Chuck

Chicago Sun-TimesDoug Elfman

Cute, creative and slick, this is one of the best new shows of the fall season.

USA TodayRobert Bianco

In a sense, Monday's promising premiere is the first in a three-part introduction, with each episode building on and improving upon the one before.

New York Daily NewsDavid Hinckley

Chuck sounds like a regrettably derivative idea - a remake of "Jake 2.0." But it's not. Chuck is a blast.

Entertainment WeeklyGillian Flynn

While there are a a few too many "awkward-guy moments," there are enough genuinely sweet ones to balance them out. [28 Sep 2007, p.93]

LA WeeklyRobert Abele

It's actually a kick to watch. Its joys are broader and self-consciously zanier than the CW series.

VarietyBrian Lowry

Chuck possesses modest charm, impressive stunt work and another mildly appealing reluctant hero.

NewsdayDiane Werts

The real-world intrigue is matched in dramatic flair by Chuck-world jeopardy. His store's fierce assistant-manager competition resounds as fatefully as saving the universe from evil. Which makes the dark light enough and the light dark enough to meld into a tasty escapist treat.

Los Angeles TimesRobert Lloyd

The pilot is an especially persuasive hour of action-adventure, but subsequent lower-budget episodes preserve the esprit and suspense.

Kansas City StarAaron Barnhart

The results aren't much different from a video game, for the violence on Chuck is pretty cartoony, but after watching two episodes I’m hooked. This is a fun escapist show.

Orlando SentinelHal Boedeker

Chases, stunts and explosions fill the funny, flashy adventure.

Washington PostTom Shales

The show has a happily palpable likability going for it, a lot of that courtesy of Zachary Levi, who plays the unlikely and in fact unwilling hero.

Miami HeraldGlenn Garvin

Schwartz's good eye for characters and cutting sense of humor--makes Chuck a thoroughly enjoyable romp.

Newark Star-LedgerAlan Sepinwall

Chuck starts a step slower, with more exposition in the first two episodes and no larger-than-life character like Satan to smooth over that, but by episode three, it's just as assured and entertaining in its own extremely similar way.

The New York TimesAlessandra Stanley

The series is part spy spoof, part workplace comedy, and it is a genuinely engaging homage to the nerd hero.

SlateTroy Patterson

Their new show has both the nerve to link up twentysomething malaise and 21st-century terror-angst and the good nature to make the proposition look endearing.

Detroit Free PressMike Duffy

It's headed in the right direction ... fast, loose and fun.

Philadelphia Daily NewsEllen Gray

"The O.C." team of Josh Schwartz and McG keep this one fast and mostly funny, but it's no "Heroes."

Philadelphia InquirerJonathan Storm

Chuck is one of two new fantastical shows premiering Monday on NBC, making a Heroes sandwich. That's fantastical, not fantastic.

Hollywood ReporterBarry Garron

The pilot is full of dark, dangerous and sexy moments.

Boston GlobeMatthew Gilbert

It's good, not great, and tonight's strong pilot gives way next week to a noticeably less stellar hour.

New York PostLinda Stasi

For reasons too obvious to bother with, NBC managed to take a really terrific and fun premiere and somehow let it morph over the following episodes into just another take-it-or-leave-it show.

Seattle Post-IntelligencerMelanie McFarland

Chuck is, at its best, cute--and that's not enough to keep up with the big dogs.

Chicago TribuneMaureen Ryan

Still, despite Chuck’s zippy pace and fun dialogue, this nerd-friendly "spy-fi" show from "O.C." creator Josh Schwartz has plot holes you could drive a truck through.

Pittsburgh Post-GazetteRob Owen

Levi exudes an everyman appeal that may catch on with viewers, but the show's plots need to grow beyond the action-adventure tropes of 1970s TV if Chuck hopes to avoid being chucked off NBC's prime-time schedule.

PopMattersRoger Holland

A good-natured show with a convincing sense of fun and a likeable cast, Chuck also has the wit, confidence, and grasp of the cultural climate to turn a running joke about a celebrity porn site into a major plot device.

San Francisco ChronicleTim Goodman

A charming but underwhelming pilot.... The second episode is dismal, sucking all the air out of whatever hopes you might have had for that one.