Mood: still upbeat for a Chuck renewal!
Well, it’s day five and there’s some news on the periphery that kind of, maybe, has a little bit to do with Chuck. Nikki Finke reported that she heard that CW decided not to pick up the Gossip Girl spinoff, Lilly, before the backdoor pilot airs next Monday.
Some of you might be thinking, “WTF!? Gossip Girl?! Lilly!?? What does that have to do with Chuck!?” Gossip Girl showrunner Josh Schwartz also happens to be the showrunner and co-creator of…Chuck. Jennifer Godwin over at Watch With Kristin reports the Gossip Girl spinoff might not be dead yet, though it still sounded kind of dead.
Chuck fans probably don’t want Schwartz stretched too thin anyway.
Here’s a CNN.com interview with Chuck’s Zac Levi and Josh Gomez (thanks to reader Wendy for the link):
I love Big Mike.
Great picture!
Well if CNN is picking up the story then you know its a big deal. I really love how everyone one who works on this show wants it to keep going, and just not for the paycheck. These guys show a real love for the characters and the fans.
Come on NBC green-light a season 3!!!
Southland’s numbers made my day. I’m thinking that NBC made a big boo boo by renewing it so quickly. How many episodes are left of Southland? I hope it continues getting a 2.0 – that would guarantee a renewal of Chuck
Chris Fedak doesn’t get enough of the praise he deserves for the show. I think Schwartz’s influence is easily seen, but it seems Fedak drives a lot of the plot of the show. Fedak is why I have faith in the big Kung Fu change going (most likely) into the third season.
I really, really hope we have an announcement before day 15. What are the chances on that?
“Bartowski! Herd up your nerds!”
Boy did Southland bomb in the demo. ATTN: NBC why are you contemplating renewing a show that gets a better demo in a more competitive time slot and you already renewed a show that is blowing in a not so competive time slot?
KN
When it comes to the mythology of the show, Fedak rocks.
When it comes to the Pathos of the show, Fedak blows.
CNN picked up the story because they know Chuck fans will want to see it, thinking it’s a big deal when it’s really just them writing stories that will get the hits they need. That’s why they have an entire American Idol section on their website (pathetic, right?), and why they haven’t written about Chuck all season back when their stories actually had a chance of picking up new viewers. They didn’t even write about the 600-person Subway run before the finale aired.
It’s the same reason they did a piece on T:SCC the other day. They don’t care about the show at all, but they know T:SCC fans will all want to see the piece thinking that it’s a big deal.
Haha, great Big Mike photo. Keep the Chuck posts coming!
The CNN piece was on-line only, right? It didn’t actually make the network (nor did the facts or decent questions actually make it to that reporter’s notes).
Mike C, one of the Con video clips floating around shows just that. Fedak came up with the intersect bit while Schwartz softened the hard sci-fi with the post-college drifter’s semi-angst. If it was just Schwartz, I’d have a problem following him into the third season with the big plot change.
LOL at the first two comments. And you know why? As soon as this page loaded, that’s the kind of comment I intended to write.
NBC just announce it god…
Your damned right us Chuckster don’t want Josh Schwartz streched too thin :p Peeps are right though Fedak doesn’t get enough praise I love the mythos he has created. He wrote one of my fave episodes Chuck Vs The Santa Claus.
I watched the CNN vid yesterday too! I love the Zach and Josh bromance
I know that the Chuck haters get annoyed when we seem to take pleasure in another show’s woes. This isn’t that. I just don’t get how Chuck could possibly be a bubble show. Compared to what Southland is doing, compared to what Medium did at 9:00, compared to DOND, Chuck is kicking butt. And look at the competition. Southland ran against a rerun of CSI and an M J Fox thing.
I just don’t get it. What am I missing?
I’m seriously asking. What am I missing?
SAVE CHUCK!! I love this show and I am excited about the efforts to bring it back next season. Watching that video, I see that I’m one of the people who may have contributed to the low ratings. I watch online whenever I miss the show, I DVR it so that I can skip through commercials. NBC is already on my bad side for cancelling My Own Worst Enemy and ruining my Monday night lineup. I will boycott them forever (even though I also love Heroes) if they do the same thing to another show that I love. NBC needs to step it up and get with the times. Look at all the avenues that are out there to watch these shows.
Zac Levi looks HOT in that video, by the way.
Bill S. – I wish I knew what to tell you. The ONLY thing that I can think is that this is part of an orchestrated campaign by NBC to get more “pub” for CHUCK. You’re right. These other already renewed NBC shows are doing either no better – or even worse – than CHUCK in the Nielsens (and in less difficult time slots). Josh Schwartz and Chris Fedak have always been saying how much the execs at NBC actually like CHUCK – that they’re actually fans of it. So I think this whole thing is just to take advantage of “free pub” for CHUCK before they make the official renewal announcement. Bottom line is that WHEN it IS renewed, then “Chuckaholics” need to switch from the “Save Chuck” mode to the “Promote Chuck” mode. Promote, Promote, Promote!! Except for the CHUCK haters – people who learn about the show and start watching it LOVE it. I’ve given out more Season 1 DVDs as gifts than I can keep track of – and now these people are hooked on CHUCK, too. So……… NBC is letting US do some of THEIR work for them – but that’s O.K. Whatever it takes.
good video. Maybe this will boost Chuck iTunes sales and Hulu views, which could raise popularity for next fall.
Levi is wrong. Only Nielsen ratings count. If you are a Nielsen viewer then you must watch the show live if you want the view to count. If you are not a Nielsen viewer then you should be watching it online or buying it on iTunes. He needs to make that clear.
We need a list of the 20,00o neilsen homes. Then we can promote Chuck to the correct people.
So does SL ratins pretty much gurantee Chuck is coming back. Think of the backlash if after all the fans good will and the subway campaign they cancel it. Man that would put a really big black mark on NBC with the fans.
How are they going to explain it’s all about the numbers whentwo underperforming shows get the nod and they don’t.
That iReporter guy asked better questions than the CNN interviewer. But I’ll also say that Zach Levi does very well in these interviews. He’s very well-spoken and has the kind of Everyman quality that makes him a great casting choice for Chuck.
