User reviews

Chuck used to be an awesome series... every episode i would cry, and laugh. I loved every character, and everything was perfect. Chuck was not a spy yet and Sarah was this bad ass chick, which made me love her, the sexual tension between the two was great and well built...

Now everything is gone to shred.

Sarah is now a gentle girl so so in love with chuck , and they are both living as spies, it seems to me their personality has changed, everything has gone bad. The relation is OVERLY sweet, they now work as a couple as spy managing their own spy agency (which is totally stupid, i mean you can't just start a damn spy agency without a huge crew and proper trained men). Everyone seems to ALWAYS survive, EVEN if they take on trained killer who have done it all their life, including chuck which is a computer nerd gone super spy, and even now that he lost the ''intersect'' ,he is still going on mission and taking on bad guys, even though he has no real formation, i mean its just ridiculous and everything is so cheesy and over-the-top (in a bad way) that it makes me nauseous and hateful towards this show. I mean at first it made sense , chuck was an intelligent guy with good computer skills, having an intersect in his head making him aware of all the government secret, and now they got their own company, hes lost the intersect, and everything seems wrong.

I am gonna put a 5 for what it was, but as of season 4 and 5 , i would give it a 1

This is my third time through the "Chuck" TV series. And while it hasn't held up over time the way I thought it would, it's still better than the average American TV show, although it's not without its flaws. Unlike other shows that try to blend drama and comedy and fail miserably, "Chuck" manages to pull it off very well. It weaves previous back stories into current episodes creatively, and introduces new characters in an intelligent, believable way. It also offers up some sharp, powerful twists and despite having consistently annoying characters, it still manages to make them likable (unlike the consistently UNLIKABLE characters in Lost, for example). So the show works well as an ensemble, because we learn to care about the characters, despite their flaws.

But more than anything else, "Chuck" is a love story -- not only Chuck and Sarah, but also Ellie and Devon, Chuck and his parents, Sarah and her parents, Casey and his daughter, etc. Still, the main focus is on Chuck and Sarah -- the nerd and the super sexy bombshell. And while Zachary Levi and the rest do a decent enough job selling their characters and story arcs, for me, the star of the show remains Yvonne Strahovski. There is just something about her that is mesmerizing. And it's not just her beauty, which is obvious. Or even the fact that she can make her strong Aussie accent completely disappear to the point that no one would ever guess she's not a natural born American actress. No, it's the way she can present complex characterizations in both bold AND subtle ways, unlike most other actresses I've seen. So while other elements of "Chuck" have tarnished somewhat over time, her star continues to shine more brightly than ever. I can't think of any other TV series that I've watched all the way through 3 times and enjoyed as much. And the reason I've watched (and enjoyed) "Chuck" so many times is because I just can't get enough of Ms. Stahovski.

I really wanted to love this show, I remember seeing promos for it and I have been watching since it premiered. However, the more I watch this show the less I like it. There are some hit and miss funny moments that aren't really the laugh out loud comedy the show might need at times.

My main problem with the show is how overly unrealistic it is. Not just in the premise that somehow a guy watched a long video e-mail and somehow knows every single government secret. And as ridiculous as that might sound, that's not even what is annoying about the show. Somehow every episode requires that a couple of characters get a "one night" job at a restaurant or club. How they get this job is completely unknown. Also, every extra in the show seems to be completely oblivious to all that is going on in Chuck's world. On the most recent episode I watched, I saw an assassin blatantly hold a gun to a man's back and force him outside. All of the people who were in plain view of it didn't seem to notice or think anything of it. The premise (the whole government computer brain thing) is always a bit of a stretch too. For some reason if chuck sees (and more recently he has to touch) someone that happens to be known about by the government, he knows everything about them. I also find it funny that the government lost all of their secrets to a mans head. They know where he is and they haven't taken him to some place where no one could get to him. They would rather put him in almost certain danger.

