The Big Bang Theory (CBS, Mondays at 8:30pm)The basic plot is that two really smart guys live next door to a simple-minded blonde waitress named Penny (Kaley Cuoco from "Charmed"). Of course, one of the guys, Leonard (Johnny Galecki from "My Boys"), begins to have a growing infatuation for her and the other, Sheldon (Jim Parsons from "Judging Amy"), is dragged along for the ride. Sheldon is the sardonic, libido-less, nit-picking nag to Leonard's patient, sensitive, socially-aware geek. With friends like Koothrappali (newbie Kunal Nayyar), who is incapable of speaking in the presence of women, and Wolowitz (Simon Helberg from "Studio 60"), who will try every skeazy thing he's seen on television to woo a woman, Leonard seems like the king of the nerds.
The real draw here isn't the "will she or won't she fall for Leonard" bit, but the quality of "we're smart and everyone else is stupid" jokes that mainly Leonard makes. To be honest, if Leonard wasn't making fun of every single person in the show, whether their IQ is only in the double-digits or they are completely unprepared for the disappointments of dating, it really wouldn't be all that entertaining.
Chuck (NBC, Mondays at 8pm)
This show is about a guy named Chuck (Zachary Levi from "Less than Perfect"), who received an email from an estranged college buddy, a CIA agent doubling as an accountant. Since they were good friends and super geeks, he sent the email in a code that only Chuck would understand. Once he decodes it, it downloads into his mind and now everytime Chuck sees a face or landscape or anything that was in those pictures, he can recall top secret government information. Needless to say the CIA (newbie Yvonne Strzechowski) wants to get their hands on him and the NSA (Adam Baldwin from "Day Break") wants him dead. But after Chuck uses his super memory to save a politician, both agents Sarah (Strzechowski) and John (Baldwin) decide to work together to protect him. In the background of all of this action-packed fun are Chuck's sister, Ellie (Sarah Lancaster from "What about Brian"), who's trying to make sure her baby bro doesn't die alone, and his best friend Morgan (Joshua Gomez from "Without a Trace"), who is like an unleashed monkey on cocaine--which is to say entertaining.
I was really surprised at how well they were able to mix humorous sitcom scenes reminiscent of "Scrubs" or "Ed" with serious action scenes just as bad ass as any Bond or even "Alias." That said, it does have its flaws. For some reason, despite the fact that Chuck's ex-BFF died sending that info to him, his girlfriend Agent Sarah isn't as heartbroken as she should be, which would suggest bad acting or faulty scriptwriting. And even though learning you have top secret info in your brain is cool and everything, the first thing that I would want to do is get all of it out. Chuck just wants to protect his friends and family, and maybe score an assistant manager position at his shitty job. I guess I could get over these two things though, just as long as it keeps having cool action.
Chuck wins this round.
I was really surprised at how well they were able to mix humorous sitcom scenes reminiscent of "Scrubs" or "Ed" with serious action scenes just as bad ass as any Bond or even "Alias." That said, it does have its flaws. For some reason, despite the fact that Chuck's ex-BFF died sending that info to him, his girlfriend Agent Sarah isn't as heartbroken as she should be, which would suggest bad acting or faulty scriptwriting. And even though learning you have top secret info in your brain is cool and everything, the first thing that I would want to do is get all of it out. Chuck just wants to protect his friends and family, and maybe score an assistant manager position at his shitty job. I guess I could get over these two things though, just as long as it keeps having cool action.
Chuck wins this round.
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