Yvonne is a lot better in interviews now too; they’re both very personable and outgoing. I think NBC needs to be sending them to do a lot more promotional stuff on some talk shows, and I don’t just mean Bonnie Hunt and Carson Daly. Zach and Yvonne need to be going on Conan/Fallon (although Conan is much more preferable) and getting the word out. When people see how genuinely funny and outgoing the actors are, and catch a glimpse at some of the really funny scenes from the show, they’ll be enticed to check it out.
Jack, the second someone points out that only Nielsen viewers need to watch live, the second the Nielsen numbers become completely meaningless. The numbers assume that for each Nielsen viewer watching a show, something like 18,000 non-Nielsen viewers are also watching the show. The system stops working when you can no longer assume that those people are watching along with the Nielsen viewer. When confidence in the system breaks down, advertisers drop out, and when advertisers drop out, your show dies.
If Chuck had the words IN ASSOCIATION WITH NBC UNIVERSAL TELEVISION or UNIVERSAL MEDIA in the end of show credits, it would have a 13+9 pickup.
Vertical monopoly, means, We (NBC) own or partially own TV content and distribution, start to finish, kiss our ass.
“Managing by the margins”, means, if you have 12 hours of prime time content pulling 4-8 million viewers, you better own it. That way you can tap in to all and every alternative revenue stream now and in future.
“Trading analog dollars for digital pennies”, means, we want all the pennies we can get, because they add up to dollars, but only if you own the content
“Branding”, means, NBC owns the supermarket and they want only their labels on the shelf.
Note to Warner bros- Start investing in CW and buy or start new cable channels or you will be out of the TV production business
WE, on the NBC Chuck forum boards have started a campaign to donate money to Subways affiliate (AHA)American Heart Association. A website has been developed where you can go and donate in Chuck Bartowskis name and have the donation info sent to NBC execs. Since Wednesday, almost $4000.00 has been donated, If you are interested in helping please go to http://weheartchuck.blogspot.com/
That would be great paul 80,
However the WB produces Southland. They are the same company that produces Chuck.
Corey, I wish NBC had sent Chuck stars out to more interviews toward the end of the run, but it didn’t seem like they wanted to promote the show. I think Joshua Gomez was on Carson Daly (ha!) around the finale, but that was it.
I agree that Zach Levi is an outstanding spokesman for the show. You could see that when he was shilling for the 3D technology around the Superbowl.
Conan really liked Zach Levi when he was on the show a long ways back, so I’m hoping with a new season (fingers crossed) and Conan in LA, we’ll see Zach on there a lot more.
Well maybe they will put Zach on the new tonight show.
Rick, I hadn’t visited the boards since a few days after the finale, so I hadn’t seen the donation campaign. I have to say, that idea is genius! Not only does it help a good cause, but the ensuing mailed letter is a much easier and more direct way of getting our point across to Silverman and Co. Great idea whoever came up with it. And $4,000 raised in three days is pretty impressive. I’ll spread the word about that site.
I cant take any credit myself but I have definitley donated to support the cause and Im doing what I can to get word out, obviously.
Yeah, I’m hoping they’ll have them on when Conan takes over the Tonight Show. I would love to see a Conan and Yvonne interview. I feel like Conan prefers to have fun and goofy guests, his is a much looser environment than Leno or Letterman. Perfect for the cast of Chuck.
I didn’t realize Zach had been on before. WHEN NBC renews Chuck, they need to take a more active role in getting the word out about the show. They can’t rely on the existing fans to do everything.
I think the show is on the borderline as far as ratings are concerned but should be good enough to be renewed. It’ll be interesting to see if NBC picks up a half season or a full season.
Zach on Conan: http://www.hulu.com/watch/37729/late-night-with-conan-obrien-zachary-levi-92508 (a non-Hulu vid is available by googling). They geek out over being tall and being geeks. Conan seems sincere in asking Zach back to the show at the end. Yvonne would be awesome with Conan, too. She was quite charming on Craig Ferguson.
I don’t fault NBC with lack of publicity at the beginning of the series or during the Olympics last summer – ads were everywhere – but they somehow aren’t targeting it correctly. The actors need more talkshows and more magazine features. I think with the hype of the campaign, we may see that going into the new season.
I’m interested in seeing if fans can actually increase the numbers of a show. I know the Chuck sites have plans for a “watch Chuck” campaign. It will be revolutionary if they can make a difference.
http://weheartchuck.blogspot.com/
This is really an awesome idea. Its amazing how far people will go to donate. And just think if the $4,000 already raised was only a dollar a person, and you used the Nielsen ratings system of 18,000 per one Nielson Member, Thats 72,000,000 people watching the show!!!! Okay so thats a bit much but just giveing a good cause even a dollar can help, so please make a donation. Even if it doesn’t help Chuck its helps people with Heart Disease.
KN
Agreed, hence why they are a great team.
However, I would also like to give alot of credit to the other writers as well such as Alison Adler, Matt Miller, Phil Klemmer, Scott Rosenbaum, Zev Borow, and all the others.
I wish that Zach and Yvonne would have more interviews together. Their chemistry on screen is no coincidence as they also play off eachother great in real life. Zach always brings out a real goofy side to Yvonne and I wish they could have more of them together.
I’ve already gotten three or four friends hooked by giving them the season 1 DVD and they’ve now started watching the old season 2 episode too. They should be all caught up by season 3 time.
As for NBC’s promotion, I feel like they’re doing it all wrong. The 3D episode was the only one that I got a ton of ads, which I was grateful for. But whenever they did ads closer to the end of the season, it was more the trio of Chuck, Heroes and Medium and the ads made them all look like intense dramas. Clearly, that doesn’t fit Chuck. Which is why I don’t like it being paired with those shows. If the ads focused more on the comedy, I feel like it would attract more people.
Maybe even make three different ads: one focusing on action, one on comedy, one on romance. Air the comedy ads on Thursday during the comedy block, the romance ones during more female-concentrated programming, and the action ones during reality TV spots. That wouldn’t be hard to do, but NBC won’t ever actually do it.
I agree, Mike C. I think they should do a circuit of interviews with Zach and Yvonne together. They are great together, and work off each other very well. The talk show host probably wouldn’t even have to actually say anything. Just throw one question out there, and let them talk, haha.
Yes $5 Footlong, WB does produce Southland. If you have some spare time research the current crop of shows and the new shows that NBC has picked up. I think you will find that NBC has ownership in about 80% of them.
