Way back in 2008, I saw a trailer for a new TV show to be screened on Virgin 1. (The TV channel is no more, finally dying after a small period resurrected as Channel One (Virgin would not give away their trademark to Sky plus there was a conflict of interest with their cable offering). The trailer was for a new American spy series and I was fascinated by the premise of a geek turning into the CIA’s most valuable asset. The show had started in the autumn of the previous year State side but thanks to the beauty of the internet, I was able to play catch up on the full first season. I believe it was late March or early April when I started watching the show. It was not what I had expected at all. I hoped for a more dramatic character led show but it was in fact directed by McG, the man behind the recent reboot of Charlie’s Angels on the big screen. You could tell by the gorgeous women throughout and the action style with regular slow motion montages. However, it was good entertaining fun and there was plenty going on to keep me interested. In particular I enjoyed the sub-plot involving a shameless parody of US retail giant Best Buy. (I am sure they could have come up with something original but Buy More). My favourite non main characters were Jeff and Lester.

However over the seasons the show just went too far. There is only so far even my wild imagination can be stretched. The first major mistake was upgrading the so called Intersect (2.0) which enable Chuck or his spy wannabe alter-ego Charles Carmichael to learn various fighting techniques (Matrix style) and defeat almost any foe (including the most recent incarnation of Superman). The second mistake, which was the major jump the shark moment for me, was letting sidekick Morgan in on the secret and not just that, making him part of the team. Could it get worse? Yes it could, the Intersect is then loaded into Grimes by mistake at the end of season four. Season five would be the last series of Chuck and although as a concept it had pretty much run it’s course, I was somewhat sad to see it go. I had been watching the show religiously for the past four years and even upgraded to high definition episodes for the final two seasons. Yes I was going to miss Yvonne Strahovski in her underwear but joking aside, the show had been great escapism for over forty five minutes every week with a banging soundtrack to match!

Due to various commitments, I did not get to see the final two episodes (a final double header) until a few days after they had aired on NBC. I knew the final episode would not end in a whimper and I was not disappointed. With a plot as outrageous as can be, it came down to a band to save the day! Jeffster!

I knew it was my favourite song from the opening few notes it was perhaps the best song to end not just the season but the whole series. Take On Me by a-ha but on this occasion supported by a full symphony orchestra conducted by Morgan Grimes! I cannot think of any other songs that were written perfectly to be shown on a graphic equaliser! (Okay maybe Axel F by Harold Faltermeyer)