Chuck!

Chuck's back!

Well, actually it doesn't make it back to television until next Monday, but the season premiere is up online now. As an aside, I think NBC has a pretty clever Internet strategy; premiering certain shows (particularly shows like Chuck or Life that had truncated first seasons due to the strike) early on the web to build buzz.

Back to Chuck, I'd forgotten how much I loved this show. Not surprising given that there hasn't been a new episode since January. The season premiere, Chuck vs. the First Date, was a great reminder of why I like this show. It brings the funny as always, while at the same time keeping the characters and their internal lives and external adventures compelling.

The episode picks up where we left off last season. The government is preparing to activate a new Intersect (apparently built from a first generation Mac. No, seriously, look at it.) and Casey, played by Adam Baldwin, has orders to eliminate the old Intersect (aka Chuck). There's a nice moment in the episode, after Casey has been reminded of his orders, where he chambers a round in his gun and mutters to himself, "I used to like that sound."

Meanwhile, Chuck is excited by the prospect of getting his life back. Yvonne Strahovski as Sarah, does a great job of showing the conflicting feelings of happiness, that Chuck can go back to a normal life, but also a little sadness for herself; she'll miss him.

Looking forward to the rest of the season. The only downside to watching this episode early is that I'll have to wait two weeks for the next new episode. Sigh.