NBC is not the only network in deploying vertical monopoly strategy. Take a look at CBS’ hot pilots. They have ownership in 85% of them.
As the network audience continues to shrink, networks will look for new streams of revenue. To participate in this revenue you most own distribution and content.
This site is so bias….. chuck and life were flops. get over it. they both deserve to be cancelled. all i hear on this site is chuck chuck chuck chuck.
Corey says:
May 8th, 2009 at 11:19 am
As for NBC’s promotion, I feel like they’re doing it all wrong. The 3D episode was the only one that I got a ton of ads, which I was grateful for.
I think it pulled in 8.5 million viewers that night, and then they didn’t air a new episode for 2 weeks. Gotta love it.
Jamie says:
May 8th, 2009 at 11:25 am
This site is so bias….. chuck and life were flops. get over it. they both deserve to be cancelled. all i hear on this site is chuck chuck chuck chuck.
If the article says “15 Days of Chuck” what do you think they are going to be talking about? Nobody forced your hand to click on the link.
JT, in truth, at least in terms of predicting show renewals, the site is biased towards shows with higher Renew/Cancel index scores. I can certainly see where someone who is a fan of a show with a .57 index rating that is definitely going to be canceled would cry foul and be testy over our “bias” that a show with 1.03 index has much better prospects for renewal.
As for LIFE, I did enjoy it, but given its index scores I never predicted anything other than that it would be canceled, which, sadly, it was.
I love it when people purposely enter a clearly-marked Chuck thread simply to complain about people talking about Chuck. I can understand annoyance when Chuck fans hijack other threads; that even frustrates me, and I’m a huge Chuck fan. But this “15 Days of Chuck” thread was created to give us Chuck fans a daily dose of Chuck and provide a place for us to talk without bothering everyone else. So to complain here is pointless and a bit stupid.
I feel like this is one of those situations where some people just have inherent contrarianism (I’m sure that’s not a term, but oh well). They see people supporting something en mass and decide, “Everyone is jumping on that bandwagon? I’ve never seen that show, but now I hate it just because that’s what people are talking about.” Oh well, it happens.
Oh, and Jamie, Chuck is not a flop. It’s not a hit either, but it’s certainly not a flop. Getting above network averages in perhaps the toughest time slot of the week qualifies it as slightly above average, definitely not a flop. Kings…now that was a flop.
Robert, agreed.
The fact is, you can choose to ignore the comments in threads that have no direct relation to Chuck when you see them, but when you come into a thread that has Chuck in the title and complain about people talking about Chuck, it’s just ridiculous.
NBC isn’t exactly known for sound business decisions which is why they didn’t capitalize on the Chuck 3D ratings. The network over promotes bad shows and under promotes good shows which gives them bad ratings on practically almost all shows.
I give Robert props 100% it’s all about being realistic. Most of the die hard fans who go on and on about their show being renewed with bad numbers simply need to get with reality as that’s how the show pays for itself. If a show has a bad index there’s a high probability it’s gone and vice versa. Until the TV metrics change this index seems like a pretty reliable indicator.
@KN: “I don’t fault NBC with lack of publicity at the beginning of the series or during the Olympics last summer – ads were everywhere – but they somehow aren’t targeting it correctly.”
I couldn’t agree with you more. NBC has been behind the show every step of the way, but the ads aren’t targeted correctly. They need to set the show up correctly as a quirky spy dramedy.
@John: “And just think if the $4,000 already raised was only a dollar a person, and you used the Nielsen ratings system of 18,000 per one Nielson Member, Thats 72,000,000 people watching the show!!!!”
That is some of the worst math I’ve ever seen.
So instead of thinking about the cancelation lets think of were season 3 will go
Personally I think it would be great to see the Chuck/Sarah relationship blossem and them moving things foward in secrete with Casey kinda knowing something is up but not what exactly and not wanting to know so he doesn’t have to report it. The will/they wont they thing has to end, but a hidden relationship would be funny. I think Morgan willl end up breaking up with Anna and ending up back at the Buy More affter a brief time in hawaii (a Harry Tang/Chuck in Hawaii episode would be great). Big Mike will end up in charge again because of a drunken Jeffster (like Vs the Marlin) mission to get rid of Emmet. Chuck gets a “fake” job at some computer software company (a front for the CIA/NSA). Morgan will find out about Chuck’s secrete from Awesome saying something at the wrong time (I think Awesome thinks Morgan knows, from the scene at the wedding). Ellie will be the only one who doesn’t know, and may make some great comedic results, especially with Morgan and Awesome bailing out Chuck (a good funny scene with those two bumbling around tailing Chuck and somehow rescueing him). A new recurring villain would be great, maybe Chucks mom (unknown of her past until the finale), or maybe finding out the General is behind “The Ring” . An episode of Chuck “training” would be good.. Chuck mucking up weapon training and testing the limits of his new Kung-Fu ability and such.
GOGOGOGOGO CHUCK! And nice Big Mike photo.
Zach Levi and Josh Gomez seem awesome. And another idea to save Chuck that wasn’t mentioned was the weheartchuck one, which is great. And I’m glad they emphasized that we need to keep bringing in new Chuck viewers. But overall, I think that things are looking good for Chuck, as far as getting a 3rd season.
Chuck is the best show ever!
John, I’m a Chuck fan, but this isn’t a fan board to discuss the substance of the show. Better to focus on the ratings and renewal here and speculate on plot lines at NBC’s board or other fan board.
David1,
Substance may equal ratings. Thinking positively about the show is what its all about, so me posting what I would like to see, and maybe having just one of my ideas used (even if it by random luck of the draw). 15 days of Chuck is all about hoping this show comes back, so why cant I write what I hope to see?
Great idea on capitalizing Yvonne and Zach in promotions. I mean, Zach is, as evidenced by almost every interview he’s done, a very personable character. Yvonne is stunning, charming, and she has that cool accent to boot.
There’s a clip of them from Comic-Con with Zach making fun of the way she says “No”. They need to do more of that. Play up the romance, the family centered-ness of the show, the offer of escapism. I wish I was an NBC exec, I’d do a much better job (only half-kidding).
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SL6_I-opDHU
IMHO, the problem with Chuck as mentioned above is that most people really don’t know what the show is about. Chuck is a guy learning the hard way how to be a spy and having a forbidden spy romance. That is a juicy plot line. ‘Chuck the geek’ is not a juicy plot line and is not accurate either. But that is what the outside world has heard about the show over and over.
