Tonight marked the two-hour series finale of Chuck, as weird as it feels to say that. Although the second hour of the finale conflicted with a new episode of Fringe, I stuck with it. (Besides, Fringe will be up on Hulu soon, anyway.) It’s difficult to express how satisfied I was with Chuck‘s final, true ending; after many false stops over the years it’s really bittersweet to finally experience it, but it’s for the best. This way, at least the show could end the way the writers wanted.

I was almost literally at the edge of my seat the entire time. Although the ending didn’t happen the way I expected, I know it’s the ending the show deserved. I followed the show from the beginning and have always appreciated the show for what it is: supremely entertaining. Alan Sepinwall wrote a fantastic review of the finale and summed up exactly just what made the show so great to watch. (Note that it contains massive spoilers.)

Don’t freak out.

As the second season of NBC’s Chuck wraps up tonight, there is talk of the show possibly not being renewed for a third season. I’m not much of a TV evangelist, but I would just like to say that a decision not to renew Chuck would be a poor decision indeed.

In the extreme case that someone at NBC is listening, don’t cancel it. Thank you for your time.

Several months ago, there was a rumor that NBC’s newest show headed by West Wing creator Aaron Sorkin, Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip, was going to be canned just a few shows into its freshman season. This was quickly dispelled and it was reported that the show had been renewed for a full 23-ish episode season and that the number of viewers, while only about half what they were for the first night in prime time, were still decent enough to justify keeping it around.

Now it seems that was all hogwash, and tonight looks to be the last night for the show before it goes on hiatus indefinitely. Losing 50% of viewers immediately after Heroes certainly didn’t help out one bit. Hopefully the show will continue in another avenue, possibly through DVD sales a la Firefly and online viewing on NBC’s website. The show was enjoyable, but perhaps aimed just a bit too high.

R.I.P.

I don’t think I have ever been known to watch a lot of TV (apart from those awesome 80s kids shows I loved as a kid). However, I think this new fall season has some of the coolest shows. I have never been as excited about a TV season, so it’s kind of new to actually want to watch some TV.

• Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip is the new show in town. I watched the pilot episode that got “leaked” a few months ago and found it to be intellectually stimulating and a far reach above your average mindless TV sitcom. I never watched more than five minutes of The West Wing or Sports Night, but after watching the second episode that aired this past Monday, I think I would actually like to check it out in my lifetime.
• The Office, now in its third season, is just as awesome as ever. A neighbor of mine who is an attorney told me about this show one day and how much it reminded him of some of his fellow office dwellers. I didn’t immediately check it out, but am glad that I eventually did, because this is definitely my favorite show on TV. I bumped into it sometime in February when they were already well through the second season, so I had quite a bit of catching up to do. The first season is surprisingly not so good, but Season Two is orders of magnitude better and hands-down the funniest show I have ever seen.
• House and 24 were shows I was already familiar with, but still love. House is now in its third season and seems to be just as great as I have come to expect. It is indeed a bit formulaic, but every once in a while there is an episode that breaks the mold and is shockingly provocative and insightful. 24 doesn’t begin its sixth season until January, but as far as mindless action goes there is nothing finer. Season Two and Season Five stand out above the rest (apart from the first season, which is exempt from comparison), and I remain hopeful that Six sets a positive trend.

I don’t know why, but no other show really catches my interest. I detest reality TV and game shows and I am not aware of any great comedies coming out of the UK recently. Red Dwarf, what has become of you? 🙁