Midseason TV Check-In: LOST, Psych, Leverage, and Chuck

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The fall might have pretty colors and apples and cider, but January is fast becoming my favorite television season. It's when some shows premiere shiny new seasons, and others come back after a long, interminable break.

Chuck

I was pretty worried about this favorite show of mine. I mean, it doesn't have the highest viewership (for the record, if you're not watching it, I will automatically assume you're on crack), and it has had cancellation scares. But that's not what was worrying me with the upcoming season. I was worried about the new Chuck we were about to see. (All of you who don't watch can stop reading now and get out your crack pipe, because the rest of this won't make sense to you.)

With Chuck getting a whole new set of Intersect apps, ones that would allow him to both kick-ass AND take names, I was concerned we'd lose Chuck Bartowski, the dorky sorta-spy, and get Charles Carmichael, suave 007 clone. The promo images I had seen before the January premiere added to my worries, because Chuck looked too well-groomed. His messy mop of curls had been replaced by product-manipulated locks. I was not a fan of that look or what it might portend.

Luckily, it does appear that my fears were unfounded. Not only did the first episode of the seaons have him flunking right out of spy school, but Chuck still has to flash in order to perform such lifesaving techniques as kung-fu, nunchucks manipulation, and playing a mariachi guitar. It appears that the new Intersect apps do turn him into a super-spy, but only every so often, which means he can maintain his gawky geek persona.

I'm pretty happy with the season so far. I like that they've thrown in this new CIA supervisor, Shaw (Brandon Routh). While I love that the little Burbank triumverate has gotten closer, friction -- other than the unrequited Chuck-Sarah situation -- is needed in the group, and Shaw is clearly going to provide that. And because the show is light on serious drama, it was especially chilling the way they killed off Tony Hale's Emmett in the season premiere. Both the execution of the deed and the fact that his death has been covered up were tantalizingly un-Chuck-like, and, therefore, quite surprising. (Of course, we learned with Bryce Larkin in the first season what every good Soap Opera watcher knows: no one is ever really dead on TV.) Casey getting involved in Morgan's power struggle with the Herders ("Chuck Versus First Class") and sales staff was an awesome way to bridge those two worlds. Of course, anything involving Casey is awesome, full stop.

Allison at TV Squad gushed over the most recent episode ("Chuck Versus First Class") but did note: "I've been really disappointed with the props this season. The ring cell phone last week and the pen with the poison were pretty dull. Where are the cool gadgets I like?"

I'm inclined to agree. The prop peeps need to have more fun with this season.

Chuck: Mondays on NBC at 8/7c.

LOST

So...I don't watch LOST (I know! I know!), but I know a bunch of people are eagerly awaiting the the final season, which airs on ABC, February 2nd. Here's what actual watchers are talking about:

BlogHer's own Megan Smith lists her 25 Best Moments of LOST

Kate O'Hare at Zap2it talks to Jorge Garcia about life after LOST

Sheril at Discover Magazine talks about time travel in LOST and asks: "If you theoretically travel back in time to change the future–only to realize you’ve already been there and failed–might free will result in different choices leading to new and alternative realities?"

Caroline Stanley at Flavorwire displays LOST posters created by a LOST fan who is also a professional designer.

LOST: Tuesdays on ABC at 8/7c.

Psych

Psych is one of those shows that brightens my day simply by existing. I don't think I get as happy about any other show premiere as I do about Psych. How do I describe this show? It's just fun. It's quick and witty with loads of pop culture inside jokes, and the cast is amazing. Dulé Hill and James Roday have arguably the best chemistry of any two people on television today. And from the behind-the-scenes glimpses the show gives us with its Psych-Outs and bloopers (found on the USA site), I can only imagine that working on the show must be some