Two Thumbs Up Chuck

The premise of the new NBC show Chuck may be wildly absurd but that doesn't stop it from being madly entertaining and fun to watch. The show is about a geeky electronics repairman (Chuck) who somehow gets most of America's top secrets imprinted on his brain. The NSA and CIA fight over him but they are not sure what to do with him until they realize that they can use him and the information stored in his head. He remains at his job at a Best Buy type store under their watchful eyes, ready to perform vital missions to aid his country.

The thing that makes the show work is the witty lines and sight gags that utilize popular straight and/or geek guy culture references, along with the perfect comedic delivery from the cast. The genre is comedy/action/sci-fi/drama, so a lot of people should find something to like about it.

The title role is played by Zachary Levi (pictured). Zachary was the only reason I tuned in to watch his previous series, Less Than Perfect. On that show, he played Kipp Steadman, a scheming office worker who teamed with his female friend Lydia to undercut the main character's position at the company. It was much like the relationship between the characters Marc and Amanda on Ugly Betty, who likewise plot against the lead character. The big difference between those two shows is that Marc is allowed to be gay, while Kipp was forced by the writers to prove to the viewers that he was undeniably straight.

The straightening out of Kipp turned me off and I stopped watching the show. I don't know why the writers couldn't have have at least left him sexually ambiguous (like Josh on Veronica's Closet). Scheming, catty, well-dressed assistants are suppose to be gay, dammit! Still, when I was watching the shown, lean Zachary in his tight sweaters and form fitting slacks left me hot and bothered. Now, Zachary is a little heavier and made to look a lot nerdier for the new show with the bushy hair, but I still see his inner Kipp and that's good enough for me.

I remember several years ago when I was researching anything I could find out about Zachary, I had read that he appeared to be one of those holier-than-thou religious types along with his Less Than Perfect co-star Sherri Shepherd and that had troubled me. Not the religious part, just the holier-than-thou. He and Sherri had tried to get their co-star Andy Dick to see the light, and we all know that wasn't successful. I hope Zachary has more of a happy ending with Chuck than he had with his wayward Dick.

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