If I was in charge of marketing advertisements for this show, I would show lots and lots of Sarah and Chuck doing their romantic/silly thing together, with some action scenes with Casey, some comedy moments with the great characters of Awesome and Ellie and I would leave the Buy More stuff out of it mostly. So that the general viewing public thinks the show looks cool. Not saying the show itself would change at all, just that the goal of marketing should be to clearly tell the Charah story and why it is intriguing.
I also would have Yvonne’s face EVERYWHERE on talk shows, ect..
Marketing means getting people to be curious about the show so they will watch it. The real strength of the show is the Charah relationship and the spy adventures, while the buy more plots are very rarely central to the show anymore.
Of course this is just my personal opinion and I am strictly talking about marketing, not changing content.
I have a question I posted on the Day four thread. Hopefully someone can answer it here.
I just inspired a friend to start watching the series. Since he doesn’t have a Nielsen box, how would he count? How does any new watcher matter if they are not part of the magical Nielsen household?
What a great picture! I love Big Mike!
Vivement le 19 mai!!!!
Thank you for the series of articles on Chuck!
They keep this Chuck fan feeling upbeat.
imkeh, a non-Nielsen viewer can count buy watching episodes at hulu.com, downloading them on iTunes, or buying the DVDs.
Isn’t all of this talk about marketing and building viewership moot??
I mean, if the ratings are based upon the Nielsen system then theoretically adding 1,000,000 viewers to any given show through good marketing and promotion only helps if some of those people are Nielsen people. Am I missing something?
If anything, all of this campaigning for Chuck might suggest there are other things that can measure a shows popularity, assuming these sort of things continue during a season, and it’s value to advertisers.
Imkeh, a better question might be: how do any of us matter without a Nielsen box? It isn’t just newcomers. I don’t claim to be an expert on the matter, but I don’t think they directly impact the ratings in any way, but it never hurts to have more fans. NBC does get results from online viewing, iTunes purchases, etc. It in no way is a huge factor in the decision-making process regarding renewal, but it never hurts for them to see new users online.
Everyone in the country may be watching Chuck, except for a few thousand Nielson viewers, but I don’t think that is the likely case either.
Promotion and bringing in more fans, even if they aren’t Nieslon viewers, does help the show. How are the Nielson viewers going to get into the show? If they see the promotion or hear from someone that the show is good. How are are they going to hear that the show is good? Likely from a non-Nielson watcher. I don’t believe it is a lost cause to target non-Nielsons.
I have never in my life met a neilsen watcher. That is 1000’s of people.
5$, they’re not supposed to divulge they’re Nielsen families. You still likely have never met one, but it’s possible you did and just didn’t know it.
Corey, your answer was the most helpful thanks. Maybe my friend is a Nielsen-er and he just can’t tell me
.
I think NBC and all the other networks will likely soon have to put more of an importance on DVR-ed shows, hulu, iTunes, other online viewings. The technology isn’t just gonna go away and will only grow bigger. I’d like to see numbers on how popular a show really is based on viwership off all the media, and not just from NIelsen boxes. I would think keeping track of DVR-ed shows, online viewings will be more representative, since theoretically, they can all be counted, and you don’t have to get just a random sampling.
Sorry, I really meant KN’s answer was the most helpful. Thanks, KN. Corey, thank you too of course.
http://www.associatedcontent.com/article/18895/what_you_should_know_about_nielsen.html?cat=39
25,000 boxes 300,000,000 homes. That is 1 box per 12,000 people.
You would have to know thousands of people to get your word heard.
The odds are not good.
Yea, um, Sarah-luster, I agree. It’s a frustrating system.
Robert, is there anyone in the industry pushing for the elimination or modification of the current ratings system? I feel like nobody among the Average Joes likes the Nielsen system, but is anyone trying to introduce a new way of measuring these things? Or is everyone pretty much just resigned to keeping this archaic system in use?
Sarah,
Just to clarify, 300,000,000 is population (approx.), not households.
Yeah I mean on box per 12,000 people not homes.
Except that’s not true, Sarah. There’s more than one person in each household. There are approximately 114.5 mil households. One box for approximately 4500 households.
“You would have to know thousands of people to get your word heard.”
You may not know thousands of people, but the people you know collectively know thousands of people. Plus, you aren’t the only one spreading the word.
I’m trying to think of that 80s TV commercial…
I have to applaude you guys. Chuck fans really are the best. I started going to this site for the tv news, but have found myself on it everyday to read about Chuck and read all of your comments.
Chuck fans are geniuses. First the Subway campaign, now the Have a Heart campaign. I wrote about Chuck fans in My Blog and included a link to the Have a Heart – Save Chuck website that gives instructions. I’m a screenwriter writing about my pursuit of writing. Unfortunately that doesn’t seem to interest too many people but I’m hoping I’ll be able to get a few people to click the link and join this campaign.
Chuck fans are awesome.
I have given to the heart campaign. Chuck always does the right thing. Lets hope NBC does the same. Chuck is well . . . awsome
The American Heart Association campaign is a GREAT idea! Heart disease kills more people than does cancer every year. Have already made two donations – one for each NBC exec (Ben Silverman and Angela Bromstad) – they receive an email notification of a donation being made in the name of “Chuck Bartowski.” So people, if you can spare a few bucks and you “CHUCK” person, go the the chucktv.net site and donate to AHA. Help save CHUCK and help save lives. What a deal! One other thing worth mentioning, the petition to “Save Chuck” that is linked on Zach Levi’s site and can be accessed at http://petitionspot.com/petitions/renewnbcchuck has reached 36,000 signers. Let’s be honest, Chuck-haters, that’s a BIG number for an online petition having to do with a TV show. There are more “Chuck-LOVERS” out there than you think. Remember, it’s better to “love” than to “hate.” So join us – become “CHUCK-LOVERS.” It will change those sour pusses into BIG HAPPY SMILES!!! And isn’t that what the world needs more of – more smiles – more love!!!!
I agree that they should spread Yvonne’s face everywhere. She’s the main reason I’d check out the show, just like Summer is the main attraction on TSCC and Eliza is the main attraction on Dollhouse.
Also, Adam Baldwin is a cool dude and anybody who likes him from past roles, especially Firefly, should see him in action.