The show does have it's positives believe it or not. It bounces back and forth between the cliché spy stuff and Chuck's job at a knock off Best Buy. I almost find myself more interested in the store Chuck is employed by (but almost never works at) than that of the missions. There are funny parts, but they don't really land 90 percent of the time.

I can tolerate watching NBC's "Chuck", but it's not something I pay much attention to anymore. If you like a show that you can have on while you're doing something more important, turn on Chuck.

A plausible story with good characters that rapidly by episode 4 nose dives into a ridiculous farce. The on-off, are they or aren't they, between the two lead characters is tired and that sub-plot a very well worn path.

Chuck is just pitiful as a man and really doesn't deserve a lady in his life.

The co-workers are a blessing.

How they managed to spin 95+ episodes of this I just cannot imagine, but I'm jumping ship after the 1st season.

Chuck had everything going for it: a charming premise, an appealing cast, and a fun blend of spy thrills and geek culture. It should have been a home run. But instead of capitalizing on its strengths, the show drowns itself in poor character choices, ideological preaching, tonal inconsistency, and the worst product placement in television history.

Chuck Bartowski, the supposed everyman hero, quickly becomes the show's biggest liability. Though marketed as humble and reluctant, Chuck behaves like he's God's gift to the CIA-routinely ignoring professional advice, inserting himself into tactical situations he has no business handling, and making critical mistakes while acting morally superior. His reflexive cowardice is passed off as integrity. His refusal to grow up is mistaken for charm. It's exhausting. He is constantly apologizing for making dumb decisions which force his pro partners to have to save his silly butt...it gets old.

Nowhere is Chuck's misplaced confidence more absurd than in his persisting aversion to firearms {per Hollywood's anti-gun anti-2A agenda)...some super spy, eh? Instead, he chooses tranquilizer guns. Over and over, he chooses tranquilizers over real firearms in active combat scenarios. Not only is this wildly unrealistic (tranq darts don't work instantly and are dangerously unreliable), but it often leads to worse outcomes for the team. Meanwhile, real weapons-sometimes the only sane option-are treated as immoral, no matter the stakes, no matter how many lives it will save. Honestly, in one episode, as bad guys attack and only two handguns (Chuck has none) respond, a 30 caliber belted machine gun is given the good guys. After hundreds of rounds fired, not one bad guy is even grazed. This cartoonish anti-gun stance not only undermines credibility but repeatedly gets the good guys hurt, captured, nearly killed...or actually killed.

Even the most capable characters aren't immune to the show's stupidity. Sarah Walker, Chuck's handler and love interest, is breathtakingly competent-cool under pressure, fiercely intelligent, and often the emotional anchor of the series. Yet even she is forced to tolerate Chuck's idiocy far too often. Instead of asserting her training and authority, she stands back as he bumbles through missions, furthering the show's pattern of rewarding incompetence.

Supporting characters don't fare better. Ellie, Chuck's sister, constantly oversteps boundaries under the guise of love. Her husband, Devon ("Captain Awesome") supposedly a gifted cardiac surgeon becomes an enthusiastic simpleton before long. And Morgan, Chuck's best friend, is a train wreck: nosy, reckless, and delusional about his importance. He regularly invades Chuck's privacy, makes major life decisions on his behalf, and is praised for behavior that should get him kicked out of everyone's lives. The show pretends his antics are endearing-they're not.

Then there's Jeff and Lester, the intended comic relief. Their behavior isn't just crass-it's repulsive. Stalking, harassment, drug use, and general filth are their daily habits, and somehow, it's all played for laughs with zero consequences. They're less "quirky" and more like HR lawsuits waiting to happen.

The show's storytelling is also plagued by constant betrayals between characters-often unjustified and brushed aside without resolution. Loyalty is optional, and emotional growth is stunted as the reset button gets hit every other episode.

To top it off, Chuck features some of the most heavy-handed product placement ever televised. The worst offender? Subway. Episodes grind to a halt for multi-line odes to footlong sandwiches, delivered with all the subtlety of a marketing email. These scenes are so jarring, they border on self-parody. The integration isn't clever-it's cringeworthy.

