2008: The Chuck Year In Review

As 2008 winds down, let’s take a look back at the year that was here on ChuckTV.net: the year got off to a rocky start for Chuck fans as the writers’ strike meant an abbreviated season with the final two episodes airing in January as a Chuck sandwich. January also saw the launch of Chuck vs. the Podcast with our first episode featuring our interview with Yvonne Strahovski. We also learned a lot about what goes into making the music of Chuck from composer Tim Jones in our second podcast. Fortunately NBC decided to end our suspense early and ordered a second season of the show in February, assuring us of more adventures with Chuck, Sarah, Casey, Morgan, et al.   In March, the cast plus showrunners Chris Fedak and Josh Schwartz appeared at Paley Fest, covered by our own Roz, to talk about the first season and their plans for the second season.

April saw Zachary Levi and Yvonne Strahovski featured in TV Guide’s Sexiest Stars issue, which was no surprise for Chuck fans. May brought the return to filming on the series and our first spoilers for season 2 after a long dry spell. More spoilers, guest star announcements (Michael Strahan! Nicole Richie!), the launch of the Chuck comic books, and photos of the cast at various events kept us going in June. July featured the geek fest that is Comic Con and our scoop from the third row of the Chuck panel. We also got snippets of news from the TCAs and the first promos started to appear. Advance looks at the first few episodes of season 2 were resoundingly positive, and then NBC went and ordered a full season based on the first six episodes in August, giving us cause to cheer.

September was pure gold for Chuck fans. The show won an Emmy for stunts, premiered season two at the Paley Center, the first episode was available online a week early, and – finally – new episodes began to air. The ChuckTV.net forums exploded with new members joining the veterans to talk about the new season. October brought more new episodes, including the much-anticipated showdown between Nicole Richie’s Heather and Yvonne Strahovski’s Sarah. November sweeps included the polarizing Jill Trilogy, a trio of episodes that caused more discussion than any other single aspect of Chuck in the ChuckTV.net forums. More casting news, including Tricia Helfer and Jenny McCarthy & Andy Richter, gave us clues about the second half of the season and we chatted with Julia Ling (Anna) in our podcast. The mid-season finale aired December 15, with another ending that prompted a lot of discussion in the ChuckTV.net forums, as well as Chuck‘s appearance on several Best of TV lists for the year. Our mega-sized December podcast featured an interview with Scott Krinsky (Jeff), adding another Buy Morian to our list of awesome dudes.

What happened on Chuck this year? Here’s a brief recap:

• We met (possibly) the love of Casey’s live in “vs. the Undercover Lover” and got a glimpse of his softer side.
• Captain Awesome proposed to Ellie and Big Mike’s prized trophy was a casulty of protecting the Intersect as the Beta got nearer to completion in “vs. the Marlin”.
• Sarah and Chuck went on their first official date in “vs. the First Date”, only to have the shot at a “normal” life taken away when the Beta Intersect self-destructed.
• Legendary spy Roan Montgomery learned a thing or two from Chuck when he was assigned to mentor the Intersect in “vs. the Seduction”. Chuck/Sarah fans also got a really hot kiss.
• Bryce returned but soon realized that Sarah’s feelings for Chuck run deep in “vs. the Break Up.” However, Chuck, acknowledging that nothing about Sarah or their situation is “normal”, put a moratorium on their relationship with The Talk.
• A mission took the team to Sarah’s 10 year high school reunion, revealing more about her past than Sarah would prefer and the chance to face her tormentors in “vs. the Cougars”.
• Jeff’s hidden talents came into play when terrorists threatened to attack Los Angeles and the gang’s only chance lay in him defeating the ’80s arcade game Missile Command in “vs. Tom Sawyer”. Of course, being Jeff, the pressure got to him and it was up to Chuck to save the day.
• Chuck’s college girlfriend – the one he’d been pining over for 5 years and 4 months – popped up in his life again, much to Sarah’s (and the fans) dismay in “vs. the Ex”.
• As Chuck and Jill rekindled their romance, Sarah and Casey discovered that Jill was a Fulcrum agent in “vs. the Fat Lady”.
• Struggling to come to grips with yet another betrayal by the woman he thought was The One, Chuck made his decision and turned Jill over to the authorities, closing that chapter of his life and acknowledging his feelings for Sarah in the Thanksgiving episode, “vs. the Gravitron”.
• We met the Awesomes – Woody and Honey – when they arrived to help Ellie plan the wedding, while Casey faced betrayal of his own when his former mentor gone rogue tried to recruit him in “vs. the Sensei”.
• Sarah’s con artist father showed up in “vs. the Delorean” and shed more light on Sarah’s past as he tried to carry out a “con” with Sarah, Chuck and Casey.
• In the Christmas episode a hostage situation at the Buy More lost Casey a toe and put Ellie in mortal danger when Fulcrum discovered just who the NSA and CIA are protecting there in “vs. Santa Claus”. Chuck witnessed what he thought was an execution at the hands of Sarah, leaving them both reeling and their relationship in jeopardy.

Some milestones for us include:

• Chuck vs. the Podcast ends the year as the #1 TV podcast on Podcast Alley and #18 overall in the TV & Film category. On average, 15,000 people listen to our podcasts each month, hailing from at least 10 different countries.
• ChuckTV.net received more than 325,000 visits and 2 million page views in 2008. About 190,000 of those visits have been since the show’s second season premiere in September!

What a year it’s been! We’re looking forward to a Chucktastic 2009 and can’t wait to bring you more news and interviews as season two continues and (fingers crossed) season three comes our way. We’re working on some new features for the site as well and hope to unveil those before Chuck returns on February 2. In the meantime, what’s your favorite Chuck moment from 2008? Post away below!