I downloaded two interview clips of Yvonne last night just to check her out some more. I got somewhat interested in the show last February when I sat in on the Chuck panel at WonderCon because it was on before the TSCC panel. Yvonne looked seriously hot and the cast all acted very cool.
If it wasn’t for the dramedy and the premise, I’d probably be a regular viewer.
Let’s be honest, Chuck-haters, that’s a BIG number for an online petition having to do with a TV show.
Not really. The Arrested Development one had well over 100k if I remember correctly. Guess what happened to Arrested Development? And it was an official Fox site that had the petition up. Shows you how much online petitions matter.
^ Richard have your ever tried watching an episode?
Not yet, Rob. I still have this issue with the premise and it being a dramedy.
OTOH, Leverage is “sort of” a dramedy – there’s a LOT of comedy in it – and I love that show.
I suppose I should download some episodes of Chuck and see how it goes – especially the ones with Yvonne in her underwear…
lol richard, I’m glad you are giving it a shot. The series premiere has two scenes with Yvonne in her underwear…
So where are the Yvonne Strahovski interviews? In her underwear?
(Back after having seen interview)
Yep, the broadcast model is rapidly dying – they have viewers all over the world, but none of them count – tsk tsk.
Richard, just so you know, theWB.com has put Season 1 of Chuck online for viewing. They also have a clip section with some good segments from a few episodes, if you want to check out something shorter than full episodes.
Richard, along with FrankJ’s good advice, you may want to also look at some of the ones on NBC’s main show or Hulu. There is a noticeable difference in quality (at least to me, some of the early shows I cringed a bit, frankly — and I do watch the show with an overall favorable rating, it is worth a look
). On NBC’s show site, Episodes 217 and 219 — 222 have a significant overall arc in them. Eps 215 – 216 tie together. The rest are mostly one-offs. Underwear episodes are 221 and 215, btw (that I recall, anyway) 
BTW, I have noticed that some episodes are now extended all the way to 9/20/09 for viewing. Probably nothing to do with the current Chuck renewal saga but odd curiosity I thought.
Clarification 1: When I say one-offs, I mean in the available episodes on the show site.
Clarification 2: When I say I cringed, I still saw considerable merit in the show in spite of my “what the…!” moments and stuck with it. I was rewarded with far fewer cringes and far more fun. Just want to clear the air on that. Chuck is worth a look.
*Methinks I should take a little more time composing messages on Fridays since brain is down by 48.3% efficiency by then*
Kermode your right of course, but without the USA network the WB could never fund the show, or could they, international broadcast sales must be high, I can’t remember the figure but I think chuck is sold in 60 some markets, which is allot, and it doesn’t count toward the domestic numbers Neilsen tracks, which is really the only numbers that concern NBC. Theoretically WB could still produce and sell chuck without NBC and provide it for direct download off their services and others, it would be successful but not as big as being on a network. And yes basically the current system is hijacked by the viewing habits and tastes of Americans, god help us all, lol albeit a small % of statistically sampled americans.
The world has changed, we all here love TV and watch it, talk about it and cherish it, sadly not everyone in the world is as enlightened as us few. But as we are seeing lately the neilsen system is flawed, its their responsibility to fix it or suffer, remember its their business model, if they can’t cut it someone else will.
Richard I love leverage too, I saw the pilot last summer and was glad to see it reappear in the fall, great show, though I have to download it, don’t get TNT up north here even though the show is produced in Canada, features many Canadian actors, but frankly Chuck is better watch. If your going to give it a chance get the season 1 DVD, or download the first & second episode, thats only 84 minutes of video, just google it, I guarantee you’ll want to keep watching.
You want more Yvonne just google Strahotski.
This episode on hulu from season two has self-centered chuck breaking up with sarah again even though he knows she is not allowed to really date ‘the asset’ (him) as more than a cover for their spy situation.
But it all backfires when Sarah ends up being chased around and tied up in her underwear by another spy in a hotel, with chuck trying to save her.
So yeah, underwear…
http://www.hulu.com/watch/60392/chuck-chuck-versus-the-beefcake#x-0,vepisode,1
Hulu sometimes takes a full minute to load the episode, sorry!
How many times more can I watch the last bit of the season finale? The expression of Casey (Ummm-ummm!!) was priceless!
I need my Chuck!
My name is Dustin; here are a few things you might want to know . . .
I am a huge Chuck fan. I hope it gets renewed. However, I am also a T:SCC fan, and if it also gets renewed, Chuck fans may want to consider looking into Terminator. They are not in competition for time slots, and they both contain great action. Just a thought. Also, there fans are as dedicated as we are – which says a lot!
However, I hope they save Chuck, best show on TV.
Two things that should be used strategically to recruit more viewers of a certain demo:
1.Hulu has a video with Sarah highlights: “Sarah Sizzles”:
http://www.hulu.com/watch/52947/chuck-sarah-sizzles.
2. This is one of the best moments on the show, awesomely set to Huey Lewis: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EsBYYg300iQ
Proof NBC needs Yvonne S. on more talkshows (she is adorable and charming):
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QP0kqwwF5fY
How is it possible that nothing changed and yet there’s still 88, now 89 comments for this post? Lol.
Now 90. I was out to dinner with some friends earlier and I was talking up Chuck. They think I’m crazy of course. But my plan is working. They are interested. Maybe they’re also Nielsen watchers and I just don’t know it. Hey, I can dream.
Thanks for the (underwear) episode references, guys! I think I will check them out over the weekend.
Richard dont start now to see Chuck, wait to the NBC decision, or you will be dragged in a world of madness like us.
Naah, I’m not that susceptible. Although I do get PO’d when a favorite show gets run into the toilet, like TSCC. And I would be ticked if both Fringe and Leverage were to get canceled after one season – but since they’ve both been renewed, I don’t have to worry about that – yet.
Actually Richard , even if I’m not a “Fanboy/man/girl/lady/gentleman/whatever”, it’s a good show …I believe it’ a cult because …it does not pretend to be a cult … ( I do not know if you undertsand what I mean ) ….in these tough times …1 hour of genuine fun per week is really not bad …you could start from the first season but I think you can enjoy also watching the second season…
Well, some of the places I download from have the little episode captions, so I’ll probably pick and choose various episodes depending on whether they seem to have a lot of Yvonne in them or the episode plot sounds good.
