Save CHUCK: It’s Now or Never

One of the toughest things about being without internet this week is not being able to post all the great posts, videos, and other creative ways people are trying to get the word out about CHUCK. Glad everyone is keeping up all the support…it’s important.

Ratings were up last week which is fantastic!  But NBC hasn’t yet renewed the show so now is not the time to let up. CHUCK is back tonight with an all new episode and it looks incredible! Make sure you get those Twitter reminders out; update those Facebook pages; and get the rope ready to tie the indifferent down to a chair and make them watch. Ok, perhaps that’s going a bit too far but you get what I’m saying…make sure everyone is watching CHUCK tonight at 8pm on NBC!

Awesome from Awesome…
Yesterday morning I received a really sweet email from Ryan McPartlin (Devon ‘Captain Awesome’ Woodcomb). He basically wanted me to thank all of YOU for your support of CHUCK.”Please let all the fans know how much we as a cast appreciate the twittering, facebooking, emailing, etc.”  The cast and crew know all you are doing and they wanted to send their thanks.

Can Chuck Be Saved?

The New York Times asked that very question of CHUCK creator Josh Schwartz.

As of this moment, do you know where “Chuck” stands?
Sitting here today, I do not know. Which is a tricky place to be, emotionally. The last two episodes are certainly the best that we’ve done, and I feel like the whole season has been building. To feel this coalescing of the inter-Web forces, in support of the show, has been really remarkable. (Continue reading to hear more about CHUCK from Josh Schwartz)

An Open Letter to NBC…
One of CHUCK’s biggest supporters is none other than one of my favorite TV critics, Alan Sepinwall.  Today Alan wrote an open letter to NBC in support of CHUCK. Here’s an excerpt from his letter.  Please continue reading the letter and then pass the link on so others can read what Alan has to say. Perhaps his impassioned plea will be the catalyst to get a newbie watching tonight.

Dear Ben, Marc and Angela: I know this is a busy time for you. Two weeks from today, you’re going to be announcing your prime-time schedule for the 2009-10 TV season, and you still need to figure out how to make that work when you’re devoting the 10 o’clock hour to Jay Leno five nights a week. So I’ll get right to the point:

If that schedule doesn’t include “Chuck,” I’m going to be very unhappy. And, I think, you might come to regret it, too.

Why, when you have such a tight schedule, would you bring back a show that routinely finishes a distant fourth in its time slot? Well, beside the fact that it’s one of the most brutal time slots on television — up against “Dancing with the Stars,” “House” and the CBS comedies (not to mention “Chuck” co-creator Josh Schwartz’s “Gossip Girl” on the CW) — I can think of a bunch of reasons, both creative and financial, for continuing to follow the comic adventures of nerd-turned-spy Chuck (Zachary Levi) as he saves the world while trying to get that computer of government intelligence out of his head.

1. Product integration. It’s more necessary than ever, as you try to make money while more and more viewers are using their DVRs to skip commercials. And few shows on your air are better-served to shill for the sponsors than “Chuck.”

Chuck’s day job is at an electronics store; his boss, Big Mike (Mark Christopher Lawrence), is a relentless chow-hound, and his spy missions regularly involve cool cars and other gadgets. Right there, you’ve got opportunities to seamlessly insert almost any kind of product into the narrative. Maybe you ask them to put the beloved Crown Vic of Chuck’s surly handler Casey (Adam Baldwin) in the shop again and show him temporarily tooling around in a Prius and discovering that he really likes fuel efficiency.

And unlike those smart alecks over on “30 Rock,” Schwartz, Chris Fedak and the rest of the “Chuck” writers don’t feel the need to make fun of product integration even as they’re doing it. They have no problem being shameless about it, like the scene in last week’s episode where Chuck’s friend Morgan (Joshua Gomez) tried to butter up Big Mike by bringing him a Subway $5 foot-long. “The Price Is Right” isn’t as complimentary of its prizes as Big Mike was of that Sweet Onion Chicken Teriyaki. If blatant pimping is the price of continued existence, they (and we) are more than happy to pay it.

2. Recession escapism. “Escapism” seems to be buzzword du jour in your business as you try to find what people will want to watch in this harsh economic climate. As a mixture of farce and cool spy action, “Chuck” fits the bill perfectly. I’m a professional TV watcher, and even I have to admit there are some great shows on television these days that I need to brace myself to watch. Never “Chuck.” It’s always the highlight — and greatest relief — of my day, week after week.

(continue reading “Chuck: An Open Letter to NBC to Save it“)