Premieres: Heroes Season 2, Chuck

Okay, first things first: the Heroes 2^nd-season premiere was a very pleasant surprise! Well, maybe "surprise" is not the best word; let's just say I was very happy with it. I said earlier that I was kind of nervous about it because of the unevenness of Heroes' last season. It was really good at first, then fell off the wagon, then picked itself back up - Heroes went on like this two or three times over. In the end, it was good, but not as good as it could have been because we had sat through so much filler waiting for it to get there. Plus, I was really concerned with what they were going to do with Hiro in Feudal Japan.

[SPOILERS]

We picked back up almost exactly where last season left off. I can't be 100% certain of that because I haven't been watching the reruns - according to the Nielsen's, almost no one has - but it was extremely close to where I remember it leaving off. Claire's family moved to Cali and she got enrolled in school; the Petrellis are trying to move on from their loss(es); the cop (I can never remember his name!) got divorced and adopted the little girl, Molly; and Hiro is in Fedual Japan, where he meets his childhood hero. We were also introduced to a new Hero, a Mexican girl and her brother who are trying to illegally enter the US.

It was really well-done and with limited commercial breaks, I'm pleased to say that 25 minutes had passed before I even realized it - the surest sign of a good show. The acting and direction were in top form and the writing was as crisp as the best episodes of Heroes' first season - which is no small feat because, when it was good, it was really good. I have to admit, this was a great start to what I hope is going to be a great season! I have renewed interest and even a bit of faith in ol' Heroes again. Thank goodness, because I was pretty much willing to... you know, kind of not care.

Chuck

Chuck was really a pleasant surprise in the truest sense of the word. What was even more surprising was to find that one of the executive producers is none other than McG of Supernatural fame! I mean, how can you go wrong with that?

Chuck is just a regular tech support-type of guy with your average tech support-type job, life, and friends. That is, until his former college roommate - the guy who stole his last girlfriend from him - sends him an e-mail full of the government's secrets. He is then thrust into the world of high-stakes and survival; the Spy Game at its highest, deepest levels. What he thinks is just a regular customer turns out to be a top-level agent and his new best friend - and hopefully girlfriend, one day - and his newest trainee at work is none other than a top NSA agent and not too pleasant a fellow.

Chuck, like Supernatural, takes a rather serious situation and injects a lot of humor and spark to it. Again, like McG's other show, the humor is never forced and it doesn't get in the way of the rest of the story. When Chuck wants to be action-packed, it's action-packed; when Chuck wants to be dramatic, it's dramatic; and when Chuck wants to crack a Funny, well it just happens. This is a really good show with a lot of promise and if the season premiere is any indication, it stands to be one of the better shows of the new season.

Now I'm watching Journeyman and it's just a few minutes in, but I can say this much: a little heavy, but not bad so far. I'll let you know in a few.