I think most “cult hits” get that way because they never tried to be.
As “stand alone episode ” and “best Yvonne fight ” I would suggest Chuck Vs The best friend
Oh , by the way , If you look for Sarah/Yvonne ( as everybody I think
) for sure I suggest : Chuck vs The Cougars and Chuck Vs The Delorean …
Ok- So even as a Chuck fan I think the above posts have gone a little too far- There are fan sites for these type of posts.
Chuck vs. NBC
Chuck may be the only thing that can save the network. Go Chuck Go!
Save Chuck, Save the Network
Richard,
I’d be careful about picking and choosing episodes. While not as heavy as FarScape, there’s still quite a bit of an arc, especially in Season 2. Even episodes that aren’t part of the main arc may still arc with another episode further down the road (IE, you really need to watch “Jill Trilogy” before watching Chuck Versus the First Kill for more background on Jill. The trilogy doesn’t really tie in to the main arc, but First Kill DOES).
I don’t think it’s AS bad as shows where you miss one episode and you miss everything, but it helps.
Also, don’t rule out the non-Sarah-centric episodes. Chuck Versus the Undercover Lover is one of the BEST episodes of Season 1, and it’s a John Casey focus.
If it were me, I’d just watch the whole series straight through. Swap the order for Versus the Suburbs and Best Friend, though. NBC changed the broadcast order because Obama hijacked the Monday after the 3D episode aired (order SHOULD be 3D – BF – Suburbs. That’s how the character development flows best).
It’s a GREAT thing to be a fan of Yvonne Strahovski – but PLEASE, NOT JUST FOR “UNDERWEAR SHOTS!” This woman is an amazing actress! Gorgeous, obviously – but much more than than, EXTREMELY TALENTED. She captures the entire range of human emotion without having to even say a word – just with facial expression alone. If you actually start following the show, you WILL grow to appreciate her more for her acting skills than for how good she looks in her underwear – I GUARANTEE IT!!!
Some of the previous posts esp the one by the Hack dude has definitely upped the creep factor. Down, boy.
^AMEN RICK!!!! Couldn’t have said it better myself
Rick, I agree. All I want is to see Sarah smile, and to me she is all about amazingly talented acting. I actually respect her so much as a person that I don’t even think of her except as a shining star.
That is why I linked an entire episode…not some random snippet.
Richard, a word of advice when you watch Chuck. Give it time. When I first watched it I didn’t see what the big deal was but I gave it a few episodes and everything about the show just clicked.
*snickers
Oh my, you guys are really smitten. I agree about Yvonne. She gives great nuanced performances. I really hope she goes on to become a success (but after Chuck). In this business though, it’s hard. Not all talented and beautiful actresses make it big.
You’ll get your wish on seeing a 3rd season of Chuck. Inside source sent a logo for their 3rd season which I can’t copy and paste here but;
Warner Bros’ Believe Season 3 is a Go!
a source sent a screen capture from an internal WB Press Site. It clearly shows they are prepping for season 3.
below is a web-page with a pull-down menu of seasons and it shows a season 3 in the menu and up above the name “CHUCK” are the menu with the usual (photos) (summary) (press release) (press kit) (fact sheet)(promo)
Ron Wolfe
editor
Davron, that’s likely as meaningful to what actually happens as NBC’s accidentally posting Chuck’s season two finale as a series finale. In other words, not meaningful at all.
There was a comment in the NBC infronts post that had links to the websites they had set up for several pilots that weren’t picked up.
I think both Yvonne S. and Zachary L. will both find success beyond Chuck, particularly in film. Yvonne certainly is talented, beautiful and charming. More evidence that NBC is messing up the promotion of the show, but not putting both of them on national talkshows more often.
While some people be drawn to the show by Sarah in her underwear, the show does do a lot of those scenes with a wink. That’s why I like Sarah’s windblown entrance into the BuyMore linked above (Well, that and the Huey Lewis). If she didn’t have the talent and the personality to back it up, the emphasis on her attractiveness would get old (at least by me, a female viewer smitten by Sarah).
Also, SpoilerTV has a screenshot of an internal WB press site showing Season 3 listed:
http://spoilertv.blogspot.com/2009/05/chuck-warner-bros-believe-season-3-is.html#comments
Where’s my Daily does of Chuck for Day 6 pls?
*dose
imkeh, just posted it.
As long as we’re on an Yvonne/Sarah “bent,” and noting how “high” on 80’s music Josh Schwartz and Chris Fedak seem to be (I absolutely LOVED that Talking Heads “Same as it ever was” in the Chuck vs. the Suburbs episode) – certainly at some point in Season 3 – WHICH THERE WILL BE – they’ve got to incorporate at least a line or two from one or the other of these “hits” which I believe were from the 80’s (1) “Sarah Smile” by Hall & Oates, (2) “Sarah” by what I believe was called at that point either Jefferson Starship or just Starship (originally Jefferson Airplane with Grace Slick). I’m sure there are others out there with “Sarah” in the title, but my mind is hitting a wall at this point. (And PLEASE, no homage to her other fake name, JENNY, with that “Jenny, Jenny 867-5309″ song by whoever that one hit wonder guy was back in the 80s).
And please, PLEASE, Josh and Chris (if you’re reading this – and why wouldn’t you as it’s about CHUCK??) somehow find a way to incorporate a song with the greatest rock ‘n’ roll vocalist EVER – Paul Rodgers – still THE BEST at age 60! A Casey segment with the lyrics to “Bad Company” would be great – anything with Paul Rodgers would ROCK, ROCK, ROCK!!
And one final note while I’m rambling (before going out to pick up flowers for Mom for Mother’s Day and going to give the invocation at an evening wedding), what are the chances that in Season 3, Chuck finds out what “Sarah’s” REAL NAME IS?!?? At some point, that has to come into play. She knows EVERYTHING about CHUCK, his family, etc., and HE’S the “asset/Intersect.” Doesn’t seem logical that at least at this point in their lives together he wouldn’t come to know her real name, even if he didn’t actually use it! Just a thought. It would be kind of fun to have a “guess Sarah’s REAL name” contest on one of the fan sites.
Anyway, thanks again, tvbythenumbers! This here “fanMAN” loves CHUCK and ain’t ashamed to admit it! Bring on Season 3, NBC!! NOW!!!!