In the end, Chuck is a textbook case of wasted potential. What could have been a smart, stylish spy romp becomes a frustrating blend of arrogance, moral posturing, and tonal whiplash. Some may find nostalgia in its cast and lighter moments-but anyone looking for logical character development, respectful storytelling, or believable world-building will likely walk away disappointed.

What I can say ? Unfortunately , like with the most tv shows out there ,Chuck started very well : reasonably funny , with likable actors , amusing situations and unexpectedly quite a bit of decent action .

But , probably , after initial success . The writing became very lazy , which was very noticeable ,as some episodes were brilliant and some moronic ... With progression of the show , with a great pity , I've acknowledged that the moronic ones started to outweigh good ones ... And after that ,I just didn't have any more patience to spend most of the episodes on my phone and stopped watching it altogether ...

...But the last 2 episodes destroyed that for me.

My cousin suggested this show to me by sending me the Mr. Roboto clip from the season two finale.

I thought it was a bit cheesy and over the top. Seeing Chevy Chase gave me a Leslie Neilson sort of feel to it.

I was so mistaken.

I fell in love with the show and binged watched all five seasons in TWO WEEKS.

Tonight, 3/16/25, I finished it. And the last two episodes crushed me.

Everything they built, gone, but with a 'maybe it'll work out again' wish-washy ending.

The ending sort of feels like if your pet died, and someone said that you could just get another one just like it.

I loved most all of this show, but as others have said, I should have quit watching near the end of S5 E11.

Chuck is a man you shouldn't expect anything good from him, so as Chuck the TV series. Chuck is an ordinary man in his 30s, who has an ordinary job in a retail job fixing computers. Chuck is the guy who'll be always the same no matter what happens and how long it has been so as this TV series without any sign of improvement but they both deteriorate over time.

1st episode started with a great promise. The TV series defined itself as a not serious spy comedy. It's literally a sitcom without laughter SFX in the background from time to time. As a result it's a bit like watching Friends but imagine Ross somehow starting to have a taste of spy life. The TV series's comedy aspect makes the audience don't expect realistic characters and events. Naturally Chuck as a character and the TV series should be watched without expecting real-life logic as the point of watching it is having fun with its comedy as the story and characters just give an excuse for the comedy. However, despite unrealistic events the TV series somewhat had a decent chain of logic following the natural and logical progression of the events until 3rd season. You could have fun watching episodes without obvious plot holes especially in the context of this is just a comedy. The TV series is so simple even a little kid can understand what's going on and what's going to happen because by putting intentional foreshadowing in every episode you get what kind of episode it'll be by just watching the episode for 10 minutes which Chuck is a great example to give as a story written well for kid and adult audience as a comedy until 3rd season. I know this TV series is very simple for little kids because I watched the first two seasons when I was a kid. Now watching it after almost 2 decades I started to see it's not so childish TV series as kid me thought. There is a certain level of quality even adults who explored most of the movies, TV series and books humanity has to offer can still enjoy this TV series and experience new things. However another aspect of the quality I liked in Chuck is until the 3rd season despite the unrealistic aspect of comedy that's fundamental to the TV series story was written well as in characters and events followed a proper logic the writers did set for the tv series in a so decent way there is no obvious plot hole that would bother audience because it's just a comedy show, however despite all the non-serious comedy aspect of the TV series first episode of the 3rd season is very poorly written so hard writers insults audiance with tons of plot holes and poorly written episode that was enough for me to say "it's time for me to stop watching Chuck" because after what was done and story is broken as in it doesn't make sense anymore I cannot act like nothing happened and continue watching it.

