The Hylton Memoirs

I don’t watch TV and I don’t have programs, at least not like most people.
I hate “Friends.” I think “Sex in the City” is shallow. And, gasp, it’s obvious to me that “American Idol” became the first reality competition show to jump the shark when Carrie Underwood won in season four (her advanced level of super-hotness turned the Idol into an unavoidable sequence of diminishing returns).
Since I started college, focused my life on journalism and various shenanigans involving leather balls and discovered that Thursday’s a drinking night (is that statement redundant?), I just haven’t watched much TV (except, of course, for sports, doctor shows that remind me of what life could have been, and a brief fling with “Breaking Bonaduce”). My last devotion to a television show ended with “Saved by the Bell” and the “90210”/“Baywatch” after-school power hour.
But I do love me some “Chuck.”
For those who don’t watch, “Chuck” is a nerd-spy dramedy on NBC. The main character is Chuck Bartowski (played by Zachary Levi), an employ at a Best Buy ripoff called Buy More, who accidentally downloads a government intelligence database called the Intersect and then falls under the protection of two government handlers (the smokin’ hot Yvonne Strahovski and the perfectly cast Adam Baldwin). Chuck uses the Intersect (Levi’s flash face is the modern equivalent of Elizabeth Montgomery’s nose twitch on “Bewitched”) to help complete top-secret spy missions, all while balancing his work schedule and friendships at the Buy More.
If you’ve never watched, do it now. The show is a unique blend of well-executed comedy and action. The last half of season two is nothing short of incredible, delivering incredible drama while never wavering from it’s goofy nature. It’s also an interesting combination of TV’s old school “case of the week” format and the overreaching story arc used by most of today’s shows.
Unfortunately, NBC might pull the plug next week.
Chuck has struggled in the ratings and NBC is a distant fourth to Fox, CBS and ABC at the moment and desperate to make a move. The network has also given five hours of primetime to Jay Leno and his nation-state of a chin starting in the fall, meaning there’s going to be a big-time crunch on current programming.
Cutting “Chuck” would be a big mistake. I have many personal reasons why I want the show to get a third season, but today I’m going to  give a list of practical reasons why “Chuck” should – nay, needs to live on:

-    Product placement: The show is like James Bond set in a Best Buy. We’re probably not going to see Orion’s cool wrist computer with an Apple logo or Nerd Herders rocking Aston Martins, but the show has infinite potential for corporate whoring disguised as cool toys (not to mention the store displays like the ones for Gears or War 2 and Guitar Hero in Chuck Versus Santa Claus).
-    Great cast: No leads on television show better chemistry than Levi and Strahovski (except maybe Jeremy Piven, Adrian Grenier and Kevin Connolly on “Entourage”). Levi is awkward but charming in a way unique to him and Strahovski is the perfect token hot blonde, except that she’s also a master of the action sequences and grasp of dramatic acting keeps the normally frustrating will-they-won’t-they dynamic of the show from getting stale. Throw in Adam Baldwin in another fantastic role, Sarah Lancaster (Gift Shop Girl!), those wacky Buy More stooges (Morgan and his condom IOU or Jeffster! anyone?), and some nice guest appearances and Chuck has one of the best cast’s on television.
-    The ratings fallacy: Do you really think most of Chuck’s fanbase belongs to the Nielsen box crew? I don’t. Chuck markets to the young and nerdy, people who don’t watch TV on TV. They watch on the net and buy the DVDs. The comparison isn’t perfect, but I think Chuck can follow the lead of “Scrubs” and “Family Guy,” shows that didn’t always fare so well in the ratings but proved their worth by killing in DVD sales and syndication. “Chuck Versus the Ring” is the No. 8 comedy on iTunes’ list of top TV episodes, and that’s all I really need to know.
-    Fun: Chuck’s main draw. You can find smarter comedies and better drama elsewhere on TV, but “Chuck” is action and 80s references and drama and silly, lighthearted comedy all rolled in to an hour-long show. It’s different than everything else on TV and manages to be heartfelt without being cheesy. Quite simply, it’s fun to watch and the characters are easy to care about.
-    Quality: It’s the best show on a network that is really struggling. NBC, are you really going to run out a show like Parks and Recreation and give Jay Leno five hours of primetime and then expect any sort of credibility when you say that Chuck isn’t good enough for a third season? Look, maybe Chuck’s ratings aren’t where you’d like them to be, but you did put the show in the television death slot against Fox’s “House,” ABC’s Dancing With The Stars and CBS’ “Big Bang Theory” and “How I Met Your Mother” and leading up to the floundering “Heroes.” How about moving it to Thursday nights as a lead-in for “The Office” and “My Name is Earl,” shows that people actually watch.

I can appreciate that NBC has a tough decision to make, but “Chuck” needs to continue. Or rather, as much as Chuck deserves another season, I need it to continue. But I’ll get to that next time…