KN:
My wife also admires Yvonne/Sarah. We think of her as an Emma Thompson type because she is a playwright as well as graduating from one of the top theater schools in Sydney.
They could drop the underwear for good and it wouldn’t matter to me. Sarah’s character has a tragic background, a girl whose dad was no good and finally was tossed in federal prison. Sarah never even got to celebrate thanksgiving and christmas. So then the CIA takes over her upbringing just to use her as another gov’t mule. So she literally has no life of her own when she meets chuck. She is gov’t property and chuck is as well.
Half the story is obviously about chuck learning to be a spy but the other half is about Sarah learning to be a woman. She still doesn’t stand up for herself with chuck or bryce or anyone, she is just too good natured underneath her spy exterior. I find this aspect of the show interesting. I like to see her have something genuinely to be happy about because usually her life is devoid of normal human sympathy. Chuck could learn a little empathy himself…
Anyway, I will not believe the show is renewed until they announce it. I think the internet development stuff is usually done ahead of time just in case.
I’ll preface this by saying that while I’m a huge Chuck fan, I don’t wish it success at the expense of another show.
I have a question for Bill and Robert and anyone else who might have insight:
When Chuck finished its season it was trending up in the ratings. NBC just announced the pickup of Southland and Parks & Rec, which are sliding downward.
Assuming that Chuck is renewed, what are the odds that the longer NBC waits to announce it, the larger the order may end up being if Southland and Parks & Rec continue to lose viewers?
Is there a point at which NBC would have to yield and take what WB offers to either save face or get a show on the air that can guarantee them 6.5m and a 2.3-2.5 in the demo which they could have avoided by announcing a 13 episode order on the 4th?
Sure they could just cancel Chuck but putting a pilot in its place is risky as the odds are not favor of their success and they’re more expensive to produce.
Just curious as to what people think.
I’ll preface this by saying that while I’m a huge Chuck fan, I don’t wish it success at the expense of another show.
I have a question for Bill and Robert and anyone else who might have insight:
When Chuck finished its season it was trending up in the ratings. NBC just announced the pickup of Southland and Parks & Rec, which are sliding downward.
Assuming that Chuck is renewed, what are the odds that the longer NBC waits to announce it, the larger the order may end up being if Southland and Parks & Rec continue to lose viewers?
Is there a point at which NBC would have to yield and take what WB offers to either save face or get a show on the air that can guarantee them 6.5m and a 2.3-2.5 in the demo which they could have avoided by announcing a 13 episode order on the 4th?
Sure they could just cancel Chuck but putting a pilot in its place is risky as the odds are not favor of their success and they’re more expensive to produce.
Just curious as to what people think.
dave – great insight into the Sarah “dynamic.” That’s something most people (including myself) don’t point out enough. One of the reasons that people love this show so much is because they sympathize with the characters. They’re all “flawed” in some way – they all have problems/defects just like all of us have to one degree or another. That’s why fans root for them so much – and especially are rooting for wanting to see CHUCK and Sarah get together for good. They obviously both had crappy childhoods/upbringings, but for different reasons. Those are the kind of people that you want to root for and that’s one of if not the BIGGEST thing that makes CHUCK so appealing. Thanks for pointing that out. It’s not just about “Sarah in her underwear.”
NBC does handle it well, however, with kind of a “wink, wink” and a “nudge, nudge” without “overexploiting it” if you know what I mean. Just like the shameless Subway, Call of Duty, Guitar hero promotions (which I find hillarious) – the show writers do those “commercials” with a good sense of humor – the same applies to the “underweared” Sarah. But I’m with you – for season 3, delve more into the complexities of the characters. There is some really good stuff there. Chuck vs. The Delorean and the episode where Sarah goes back to her high school reunion (drawing a blank on the actual episode title) where great episodes – among the best this season -because they really got into the characters.
chuck vs cougars
Actually, you have to remember that aside from three or four interview clips I’ve downloaded and one or two clips of her on the show I got via Superiorpics, I’ve never seen Yvonne “live” except at WonderCon or acting.
Actually from the few short clips I’ve seen of her on Chuck, she does have not only a striking appearance but appears to be a good actress as well. I’ll see when I check out some episodes.
In other words, I’m not just an “underwear” guy. I do appreciate more than that. But the underwear scenes kinda grab a guy’s attention first, right?
And while I’m sure I’ll enjoy Adam Baldwin, for old time Firefly sakes, pretty much everybody else on the show probably won’t interest me much. Although I’ve heard good things about the lady who plays Zach’s sister.
I’m not worried about not following the arcs. Plenty of Web sites around to explain each show, I’m sure. If I see an arc that seems interesting, I’ll get those shows.
Rick Holy, your point about the characters, especially Sarah and Chuck having crappy childhoods, is identical to the characters of Parker and Hardison on Leverage. Those two were both foster children, and Parker is ashamed of it because she blames it for her turning into a thief, and Hardison comforts her about it in one episode. As a result, there’s a budding romance between those two. Check out Leverage some time – the dynamics between those two are excellent, as is the constant tension between Nate and Sophie – especially when Nate’s ex-wife enters the picture in the last two episodes.
And both Gina Bellman and Beth Riesgraf are excellent actors. Everybody on the show is excellent, especially Mark Shepherd as Nate’s nemesis, Jim Stirling. For those who like Chuck, I think you’ll find Leverage has a lot of similar aspects to it: action, romance, slick plots, great writing, lots of geek attitude. The first season on TNT is over but it’s been picked up for season 2. The con games they run have holes you could drive a truck through, but the show is so good I cut it slack in that department,
I’ve never heard of Leverage (just like many people with whom I’ve spoken have never heard of Chuck), but I’m always willing to check out a good show. I can’t watch ‘em all during the season (not enough time), but if it’s as good as advertised, I’d have no problem picking it up on DVD or checking out the Season on HULU (if all the episodes are available). For example, I never watched one single episode of Battlestar Galactica while it was on the first three years, but then I heard/read how good it was, so I picked up the first three seasons on DVD. (I purposely didn’t watch any of this current season because I had to catch up on the first three seasons – I’ll buy Season 4 when it’s released). But once I started watching it, I got hooked. It intrigued the heck out of me. (Being a Catholic Priest, I found the Cylons monotheism vs. the Humans polytheism “way” interesting. I’ll be interested to see how it all works out after I get Season 4 onces it’s released).
