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Talk Back: NBC's "Chuck" and "Journeyman"

NBC launched several of its new fall series last night, including dramas Chuck and Journeyman.

Now that you've seen the pilot episodes of both series, what were your reactions to both series?

And how did my original advance reviews of the pilots (found here for Chuck and here for Journeyman respectively) live up to the hype? Which series has joined your TiVo Season Pass list and which, well, has fallen right off of it?

Discuss in brutal and/or glowing terms right here.

Comments

Anonymous said…
I loved Chuck. Made me laugh out loud on more than one occasion. And very sweet at its heart. Journeyman is interesting. Pilot was not amazing, but will definitely tune in again and give it a chance to hook me. After all, I need something good to follow Heroes!
Anonymous said…
Chuck is fantastic! (Although I knew what was coming- I saw the pilot at Comic Con) It made me laugh out loud again at certain parts again. Which is a good sign. I'm right there with anon about Journeyman. I was waiting for something really spectacular- and I think that they just kind of blew over the whole "the son saved people's lives" and "wait, is that my long lost love who is supposed to be dead?" without really making an impact with either revelation.
I'll watch again, because I am interested- but I wasn't blown away.
Anonymous said…
Chuck was fabulous. I had no idea what it was about (as I did not read your review nor anything else about it) so I was completely surprised. I generally agree with you, so when I saw it on your list, I thought I'd tune it.
I've already added it to my TiVo Season Pass!
Anonymous said…
CHUCK was incredible! It is already on my season pass and I'm telling everyone to tune in. I laughed so hard, and it had such awesome action...and the music! so cool. As for JOURNEYMAN, liked it, didn't love it, might watch again. But CHUCK --- check it out if you didn't last night!!!!!
Unknown said…
CHUCK might have been perfect. I really hope they can keep it up for an entire season. JOURNEYMAN, to me, was intriguing. It has potential for greatness. But it didn't blow me away. The premiere of HEROES didn't blow me away last year either.
The CineManiac said…
Loved Chuck, think it has potential to be a huge winner. The cast is great and I really look forward to next week. I'm just worried that it might get old after a few weeks.
As for Journeyman, I really enjoyed the pilot, it's not fantastic, but it was fun and entertaining. I liked that his wife is now in on, otherwise it might have gotten old trying to explain to her. Didn't see the old dead ex surprise coming at all, those to things really sold me on the show.
Dani In NC said…
Chuck was light and fun. I didn't laugh out loud, but I smiled a lot. Some of the uber-geeks (and I mean that in a good way) were complaining about how unrealistic the show was, but average Janes like me who don't pick their entertainment apart will probably enjoy it.

Journeyman was confusing. My husband and I didn't have a problem with the time-travel since we watch a lot of sci-fi. However, they breezed past so many elements of Dan's life that we felt like we started watching a movie in the middle. I agree with Melissa Anne that certain parts should have had more impact.

Also, I didn't find the actors who played Dan and his wife appealing at all. The brother looked like he should be the lead. Of course, they may grow on me. I thought that the actors in Kyle XY looked like some lucky folks who got pulled out of the extras pool, but I love them now :-).
Loved Chuck but, like others have said, I really hope they can keep up that perfect blend of action and comedy for an entire season. With that great of a cast, though, I have faith.

Journeyman has potential but could go either way. Kevin McKidd is a strong lead and the premise is interesting but the twists and turns have to have more of an impact to keep the audience invested. I'll definitely tune in to the second episode, though.
Matt said…
I reread your review of Chuck and it was spot on. I actually forgot how impressive the show's action sequences were, mostly because the comedy was so pitch-perfect. I always have trouble tuning in to shows regularly but I'm going to make a special effort with Chuck.
Anonymous said…
It seems like I'm the only one who didn't like Chuck. I found it too ridiculous for my tastes. It definitely had some cute and funny parts, but I found most of it to be pretty dumb (like when he defused the bomb but downloading a lot of porn- come on!)
I liked Journeyman. It was a little cheesy but it definitely has potential.
Anonymous said…
I think the super-positive response to Chuck illustrates how weary we are of shows that are too dark or soapy. That being said, it was cute, it wasn't ground-breaking television.

--SD
Brian said…
I really liked Chuck. It's cute and light, which is a nice break from the majority of what's on TV. I really liked Zach Levi as Chuck too, although considering how Chuck is cute and funny I'm not sure I believe that he has had issues getting a girl.

I went into Journeyman expecting it to be bad, so I was pleasantly surprised. I thought the acting and the cinematography were both great (which is what kept me watching the show in the beginning--the first half hour did not hook me). Everything about the show seemed to be understated, from his first trip to the past to seeing Olivia to learning about Jacob Gaines at the end. I think that because of that I wasn't very engaged at the beginning (especially because I wasn't expecting it), but as the episode progressed I got used to it. I actually like the understated feel to the show, just because it's so rare for a television series.

I'm definitely going to continue watching both shows.

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