“Chuck” as Confusing as a Heap of Government Secrets

I’m sorry, I’m going to have to go against the grain on the highly-anticipated TV comedy “Chuck” and admit: I just don’t get it. I don’t understand the plot and I don’t understand why anyone would want to watch it. What’s the deal?

Sure, it’s quirky. I give the writers credit for creating a premise that’s not exactly run-of-the-mill (despite on-the-surface similarities to “Jake 2.0”). And the acting is good enough, certainly by current NBC standards. But how long can we be expected to suspend our disbelief? Will the plot hold its ground for the months—and years, if it remains popular—to come?

A computer geek downloads the entire bulk of the nation’s top secrets into his brain via e-mail. How exactly he accomplishes this I’m never quite sure. A confusing cast of physically-fit characters is therefore forced to involve themselves with a guy they’d otherwise not give a second glance, except perhaps for the standard bumbling sidekick.

I feel as though my own head is swimming with a confused jumble of unimaginable and unintelligible concepts, a la geek-with-government-secrets-in-brain. I don’t know who’s really the bad guy and who’s a genuine pal. I have no idea what’s the deal with the implausibly hot girlfriend. I think of “The 40 Year Old Virgin” whenever they’re inside the electronics store—and that’s the only laugh the show ever spares me.

“Chuck” has only been on the airwaves a month and already I have to rely on Wikipedia to tell me what this show’s actually about. You may think that makes me an idiot, but I say to each his own. If you’re a “Chuck” savant, good on ya. Maybe you can upload your understanding directly to my brain, too.