But that’s how a lot of this stuff works – and a BIG reason why I like this site. People will talk about GOOD shows that I’ve never heard of. If I’m able to watch them during the season, I will. (I usually have to limit myself to 3 or 4 shows a season – this year it’s LOST & Smallville (which I’ve followed for years), and of course CHUCK – which I find totally entertaining and just plain fun. Again, they’re very diffrent shows, but each appealing in their own way). As for shows that people strongly recommend that I can’t make the time to watch, I’ll go the DVD route when they’re released.
Some shows I start watching but then they just lost my interest. I was absolutely a HEROES fanatic during Season 1 and for a good part of Season 2. Then it really just got “bad” as far as I was concerned at the end of Season 2 and all of Season 3 that I had been watching, so I stopped. I gave it a fair shake, I thought, but then just had to give up on it.
Sarah Connor/Terminator I started watching during the first Season, and then for some reason stopped watching it. Can’t remember why. Either a show I liked better was on at the same time (CHUCK, perhaps???), or – as I mentioned before – I had to limit myself to the number of shows I watched and Sarah Connor got dropped from my list. I acutally loved the lead actress (who I believe was in the movie 300) and also Summer Glau (?), but for whatever reason, just stopped watching it. For those who LOVE it, I hope it gets renewed, but apparently it’s not looking promising.
I guess the sad part in all of this is that whatever your favorite show is, whatever network it’s on, the predominance of these stupid reality shows is really the culprit behind having fewer and fewer of these good, interesting, engage and stimulate your imagination kind of shows to watch. Honestly, how “little” have our (American’s) brains gotten when we find “entertaining,” and “stimulating to our brains” (which are actually more geared toward story-telling and listening to REAL stories) shows like DWTS, Bachelor/Bachelorette, American Idol, Next Top Model, shows about cooking, losing weight, etc,. The culprit is not each other’s favorite shows which tell good stories, but all of this reality crap. Until we can “change the landscape” of TV back in the other direction, reality crap will dominate and we’ll have fewer and fewer good, engaging, entertaining shows to watch. That’s the sad reality.
(Sorry for the rambling. It’s the “preacher” in my coming out)
And for any mothers out there – HAPPY MOTHERS’ DAY!!!!
I only watched four shows this year (I download since I don’t have a TV). So I pick ‘em carefully.
The Leverage pilot was recommended by Cory Doctorow (well known sci-fi writer) on his BoingBoing Web site as being geek cred heavy, so naturally I checked it out.
Don’t really remember why I got interested in Fringe, other than the premise being similar to X-Files. I’m just glad I did.
I downloaded the TSCC original pilot (not the pilot that aired) long before the show aired. There were two obvious reasons: 1) it’s TERMINATOR! How could I lose? (I found out! LOL!), and 2) Summer Glau was cast as the female protective Terminator! Again, how could I lose? Every single person who learned of that casting undoubtedly had the immediate same reaction: John Connor’s gonna hook up with the Terminator! How could we lose? Robot sex!
Dollhouse was the last show I got interested in, mostly because of the hype over Joss Whedon’s previous shows (and I finally got around to watching Firefly AFTER I saw Serenity, and Serenity is also where I got interested in Summer Glau) and because of the premise which I thought at least sounded promising.
I can actually understand the appeal of some reality shows. Dancing With The Stars has some attractive people competing at a “sex surrogate” activity, dancing, so obviously it will pull big numbers. Same with things like model shows; looking at hot people isn’t going to be unattractive. It’s the reality shows about total idiots I can’t understand, other than the fact that people like thinking they’re better than the morons on TV. Explain Jerry Springer otherwise.
All of Leverage is on Hulu last time I looked, and it’s only 13 episodes including the pilot so you could get caught up on it pretty quickly. Correction: Just checked, Hulu has episode one plus five more episodes including the two part season finale. Mostly they link to the TNT Web site for the episodes. But the shows are mostly stand alone, so that would be enough to get you interested. There’s no real overall story arc but there is character development over the season which is part of the show’s appeal.
Leverage’s second season will begin this summer on Wednesdays starting July 15, at 9 pm/ET.
From the TNT site:
About the Show
TNT set Tuesday nights on fire this past winter with the first season of this thrilling, fast-paced drama series starring Oscar® winner Timothy Hutton (Ordinary People). This summer, the gang is back with more elaborate scams designed to exact revenge against those who use power and wealth to victimize people. Hutton stars as Nate Ford, a former insurance investigator determined to bring down the kind of corrupt bigwigs whose neglect led to the death of his son. His highly skilled team includes Sophie Devereaux (Gina Bellman – Coupling), a grifter who uses her acting skills to corner her marks; Eliot Spencer (Christian Kane – TNT’s Into the West), a “retrieval specialist” with bone-crunching fighting skills; Alec Hardison (Aldis Hodge – Friday Night Lights), a gadget and technology wizard who keeps the team connected and informed; and Parker (Beth Riesgraf – Alvin and the Chipmunks), a slightly off-center thief adept at repelling off buildings or squeezing into tight places. Together, the team puts their energy, quick minds and keen intellects toward securing justice for society’s underdogs.
LEVERAGE, which is executive-produced by Dean Devlin (Independence Day, TNT’s The Librarian movies), has scored big in its first season, ranking as ad-supported cable’s #1 show in its timeslot.
And Gina Bellman is THE sultriest babe on TV these days with her cool Brit accent and incredibly husky voice. She ladles it on!
And in case someone needs one more reason to watch Leverage, check this shot out:
http://serieina.files.wordpress.com/2009/01/53725_gina_bellman3_122_29lo.jpg
The time to “save chuck” has passed. It ended right at the finale. I do not mean it is canceled, I mean that the die is either already cast, or the very final outcome is determined by something else. The time to up the ratings and views was before the end.
In fact, pushing hard the last week or so might be a marginal negative (but more likely no impact). Why? One of the scenarios is that a negotiation is taking place. My guess is that NBC wants Chuck, but wants to haggle on price. If the owners of the show misread this fact and even the campaign to save it, NBC may be be prepared to cut it loose when it really would like to keep it.
LR, there is no chance the save Chuck efforts have had a negative effect. Chances are they have had almost no effect, but certainly not a negative one. I agree that money was likely the delaying factor.