finale of NBC’s Chuck aired. While I was sad to see this fifth and final season come to end, I was not disappointed.
Chuck first premiered at seven o’clock, Monday, September 27th, 2007. I have not missed an episode since. Chuck centers on a guy named, well, Chuck as one might infer from the title. At the beginning of the series ,Chuck (played by Zachary Levi, who one might recognize as Toby in Alvin and the Chipmunks: The Squeakquel or the voice of Flynn Rider in Tangled) is pretty much a loser. He is a twenty something living in an apartment with his sister and her boyfriend. Chuck works as a Nerd Herder at the Burbank Buy More (a store similar to Best Buy and their Geek Squad). Chuck was on a promising path until he was accused of cheating and consequently kicked out of Stanford University. Chuck’s life changes when he receives an e-mail from his old college roommate: Bryce Larkin.
The e-mail contains the “intersect”, a project developed for the CIA by the mysterious Orion. The intersect is the entire CIA database downloaded into a person’s brain and was intended for only the best of spies. A person with the intersect is prone to “flash” (see images related to whatever agent, codeword, etc. that caused the flash).
Chuck has many plot twists and turns involving the intersect, Chuck’s family, and his “handlers” (Sara, played by Yvonne Strahovski and Casey, played by Adam Baldwin, whom one might recognized as Major Mitchell in Independence Day), and his best friend (Morgan, played by Joshua Gomez). Season five was no exception, especially with the reappearance of many characters from previous seasons. Admittedly, this last season seemed rushed. I so understand though, there were a lot of loose ends to tie up and the season was only thirteen episodes long.
Chuck survived many threats of cancellation (just proving what fans can do). I think the reason why is because Chuck is not just a lighthearted, nerdy comedy. While Chuck does provide tons of comedy, the show also has a serious tone and many positive messages, the most prevalent of which is that it is never too late to change one’s life for the better, especially if one only believes in him or herself.