TV: Chuck

Starring: Zachary Levi, Yvonne Strahovski, Adam Baldwin
Category: TV, Action, Comedy

What a surprise this was! I was wanting to hate it because TV shows with geeks always get it wrong. Either stupid tech references that don't make sense or fake tech stuff (yes, Hackers, I'm talking about you). But surprisingly, Chuck gets it right. Not just technically right but the tech refs are in the right place, too.
Chuck is techie who winds up with valuable information locked in his head when it is downloaded from a top secret computer. The computer is destroyed so he brain is the only remaining copy of the information. He can't retrieve them on will but it has to be triggered. Two agents, Sarah and Casey are assigned to protect him while the actual computer is rebuilt. Sarah's partner, Bryce is the one who blew up the computer while Casey is the agent chasing Bryce. Bryce apparently dies after destroying the computer but not before transferring the data to Chuck, his old college buddy.

the characters feel real and multi-layered

I wouldn't call Chuck a dramadey.. more of an action comedy at best with a strong dash of 'fish-out-of-water' thrown in. At worst, Chuck is a weak parody of spy movies. But I don't think that was what the creators wanted it to be. The spy stuff is all fake, bordering on Alias, not even close to 24. But the characters feel real and multi-layered. More is revealed in each episode about each of them. Not just the core characters, but also the side players; Ellie - Chuck's sister who live with her boyfried, Captain Awesome (corny but watch and you can't help but agree that the name fits), Morgan - Chuck's boyhood friend who also works at the BuyMore store, The Nerd Herd gang - the technical support department that Chuck leads.
The series creators must be under a lot of pressure to keep the episodes self contained, so all the spy stuff tends to resolve by itself by the end of each episodes but two story arches runs through the first season, first the fate of Chuck once he is no longer needed. And the growing feelings between Chuck and Sarah.
And it is story, the heart that goes into those small moments that add character to the players and makes you keep coming back for more.