What's wrong with the start of the 3rd season is it really seems like there was an episode that should have been watched before that episode because people talk about things that never happened in the episodes you watched so far. "Who are these guys?, "What do they mean by X?", "Why are these happening?" are the questions the audience shouldn't ask to themselves. They did everything you shouldn't do when you write a story. They shouldn't decrease the quality of this TV series when it was like reading Harry Potter suddenly it turned into reading an ordinary post written by 12 years old kid on Twitter. Yes clearly between 2nd season and 3rd season, there is a huge time gap in the story but the events of this time gap and the progression characters had so far couldn't shown properly but what's bad is what's happening doesn't make sense. Why has X happened for Y before but why Y is not valid anymore because X still happening?

Until 3rd season the TV series somewhat had a pattern of logic it established which 3rd season for some reason forgetting what was the facts of the TV series and what happened in the past caused all the plot holes there are. It's somewhat like they were going to end the TV series in 2nd season but they suddenly changed their mind in a way last episode of the 2nd season was written by someone else and since the 3rd season someone else works on the TV series. I'm glad 3rd season introduced the change I wanted but this change so poorly implemented it was enough for me to stop watching Chuck, especially when this change done too late.

3rd season is also the declaration that there is no sign of improvement in the TV series and the Chuck's character. Despite it's supposed to be a comedy and after all these happened both the TV series and the character Chuck is really like how everything was in the first episode on a fundamental level but the only difference is the poorly written story that causes too much plot holes that ignore what happened before. They made the TV series non-sense as much as how Friends was.

In general until 3rd season I had a great time watching Chuck despite Chuck is a very annoying dislikeable person in which you need to be religious to not dislike Chuck because Chuck is a very unrealistic character in a way he is morally too good like he is example person that's right for Holy Bible and he has no sign of being a man even in the 3rd season which this type of character doesn't make sense in real life. Even characters in Friends and How I Met Your Mother makes sense but not this Chuck character. They clearly wanted Chuck to be a specific character that has the purpose of being an useful tool to write this comedy scenario, and they wanted him to be different to make him interesting, however his personality is very repulsive and to think so you don't have to be Casey. In that context they used the good old classic story tool of "causing a sense of main hero is likeable just because almost everyone likes him" plot device, however it makes things way more nonsense in Chuck so much it's like I'm watching a TV series released in 80s but the hero poorly written. The only difference Chuck has with rest of hero characters out of 80s is, for example even enemies of MacGyver somewhat like him but MacGyver is a likeable character despite he is not one of those morally correct good guys. He is just a normal human being who is not evil and this is how heroes are. Yes, most of the stories that's about heroes is all about heroes are morally correct but it's just they are normal human beings but Chuck is different in wrong and bad way. This is not how to create a hero character. Chuck is literally Jesus. He is not actually too good, he is unrealistic. However other than Chuck, there are okay and fun characters, especially Casey however I wished cringe comedy hadn't increased its intensity in every episode because after a while watching certain same characters who are way worse than Chuck and their cringe made me skip their scenes.

In Chuck most things will stay the same but what changes is the increase in cringe and the unnecessary romantic drama that's enough to consider Chuck changed its genre from spy comedy to romantic drama half-way in the 2nd season which is enough reason for me to leave Chuck. The only character progression you'll see until 3rd season is only about the best friend of Chuck called Morgan as if this TV series is actually about Morgan when it's supposed to be about Chuck but oh boy I wish Morgan and Chuck actually changed roles because Morgan is still dislikeable but he is okay but Chuck is too repulsive.

Despite the TV series has no care to improve I do think until 3rd season the TV series used all of its potentials that was fun to watch every episode just because of its sense of humor and the potential that was created in 3rd season was a welcome change, however they did butcher the story so much I cannot continue watching this tv series after that non-sense episode that causes all the plot holes. If Chuck was a dream the nonsense events made me wake up from this dream hence my score will be 5. If you think it is still worth continuing Chuck even after you watched the first episode of the 3rd season it's your personal preference to prefer romantic drama that doesn't make sense but still tries to act like a spy comedy with a lazy writing as much as possible.

So for all these aforementioned reasons 3rd season made me chuck Chuck for it chucks plot holes everywhere.